Here is the latest version of  my method of creating a Restaurant standard Indian Curry, of the Madras style.

Always use fresh ingredients , especially the spice mix!!

RECIPE Rob’s Curry Method December 2011
This method uses red wine in the Marinade which turns the marinade into a tasty gravy (Garabi)

The onions can be sauteed while preparing the marinade or sauteed the day of cooking, which makes the method versatile for busy people.

I am always refining this method so please subscribe  for update notifications

Enjoy!!

Rob

How to cook a Madras Curry to Indian Restaurant Standard.

For the last four years I’ve had a chicken curry recipe that I consider is to Restaurant Standard, taught to me by Lena, an Indian lady. http://shed.robhealey.com.au/cooking/chicken-vindaloo-amazing/

But until recently I was not having any success with Beef or Lamb curries. Sure, all my friends thought they were great, and I cooked a lot of edible curries, but they were nowhere near my Curry Nirvana. My Curry Nirvana

Finally, after a lot of experimenting with various techniques and advice from the experts, I have a method which produces a Curry to Indian Restaurant Standards. I will continue refining and experimenting, I’m close to creating my Curry Nirvana, I know it’s not far away now.

Here are videos of making an Onion Paste, the Marinade and then Cooking a Madras style Indian Curry. The recipe instructions and my thoughts are below them.

First I make an onion paste and marinate the Beef overnight

The next day I cook the Beef Madras Indian Curry

Click the link below for a copy of the MADRAS RECIPE & INSTRUCTIONS -

RECIPE Rob’s Curry Method December 2011

Here’s the thinking that lead to my recent successful curries.

I have kept notes and comments of each curry over the last few years. A long look through theses notes revealed the things that worked for me. Recently I’ve copied British Indian Restaurant Techniques and learnt more about each component and how to cook it. I realise that copying the BIR style is an obvious way towards creating BIR dishes, but following the BIR structure which involves pre-cooking the meat and pastes and then combining them all in 10-15 minutes, one portion at a time, doesn’t suit my lifestyle.

I enjoy the 60-90 minutes of cooking a 3-4 portion curry on a Friday then relaxing with a few beers and some pappadums, dishing up maybe 3 hours later. I freeze some portions and they are easily re heated and handy for days when I’m busy. I also freeze rice in single portions.

Pre cooking the meat and throwing the marinade away seems detrimental, both in cost but more importantly in taste, because the marinade contains some of the meat flavour.

The big success last year, BEFORE discovering BIR, was a recipe that used a 400 gms can of tomatoes with 1kg of beef. It was a very tasty curry, rated very highly by a mate who is extremely fussy about curries and a good cook himself. My report on that curry is here – http://shed.robhealey.com.au/cooking…ice-co-madras/

My stomach reacts with onions and I normally make sure they are well sautéed. The recipe for an Onion Paste in Mick’s Indian Recipe Book seemed like a very suitable way to caramelise the onions and also produce some flavoured oil.

(Micks #1 Curry Mix ingredients and his full Onion Paste recipe are in his Indian Cookbook, available here http://cbm-mick.blogspot.com I highly recommend this book which also comes with a link to heaps of videos of Indian Chefs cooking IN THEIR TAKE-AWAY RESTAURANT- great value at £2.99 or $5)

I changed the amounts to suit 700 grams of beef, added 8 Chillies and removed some ingredients that were unobtainable here, Like Rajah’s All Purpose Seasoning. Instead of using 1 Tab of Onion Paste per portion which it’s designed for, I use it all and don’t cook up any more onions with the meat. In the future I may also try cooking some onions with the Beef and maybe adding extra Garlic at that stage too. When cooking the Onion Paste I use extra oil which becomes flavoured and I use that oil to brown the meat the next day.

When cooking Mince dishes, like Spaghetti Bolognaise, I know that a splash of red wine creates a lovely sauce with the meat juices. It’s also good in a marinade- so ‘Rob’s Marinade’ contains 700grams of chunky Beef/Lamb, one Tab of Curry Spice Mix, a generous amount of Lemon Juice and a glass of Red wine!! OK, not traditional, yep I know that!! Marinate overnight, then remove the meat pieces and brown them in flavoured oil from the Onion Paste, put aside. Simmer the marinade for 5 minutes which burns off the red wine smell and alcohol, then blend and pour over the meat. It turns into a perfect Gravy !! As you can see in the video.

I don’t think I have completely succeeded ‘fusing the Spices’, and I will continue to experiment until I get it. How the heck do you know when the spice fusing works? If 100% is considered the aroma from the best Indian restaurant curry, then I am achieving about 70%. The curries taste good but lake that extra aroma, and aroma influences the taste buds, as anyone who has a cold will know. This is where being in the chef’s kitchen and SMELLING what’s happening would be invaluable.

Method: My method is to cook ALL the meat in the curry and portion it afterwards. After browning the meat and converting the Marinade into a Gravy, I reheat the Onion paste, add 3 heaped Tabs of Garlic Ginger paste and while that is beginning to simmer I add the Curry Spice Mix, turn up the heat and stir vigourously until I smell the spices aroma coming through- usually about 10 seconds. I quickly add the meat and marinade to cool it all down so that the spices aren’t burnt. I then give everything a hard simmer (get everything sizzling) for 10 minutes, adding water if it is too dry.

At around 4 minutes of sizzling I add 4 cut green cardamoms. When the 10 minutes of sizzling is done I put the covered pot in the oven at 104C where it simmers for around 2 hours.

The spice mix used in the curry this time was made to Mick’s #1 recipe in his book, because I thought highly of it before and wanted to try it again. The mix was less than 12 day old, thanks to Zana of SpiceZ at Kuranda www.spicez.com.au who sells spice mixes. I used 1 Tab of the spice mix in the onion Paste.

This is a work in process. If you have downloaded the recipe, check for updates and sometimes you will see a new date.

Nothing is written in stone, but I now have a method which works and suits my lifestyle.

I’ve had several ‘the Best Curry I’ve ever cooked’ experiences in the last year- currently this one is now THE BEST CURRY I’VE ever cooked replacing all before. It was to restaurant standard in taste and look and I would proudly serve this to any curry aficionado.

If you are a curry lover like me, sign up for Email or RSS updates and watch my journey.

I’ve just cooked the first curry that I can rate at Restaurant Standard.

Have I just had a brief glimpse of my Curry Nirvana or will it be the start of a new era in home cooked curries?

The Audio file was recorded while I ate this brilliant Vindaloo!

Thanks to the information at the UK Curry forum and Micks Cookbook, this Vindaloo was head and shoulders above anything I’ve cooked before.

I’ve experimented with the cooking info from the above websites. I bought Micks book- it’s only $5 – and it has detailed info on cooking to the standard of BIR (British India Restaurant).

Unfortunately the Indian Chefs in the UK all say that unless you use the same brands of spices they use, the results will not be the same. I have found two sources of fresh spices in Australia which come pre mixed in kits, the Saucy Spice Co and SpiceZ who’s kits also contain a second sachet of fresh herbs and seeds.

I have made a couple of Garabi’s (Gravies) for the last 2 Curries which were very successful. This time I thought I’d try to make a Bunjara (Onion Paste) from Micks recipe.

I began with a Vindaloo Curry kit from the Saucy Spice Co that Shed Mate Steve sent to me. Some spice is supposed to go in the Onion Paste, but because the kit is pre-mixed for 1kg of meat, I decided not to split it up.

The first step was to marinate 1kg of beef. The instructions with the Vindaloo Kit say to ‘Roast the spices in a dry pan for about 60 seconds’ and then mix in with the beef, sliced onions, garlic, oil, vinegar and sugar’.

I started making the Bunjara Onion paste,  the idea is to cook sliced onions until they are caramelised but not burnt, various other ingredients are added during the process.

I used 3 tabs of ghee and later added 2 tabs of olive oil. One medium sliced onion (because the marinade had one large one already) I added Eight diced Serrano Chillies and 6 sliced cloves of Garlic. Immediately the ingredients in the pot looked like the beginning of the Garabi, so I changed my mind and made a base gravy, following Micks instructions but omitting the spices which were in the marinade. The chillies made a fiery substitute for half a capsicum. I added one diced carrot and a level t spoon of ginger paste.

At the end of the process I added 3 heaped Tablespoons of 100% tomato paste. At the time it looked too much, but now I think it was a good idea. there were no tomatoes mentioned in the kit’s recipe and I reckon all curries should have some tomato in them, for me it’s a basic ingredient. There’s no harm in changing other peoples recipes as long as you take the blame when they go wrong!

After simmering for about 40 minutes I added a chicken stock cube and water and blended the gravy. It had a rich, red, look. I divided it in two and saved half for the next curry.

The meat marinated for 7 hours. I put it in a hot pot with some ghee and lightly browned it, making sure any spice that hadn’t released its pungency got another chance, then added half the Gravy Base, half a chicken stock cube and some water to cover the meat.

This is how it looked after 140 minutes slow simmer -

Here it is plated up, but before adding more juice- at this stage I was more interested in eating it than taking pictures!!!

In the brochure the kit is labeled “Fiery’ Vindaloo, so obviously it has a generous amount of chilli powder. The extra chillies I added certainly made sure it was Fiery!! It was a full on Vindaloo, the chilli heat almost obscuring the taste of the curry. I had an enjoyable battle with it and I’m already looking forward to having one of the portions I froze.

Curry fans will recognise from the tone of my voice in the audio that my mouth was on fire and how much I was enjoying it!!

I’ll update this with the results of the frozen portion which I expect will be slightly less bitey.

UPDATE.

Last night I reheated a frozen portion of this big success story – the Vindaloo.

I was very anxious because I had given it such a big wrap, was I mistaken?

It was every bit as good as on Friday. YAY!!

I added a pinch of the spice mix just before the end of cooking because none of my home cooked curries have the strong aroma that takeaways have. It still was not as aromatic as a restaurant curry, but the taste and oiliness  hehehe were brilliant. The sauce was rich and red, it maintained it’s tremendous bite but I could taste the flavour a little more this time.

I attribute the success of this curry to the base gravy I made. It added a new dimension to an already good curry. I have half of that gravy saved and will experiment with a different spice mix.

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WOW – I can’t believe it – as I go through 6 assorted Saucy Spice Co Curry Kits, they are getting better and better!!

The last Saucy Spice Co kit that I cooked was the Persian Style Beef and thought it was better than the Madras, though I want to revisit the Madras to be sure.

This Afghani Lamb was definitely a cut above all others, no doubt, it was very obvious.

Absolutely FAN-BLOODY-TASTIC.

The smell coming from the kitchen while it was cooking was excellent.

My wife said she could smell it in the street on her way home!! and our kitchen is more than 80 meters from the street!!

Not having any lamb handy, in true Afghani style I made do with 500 gms gravy beef and 500gms chuck steak. The kit had quite a few unidentified seeds in the packet. Ingredients marked as – Cardamom. Chilli, Cinnamon, Coriander, Nutmeg, Asafoetida, Turmeric, Anise, Pepper, Ginger,

I added 2 med Onion & 4 cloves Garlic, 250ml Yoghurt, 1Kg beef, 250ml stock and also 1 Serrano chilli that they must have forgotten to mention in the recipe hehe

The cooking instructions were very simple and it was easy to cook. I simmered quite hard for 45 mins then put the pot in the oven for 1hrs gentle simmer with lid on, then 30mins with lid off to reduce the sauce, still in oven, followed by 20 minutes rest.

The meat was tender, juicy and the flavour went right through. I had only added one red fresh chilli and the meal had a nice bite to it, so there must have been plenty of chilli powder in the kit.

As excellent as this kit was, using Beef, I reckon it would be even better using lamb which is oilier and has a sweeter taste. I will definitely try this one again!

I rate this HIGHER than the Madras, (review here ) or Persian Beef (review here)

Highly Recommended.

My search for Curry Nirvana has taken a hug leap forward. The plan – to cook an Indian Curry to restaurant standard.

Zana from www.spicez.com.au sent me links to two UK based websites where many people are searching for the same thing as me. I’m not alone!!! There’s even an acronym for my curry Nirvana – ‘BIR’. British Indian Restaurant.

This link http://cbm-mick.blogspot.com is to ‘Curry Barking Mad Mick’ who, like me, is searching for that British Indian Restaurant taste.

Mick has taken a lot of videos of Indian Chefs cooking and he’s also produced a recipe book of Indian dishes. The Recipe book comes as a PDF and is really great value at only Aus $5, everything is very clearly explained and all ingredients listed.

He says, “I have spent many years gaining access to BIR kitchens by befriending owners and staff. They have given me recipes for base gravies, starters, main meal curries and side dishes. Including Onion Bhaji, Sheek Kebabs, Chicken and Lamb Tikka, Korma, Madras, Rogon Josh, Dopiaza, Jalfrezi, Dhansak, Tikka Masala, Bombay Potatoes, Naan Bread and more.
Over 60 recipes.” – WOW!

I bought the recipe book that Mick had on his website, have talked by email with him, and have been watching videos on his website that he has filmed in UK Indian Restaurant Kitchens.

This one, http://www.secretcurryrecipes.com/curryforum (click link and scroll down to see video) from 2007 really shows what happens. There is a gravy base on the right and the curry, Chicken Madras, is being constructed in the left hand frypan.  Lots of flames and heat!! behind the stove is a counter with various things- tomato paste spices etc. I’m not clear on what’s there…… yet

The Secret is in the GRAVY!
The basic plan is to pre cook a batch of gravy which has a carrot, half a Capsicum, onions, Garlic and all the basic curry spices. Also precook the meat by boiling it. He says after those two things are prepared they can be frozen or stored in the fridge and a curry can be made in 15 minutes, just like in an Indian restaurant.

Not having all the ingredients yet, I tried an experiment, making the base gravy for a curry but adding the spices, supplied from a kit, into the pot at the stage when the meat and gravy are combined, then cooking the meat slowly for 3 hours.

The result was excellent- the meal was lifted to a new dimension. It was my best ever home made curry and far better than a few sub standard Indian Restaurant meals I’ve had over the years.

I am ordering in some extra ingredients so I can give Micks recipe a fair go. This is really exciting!

The other link Zana sent me was to a forum on Indian foods with an enormous amount of infornation – everything from ovems, cooking utensils to spices and recipes. & an Indian Food forum a href=”http://www.secretcurryrecipes.com/curryforum/.

Stay tuned!! If you are interested in Indian Curries sign up for email updates or select your favourite feed below

My search for Curry Nirvana continues. The plan is to cook a ‘restaurant grade’  Indian Curry.

“O Crikey Me !’

I’ve progressed a long way this year, thanks to excellent curry kits from SpiceZ and Saucy Spice Co. I’ve had some successes that made me think I was knocking on Nirvana’s door and then lately the frozen portions re heated have been disappointing. Most unusual because until lately a frozen curry has always been an improvement over a freshly cooked one. Everyone knows a curry is better the next day, so what is happening??

As a control, I re-heat a frozen Marinades Restaurant Curry once a week and they are always superb. When the Marinades curry is re heating in the oven, the aroma is always much stronger. So what is in those, that is missing in the other curries? Is it an ingredient or could it be the quantity of spices used?

When I solve that puzzle I will be well on the way to achieving my goal.

Capt’n Curry, in his long search for Curry Nirvanah, cooks a Beef Vindaloo from a SpiceZ Curry Kit

WOW!  This Persian Beef spice kit from the Saucy Spice Co -http://saucyspice.com.au/  was brilliant. Great taste, good chili bite and easy to cook. 

The spices come in the usual bright packaging with instructions on the back for what extra ingredients are needed. That’s very handy

This Persian Beef kit required the usual Oil, Onion, Garlic, tin of Tomatoes, Salt, Vinegar and Ikg of Beef and also 1/4 cup of Ground Almonds and 1 cup of dried Apricots or 1/2 cup of dates.

The spices supplied included Cumin, Cloves, Paprika, Chili, Black pepper, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Mustard Seeds and Ginger.

The cooking process was extremely easy – not requiring any browning of the Beef, and the flavour went right through the Beef during the slow simmering period.  The recipe instructions were clear -

 First 2 medium Onions finely sliced were sauteed until clear. Towards the end of that process 3 cloves of crushed garlic were added, then the spice mix was mixed in for 30 seconds until the aroma was released. Then one can of pureed Tomatoes plus the ground Almonds and Vinegar were added.  After about a minute of stirring, the Beef was added and all was thoroughly mixed together.

After a few minutes I added some stock and then simmered slowly with the lid on the cooking pot. 30 minutes before serving I added the pitted dates.

RESULT: An absolutely full flavoured, gorgeous meal. I was totally impressed. Most curries improve with age, but this one was great, right out of the box onto the plate. I have frozen two portions for next week – I can’t wait!!!!

NOTE: I am not a fan of fruit in a curry, it reminds me of  homemade ‘curries’  I had when I was a kid, made from Clive of India powder, with diced apples and Sultana’s- Yuk.

I’m sure the dates served a purpose in adding to the flavour and authenticity of this curry. I ate one date and then left the rest on the side of the plate -it was the sort of thing  Jeremy Clarkson would do haha!

Another step up the ladder in my search for curry Nirvana-  http://shed.robhealey.com.au/cooking/curry-nirvana/

The Saucy Spice Co  http://www.saucyspice.com.au  make a Madras Kit -

 ”Rich and aromatic, this is a hotter classic Indian beef curry.”

I followed the instructions, but used 1kg of lamb instead of beef.
Marinated overnight with 1 big onion, 6 squeezed cloves, lemon juice, tin of diced tomatoes, the supplied ground spice (30gms) and 2 tabs Vinegar.

The next day I fried 1 small onion and 3 finger chillies for 20 mins in ghee, then fried the marinade in 3 parts and then fried the meat v briefly, a few bits a time. I don’t think I’ll fry the marinade next time, it was unnecessary but I do like to make sure the onions have had some heat and that the tomato renders down.

Then I put it all in casserole dish with half a tin of coconut cream, which was too much, I will use 1/3rd tin next time, put in a 110C oven (middle) and cooked slowly for 3 hours. I noticed that the aroma was not very strong while it was cooking.

Curries are never at their best when new. This one was Ok, not as aromatic as some.

I froze some portions and re heated them when my old sailing mate Bob Reid came to stay. He is a great cook and curry fan.

The sauce was very oily and it really looked good. It had matured heaps.

Reidy was ecstatic about the curry – I wrote down what he was saying -

“This is Everything

intense flavour”

woohoo that was an excellent response.

I did ‘cheat’ by adding some SpiceZ Garam Masala 10 minutes before the end. This gave it the aromatic spiciness it was missing the first time around.

I thought it was quite a good curry, the lamb was so soft it was falling apart, and I would prefer it not to do that, but otherwise it was a good curry.

There was still this mystical ‘secret ingredient’ missing, but I at least made a curry that was very edible.

I didn’t tell him it was a Madras and afterwards he declared it was very similar to a Beef Rendang – I had add too much coconut milk to it, so that was rather clever of him. I’m not sure if coconut milk should be an ingredient of Madras.

Cook Basmati Rice in 8 minutes – put half or full a teaspoon of turmeric and some salt into a saucepan of water and bring to the boil. Add the rice to the boiling water and stir until it stops sticking to the bottom. Start a timer at the first signs of returning to the boil and simmer for exactly 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. There should be enough water that as the rice expands it is still freely moving in the water.

Drain in a metal sieve or colander after 8 minutes of simmering and flush through with cold running water. Leave to sit in the sieve/colander. 

Re heat when ready by boiling a little water in the saucepan with the sieve/colander on top. This will steam the rice and warm it up in a few minutes. The turmeric gives the rice a nice golden colour, far cheaper than using saffron, and they say that Turmeric is good for the digestion.

Basmati is THE ONLY rice for curries. It is also a low GI rice. A little extra flavour can be added by including either Cardamom seeds, or lemon grass. I have also read that adding a Rampe leaf (Pandanus) flavours the rice, but I haven’t tried that yet.