# I just can't manage to cook a satisfying curry. Any help?



## somethingsilly (Feb 26, 2007)

I became addicted to them while vacationing in London, and ever since I've made many brave attempts at creating my own - but achieved no success.

I've read all sorts of recipes, tried all kinds of influences, spice blends, grinding my own spices, toasting them, etc., etc -- and, darn the luck, I can't manage to make a curry that's not got a muddled, subdued flavor...so to compensate I throw in heaps of spice, drown everything in pots full of sauce - and that barely helps. I can't even tackle the amorphous tikka masala, let alone a murgh makhani or, better still, a madras style curry.

Has anyone a solid, foolproof method? Something capable of making a good impression?, instead of just a big reddish mess?


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## bmoney (Mar 27, 2007)

*yo*

I have no input on how to do this but I'm anxious for the result.


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## CCabot (Oct 4, 2006)

An odd coincidental article in the New York Times on curry:

https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/15/magazine/15food.t.html?ref=dining


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## going grey (May 22, 2006)

*your answer is here*

www.pataks.co.uk ...this will give you an authentic restaurant taste.


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## johnquick (Apr 23, 2007)

*The foolproof curry*

The foolproof lamb curry

lb of cubed lamb

olive oil
two onions
5 bits of garlic at least
2in ginger
5 green chillis 
salt + plenty of crushed black peppercorns

very finely dice fry these ingredients and fry for about 10 minutes until soft
and then add the meat and fry for a further 10 minutes then add the spices

garam masala 2 heaped tablespoon
curry powder medium to hot 2 heaped tablespoon
large spoonful of curry paste

if mixture goes a bit dry add a few drops of water and keep stirring until everything is well mixed and well coated in spices.

now add a full tube of tomatoe puree and a couple of cups of water ( or maybe more and cook for a couple of hours.

using tomatoe puree and no tomatoes and very finely chopping the onions etc will give a very authentic texture to the sauce.


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## tripreed (Dec 8, 2005)

Well, if you want to take the easy way out and you have a Trader Joe's by you, they have two very good bottled curries. Just cook you vegetables/meat in a skillet, pour the curry in and heat it through. I like to add cilantro and cashews at the end.


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## gregp (Aug 11, 2005)

somethingsilly said:


> I became addicted to them while vacationing in London, and ever since I've made many brave attempts at creating my own - but achieved no success.
> 
> I've read all sorts of recipes, tried all kinds of influences, spice blends, grinding my own spices, toasting them, etc., etc -- and, darn the luck, I can't manage to make a curry that's not got a muddled, subdued flavor...so to compensate I throw in heaps of spice, drown everything in pots full of sauce - and that barely helps. I can't even tackle the amorphous tikka masala, let alone a murgh makhani or, better still, a madras style curry.
> 
> Has anyone a solid, foolproof method? Something capable of making a good impression?, instead of just a big reddish mess?


India is a fascinating place with *wonderful* and various foods. Curries, at least on the sophisticated side, are fairly complicated to make. I've been told that these bottled curries are quite good: https://www.masalamaza.com/about/

I have to admit, I rely on dining out for Indian food by and large. Our attempts at making our own curries have gone from pretty good to really bad.

Trivia for cocktails: Indian civilization is one of two that has been more or less contiguous through recorded history. The other is China.


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## going grey (May 22, 2006)

*the point is this*

If you're hooked on curries ( and this is a wonderful thing) you must realize that this has little to do with "authentic" (dread word) Indian or Bangladeshi food. No....you're addicted to the bastardised anglo-Bangladeshi high street love-child of some divine overspiced hybrid thats part of British culture. Nothing wrong with that. If people start trying to persuade you to have "real" Indian food...ignore them. Bottled sauces are where its at. Now Abdul... bring me my chicken tikka -massala -bhuna- korma -jalfrezi livened up to my usual white-hot bum-burning temperature and don't forget the 17 pints of lager I ordered 10 minutes ago. Chop chop.


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## radix023 (May 3, 2007)

I could diverge to go over the different families of curry, but you've made it clear that you're talking about Indian curry...

The knack of it is really quite simple:
Start with white onion, some ginger (2-4 'medallions' about US 50-cent piece sized), 3-5 whole cloves fresh garlic, 2-7 peppers
process in the food processor until you have a smooth paste. Or if you really want to be authentic, mash in mortar and pestle until you get to a paste.

Then *fry* in a little oil. You've got enough mass there, even though it is wet, to brown. Go on until you have a nice brown to it, stirring to keep it from burning.

Once it is sufficiently brown, you add water (pretty much to the lip of the saucepan, I use a 14" cast iron pan for it) and cook at a slow boil until you have reduced by half.

This is curry gravy, the heart of Indian curry and what produces the 'mouth feel' you're familiar with. The spices are added later closer to when you are ready to serve.

You can 'curry' your meat and veggies in the gravy to cook it (curry as a verb in this instance) or take the easy route I use and simply steam your veggies and then add.

Hope this helps

PS
I've done Thai curry from scratch too. It's a very different animal.


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## A Questionable Gentleman (Jun 16, 2006)

Try Madhur Jaffrey's _Indian Cooking_.


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## Infrasonic (May 18, 2007)

https://www.realcurryrecipes.co.uk/
may be of use..:icon_smile:

I


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## ast3rix (May 27, 2007)

Here are few links to typical cooking recipes for variety of Indian cuisine. Mind you, the result may not be similar curry' which is usually modded to suit local palate.

https://www.bawarchi.com/cookbook/index.html and https://www.bawarchi.com/nonveg/index.html

_Bawarchi (in Hindi)_ == Chef

..SJ


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## DukeGrad (Dec 28, 2003)

*Gentlemen*

My friends,

I have been know to be an exceptional cook, by all friend and family. Yet, I feel I do not know anything at all.About freaking cooking!
What I do, is go by the book, simply put, the recipe.
I have made just about anything that is out there.
What people ask for, during the colder time of the year, is my gumbbo. I use Justin Wilsons cookbook for this. I relax myself when I cook by drinking my scotch, taking 5mg to 10 mg of Valium, and going hogwild with the recipe.
Cooking is not that big a deal. Most people may not do as well, it may be the equipment. Your stove, for instance, may not be the correct temperature, if you stay on top of the instructions, you cant go wrong.
Nice day my friends
My 3rd bride is making eggs for her husband today!! Go figure, she is 23, blonde, and just out of law school!
Have nice weekend


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## erdavis (Sep 19, 2004)

If you don't find a suitable answer above call the Dell customer support number. While they don't know how to fix your computer they do give good advice on curry dishes.


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