www.sausagemaking.org

Hi Grisell,
Can you send me this Phal recipe as well if John agrees of course. I like hot chillies, sambals etc very much and eat it at least twice a week to my wifes disgust.
Being a Dutchman by birth, I grew up eating lots of Indonesian tucker with all the rather hot condiments.
Regards,
Jan.
Brisbane.

You'll have to pm John about that. I won't give out recipes that he sent me personally. Sorry about that. I hope you understand.

I do a lot of Indian cooking, my father was born and brought up in India, and we were brought up on curries when our friends hadn't even tasted garlic, in the 50's and 60's. In the late 60's early 70's, I would be one of the crowd that enjoyed a pint and a curry, but regularly warned my mates about being abusive to the staff, you don't know what might be deposited in your meal.

Some of my favourite recipes are Madhur's, but also excellent, is Julie Sahni's book "Classic Indian Cookery". Some very basic, but deliscious dishes, sometimes its just best to keep it simple.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Classic-Indian- ... 536&sr=8-1
The reviews say it all.

I shall be firing up the home made tandoori oven soon, will post some photos of tandoori chicken, and naan bread making. Great fun!

John.

Would love to see it John

johnfb wrote:If you want the authentic taste of a British Indian Restaurant curry check out my blog. The recipe for their curry sauce is there along with some BIR recipes and videos on how to cook them.
[---]

In the (excellent) curry recipes on your blog, the actual weight of meat is not specified. For a 300 ml portion of base gravy, how many grams of meat would you say should be used? (I mean the weight before the meat is cooked)

grisell wrote:

johnfb wrote:If you want the authentic taste of a British Indian Restaurant curry check out my blog. The recipe for their curry sauce is there along with some BIR recipes and videos on how to cook them.
[---]

In the (excellent) curry recipes on your blog, the actual weight of meat is not specified. For a 300 ml portion of base gravy, how many grams of meat would you say should be used? (I mean the weight before the meat is cooked)

I don't weigh the meat at all.
I usually work off 1 chicken breast per person in chunks (about 8-10 pieces of breast) I cut it down the middle, length-ways, and then cut each strip into about 4 - 5 pieces.... and about 8 - 10 pieces of meat (lamb / beef) per person.


With regards to making pre-cooked chicken....
Only cook the chicken pieces until the water boils.
If overcooked the chicken will be dry in the final curry.



Hope this helps.

grisell wrote:You'll have to pm John about that. I won't give out recipes that he sent me personally. Sorry about that. I hope you understand.

Good forum etiquette Grisell, I will PM them to members that want them...thanks.

johnfb wrote:

grisell wrote:

johnfb wrote:If you want the authentic taste of a British Indian Restaurant curry check out my blog. The recipe for their curry sauce is there along with some BIR recipes and videos on how to cook them.
[---]

In the (excellent) curry recipes on your blog, the actual weight of meat is not specified. For a 300 ml portion of base gravy, how many grams of meat would you say should be used? (I mean the weight before the meat is cooked)

I don't weigh the meat at all.
I usually work off 1 chicken breast per person in chunks (about 8-10 pieces of breast) I cut it down the middle, length-ways, and then cut each strip into about 4 - 5 pieces.... and about 8 - 10 pieces of meat (lamb / beef) per person.


With regards to making pre-cooked chicken....
Only cook the chicken pieces until the water boils.
If overcooked the chicken will be dry in the final curry.



Hope this helps.

So, is that one chicken breast for 300 ml gravy then?

Yeah, as you saw when you made the curry the sauce it will reduce and keep reducing until you take it off the heat. Some curries like jahlfrezi will use about 200ml as they are more dry in consistancy. But 300ml per single serving is right, just reduce to your liking...or indeed add a bit more if you want more sauce.
Also, these freeze very well, i often make a number of dishes, vac seal or put them in plastic containers and put them in the freezer for a quick and handy ready made meal.

johnfb wrote:[---]
Also, these freeze very well, i often make a number of dishes, vac seal or put them in plastic containers and put them in the freezer for a quick and handy ready made meal.

Yeah, but then you miss the fun of making a new one every time!

I make this curry a lot when I buy half a pig. Some sausage, some bacon and some curry. As stated above, they freeze really well, I also cook more rice than we need, this freezes well also, plenty of good meals ready to ping. Very handy, as we both still work full time, unfortunately.

PORK VINDALOO


750 g. pork, cut into 2 cm. cubes.

FOR THE MARINADE:

1 tsp. cumin seed
1 tsp. black mustard seed
5 green cardomom pods
1 medium onion peeled & quartered.
4 large cloves garlic
1 tbsp. chopped fresh ginger
3 fresh green chillis
2 tbsp. cider vinegar
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground clove

FOR COOKING:

2.5 cm. ball tamarind pulp
125 ml. vegetable oil
125 g. thinly sliced onion
1 ½ tsps. turmeric
1 tsp. cayenne pepper (to taste)
1 ½ tsps. paprika
2 tsps. ground fenugreek
2 tsps. salt


1. Roast seeds, cool and grind to a fine powder.
2. Put onions, garlic, ginger, chillis, oil & vinegar into a blender, blend until a smooth paste.
3. Put the pork into a non metallic bowl. Add the paste mixture, ground roasted spices, cinnamon and clove. Mix thoroughly, cover and marinate for 8 hours, or 48 hours in the fridge.
4. Put the tamarind pulp in a bowl, add 300 ml. boiling water, and soak for 15 minutes. Mash the pulp, strain, and discard seeds and fibre.
5. Heat the oil and fry the onions until dark brown, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and add the turmeric, paprika, cayenne and fenugreek. Stir for 15 seconds, then add the meat, and fry for 10 minutes. Add tamarind juice and salt, cover and cook on a low heat until tender.

John.

grisell wrote:

johnfb wrote:[---]
Also, these freeze very well, i often make a number of dishes, vac seal or put them in plastic containers and put them in the freezer for a quick and handy ready made meal.

Yeah, but then you miss the fun of making a new one every time!

You said it......

JollyJohn wrote:I make this curry a lot when I buy half a pig. Some sausage, some bacon and some curry. As stated above, they freeze really well, I also cook more rice than we need, this freezes well also, plenty of good meals ready to ping. Very handy, as we both still work full time, unfortunately.

PORK VINDALOO


750 g. pork, cut into 2 cm. cubes.

FOR THE MARINADE:

1 tsp. cumin seed
1 tsp. black mustard seed
5 green cardomom pods
1 medium onion peeled & quartered.
4 large cloves garlic
1 tbsp. chopped fresh ginger
3 fresh green chillis
2 tbsp. cider vinegar
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground clove

FOR COOKING:

2.5 cm. ball tamarind pulp
125 ml. vegetable oil
125 g. thinly sliced onion
1 ½ tsps. turmeric
1 tsp. cayenne pepper (to taste)
1 ½ tsps. paprika
2 tsps. ground fenugreek
2 tsps. salt


1. Roast seeds, cool and grind to a fine powder.
2. Put onions, garlic, ginger, chillis, oil & vinegar into a blender, blend until a smooth paste.
3. Put the pork into a non metallic bowl. Add the paste mixture, ground roasted spices, cinnamon and clove. Mix thoroughly, cover and marinate for 8 hours, or 48 hours in the fridge.
4. Put the tamarind pulp in a bowl, add 300 ml. boiling water, and soak for 15 minutes. Mash the pulp, strain, and discard seeds and fibre.
5. Heat the oil and fry the onions until dark brown, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and add the turmeric, paprika, cayenne and fenugreek. Stir for 15 seconds, then add the meat, and fry for 10 minutes. Add tamarind juice and salt, cover and cook on a low heat until tender.

John.

Looks like a good recipe there.

John, It's an amalgam of vindaloo recipes that I've tried over the years, it now has the right balance of vinegar to spices, to my taste that is. It always goes down well at our neighbourhood curry nights, never fails.

To get the sauce a bit thicker, I simmer uncovered, but it doesn't need long as the marinating part "cooks" the meat.


John.

Johnfb and JollyJohn: I've read your recipes for vindaloo, but I wanted to try my own.

This is the Chicken Vindaloo I made today. I used 400 g chicken breasts that I cubed and browned in some oil, deglazed with a little chicken stock, red wine and red wine vinegar. Then fried 2 tbsp of minced garlic, added 1 tbsp of tomato purée (which was a little too much), 1 tbsp each of chili flakes and cayenne pepper. Added 1 tbsp curry mix from johnfb's blog and stirred. Added 300 ml of johnfb's basic gravy (see his blog) and reduced. Added some dried fenugreek leaves and chopped coriander, then finally the precooked chicken and a dash of vinegar. Really hot and delicious!




PS Just before dinner, a man was shot on the street just outside my apartment. Kind of damped the appetite a little...