CURRY SECRETS

FOR
LOVERS OF REAL
CURRY ONLY!
This Page is Intentionally Blank

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 The Secrets of British I ndian Restaurant Curry Recipes

I ndex

Chapter 1 – Curry and Rice

Index Page

1. Basic Curry Sauce or Gravy. 3

2. Secret Onion Paste. 4

3. Special Spice Mix. 4

4. The Basic “Medium” Curry. 4

5. Curry Styles 5

6. Rice – Pilau Rice 6

Chapter 2 – Extras

7. Make Your Own Garam Masala 7

8. Extra Special Spice Mix 8

9. Original Onion Bhajis 9

10. Quick & Easy Onion Bhajis 10

11. Sheek Kebab 11

12. Shami Kebab 12

13. Naan Bread 13

14. The Chapati 14

15. Making Your Own Ghee 15

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 The Secrets of British I ndian Restaurant Curry Recipes
The curries enjoyed in British (and other) Indian restaurants for generations are very different to traditional
Indian food, largely because the majority of "Indian" restaurants are owned and run by Bengalis,
Bangladeshis and Pakistanis. In addition, the original recipes have changed to reflect local tastes and of
course available ingredients.

Tip: Have a read of ALL of these pages first - pick a curry and ensure you've got all the things you need
before starting.

Warning: Variation from quantities or ingredients could result in a poor curry or worse some mess that you
really just can not eat!

A finished curry will contain:

1. The Basic Curry Sauce

2. The Secret Onion Paste
3. Special Spice Mix
4. The ingredients for the style of curry (i.e. Madras, Korma, Vindaloo etc)

Tip: Read ALL of these pages first - Pick a curry and ensure you've got all the things you need before
starting!

1. THE BASIC CURRY SAUCE

4 large RED onions, coarsely chopped - Yes Red Onions!

2oz unpeeled fresh ginger, chopped
3oz peeled fresh garlic, coarsely chopped
6tbs vegetable oil
1tsp heaped salt
½ tsp sugar
240g tin of chopped tomatoes
1tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder (important!!!!)
1tsp Paprika
1tbs tomato puree
1tsp tomato ketchup

1. Fry onion in 1tbs of oil for 10 mins on a low heat until soft (not browned)
2. Put in the garlic, ginger and salt then add enough water to just cover the top of all ingredients.
3. Bring everything to boil then turn down to a simmer for 30 mins (no lid)
4. While this is simmering, place remaining 5tbs of oil, tomatoes, puree, ketchup and spices into another
saucepan - boil then simmer for 10 mins on low heat.

Separately blend (liquidise) both of the above VERY FINELY and combine, then simmer for another 15
minutes to ensure cooked and well mixed. The blending is vital to the flavour/correct texture. Add water if it
ever gets too dry during this phase. The end result should be about 1600ml of gravy - if it's not, add water to
make up this volume now.

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2. THE SECRET ONION PASTE (THE BIGGEST SECRET OF ALL!)

2 large white onions, chopped finely

4 cloves garlic
3tbs vegetable oil
Pinch of cumin
Pinch of cinnamon

Place raw onion and garlic into blender. Add enough water to come about halfway up the side of the blender
and blend until WELL smoothed.

Heat the oil in a pan on a high heat, adding the mixture (it will spit so cover initially!)

Reduce this down until it gets dryer then add the spices and continue frying until it turns into what looks a
bit like bread dough. This may take some time but is worth it for the final taste! Be careful not to burn this as
it will be ruined. Taste the finished product – It tastes almost "soapy" - It should remind you of something
very familiar…

3. SPECIAL SPICE MIX (ACTUALLY NOT THAT SPECIAL)

Equal amounts of Cumin Powder, Coriander Powder, Garam Masala and Dried Fenugreek. Mix up a few
tablespoons of each at a time and keep in an air tight container.

The previous ingredients and instructions are a MUST for all recipes and corners cannot be cut in any way
without spoiling your end result.

The above recipes could be doubled up for ease and stored in the freezer in pre-measured amounts. Super for
those days that you really want a curry but can’t be bothered to cook!

4. HOW TO MAKE A BASIC 'MEDIUM CURRY'

800ml of basic curry sauce (should be around half the basic sauce recipe given - this is enough for 4 people's
main meal)

5tbs Vegetable Oil

1 level tsp of salt
4tsp of the Special Spice Mix
¼ tsp of Chilli Powder
Fresh Coriander leaves

Add oil and heat. Add basic sauce (along with fresh chicken/other meats if using them) and simmer on high
heat for 2-3 mins.

Add all of the spices and salt and continue for 5 mins or sauce separates from the oil. Add the prawns (if
your cooking a prawn curry!) and simmer for a further 7 minutes - add any water if you feel it's getting too
dry.

Although the curry is now cooked, further frying is now required and this must be done in individual
portions.

At this stage (if you've doubled up the quantities) you can measure out lots of bags of 200ml or 400ml at a

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time and freeze them for a quick curry whenever you feel the need.

You can then take out a bag from your freezer along with a couple of frozen chicken breasts in the morning
and be eating curry within 20 minutes of you get home.

400ml of this basic curry sauce will be enough for 2 main dishes, 800ml enough for 4 main dishes; therefore
one entire recipe should be enough for 8 main dishes and so on.

1. Add some oil to your 'individual curry' pan.

2. ***NOW REFER TO THE STYLE REQUIRED AND OBEY INSTRUCTIONS FULLY***

3. Then add the required amount of sauce and meat/cooked vegetables for one portion (only
200ml of sauce as it's got to be an individual portion for authenticity)

4. Heat everything up and then add 1 tbs of the onion paste in the final minute.

5. Taste, if necessary add more of the 'special spice mix' - more fresh coriander for garnish

6. Voila ! Your individual curry!!! Take away containers are optional!!

From this method, you can have people round for a curry and given them all differing ones according to
their personal tastes.

5. THE CURRY STYLES

For all of the types below, it is recommended having the ingredients close to hand as you'll have to work
quickly – There no time to start farting around looking in your cupboards for stuff once you've started!!!!

Dupiaza

Whilst you are preparing the basic curry recipe, prepare the following

1tbs of vegetable oil

1tsp of Cumin seeds
2 large onions, sliced into rings
4 green or red chillies, halved lengthways

Heat the oil and add cumin seeds. 5 seconds later add onions and chillies and reduce heat. Fry until onions
are soft and slightly charred.

Add to basic sauce, check seasoning and serve!

Bhuna

Same as dupiaza above but replace 1 of the onions with a chopped green pepper!

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Jalfrezi

1 tbs of vegetable oil

1 tsp of cumin seeds
1 large green pepper, chopped into chunks
4 green or red chillies

Korma

5 mins from end add 1 tbs of ground almonds and 3 tbs of single cream. (It's that easy!)

Pasanda

Cook the basic korma dish as above but add 1 inch from of a standard coconut block, ½ tsp sugar and ½ tsp
turmeric 5 minutes before the end of cooking.

Madras

Replace ¼ tsp chilli with 1 tsp of chilli. Add some lemon juice if you want. (how easy was that!?)

Masala

Add 4 tbs of Heinz tomato soup (plus some red food colouring) 5 minutes before end. Serve with single
cream on top. I guess the tomato soup fully justifies the high price that you pay in a restaurant! Well at least
its Heinz!

Vindaloo

Replace ¼ tsp chilli with 2 tsp chilli and add 1 tsp of malt vinegar 5 minutes before end of cooking. For a
traditional Vindaloo add some pre-cooked potatoes, for a quick cheat on this you can use a few canned new
potatoes a few minutes before serving.

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6. RICE

Perfect Pilau Rice without any effort!

Pilau Rice

Fill and switch on your kettle!

Whilst this is happening heat up a little oil in a pan that comes with a tight fitting lid.

Use 3oz of BASMATI rice per person - Weigh it don’t guess!!!

It must be Basmati Rice - nothing else works! Also there is no need to soak it in water before use!

2 green cardamom pods (split open slightly) per rice serving!

1 whole clove per serving!

When the oil is quite warm, add the raw rice and spices together.

Mix well, ensuring the rice gets fully coated with the oil - don't worry if it starts to turn white but do avoid
burning at all costs!

Turn down the heat to minimum.

Quickly pour the boiled water into a measuring jug allow double the fl oz of water to the rice weight. For
example 4 portions = 12 oz (340g) of rice and this equates to 24 fl oz (650ml) of boiled water. Do not guess
- Measure!

Stir everything around to stop any sticking and place the lid on securely.

Cook for 12 minutes on the lowest heat setting just barely simmering!

After 12 minutes take from heat and leave for another 12 minutes (DO NOT remove the lid - the steam is
needed to continue to cook the rice!!!)

After 24 minutes (measure this time with a clock) take the lid off so you can add a drop or two of food
colouring for that restaurant effect. Use a drop of red at one end of the pot and a drop of green or yellow at
the other - leave for a while about five minutes is OK and then mix through the white rice for a really
realistic effect!

You can normally make the rice first and while it is resting, cook up the curry sauce. The rice stays hot like
this for a couple of hours if you don't keep removing the lid and let the steam escape!

This recipe will give impressive results if you measure/time things accurately!

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 GOING THE EXTRA MILE!

For those of you who really want to do it all, here are a few extras! Be aware that some of the ingredients
may be hard to find and substitution may spoil the end results!

These are extra special versions of both Garam Masala and Special Spice Mix.

7. GARAM MASALA

Recipe for Garam Masala.

Ingredients

10 black cardamoms
20 green cardamoms
8 pieces cassia bark, about 2-3cm in length
10 bay leaves (Asian)
10 cloves
2 teaspoons of black peppercorns
1 teaspoon of fennel seeds
4 teaspoons of coriander seeds

Heat a heavy-based frying pan. Add all of the spices and roast for 2 minutes to bring out the aromas and
flavours, shaking the pan occasionally and being careful not to let them burn. Remove the pan from the heat
and set aside to cool. Put the spices into a spice grinder and grind. Store in an air tight storage container.

8. EXTRA SPECIAL SPICE MIX

Recipe for Extra Special Spice Mix.

Whole Spices

10 tablespoons of coriander seeds

1 1/2 tablespoons of cumin seeds
1 tablespoon of yellow mustard seeds
1 tablespoon of fenugreek seeds
1 tablespoon of white peppercorns
1 tablespoon of green cardamom pods
5 dried, whole red chillies, broken into bits
1 3-inch cinnamon stick, broken into bits
1 teaspoon of fennel seeds
1 teaspoon of whole cloves
1 teaspoon of celery seeds
2 tablespoons of Channa Dal
2 tablespoons of Urad Dal
2 tablespoons of sesame seeds
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 tablespoons of jaggery
1 tablespoon of poppy seeds

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Break into bits the chillies and the cinnamon stick. Place all of the above into a heavy based frying pan.
Over a medium heat, roast the spices for a few minutes, stirring continuously until they just change colour.

ABOVE ALL DO NOT BURN.

Allow to cool right down and then place in a spice grinder along with the following:

32 fresh dried curry leaves

Grind down to a fine powder then add the following ground spices:

4 tablespoons of turmeric
1 tablespoon of paprika powder
2 teaspoons of ground garlic powder
2 teaspoons of ground ginger powder
1 teaspoon of asafoetida (or garlic powder is unavailable)
1 teaspoon of amchur powder (or three teaspoons of lemon juice)

Mix everything very well and store in an air tight storage container.

9. ORIGINAL ONION BHAJI

Recipe for Original Onion Bhajis.

1kg of onions, chopped into slices

500g of Besan (Gram) flour
2 teaspoons of finely chopped coriander
2 teaspoons of chilli powder
2 teaspoons of turmeric powder
3 teaspoons of coriander powder
1 teaspoon of methi leaves
2 tablespoons of coriander seeds
approx 300ml of water

Method

1. Heat a small pan and dry roast the coriander seeds.

2. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl except for Besan and water and allow to stand for 10 minutes.

3. Add the flour and start to add the water, mixing all the time. Continue to add the water until the mix is
like a very stiff batter.

4. Heat a deep fat fryer up to 180 deg. C.

5. Shape the mixture into either ball shapes or thick round patties, whichever you prefer. The mixture should
not fall apart. If it does add a touch more Besan.

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6. Lower the bhajis into the oil and cook for about 8 to 9 minutes or so. You can tell if they are cooked by
placing a skewer into the middle. It should come out clean.

10. QUICK & EASY ONION BHAJI

Recipe for Quick & Easy Onion Bhajis.

5 Small Onions
5 Tbsp Buckwheat Flour *
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Coriander
Olive Oil
1 Large tsp Tomato Puree
1 and 1/4 Shot Glass Measure Water (a small egg cup can be used as a measure)

Spices for the Pan..

1/2 tsp Turmeric
1/2 tsp Ground Coriander
1/4 tsp Cumin Powder
1/4 tsp Ginger Powder
1/4 Chilli Powder

Method

Cut your onions in half then cut into slices, not too thick or too thin! Drizzle a little oil into a large pan/wok
and gently cook your onions until they start turning soft and translucent in colour. Do not brown them or
over cook them.

This should take no longer than 10 minutes. Keep stirring them so they don't over cook.

When the onions are ready sprinkle in your chilli powder and mix well. Then straight after add your
turmeric, cumin, ginger and coriander, stir well again then switch off the heat.

In a bowl place buckwheat flour, salt, coriander and cumin. Mix them together well. Now place your onions
into your bowl and mix well again. Once your flour mixture has coated all of your onions place your tomato
puree into a shot glass/small egg cup and fill with water.

Mix your puree in with the water then pour into your onion mixture. Fill your shot glass or a small egg cup
just one quarter full with water and add to your onion mixture. Stir very well.

You want your mixture to be wet and easy to stir but not watery or too sloppy in texture. If you added too
much water add a few pinches of flour till you get the right consistency.

If your mixture is a little too thick and dry add a little drop of water at a time till it loosens up. Try to keep to
the measurements your bhajis may turn out cake like with too much flour and liquid.

Drizzle some oil onto a baking tray. Place two tablespoons of your onion mixture onto your oven tray per
onion bhaji; flatten a little with the back of your spoon. You can get 5-6 onion bhaji's per tray.

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Place into a pre-heated oven at 180C for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes take your onion bhaji's out of the oven. Drizzle a little oil over the tops of your bhaji's.

Place back in the oven for 5-10 minutes or until golden brown. For the full deep fried effect of your onion
bhajis you must drizzle on the oil half way through.

When your onion bhaji's are golden brown they are ready. Take out of the oven and remove straight from the
tray to your plate.

Credit for this recipe goes to Jeenas Kitchen which can be found at www.jeenaskitchen.blogspot.com

Note: * Buckwheat Flour – For those of you in the UK you’ll find Doves Farm brand produce organic
Buckwheat Flour. It's available in Tesco, Morrisons, and Waitrose etc. Those of you in South Africa will
probably need to go to a Health Food outlet to obtain this ingredient. Because Buckwheat is gluten free
you’ll be sure to find it (even though over priced) in most Health Food Shops. Just as a matter of interest
Buckwheat is technically not wheat at all because it does not come from a grass and the seed used to
produce buckwheat closely resemble the larger triangular seeds from the beech nut.

11. SHEEK KEBAB

Recipe for Sheek Kebabs. This will make 4.

675g of finely minced lamb

4 finely chopped garlic cloves
2.5cm piece of fresh ginger, grated
1 teaspoon of special spice mix (see Special Spice Mix)
½ teaspoon of chilli powder
½ teaspoon of garam masala
½ teaspoon of cumin seeds
½ teaspoon of dried fenugreek leaves
1 teaspoon of aromatic salt (Aromat)
2 tablespoons of chopped fresh coriander leaves
2 chopped fresh green chillies
1 teaspoon of mint jelly
½ teaspoon of red food colouring

Method

1. Place all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix well.

2. Divide the mixture into 4 equal portions and shape each portion onto an oil smeared skewer into a sausage
shape about 15cm in length.

3. Pre-heat your oven to 190 Deg C and place the skewers onto raised skewer supports and cook for approx
12 minutes.

4. Serve with salad and Tandoori Raita (yogurt, a touch of mint jelly and a pinch chilli).

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The Tandoori Raita can be varied to suit you taste i.e. adding a pinch of chilli and half a teaspoon of
turmeric makes for a good looking sauce with a little kick!

12. SHAMI KEBAB

Recipe for Shami Kebabs. This will make 8.

675g of finely minced lamb

4 finely chopped garlic cloves
2.5cm piece of fresh ginger, grated
1 teaspoon of special spice mix (see Special Spice Mix)
½ teaspoon of chilli powder
½ teaspoon of garam masala
½ teaspoon of cumin seeds
½ teaspoon of dried fenugreek leaves
1 teaspoon of aromatic salt (Aromat)
2 tablespoons of chopped fresh coriander leaves
2 chopped fresh green chillies
1 teaspoon of mint jelly
½ teaspoon of red food colouring

Method

1. Place all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix well.

2. Divide the mixture into 8 equal portions and shape each into a ball. Using the palm of one hand flatten
each one into a burger shape just under 10mm thick.

2b. This is very much optional; coat in a little beaten egg which has been spiced with some special spice mix
and a little salt.

3. Pre-heat your oven to 190 Deg C and place the kebabs onto a rack and cook for approx 12 minutes.

4. Serve with salad and Tandoori Raita (yogurt, a touch of mint jelly and a pinch chilli).

The Tandoori Raita can be varied to suit you taste i.e. adding half a teaspoon of chilli and half a teaspoon of
turmeric makes for a good looking sauce with a little kick!

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13. NAAN BREAD

Recipe for naan bread.

First of all here is some background information. Many recipes for naan bread claiming to be
restaurant/take-away style naan recipes about 90% use yeast in the recipes. Well sorry to say that not many
restaurants use yeast. The main reason for this is the time waiting for the dough to rise and the fact that due
to the heat generated in the kitchen they would rise too much and become uncontrollable. The simple answer
is Baking Powder. It has been said that baking powder making naans too hard. This is not the case if done
correctly!

The second thing is that no water is used, only milk! This gives the naan an enriched taste, as well as
keeping the naan light in texture. Baking powder of course has some taste and the way that this is disguised
is with the use of sugar.

Ingredients for 4 naans

340 grams or 12 ounces of strong plain flour

2 tablespoons of caster sugar
4 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of black onion seed
Melted Ghee
Milk (as required. See below)

Method

1. Mix all the ingredients together, except for any milk.

2. Start adding some milk, a little at a time, and work it in well.

3. When the dough is correct it should be quite wet but manageable. (Not sticking everywhere).

4. Kneed the dough well. (if too wet add a little flour).

5. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions.

6. With lightly floured hands work into 4 balls of dough.

7. Brush each dough ball lightly with oil.

8. Place on a board and cover with a damp cloth.

It is pretty unlikely that you will have a tandoor oven so, here is the nearest cooking method.

1. Take one of the dough balls and place on a lightly floured surface.

2. Start and squash and stretch the dough into a typical naan shape. (Do not use a rolling pin).

3. As you are stretching it, the outer edge of the naan needs to be about 1/2 inch thick for a margin of around
1 inch, with the inside of the naan thinner (imagine a Yorkshire pudding)

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4. Do the same for the other 3.

5. In a frying pan, pour in a little oil and wipe with absorbent paper to leave an oil film on the pan.

6. Heat the oil in the pan until it reaches smoking point and then put the first naan in.

7. After about a minute lift up one edge to see if it has brown spots. If so, transfer immediately to the grill
furthest away from the elements or flame.

8. The naan needs to rise and cook all the way through before browning. (You will have to experiment with
your heat settings to obtain this).

9. Once cooked, remove from grill and brush with melted ghee. Stand and cover with foil.

10. Repeat for the other three naans.

14. CHAPATI

Recipe for chapattis that will make a quantity of 10.

1½ cups of unbleached flour

½ cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon Salt
3 tablespoons Butter Ghee
½ cup Water

Method

Mix the two types of flour together with the salt and butter ghee and add just enough water to make a firm
dough, somewhat like a biscuit dough. Knead for 10-15 minutes - the more the dough is kneaded, the lighter
the bread will be. Shape the dough into a ball, place in a bowl and cover with a cling film. Let it rest for 1
hour at room temperature and then overnight in the refrigerator. This makes the bread even lighter.

When ready to cook, divide the dough into ten equal balls just less in size than a golf ball. On a lightly
floured board, roll the dough into a thin circle, about 5 inches in diameter. Repeat with all the dough.

Heat a griddle or heavy-bottomed iron skillet until it is very hot (you will notice the smoke rising from it).
Place the rolled out chapati on the griddle and let it cook for 2-3 minutes, depending on how thin you have
rolled it. Using a pair of kitchen tongs, lift the chapati to see if the underside has turned a golden brown. If it
has, turn it over and cook the other side about 1 minute.

As they are cooked, store the chapatis on a towel in a warm covered container until ready to serve. This will
stop them drying out.

Hint: To obtain brown bubbly spots you can use tongs to hold each chapati over a hot gas flame until it
puffs like a little balloon. The chapati will collapse as it cools.

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15. MAKING BUTTER GHEE

Sometimes Ghee is not easy to find but you can make your own!

Ghee is produced as follows.

Butter (produced from cow's milk only) is melted gently over a low heat and then heated slowly until the
water separates and boils off. The vessel holding the butter is then allowed to cool. The semi fluid clear
butterfat (which makes the finest ghee) rises to the top of the melted butter and may be poured off now,
leaving the curd (precipitated protein) at the bottom of the vessel. The curd which still contains 50 percent or
more butterfat can be reworked with the addition of some peanut oil to make an inferior grade of ghee for
use where high quality ghee is not required for example brushing naan breads.

Appendix

Some words of wisdom here to close this little compilation. Should you find a quantity missing such as
Fresh Coriander this is because the final is yours only your pallet can decide? Sorry some of the
measurements are in ounces and others metric, using an old school mathematics book could help you here or
your trusty Nokia cellular phone may have a conversion program on it to convert either way as needs be.
Failing that write down the measurement that you need to convert, visit your local supermarket and locate an
article of the same quantity and pray that the said item has its weight in both metric and real British Imperial
units on it. If you get asked what you’re doing don’t answer just in case you get locked up!

I can not emphasise enough how important the measurement of ingredients and of time are! It can make the
difference between a dish to remember and one to put in the bin!

Credits are given to known authors where known. If no credit is given, then the source of the material could
be wide and varied; i.e. getting an Indian waiter inebriated enough to spill a few secrets or just making the
same dish over and over until it came right!

Basmati Rice is the King of Rice! American Long Grain Rice has its uses, for example placed in the salt pot
to stop the salt from clogging up when it gets damp and at weddings by throwing it over the happy newly
wed couple… It is surely not for eating!

No copyright is placed upon this compilation; extracts can be freely used with or without credit.

Enjoy!

Jim

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Notes:

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