This turkey curry is so easy to make.

If you're looking for a good and healthy turkey curry recipe, look no further.

This curry house style jalfrezi turkey curry offers a delicious way to use up leftover turkey or you could cook it tandoori style and add it to the sauce.

I think you're going to love this one.

A bit about this turkey curry recipe...

Those of you who have been following my blog for a while will know that I am a big fan of British Indian Restaurant (BIR) style cooking.

I have many recipes for BIR curries and also have a curry sauce recipe that makes cooking BIR curries faster and easier.

Curry house style cooking is perfect when you just want to whip up a turkey curry like this quickly. You will need to make the essential base sauce but that's easy.

You can also use it in all of the BIR recipes on my blog.

Does this curry have to be made with turkey?

Absolutely not! But if you want to cook with turkey meat, you will love it.

This turkey curry recipe can be used with any meat or fish. try it with chicken tikka or lamb tikka and you won't be disappointed.

Remember though, if you are using other types of meat such as lamb, goat or beef, you will need to cook the meat a lot longer so that it is tender and nice before serving.

Tandoori turkey tikka vs leftover turkey...

I developed this turkey curry recipe to be used with leftover Christmas or Thanksgiving turkey.

I didn't have any leftover turkey when I wrote this so I used tandoori turkey tikka. You can find an easy recipe for that here.

Using marinated and grilled turkey tikka adds another layer of delicious flavour but you won't be disappointed with plain old leftover turkey.

This turkey curry can be made with either and it's a great way to use up leftovers and give them new life.

Step by step photographs...

Frying mustard seeds and curry leaves — Heat the oil and then add the mustard seeds. When they begin to pop, add the curry leaves.

Adding onions and peppers to pan — Add the onions and peppers and fry for about 5 minutes or until about 80% cooked.

Adding chillies to pan — Then stir in the chopped green chillies.

Adding ground spices to pan — Stir in the garlic and ginger paste, ground spices and then the tomato puree.

Adding basse sauce to curry — Follow this with one or two ladles of base sauce. Bring to a simmer.

Adding the meat to the pan — stir in the tandoori turkey or pieces of leftover turkey.

Finishing the jalfrezi turkey curry — Add the quartered tomato, the fenugreek leaves and salt to taste. A good twist of lime juice is also good!

If you like this turkey curry, you might like to try some of these recipes too...

Peshwari turkey curry
Leftover turkey soup
Chicken tikka masala
Chicken korma
Lamb rogan josh
Chicken chilli garlic
Lamb vindaloo

You'll find all the curry house favourites on my blog and in my cookbooks. Turkey can be used in any of them.

Yield: 2

Turkey Curry With An Easy BIR Homemade Curry Sauce

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

2 tbsp rapeseed (canola) oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds
10 fresh or frozen curry leaves
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1/4 each yellow, red and green bell peppers, thinly sliced
2 green bird's eye chillies, thinly sliced
1 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
4 tbsp tomato puree
300ml (1 1/4 cups) base curry sauce (approx.)
1 tbsp mixed powder
1/2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
1 tomato, quartered
1/2 tsp kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
Salt to taste
Juice of one lime

Instructions

Heat the oil in a pan over medium high heat. Add the black mustard seeds. When they begin to crackle, add the curry leaves and fry for about 30 seconds.
Add the sliced onions and bell peppers and fry for about 5 minutes or until about 80% cooked through. Then stir in the green chillies.
Stir to combine and the add the garlic and ginger paste and fry for about 15 seconds. Add the ground spices and tomato puree.
Now add about 1 or 2 ladles of base curry sauce and bring to a simmer. No need to stir the pan unless it is sticking. Be sure to scrape any sauce that is caramelising to the side of the pan back in for even more delicious flavour.
Simmer for a few minutes. For a saucier curry, add more base or just cook it down for a drier curry.
To finish, add the kasoori methi (dried fenugreek), the quartered tomato and salt to taste. Squeeze over the lime juice and serve.

I hope you enjoy this jalfrezi turkey curry recipe. If you do try it, please leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you.

There’s nothing quite like tearing into a freshly puffed puri - light, airy, golden and just begging to be scooped into a delicious curry. If you’ve ever ordered a thali or a curry in a good restaurant and been served those beautifully puffed breads, you’ll know exactly what I mean. The good news is, making this restaurant-style Puri recipe at home is not only possible, it’s actually quite easy once you know a few key techniques.

In this post, I’ll show you exactly how to get those perfectly puffed puris every time, along with plenty of tips, troubleshooting and everything else you need to know.

Finished easy puris on a serving board with chilli pickle

What Are Puris?

Puris are deep-fried Indian flatbreads made from a simple dough of flour, water, oil and a little salt. When fried in hot oil, they puff up into light, hollow rounds with a slightly crisp exterior and soft interior.

They’re commonly served across India and beyond, often as part of:

Breakfast dishes
Festive meals
Street food
Restaurant thalis

Unlike chapatis or naan, puris are fried rather than cooked on a griddle or in a tandoor oven, which gives them their unique texture and flavour.

How Are Puris Served?

Puris are incredibly versatile and can be served with a wide range of dishes.

You’ll often find them paired with:

Potato curries like aloo sabzi
Chickpea curries
Rich meat curries
Sweet dishes like halwa

In restaurants, puris are usually served hot and fresh, straight from the fryer, which is exactly how they should be enjoyed.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Uses simple ingredients
Quick to prepare
Perfectly puffed every time (with the right technique!)
Great for entertaining

Once you get the hang of it, you’ll be making puris regularly.

Ingredients

Fresh ingredients are key to getting the best flavour from this puri recipe. You’ll find the ingredients listed below, while the precise amounts are provided in the recipe card at the end of the page. For smooth cooking and the best outcome, it’s a good idea to have everything measured and prepared before you begin.

See recipe card for quantities.

Plain flour (or whole wheat flour)
Salt
Vegetable oil or ghee
Water
Oil for deep frying

Step by step photos

Below, you’ll see step-by-step photographs to guide you through this puri recipe. At the bottom of the page, you’ll also find the full recipe card, which includes the complete list of ingredients and written instructions in an easy, printable format.

Adding the flour, salt and oil to a mixing bowl.

Step 1: In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt and oil or ghee.

Gradually and slowly adding water to form a firm dough.

Step 2: Gradually add water, you may not need it all and knead into a firm dough. This is important. Softer dough won’t puff properly.

Step 3: Knead for about 5–7 minutes until smooth. Only add enough water to make a firm dough. When there is no more flour in the bowl and you have a solid dough ball, you have added enough water.

Covering the dough to rest before rolling.

Step 4: Cover the dough ball with a damp cloth and let it rest for 15–20 minutes. This relaxes the gluten and makes rolling easier.

Step 5: Start rolling the dough flat on a clean work surface. Roll it out into a smooth dough sheet that is about 4mm thick.

Rolling the dough out until it has a smooth surface but it not too thin.

Step 6: Don’t roll them too thin as the puris need a bit of thickness to puff.

Cutting round puris our of the dough sheet.

Step 7: Using a round cutter, cut out your puris. You can cut either large or small puris. You can also roll out the remaining dough again to make more puris. This photo will help you see how thick the dough sheet is.

Testing the oil temperature by adding small dough pieces to the oil.

Step 8: Heat oil in a deep pan or wok to around 180°C (350°F). If you don’t have an oil thermometer, drop a small piece of dough in. If it rises quickly, the oil is ready.

Adding a puri to the hot oil and gently pushing it down with a slotted spoon.

Step 9: Carefully slide a puri into the hot oil. It should sink briefly, then rise. Gently press it with a slotted spoon—this helps it puff up.

Step 10: Once puffed and lightly golden, flip and cook the other side. Remove and drain on kitchen paper.Serve immediately. Puris are best served hot and fresh.

Variations

Following are a few variations you can try. Feel free to experiment.

Whole Wheat Puris: Use whole wheat flour for a more traditional flavour.

Masala Puris: Add spices like chilli powder, cumin seeds and ajwain (carom) seeds

Spinach Puris: Blend spinach into the dough for colour and flavour.

Sweet Puris: Add a little sugar and serve with sweet dishes.

Useful Equipment

You don’t need anything fancy:

Mixing bowl
Rolling pin
Deep frying pan or wok
Slotted spoon
Kitchen paper

Optional but helpful:

Thermometer for oil temperature

Storage and Reheating

Puris are best eaten fresh, but you can store them.

Refrigerating: Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Freezing: Not ideal, but possible. It’s best to freeze the rolled out puris before frying in layers with parchment paper. Then defrost and fry.

Reheating:

Reheat in:

Oven at 180°C (350°F) for a few minutes
Hot pan briefly

Avoid microwaving as they go soft.

Top Tip

The oil temperature is everything.

If the oil is too cool → puris won’t puff
If too hot → they burn quickly

Aim for consistent medium-high heat and you’ll get perfect results.

FAQ

Can you make the dough ahead of time?

Yes. You can prepare it a few hours in advance and keep it covered with a damp cloth.

Can you use whole wheat flour?

Absolutely. It’s actually more traditional.

Why do you add oil/ghee to puri dough?

It helps create a softer texture and better puff.

Can you bake puris instead of frying them?

Not really. You won’t get the same puff or texture.

Can you reuse the cooking oil?

Yes. Let it cool, strain and reuse.

Which oil is best for frying?

A neutral oil such as vegetable or sunflower oil.

Why didn't my puris puff up?

This is the most common issue.
Possible causes are your dough is too thin, the oil isn't hot enough, you rolled the puris too thin and/or you didn't press the puris gently with a slotted spoon during frying.

Why are my puris greasy?

The oil is not hot enough. The puris are absorbing oil instead of frying quickly.

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

Pairing

These are some of my favorite dishes to serve with puris.

Have you tried this puri recipe?

If yes, please give it a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I love receiving your feedback and I’m sure other readers of my blog do too. Thank you.

If you are not already doing so, please follow The Curry Guy on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook for all our latest recipes.

Yield: 6 to 8

Easy Puri Recipe

Prep Time 40 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

250g (2 cups) plain flour (or whole wheat flour
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp oil or ghee
Approx. 150ml water
Oil for deep frying

Instructions

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt and oil or ghee.
Gradually add water, you may not need it all and knead into a firm dough. This is important. Softer dough won’t puff properly.
Knead for about 5–7 minutes until smooth. Only add enough water to make a firm dough. When there is no more flour in the bowl and you have a solid dough ball, you have added enough water.
Cover the dough ball with a damp cloth and let it rest for 15–20 minutes. This relaxes the gluten and makes rolling easier.
Start rolling the dough flat on a clean work surface. Roll it out into a smooth dough sheet that is about 4mm thick. Don’t roll them too thin as the puris need a bit of thickness to puff.
Using a round cutter, cut out your puris. You can cut either large or small puris. You can also roll out the remaining dough again to make more puris.
Heat oil in a deep pan or wok to around 180°C (350°F). If you don’t have an oil thermometer, drop a small piece of dough in. If it rises quickly, the oil is ready.
Carefully slide a puri into the hot oil. It should sink briefly, then rise.
Gently press it with a slotted spoon—this helps it puff up. Once puffed and lightly golden, flip and cook the other side. Remove and drain on kitchen paper.
Serve immediately. Puris are best served hot and fresh.

Aloo Kebabs

May 29, 2012 By Dan Toombs 2 Comments

You are going to love these aloo kebabs!

Name: Turkey Curry With An Easy BIR Homemade Curry Sauce
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: 2 tbsp rapeseed (canola) oil; 1 tsp black mustard seeds; 10 fresh or frozen curry leaves; 1/2 onion, thinly sliced; 1/4 each yellow, red and green bell peppers, thinly sliced; 2 green bird's eye chillies, thinly sliced; 1 tbsp garlic and ginger paste; 4 tbsp tomato puree; 300ml (1 1/4 cups) base curry sauce (approx.); 1 tbsp mixed powder; 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder; 1 tomato, quartered; 1/2 tsp kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves); Salt to taste; Juice of one lime

Aloo Kebabs — This is the best recipe for aloo kebabs!

For some reason it has taken me over a year of cooking and eating Indian food to feel right about using any other type of cheese besides paneer in my recipes. I don't know why. I guess I just wanted to use the cheese in my recipes that is used most often in India.

The thing is, many very popular Indian chefs use other types of cheese such a Cheddar and Mozzarella in there new-age Indian recipes and they taste great. This aloo kebab recipe was given to me by a friend who works up the road from me at a new Indian restaurant.

I have to say that I've been making potato cakes for many years and these have to be one of my favourites now. The recipe is simple but offers so many delicious flavours that go deliciously well together.

At the restaurant, these kebabs are served on wooden skewers. I have chosen here to make simple patties. It's easier and easy is good.

Amazon.co.uk Widgets

Yield: 4

Aloo Kebabs - Potato Cakes With A Difference!

Ingredients

3 large jacket potatoes - peeled and quartered
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
3 fresh green chillies - finely chopped
Juice of one lime
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
5 tablespoon grated Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon sifted gram flour
5 tablespoons chopped coriander
250ml (1 cup) semolina flour
250ml vegetable oil

Instructions

Bring a saucepan of water to a boil and add the potatoes.
Cook for about 25 minutes until the potatoes are soft.
Drain and return the potatoes to the pan and mash. Set aside to cool.
Heat a small dry frying pan over medium heat and roast the cumin seeds and mustard seeds. Move the seeds around in the pan so that they roast evenly and remove from the heat when they begin to smoke.
Add the cumin seeds, green chillies, lemon juice, Cheddar cheese, gram flour, red chilli powder and chopped coriander to the mashed potato and mix.
Form into 8 patties.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan until a piece of bread turns brown in about 25 seconds.
Dust the aloo kebabs with the semolina powder and shallow fry for about three minutes per side. Be careful when turning so that the aloo kebabs don't turn into oily aloo slop.

aloo kebabs served in an Indian Tiffin — Aloo kebabs served in an Indian tiffin

How To Make Poppadoms

May 27, 2012 By Dan Toombs 19 Comments

Home fried poppadoms so much better than the packaged poppadoms you find at the shop!

Whether you spell them poppadoms, poppadom, papadums or papadoms, you are probably looking at this recipe because you love these tasty pre-dinner snacks.

Frying and serving your own poppadoms is so much more enjoyable than simply placing a few shop bought pre-fried poppadoms on the table. This is how the chefs at good Indian restaurants prepare their poppadoms. It's how I do it too unless I decide to go all out and make my own poppadoms from scratch.

About this poppadom recipes.

Frying poppadoms like this is easy so you really should give it a try. Here I want to show you how to fry poppadoms and make them look just as good as you fine at restaurants.

There is a trick to it and if you look at the photos that follow, you will see how easy that trick is.

How do you choose papads to fry into poppadoms?

There are many different brands out there and they all taste about the same. Some are thicker than other which turn really crispy, where other are really thin which is nice if you like to stick your finger in a stack of poppadoms to break them for serving.

Be sure to look for the thickness you prefer. It is also a good idea to decide if you would like flavoured poppadoms. I like them flavoured with black pepper, green chillies and also cumin but you might find other options you want to try.

Papads with different flavours; black pepper, green chilli, cumin and plain. — You will find papads with many different flavourings. Try those you think look best.

How do you serve poppadoms?

At curry houses in the UK, poppadoms are usually served as a starter with a selection of raitas, pickles and chutneys. That is a good way to serve them at home too.

In India, these popular snacks are not usually served as a starter but to give texture to a dish. Often they are served on top of a curry such as this coconut chicken curry.

They offer a crispy texture which together with the curry always goes down well.

How do you get your poppadoms really flat like they are at restaurants?

If you have ever fried poppadoms before, you may have found that they are rather difficult to stack. This is because they naturally get larger in the hot oil and do not always stay very uniform.

There are two things you can do to get them to look like those you find at restaurants. First, always fry the poppadoms in twos. Frying two together will not only speed up the process but it also helps keep them flat.

Another trick is to weigh them down with a heavy plate when they first come out of the oil.

Showing the difference between poppadoms that have been flattened with a plate and those that have not been. — The stack in the back were not weighted down. The poppadoms in front were. The plate has two poppadoms under it on a paper towel to soak up oil.

How do you make your own papads for poppadoms?

Papads are the thin lentil discs needed to make poppadoms. They are available at almost all Asian grocers. I've even seen them sold at some supermarkets.

The discs are made by preparing a dough and then flattening small balls of the dough before drying them. Purchasing papads is a lot easier but you will enjoy homemade poppadoms much more.

If you would like to give it a go, you should check out my recipe here.

Is this the only way to cook poppadoms?

Nope. Frying them like you do in this recipe is the way it would be done at Indian restaurants. You could also cook them in a microwave for about 30 - 40 seconds and watch as they become crispy. It actually works and with a lot less oil since there is no deep frying.

One of my favourite ways to cook them is on a barbecue or in a frying pan. Simply place the papads on a medium-high heat and flip them often until they are cooked through and crispy.

Working ahead and storage

You can fry these up a good week in advance. That's how they are done at most restaurants. Keep the fried poppadoms in air-tight containers in a cool location such as a cupboard.

Useful equipment.

Tongs: These come in really handy for placing the papads in the oil and getting them back out again.
A wok or high-sided pan: This is used for deep frying. Most home deep fat fryers are not large enough to fry the papads as they do get bigger when fried.
Paper towels: You need these to soak up any excess oil on the cooked poppadoms.
A heavy plate: A plate or something else heavy enough to weight the freshly cooked poppadoms down.

Step by step photographs of the frying process.

Using tongs to place two papads in hot oil to fry into poppadoms. — Use tongs to carefully place two papads together into the hot oil to fry.

Frying poppadoms — Once you place the papads in the oil, they will quickly puff up and become bigger. Flip them with your tongs a couple of times until crispy.

Two cooked poppadoms being coming out of the oil using tongs. — Remove the crispy poppadoms from the oil and shake off any excess oil.

Placing a plate on top of two freshly fried poppadoms to weight them down and make them flat. — Transfer the two poppadoms to a paper towel and quickly weigh them down with a heavy plate.

Demonstrating both weighed down poppadoms and a stack that was not weighted down. — There are 15 poppadoms in each stack. This is why you might want to weigh them down if you are serving a big group.

Do you have to weigh the poppadoms down?

No. This is done only for presentation and to make serving easier. If you are just cooking a few, it really is not needed.

Then again, perhaps you like the idea of a huge stack of crispy poppadoms at the table. You can decide which you prefer.

Once you make your poppadoms, you might like to make one or more of these to dip them in.

Mixed Vegetable Pickle
Lime Pickle
Cold Curry House Style Onion Chutney
Coriander and Mint Chutney
Mint Coriander and Mango Chutney
Smooth Garlic, Chilli and Mint Raita
Tomato Raita

You will find many spicy and delicious recipes on my blog. Here are some you've got to try!

Curry house style base sauce - Make a curry just like those at the best curry houses using this sauce.
Lamb Bhuna from Scratch - This one is from my book 'The Curry Guy One Pot'
One Pot Chicken Dhansak - from my book 'The Curry Guy One Pot
Asian Honey Glazed Baked Salmon
Sri Lankan Black Chicken Curry
Peruvian Chicken - Pollo a la Brasa
Korean Braised Beef Stew
Dal Makhani - An Indian restaurant favourite!
Tonkotsu Broth - When only the best will do. This one takes some time but it is just like you find at the best ramen restaurants!
Tonkotsu Ramen - Use that homemade tonkotsu broth in this ramen!
The Best Butter Chicken - Try it and you'll agree.
Authentic Saag Recipe - This is so good
Thai Beef Green Curry - Authentic recipe with homemade curry paste
Air Fryer Chicken Biryani
Cajun Mac and Cheese - The creamiest mac on the planet!
One Pot Chicken Vindaloo
Chicken 65 - One of my favourites. You might also like to try this air fryer chicken 65.
One Pot Chicken Chilli Garlic Curry
Homemade Sriracha Sauce - So much better than any sriracha you can purchase!
Tandoori Chicken Tikka - Homemade is alway best and this recipe gets restaurant quality results.

Have you tried this poppadoms recipe?

If yes, please give it a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I love receiving your feedback and I’m sure other readers of my blog do too. Thank you.

If you are not already doing so, please follow The Curry Guy on Instagram and Facebook for all our latest recipes.

Yield: 4

How To Make Poppadoms

Make your own crispy and delicious poppadoms at home with this easy recipe. Learn the secret tricks to frying poppadoms like a pro.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

8 Papads
Rapeseed (canola) oil for deep frying

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large wok over medium high heat.
When a piece of papad puffs up and rises to the top on contact with the oil, it is hot enough to get started.
I usually cook two papads at a time to speed things up a bit. It also keeps them more uniform.
When you drop the papads in the oil, they will very quickly become full sized poppadoms. Turn them once with your tongs to ensure even cooking. Then pick them up with your tongs and shake off any excess oil. You can also use a large slotted spoon for this.
Don't be tempted to let them turn a light brown as they will burn. The poppadoms continue cooking when removed from the oil.
Place the cooked papadams on a paper towel to soak up the excess oil. If you prefer them to lie flat like they do at restaurants, weight them down with a heavy plate.
Serve immediately with a selection of pickles and chutneys or store in a very low oven until ready to eat. You can also store them in an air-tight container and serve at room temperature.

Barbecue Sauce Recipe

May 23, 2012 By Dan Toombs 2 Comments

This has been my 'go-to' barbecue sauce recipe for decades!

If you want to make your own barbecue sauce, this barbecue sauce recipe is the perfect place to start. You are going to love it and it can be used in so many ways.

Stir it into baked beans or serve it next to barbecued chicken, beef, lamb or pork. You really can't go wrong with this one. Compare it to what you can purchase and well... there simply is no comparison. This barbecue sauce recipe is the best. I promise.

About this barbecue sauce recipe.

Over the years I have been perfecting this recipe so that it has the perfect combination of sweet, sour, spice and savoury flavours. This is of course hugely important for a good barbecue sauce.

You can and should taste the barbecue sauce as you cook it. We all of different flavour preferences. The required ingredients are all there. You just need to try it and adjust to your own taste.

How to make this barbecue sauce recipe your own.

Taste as you go! If you prefer a sauce that is more sour, add more vinegar or lemon juice. For sweetness you can add more or less sugar or syrup. For a savoury flavour, use salt to taste and to achieve the right amount of spice, use your chillies of choice to taste.

The black pepper in this recipe is also a good way to spice it up.

Can you work ahead?

Yes. This barbecue sauce will keep in the fridge for at least a week, probably longer.

You can also freeze it for up to 3 months. Just let it defrost and use it how you like.

How do you use this barbecue sauce recipe?

This barbecue sauce is great whenever barbecue sauce is called for in a recipe. It's amazing on beef, chicken, pork, lamb and seafood.

You could use it as a dipping sauce for a steak or even stir some into a bowl of hot prawns or mussels. It is also amazing slathered over pork or beef ribs!

Just have fun and enjoy! If it sounds good, it probably will be.

Step by step photographs

Ingredients for this barbecue sauce recipe — Get your ingredients together before starting. I mixed all the liquid sauce ingredients and sugar together before adding to the pan.

Frying the onion, bell pepper, chillies and garlic. — Heat the oil in a sauce pan and add the chopped onions and bell pepper. Fry until the onion is soft and translucent. Then stir in the garlic and chillies and fry for a further minute.

Simmering the sauce ingredients — Pour in the ketchup and all the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 10 minutes to thicken some.

The finished barbecue sauce recipe — Use as needed. You can keep this in the fridge for at least a week and it freezes well for up to 3 months.

Have you tried this barbecue sauce recipe?

If so, please give it a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I alway like receiving your feedback as I'm sure other readers of my blog do.

Barbecue Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

70ml (1/4 cup) rapeseed (canola) oil
2 onions, very finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, very finely chopped
3 green finger chillies, finely chopped (more or less to taste)
2 scotch bonnet chillies (optional), finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
500ml (2 cups) ketchup
250ml (1 cup) water
175ml (3/4 cup) Worcestershire sauce
125ml (1/2 cup) cider vinegar
70ml (1/4 cup) lemon juice
70ml (1/4 cup) Maple syrup
12 tbsp (3/4 cup) brown sugar
70ml (1/4 cup) hot sauce (I use Frank's Original)
70ml (1/4 cup) whole grain mustard
1 - 2 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 tbsp ground black pepper
Salt to taste

Instructions

Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the chopped onions and green bell pepper and fry for about 5 minutes or until the onion is soft and translucent.
Stir in the chillies and garlic and fry for another minute.
Add everything else to the pan and bring to a simmer until the sugar dissolves. Then continue simmering for about 10 minutes until you have a nice thick but still pourable sauce.
Check for seasoning and store in the fridge until ready to use. This will keep in the fridge for at least a week.

Notes

Be sure to taste the barbecue sauce as it simmers. You can and should adjust the sweet, sour, savoury and spicy flavours to preference.

Rajasthani Goat Curry

May 21, 2012 By Dan Toombs 7 Comments

This goat curry can also be made with lamb with great results!

In India and Pakistan, goat meat is used much more often than lamb. Goat meat has a flavour that when cooked correctly is melt-in-the-mouth gorgeous! Unfortunately it isn’t all that easy to find in North Yorkshire.

So when I was contacted by Jeanette at Alternative Meats I was over the moon. Jeanette offered to send me some kid goat meat which I served my family over the weekend.

Packed goat meat from Alternative Meats.

One of the great things about food blogging and social media is that you come across some great companies that you may otherwise never have found. I am really looking forward to trying some of the other meat available at Alternative Meats! They sell rose veal, kobe beef, goat, bison and some really interesting looking game from all around the world.

For now, however I want to rave about the goat meat.

Goat meat needs to be cooked longer than other meats. Be sure to marinate the meat for at least three hours. I marinated mine for 48 hours. The longer marinating time helps tenderises the meat.

Also, leave yourself enough time for the meat to cook. I usually cook goat meat for about three hours which is twice as long as I would cook lamb.

Personally I prefer the delicious flavour of goat meat to lamb in curries. If you've tried goat, you will probably know what I mean. If not, give goat a try! It is so good!

Pre-order and Reserve your copy of my Cookbook on Amazon UK!

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Yield: 4

Sweet, Sour And Ever So Slightly Spicy Rajasthani Goat Curry

Ingredients

500g goat meat cut into 3/4” cubes
500ml goat, lamb, beef or veal stock
FOR THE MARINADE
200ml plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon pureed garlic
1 tablespoon pureed ginger
A pinch of coriander powder
1 tablespoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
FOR THE SAUCE
3 tablespoons ghee or clarified butter
2 large white onions finely chopped
1 tablespoon sugar
4 black cardamom pods
4 green cardamom pods
4 cloves
1 four inch cinnamon stick
2 tablespoon garlic puree
2 tablespoons ginger puree
2 tablespoons sweet mango chutney
A pinch of ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon dry fenugreek leaves
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon tamarind pulp or 3 tablespoon lime juice

Instructions

First make the marinade. Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a large bowl.
Place the goat meat in the marinade and ensure it is mixed well. You could rub the marinade into the meat with your hands. I do.
Cover the meat with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least three hours or as long as 48 hours.
In the meantime, take one of the chopped onions and fry it very slowly over low heat in about one tablespoon of the ghee and the sugar. You want the onion to be translucent and glossy brown. This could take about half hour. Once fried, place in a food processor or pestle and mortar and blend/pound to a paste.
This onion paste can be used immediately or stored in the fridge for up to three days.
When you're ready to make the curry, heat the remaining ghee in a large pan or wok.
Toss in the cinnamon stick, cloves and the cardamom pods.
When the spices become quite fragrant - about fifteen seconds - pour in the remaining chopped onion.
Stir the onion to combine with the spices.
Scrape as much of the marinade off the meat as you can and then add the meat to the pan and brown it for about five minutes. Be sure to retain any leftover marinade.
Now add the garlic and ginger purees, the mango chutney and the nutmeg before pouring in the stock.
Bring to a nice bubble and allow to simmer for about three hours. Three hours is not in stone! Check the meat after about two hours. The curry is ready when the goat meat is very tender.
Just before serving, add the fenugreek leaves, the tamarind or lime juice and salt and pepper to taste. I used lime juice by the way.
Then add the remaining marinade one tablespoon at a time while stirring continuously. If you don't have very much marinade, you might like to add another one to three tablespoon of plain yogurt.

Disclaimer:The goat meat was sent to me free of charge to try by Alternative Meats. Thank you so much Jeanette!

Bombay Potatoes (Bombay Aloo)

April 26, 2012 By Dan Toombs 22 Comments

Bombay potatoes are so easy to prepare in one pot.

What are Bombay potatoes?

Bombay potatoes, also known as Bombay aloo, is a popular Indian dish made with potatoes that are seasoned with a variety of spices. The dish is known for its flavourful and aromatic blend of spices, giving it a delicious and distinctive taste. While there can be variations in the recipe, typical ingredients include potatoes, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, turmeric, chili powder, coriander, and sometimes other spices like garam masala.

Why are they called Bombay Potatoes?

The name "Bombay potatoes" is likely a reference to the city of Bombay, which is now known as Mumbai.

The dish itself is rooted in Indian cuisine, and the use of the term "Bombay" in the name is a nod to the cultural and culinary influence of the city. Naming dishes after places is a common practice in India, and it can signify the origin or association of the dish with a particular region or city.

Should they not be called Mumbai Potatoes?

While Mumbai is now the official name of the city, you will still come across the term "Bombay potatoes" as a nostalgic or traditional reference to the time when the dish gained popularity.

The name is more about the cultural and culinary heritage associated with the city rather than any specific ingredient or preparation method unique to Bombay (Mumbai).

How do you cook Bombay Aloo?

The potatoes are usually boiled or parboiled before being deep fried, sautéed or roasted with the spices to ensure they absorb the flavours. This Bombay potatoes recipe also includes ingredients like onions, tomatoes, and fresh coriander for added taste and texture.

How long can you keep Bombay potatoes in the fridge?

You can easily keep your Bombay potatoes in the fridge for about 4 days if not longer. In fact, as the potatoes sit in the sauce, they will become even better. So this is a dish you can prepare ahead and just heat it up right before serving.

Can you freeze Bombay potatoes?

Yes. This is a dish that freezes really well for up to six months. If you do decide to freeze it, just let the potatoes defrost completely. Then heat them in a pan over a medium heat or even place them in your microwave which is easier.

Are Bombay potatoes spicy?

Generally speaking, Bombay aloo is not really spicy. I tend to add more chili powder as it is countered by the potatoes which cools everything down.

You should add chilies and chili powder to taste. Chili powder is an ingredients that can be added any time during cooking so be sure to taste as you go and then just cook out the rawness of the powder for a minute or so.

Step by step photographs.

Ingredients for Bombay Aloo. — Get all your ingredients together before you start cooking. It's a lot easier that way.

Simmering the potatoes in turmeric water. — Bring enough water to a boil to cook the potatoes. Stir in the turmeric and then add the potatoes. Par-cook for 10 minutes and strain. The potatoes should still be a bit hard.

Frying the par-cooked potatoes to crisp them up. — Dry your pan and place it back over a medium-high heat with 190ml (3⁄4 cup) of oil. When the oil is visibly hot, add the par-cooked potatoes and fry for about 3–5 minutes or until golden brown.

Frying the potatoes.

This is a step that you can do a couple of days before serving. If that sounds more convenient to you go ahead and do it.

You can keep the oil if working ahead. Transfer the golden brown fried potatoes until golden brown and then transfer to a paper towel to soak up any excess oil.

Infusing fenugreek and mustard seeds in the oil. — Add the mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds to the hot oil. When the mustard seeds begin to crackle and pop, add the dried Kashmiri chillies and let them flavour the oil for about 30 seconds.

Adding dried chillies to the oil. — Stir in the dried chillies and fry for about 30 seconds.

Adding the chopped onions to fry. — Then add the thinly sliced onions and fry for about 8 minutes or until they are turning golden brown. Add the chopped garlic and green chillies and fry for a further 45 seconds,

Adding the ground spices to the pan. — Now add the curry powder, chilli powder, cumin and coriander. Stir well to combine.

Adding water and tomatoes to the pan. — Add 70ml (1⁄4 cup) of water and the diced tomatoes. Continue to simmer for another 5 minutes to let the tomatoes break down a little.

Returning the potatoes to the pan and adding tamarind paste and finger chillies. — Then stir in one teaspoon of tamarind paste and the whole green finger chillies, if using and the cooked potatoes.

Covering the pan to allow the flavours to develop. — Cover the pan and cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes to develop the flavours.

Finished Bombay aloo. — When you lift the lid, your bombay potatoes are ready to serve.

Bomby aloo — Season with salt and pepper to taste and garnish with the chopped coriander (cilantro). Sprinkle in the garam masala.

Bombay Potatoes — Serve hot as a side or main dish over rice.

Love Indian Vegetarian Recipes? Why not try one of these too...

All Indian Vegetarian recipes

Have you tried this Bombay Potatoes recipe?

If yes, please give it a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I love receiving your feedback and I'm sure other readers of my blog do too. Thank you.

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Yield: 4

Bombay Potatoes (Bombay Aloo)

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

20 new potatoes, cut in half
1 ½ tsp ground turmeric
1 generous tsp salt
190ml (3⁄4 cup) rapeseed (canola) oil 1 tsp black mustard seeds
5 fenugreek seeds (optional)
3 dried red Kashmiri chillies
2 medium onions, thinly sliced and
cut into 2.5cm (1in) pieces
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 green finger chillies, finely chopped
2 tsp curry powder
1–2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1 tsp tamarind paste
3 green finger chillies, left whole
3 tbsp coriander (cilantro), finely
chopped
½ tsp garam masala, shop-bought or homemade
Lime wedges, to serve

Instructions

Fill a high-sided frying pan with enough water to cover the potatoes (don’t add them yet) and bring to the boil over a high heat. Stir in one teaspoon of the ground turmeric, the salt and the potatoes and simmer until tender but still a bit too undercooked to eat. This should take about 10 minutes. Strain through a colander.
Dry your pan and place it back over a medium-high heat with 190ml (3⁄4 cup) of oil. When the oil is visibly hot, add the par-cooked potatoes and fry for about 3–5 minutes or until they are golden brown. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the potatoes to a plate and set aside.
Add the mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds to the hot oil. When the mustard seeds begin to crackle and pop, add the dried Kashmiri chillies and let them flavour the oil for about 30 seconds. Then add the thinly sliced onions and fry for about 8 minutes or until they are turning golden brown. Add the chopped garlic and green chillies and fry for a further 45 seconds, while stirring continuously.
Now add the curry powder, chilli powder, cumin and coriander along with 70ml (1⁄4 cup) of water and the diced tomatoes. Continue to simmer for another 5 minutes to let the tomatoes break down a little, and then stir in one teaspoon of tamarind paste and the whole green finger chillies, if using.
Simmer the sauce for another minute and then add the crispy fried potatoes. Stir them into the simmering sauce. Cover the pan and simmer for another 5 minutes, lifting the lid a few times to give it all a good stir.
Add 250ml (1 cup) of hot water and bring to a rolling simmer. Then cover the pan and continue simmering for 5–8 minutes, or until you are happy with the consistency of the sauce.
To finish, taste it and add more salt, if needed. Add half of the chopped coriander (cilantro) and the garam masala and stir it all in. Garnish with the remaining coriander (cilantro) and serve with the lime wedges, which you can squeeze over it all, to taste, at the table.

Steak And Kidney Pudding With An Indian Touch

April 23, 2012 By Dan Toombs 4 Comments

This is steak and kidney pudding with a spicy difference!

Yield: 6

Steak And Kidney Pudding With An Indian Touch

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 4 hours

Total Time 4 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

350g self rising flour
250ml cold water
1 teaspoon salt
200g beef grated beef suet
1 kilo beef rump cut into 2 inch cubes
200g finely chopped ox kidney
2 tablespoons flour
1 large onion finely cut
1 tablespoon ginger puree
2 tablespoon garlic puree
1 tablespoon cumin powder
2 green chilli peppers finely chopped
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 small bunch finely chopped fresh coriander
2 bay leaves
beef stock
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Mix the pasty ingredients together and then whack the dough onto a floured surface and kneed into a soft dough ball.

Now place the beef cubes,, kidney, flour, chopped onion, ginger, garlic, coriander, cumin powder and chillies into a bowl and mix well. Set aside.

Roll your pastry out into a 14” circle and then cut one forth of the pastry off as pictured to use as a top to your pudding.

2. Fold the remaining 3/4 circle together to form a bowl shape and place in your 3 litre bowl. Be sure the the pastry dough is about an inch higher than the top of the bowl.

3. Flatten the excess dough around the top of the bowl and sprinkle a bit of water around the pastry rim.

Pour the beef mixture into the pastry bowl and then fill almost to the top with beef stock.

4. Roll out the remaining dough - the part you cut off - into a round top for your pudding and cover it pressing hard to ensure no juice can get out. Cover this with a floured tea towel and tie into place with a piece of string.

5. Place some sort of rivet inside the large pan. I use a 1 kilo metal kitchen weight. Place a tea towel on it and then put the steak and kidney pudding bowl on that.

6. Carefully fill the pan basin with water so that the water level is about half way up the steak and kidney pudding bowl.

Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a nice steady simmer. Cover the pan and allow to steam for four hours.

Be sure to check the water level often to ensure it doesn't boil dry.

7. Tip upside down on a serving plate to reveal an amazing spicy steak & kidney pudding!

I think a steak and kidney pudding like this one could very well have been presented at the great feasts of the British Raj.

Yesterday afternoon I was a bit tired and trying to think of something easy to make for dinner. I started thumbing through my old cookbooks and found a recipe I’d made many times before but had forgotten about in recent years.

It was the steak and kidney pudding recipe in Rick Stein’s Food Heros cookbook. It is such an easy recipe though it looks like it could be difficult. It really isn't.

This time I decided to change it a bit. I wanted to see what Rick’s recipe would taste like with a bubbling hot beef curry inside the tasty suet pastry. I’m so glad I did. It was amazing.

So here it is. There wasn’t a drop of sauce or a crumb of pastry leftover.

Note: You will need a 3 liter oven proof round bowl, a large pan with a tight fitting lid big enough to hold the 3 litre bowl, two tea towels and some string.

I usually make my pastry first.

The pastry in the bowl — How the pastry should look in the bowl

The meat is in the pastry. — The meat meets the pastry

All tied up - steak and kidney pudding — All tied up.

steak and kidney pudding in the pot — The pudding's in the pot!

When steaming the steak and kidney pudding, be sure to check the water often so that it does not boil dry.

To Serve

Sometimes when I make this meal it works perfectly. I turn the pudding upside down and out plops a perfect steak and kidney crusty dome.

When this happens, it’s time for a celebration!

Alas this time it didn’t. I turned my steak and kidney pudding over and it all fell apart.

It's just the way it goes sometimes!

It still tasted great. In fact, next time I serve this dish I might just serve it directly from the bowl.

I really liked this play on a British classic. I hope you do too. Be sure to let me know how you get on by writing a comment.

Steak and kidney pudding is one of my all time favourites.

If you enjoy this recipe try my other Indian beef recipes:

Beef Madras
Bef Massaman Curry
Goan Beef Croquettes

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How To Make A Fresh Hake Curry

April 17, 2012 By Dan Toombs 2 Comments

This hake curry is a mix between authentic Indian and Indian restaurant style curry.

I learned how to make hake curry from a friend who works in my favourite local Indian restaurant. The only difference between his original family recipe and this one is the addition of double cream.

If you are trying to cut back on the calories, just substitute more plain yogurt and cut out the cream. I made it with the cream as I was cooking for my kids and knew they love a good creamy curry.

Make this hake curry recipe your own...

Everyone has their own taste preferences, especially when it comes to curries!

Just like I changed the original hake curry recipe for my family, I encourage you to do the same if you wish. Add more chillies or leave them out.

Don't like coriander? Leave it out or if you love it, add more. You really can't go wrong.

This might be a hake curry but the recipe works well with any meaty fish like cod, haddock and if you want to go all out halibut.

Important cooking tip!

Where most people go wrong with fish curries is they overcook the fish.

If you over-cook hake, the beautiful chunks of fish will turn to mush so... DON'T DO THAT!

Just cook it through and you will get delicious results.

UPDATE: I am currently going back and remaking and photographing all of my curries. This hake curry is next on the list so be sure to check back soon for step by step photographs.

Looking for other seafood curry ideas? Try some of these...

Keralan fish Curry
Keralan Prawn Curry
Sri Lankan Halibut Curry
Pan Seared Salmon in Saffron Sauce
Salmon Curry with Broccoli and Coconut

Yield: 4

How To Make A Fresh Hake Curry

Ingredients

500g (1 pound) skinless and boneless hake fillets
500g chopped onions
3 tablespoon corn oil
5 tablespoons plain flour
1 tablespoon garlic puree
1 tablespoon ginger puree
A pinch of ground cloves
A pinch of ground cinnamon
A pinch of hot red chilli powder
150ml plain Greek yogurt
100ml double cream
3 red chillies finely chopped
A pinch of turmeric
Finely chopped coriander to garnish
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Cut the hake fillets into 2 inch chunks and dust with the flour.
Now heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat.
When the oil is hot, add the fish chucks in batches. It is very important not to over-crowd the the pan.
Roll the hake pieces around in the oil browning them on all sides. You really only want to cook it about 50% and then remove from the pan.
Once all of the fish is browned and carefully set aside, toss in your chopped onions.
The onions need to be browned slowly in the oil too and you may need to add a drop more oil. You want the onions to be translucent and light brown but not burnt.
Once the onions are nicely caramelized, add the ginger, garlic, clove powder, cinnamon powder, yogurt and cream.
Stir to combine and then transfer to a blender and blend the onion sauce mixture for about two minutes until very smooth.
Pour the onion sauce back into the frying pan and carefully fold in the hake pieces to cook them through.
It should only take about two minutes for the hake to heat through and finish cooking.
I cannot over emphasize how important it is not to over cook the fish. Do it right and you will be serving a curry of lovely chunky fish. Over cook it and your fish chunks will disintegrate into the sauce.
Season with salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle with the fresh coriander and chopped chillies. What a great way to serve fresh hake!

I hope you enjoy this hake curry recipe. If you do try it, please don't be a stranger. Leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you.

Spinach Dhal

April 16, 2012 By Dan Toombs 2 Comments

This spinach dhal is so easy to make and so good!

Lately I have been experimenting with dhal and trying to come up with different recipes like this spinach dhal.

It's nothing too out of the ordinary but it's simple and quick to prepare. If you're looking for Indian vegetarian recipes to try, this dhal should be on your list.

About this spinach dhal recipe...

Spinach and lentils go so well together. Spinach dhal like this one are served all over India, both as a main course and side.

To develop this recipe, I simply gathered a few ingredients that I knew go well with dhal and through them in.

The end result as just as good as I expected.

Working ahead...

Lately I have been trying to cook healthier meals so I almost always have some cooked dhal on hand.

It will keep in the fridge for about a week and also freezes well. So I recommend doing this.

By having ready-cooked dhal on hand, you can be free to experiment with your own ideas. They may not always be as good as this spinach dhal but with practice and a bit of creativity, you will be able to come up with many recipes of your own.

If you would like to fry up the tarka ahead of time, this can also be done a day or so before serving. Just heat it up and pour it over the cooked spinach dhal.

Step by step photos...

It's always good to see how things are made in pictures.

So I have done that for you here with this spinach dhal. Don't worry too much about following the recipe exactly. You can use more or less of any of the ingredients mentioned in the recipe.

simmering lentils — Soak the dhal for 30 minutes and then bring to a simmer, skimming off any foam that rises to the top.

Adding spinach to dhal — Once you're happy with the consistency of the dhal, you can add the spinach. I used 4 block of frozen spinach but fresh could also be used.

Making tarka — While the dhal is simmering, make the tarka. Bring some ghee to a simmer and add the black mustard seeds. When they begin to crackle, add the other whole spices and curry leaves.

Preparing tarka — Then add the remaining ingredients and sizzle on medium heat until the onion is soft and light brown. Stir in the ground spices.

Finishing spinach dhal — Pour the tarka over the spinach dhal and season with salt to taste.

If you like this spinach dhal recipe, why not give some of these a try too...

See more Dal Recipes →

Dal Recipes are often served alongside a delicious curry or two. Here are my top Indian curry recipes you may like to try.

Rice

See more Indian Rice Recipes →

Naan

See more Indian bread recipes →

Yield: 4

Spinach dhal

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Additional Time 8 hours

Total Time 8 hours 50 minutes

Ingredients

400g (2 cups) chana dhal
4 cubes of frozen spinach or the equivalent fresh
2 tbsp ghee
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
10 fresh or frozen curry leaves
1 large onion, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 green bird's eye chillies, finely chopped
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder, more or less to taste
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
3 tbsp coriander (cilantro), finely chopped
Salt to taste

Instructions

Soak the lentils in in water for about 30 minutes.
Drain and rinse and then place in a large pan with twice as much water. Bring to a simmer, skimming off any foam that rises to the top. After about 30 minutes, the dhal will thicken and the lentils will be really soft.
Add the spinach and stir well to combine. Continue simmering while you make the tarka, but be sure not to burn the lentils. Add more water if needed.
To make the tarka, heat the ghee over medium-high heat. When visibly hot, add the mustard seeds. When they begin to crackle, add the cumin seeds and curry leaves and allow these all to infuse into the oil for about 30 seconds.
Add the chopped onion and fry for about 5 minutes, until the onion is soft, light brown and translucent.
Stir in the garlic and ginger paste, garlic slivers , chillies, tomatoes and ground spices and stir it all up well
Pour this over the cooked dhal and stir it in, retaining a little of the tarka for presentation at the end.
Season with salt to taste and garnish with the chopped coriander to serve.

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Coconut Curry Mussels

April 14, 2012 By Dan Toombs 8 Comments

Really easy... Give these coconut curry mussels a try soon!

I love mussels and cook them all the time. This recipe coconut curry mussels is one of my favourites. I learned the recipe while visiting Kerala in southern India. It was so good, I couldn't wait to try making them for my family back home.

How to prepare your live mussels...

When using fresh, live mussels for this coconut curry mussels recipe, it is important to clean them first.

Pour your mussels into a colander and get another bowl ready to place the mussels when cleaned. Farmed mussels attach themselves to ropes while they grow. If using farmed mussels which most are these days, you might find that there is a little of the rope still attached to them between the shells. Pull this off them and discard.

When you first pick up a mussel, it should close tightly. If it doesn't, tap it a few times and if it doesn't close, discard it as it's dead. Wash the shell very well and then place it in the bowl. Do this with all your mussels. Cleaning a kilo (2 lbs.) of mussels will take you about 10 minutes.

Can you use frozen or vacuum sealed mussels instead of live?

Frozen and vacuum-sealed refrigerated mussels can be good alternatives to fresh mussels, though they do have some differences in flavour and texture. Personally, when cooking coconut curry mussels, I almost always go for fresh but you will find the pros and cons of using frozen, vacuum sealed and fresh mussels below:

Fresh Mussels

Pros: Fresh mussels have a clean, briny, slightly sweet flavour and tender texture. They are typically at their best when cooked simply and briefly (e.g., steamed or in a broth).
Cons: Fresh mussels require cleaning and must be used quickly (usually within a day or two of purchase). They also need to be inspected individually to ensure they are alive before cooking.

Frozen Mussels

Pros: Frozen mussels are often cooked and flash-frozen immediately after harvest, locking in much of their natural flavour. They’re convenient since they’re usually pre-cleaned and de-bearded. They work well in soups, pasta dishes, and casseroles.
Cons: The texture can be slightly softer or chewier than fresh mussels, especially after thawing and reheating. Frozen mussels may have a milder taste, missing some of the briny sweetness fresh mussels offer.

Vacuum-Sealed Refrigerated Mussels

Pros: Vacuum-sealed mussels are typically partially cooked, allowing them to retain a closer-to-fresh flavour and texture than frozen mussels. They often come pre-seasoned or marinated, making them flavourful and convenient to use directly in recipes or eat as-is.
Cons: They can sometimes be saltier due to added brine or seasonings. Since they’re partially cooked, cooking them further can lead to a tougher texture. They also have a shorter shelf life than frozen mussels, so timing is important.

How do you store live mussels.

This advice comes straight from my fishmonger and he's a good one. If you purchase mussels, they often come in a net sack or often fishmongers will have them lose in a bowl and give them to you in a paper or plastic bag.

Pour these out into a colander and then place some wet news paper or wet paper napkins on top and put them in your fridge on a plate.

Fresh mussels should stay live for one to two days.

Is this coconut curry mussels recipe spicy?

This version of my recipe is quite mild. The only heat is from the fresh chillies you add.

That said, I also make a spicy version which includes more chillies and also 1 teaspoon or two of Kashmiri chilli powder. If you want your coconut curry mussels to be spicy, just add more chillies and/or chilli powder.

Working ahead...

You can do pretty much everything up to actually cooking the mussels ahead of time.

If working ahead of time suites your lifestyle, go for it. Add everything else to the pot and follow the instructions. Then just reheat it before adding the mussels.

You can also clean the mussels a few hours before cooking.

How to serve spicy mussels...

When I learned this recipe, I was served the spicy mussels with red rice or matta rice. Simple!

You can serve them in the sauce over Basmati rice or get some crusty bread and just dig in with your hands, dipping the bread in the sauce as you do.

Step by step photographs.

Ingredients for the recipe laid out on a countertop. — Get all you ingredients prepared and ready before you start cooking.

Infusing the mustard seeds and curry leaves into the melted butter. — Melt the butter in your pot over a medium-high heat and add the mustard seeds. When they bring to crack, stir in the curry leaves.

Adding the shallots to the pot. — Add the chopped shallots and chillies and fry until soft which should take about 5 minutes. At this stage, you could also add the turmeric though I added it later in cooking this time around.

Adding garlic and ginger paste to the pot. — Stir in the garlic and ginger paste and let if fry for about 30 seconds to cook out the raw flavour.

Pouring in the coconut milk. — Pour in the coconut milk and bring to a simmer.

Adding the mussels to the simmering sauce. — When it comes to a simmer, add the mussels and stir them in.

Covering the mussels to let them steam. — Cover the pot and let the mussels steam in the sauce for about 4 to 5 minutes, stirring once or twice during the cook.

Adding the turmeric and saffron to the sauce. — Once the mussels have opened, add the turmeric to the coconut milk along with the saffron. Stir well to combine until the sauce is a vibrant yellow.

Adding the cream to the pot of mussels. — Pour in the cream and a handful of the chopped coriander (cilantro) and again stir to combine.

coconut curry mussels in a pot, ready to serve. — Look at that! Season with salt and pepper to taste. These coconut curry mussels are so good!

Coconut curry mussels ready to serve, garnished with chopped coriander. — Enjoy.

If you like this recipe for spicy mussels, you might also like to try some of these...

Easy prawn curry
Malabar fish curry
White fish curry
Keralan fish curry
Spicy fish curry with coconut

Yield: 4

Coconut Curry Mussels

This coconut curry mussels recipe is best with fresh mussels. They take some work to clean but it will be worth it. You can add more heat to this dish by adding more chopped chillies and/or chilli powder.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

1 kg (2 lbs.) live mussels
2 tbsp unsalted butter (see note)
1 tsp mustard seeds
20 curry leaves
4 shallots - finely chopped
2 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
3 fresh green chilies - finely chopped
1 tsp ground turmeric
400ml thick coconut milk
1 tbsp sugar or jaggery
200ml double cream
A pinch of saffron
Salt and pepper to taste
1 small bunch of fresh coriander (cilantro) , finely chopped

Instructions

Melt the butter in a large pan that has a tight fitting lid over medium heat.
When the butter has melted, throw in the mustard seeds. when they begin to crackle, toss in the curry leaves and chopped shallots.
Fry until the shallots turn soft and translucent. This could take about 5 minutes.
Now add the chopped chillies, garlic and ginger and stir to combine for about 30 seconds.
Pour in the coconut milk and bring to a simmer. Then pour in the mussels and cover with the lid to let them steam for about four minutes. Stir once or twice while they are steaming.
They are ready when the shells open.
Add the ground turmeric and the saffron by rubbing it between your fingers. Then add the cream and the jaggery or sugar. Stir well so that the sauce turns a vibrant yellow from the turmeric and saffron and the sugar has dissolved.
Try the sauce and add salt and pepper to taste.
To serve, garnish with the chopped coriander (cilantro).

Notes

When I tried this coconut curry mussels recipe in Kerala, the chef used coconut oil. This is very good. If you have some on hand, use it instead if you like.

Indian Fillet Steak

April 8, 2012 By Dan Toombs Leave a Comment

This Indian inspired fillet steak offers so much flavour for very little work

Fillet steak by The Curry Guy — Fillet steak served rare as it should be!

If I could eat steak every day, I would.

But I can't so I don’t.

Therefore when steaks are on the menu for the evening, I make sure they are special.

I insist on purchasing my meat from a good butcher who knows where his meat is from. The beef must be well hung. The butcher I use most often hangs his beef for 30 days and the flavour is out of this world.

You really don’t need to do much to the steaks when you purchase beef of this quality.

The following marinade and recipe can be used with any cut. For this Indian inspired dish, I have used fillet steak which I marinated for eight hours.

Yield: 4

A Fillet Steak Recipe That Is Sure To Impress

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

1 steak fillet about 36 to 40oz
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
Juice of three limes
6 cloves garlic - roughly chopped
1/2 inch ginger - chopped
1 tablespoon cumin powder
1 fresh green chili
1 tablespoon crushed black pepper
Salt to taste

Instructions

Place all of the marinade ingredients in a food processor and blend to a smooth paste.
Set your whole steak fillet on top of a piece of cling film that is large enough to wrap tightly around the meat about five times.
Pour the marinade over the meat and rub it into the flesh.
Now tightly wrap the fillet into a tube, pulling the cling film as you do so that you form the fillet into a tight sausage shaped tube.
Marinate in the cling film for three to eight hours.
When you are ready to cook, unwrap the fillet and cut it into four equal sized round steaks about 1 1/2 inches thick.
Heat the butter and olive oil in a frying pan over medium high heat.
When the pan is good and hot, fry the steaks until cooked to your preferred doneness. I like my steaks rare which takes about four minutes per side for a 1 1/2 inch thick fillet steak.
Serve the fillet stead with a green salad, French bread or garlic naans.

Tandoori Baked Salmon

March 19, 2012 By Dan Toombs 1 Comment

Tandoori baked salmon in 30 minutes!

If you like salmon, you're going to love this tandoori baked salmon recipe! One of the great things about tandoori seafood is that it doesn't need to marinate for long. Unlike meat which benefits from a long time in the marinade, fish can be prepared and cooked immediately. You could, however leave this tandoori baked salmon to marinate for up to 30 minutes.

What is tandoori?

Tandoori is a style of cooking where meat, fish, cheese and vegetables are cooked in a tandoor oven. The thing is, not many people in the west own a tandoori oven. For that reason, I came up with this tandoori baked salmon recipe which will get you fantastic results.

When people think of tandoori cooking, they do think of that juicy fish and meat they find at tandoor restaurants. But it's not just about the tandoor oven.

By using marinades that are used at Indian restaurants, you can achieve very good, if not better results to the tandoori dishes found at the best curry houses.

This tandoori baked salmon can be served hot or cold...

Salmon is one fish that tastes great hot or cold. So if you have any leftovers, be sure to save them for the next day.

You can flake the tandoori baked salmon into a salad or use it as a sandwich filling.

Can this salmon be air fried?

Yes and I have done just that. You will find instructions in the recipe card below.

Step by step photographs

Ingredients for tandoori baked salmon — Get your ingredients together before starting. It's a lot easier that way.

Salmon marinade — Mix the liquid and dry ingredients together for the marinade until smooth. Add a drop more oil if it looks too dry.

Salmon marinating — This is not a contest on how much marinade you can get on the salmon. A thin film of marinade is all you need.

Salmon ready for cooking — Place the salmon on lightly oiled foil and bake under a hot grill (broiler) for 4 to 10 minutes.

Why is there such a large cooking time span?

Easy. People prefer their salmon cooked differently. I'm happy with it cooked for 4 to 5 minutes. You might want your salmon well done, so cook it for about 10 minutes.

There is nothing wrong with checking as you cook! Watch it carefully and you will be happy with the results.

Finished tandoori baked salmon — And dig in!

If you like this tandoori baked salmon, try some of these too...

Honey Glazed Baked Salmon
Meen Molee - Salmon in molee sauce
Steamed Salmon with Soy Sauce and Chillies
Cedar Plank Salmon with Chilli Oil

Yield: 4

How To Make Home-Cooked Tandoori Salmon

Prep Time 40 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

4 x 200g (1/2 lb) thick salmon steak
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
2 tbsp garlic and giner paste
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp tandoori masala or garam masala
2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 small bunch of chopped coriander leaves
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Whisk all the marinade ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Place the salmon fillets in the marinade and rub it into the flesh. Allow to marinate for up to 30 minutes.
Pre-heat your grill (broiler) to it's highest setting and place the salmon, skin side down on a foil-lined baking tray on the top shelf of your oven.
OVEN BAKED TANDOORI SALMON: Roast for about 4 to 10 minutes or until lightly charred on top and cooked through to your liking. To check for doneness, use a fork to see if it flakes easily. You will need to watch it closely so that it does not over cook.
AIR FRIER TANDOORI SALMON: Preheat your air frier to 200c/400f. Place the salmon fillets in the cooking basket and air fry for about 8 minutes. If using thin fillets, they will cook faster so be sure to check during cooking. If the fish flakes easily with a fork, it's ready. If not, cook for another minute or until cooked to your liking.
Season with flaky salt to taste and serve with a good raita or two.

Rotisserie Goan Pork Vindaloo

March 9, 2012 By Dan Toombs 8 Comments

You don't need a rotisserie to make this delicious Goan pork vindaloo

This Goan pork vindaloo recipe is an updated version of what you might have found on this page previously. I like to go back and improve recipes and as this Goan pork vindaloo hadn't been touched since I first published in back in 2013, I decided it was time to do so.

Cooking the marinated pork on a rotisserie gives the meat a delicious, smoky flavour with the perfect blend of vindaloo spices. If you don't have a rotisserie, no problem! Just cut your pork shoulder into bite sized pieces before applying the marinade. Then cook it on skewers or on the cooking grate of your BBQ. If cooking over fire doesn't excite you, you might want to try this simplified Goan pork vindaloo that can be cooked in one pan, indoors.

This Goan pork vindaloo goes so well with red matta rice or plain Basmati rice.

About this Goan pork vindaloo recipe

With most Goan pork vindaloo recipes, you marinate and then gently simmer pork in a spicy sauce until tender. This is another way of doing it which I saw prepared in Goa.

Placing the marinated pork shoulder on a rotisserie and letting it cook slowly for about 3 hours give the meat an amazing smoky flavour that is so good in the curry. In fact, you could just leave out the curry bit and serve the meat on it's own. It's so juicy and spicy, you might find it difficult to wait for the curry to be prepared.

Do you have to cook the pork on a rotisserie?

No! I like to cook mine on a rotisserie because I find it quite convenient. If you want the same smoky flavour, go ahead and cut your pork shoulder into bite sized pieces and then marinate it. You can then skewer it and cook the meat over the coals just like you would chicken tikka.

What are the origins of Goan pork vindaloo?

Vindaloo was inspired by a Portuguese dish called carne de vinha d'alhos (meat marinated in wine-vinegar and garlic). You might like to try the original Portuguese recipe too. You can find it here.

The Goans took the original dish and made it into the famous Goan pork vindaloo that is now world famous. Compare the Portuguese dish and this vindaloo and you will see that there are a lot more spices in vindaloo.

To make it the Goan way, you will be using chillies and chilli powder but not so much that the heat of the chillies overpowers all the other spices used.

How to cook the perfect Goan pork vindaloo?

As mentioned above, there are a couple of ways to do it. Most common is to stew the pork in the sauce ingredients. You cook the pork until it is melt in the mouth tender. Cooking the meat in this way also flavours the curry sauce.

With this version, I'm not sure which came first, you cook the meat over fire, once again until tender. As the meat cooks, it will char on the exterior which is a good sign its ready to start slicing off. The cooked pork can then be added to the sauce which then becomes even more tender and releases an amazing charred and smoky flavour.

Either way, you want to ensure that the pork is super tender.

How spicy should Goan pork vindaloo be?

That's up to you but I can tell you from experience, the vindaloos in Goa are very spicy. Not as spicy as a British curry house style vindaloo but spicy all the same.

With this recipe, you can and should taste it and adjust the spicing to taste.

How long can you keep pork vindaloo in the fridge?

This curry will keep well in the fridge for 3 to 5 days. Of course this depends on how fresh your ingredients are when you make it. In fact, the your Goan pork vindaloo will actually get better sitting, covered tightly in the fridge as the flavours will develop.

Can you freeze pork vindaloo?

Yes! You can freeze this Goan pork vindaloo curry for up to 6 months. It will still taste amazing and some people think it actually tastes better after freezing.

How do you reheat Goan pork vindaloo?

You can just heat it up in your microwave. For best results, however, heat it up slowly in a saucepan. Let it come to a simmer and then simmer lightly over a low heat until you are ready to serve.

If reheating from frozen, allow the pork vindaloo to defrost completely before reheating.

Pro Tips for making Goan pork vindaloo

Marinate the pork: Marination is an important step in preparing Goan pork vindaloo. To achieve maximum flavour, marinate the pork in the marinade for 2 to 4 hours. This will give the pork a tangy, spicy and aromatic flavour, resulting in a rich and well-seasoned dish.
Balance the Spices: Goan pork Vindaloo is known for being spicy, but it's important to balance the heat with other flavours. Be sure to taste the sauce as you cook and feel free to adjust the spicing to taste. If you don't know your spice level, be sure to add the chilli powder in small amounts until you are happy with the spiciness.
Slow Cooking for Tender Meat: To achieve tender and succulent pork, you need to cook it gently and slowly. That's one of the reasons I prefer using a rotisserie. After you cook the pork, let it simmer in the sauce slowly over a low heat for a while. This will help flavour the sauce to perfection.

Step by Step Photographs

Ingredients for rotisserie Goan pork vindaloo — Get all your ingredients together before starting.

Toasting the spices for the vindaloo marinade. — Toast the whole spices over a medium heat until warm to the touch and fragrant but not yet smoking.

The ground vindaloo spice blend. — Allow the spices to cool some and then grind into a fine paste in a spice grinder or pestle and mortar.

Marinade ingredients ready to blend. — Add the remaining marinade ingredients to the ground spices and blend to a smooth paste.

The blended marinade — Your finished marinade will look something like this.

The marinade rubbed into the pork — Remove the outer fat on the pork and this slice it thinly. Rub the marinade right into the meat.

Frying garlic slivers in oil. — While the pork is marinating, start your sauce. Heat the oil over medium high heat and add the garlic slivers.

Crispy garic flakes — Fry the garlic flakes until crispy and light brown but not burnt. Be careful. Then transfer the garlic flakes to a paper towel to soak up any excess oil.

Infusing the flavours of mustard seeds and curry leaves into the oil. — Add the mustard seeds to the same oil. When they begin to crackle, stir in the curry leaves to infuse for about 30 seconds.

Adding and frying the onions in the pan. — Stir in the chopped onions and fry for about 7 minutes or until soft, translucent and golden brown.

Adding chopped tomatoes to the pan. — Stir in the chopped tomatoes. Then add a little water to cover.

Simmering the Goan pork vindaloo sauce — Simmer covered for about 15 minutes and continue simmering until you are happy with the sauce consistence. Set aside. This can all be done on your barbecue if more convenient.

Pork cooking on a rotisserie — Wipe off and retain as much marinade as possible. Cook the pork on a rotisserie for about 2 to 3 hours, slicing the meat off as it chars and cooks through.

Cooked pork cut into bite sized pieces. — Once all the meat is cooked, cut it into bite sized pieces if it isn't already.

Finishing the vindaloo on the barbecue — Add the pork and all the retained marinade to the curry and heat it up. You can continue simmering over a low heat for additional flavour.

Finished Goan pork vindaloo. — Stir in the fried garlic and season with salt to taste to serve.

If you like this Goan belly pork vindaloo, you might also like to try some of these recipes...

Authentic pork vindaloo
BIR curry house style vindaloo sauce
BIR style lamb vindaloo

Yield: 6 - 8

Rotisserie Goan Pork Vindaloo

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 3 hours

Total Time 3 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients

2kg (4 lbs) pork shoulder, outer fat removed.
2 - 3 tbsp coconut or rapeseed (canola) oil
1 head of garlic – cloves cut into slivers
1 tsp black mustard seeds
20 fresh curry leaves
3 onions – finely chopped
3 tomatoes – finely chopped (about 400g)
1 tbsp chilli powder (more or less to taste)
Juice of one lime or to taste
FOR THE VINDALOO MARINADE
6 dried red chillies
2 tbsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp coriander seeds
2 tsp black cardamom seeds
1 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
8 cloves
1 inch cassia bark stick
20 black peppercorns
1 tsp turmeric
8 green chillies – finely chopped
125ml (1/2 cup) palm or red wine vinegar (plus more if needed)
2 tablespoons soft brown sugar (more or less to taste
2 tbsp tamarind paste (or another two tablespoon of vinegar)
3 tbsp garlic and ginger paste

Instructions

To make the marinade, place all the whole spices in a dry frying pan over medium heat and roast until they become fragrant and warm to the touch but are not yet smoking.
Transfer to a plate to cool slightly and then pour the spices in a food processor with the turmeric and grind to a fine powder. You could also use a pestle and mortar but that's a lot more work.
Add the chillies, vinegar, tamarind concentrate, brown sugar, garlic and ginger and blend to a smooth vindaloo marinade paste. Removed any excess fat from the exterior of the pork shoulder and slice it into thin pieces, about 1/2 inch thick. Place the sliced pork in a large bowl and cover with the marinade and leave to marinate for 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.
When ready to cook, heat the oil in a saucepan, large frying pan or wok over low heat. Add the garlic slivers and allow to cook gently for about 10 minutes. Be careful not to burn the garlic. It should be a bit crispy and just beginning to turn a light brown. Transfer the garlic with a slotted spoon to a plate and set aside.
Using the same oil, heat your pan over medium high heat. When visibly hot, add the mustard seeds and when they begin to crackle, stir in the curry leaves.
Fry for about 30 seconds until the curry leaves are very fragrant and then toss in the chopped onions.
Fry the chopped onions for about 5 minutes over medium-high heat until they turn soft and translucent. Sprinkle a little salt over the onions. This will help release moisture from them.
Add the chopped tomatoes, chilli powder, bay leaves and cover the pan to simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove the lid and allow to cool and set aside.
Set up a medium fire in your barbecue.
To cook the pork. Secure it on a rotisserie skewer or just skewer it up to cook over the fire. Rub as much marinade off the meat as you can and retain it. To cook on skewers, cut into bite sized pieces and cook over the hot flames until lightly charred and cooked through.
Cooking the pork on a rotisserie takes a bit longer but the smokiness you get adds delicious flavour Let the pork cook on the rotisserie for about 3 hours, slicing off the cooked bits of meat as it cooks. You can add the cut pork directly to the curry. Continue cooking and slicing until all the meat is cooked through.
Add the cooked meat to the sauce and top with a little water to cover along with a couple tablespoons of the reserved marinade. Bring to a simmer and try some. You can adjust the flavouring my stirring in more marinade. Be sure to simmer it for a while as the marinade will have touched the raw meat.
You can continue simmering over a low heat for a while if you like. Add more water if needed. You do not want to serve the vindaloo until the pork is really tender. The longer cooking time will also help flavour the curry.
To serve, stir in the fried garlic. Try the curry and add salt to taste. You can also adjust other spicing at this time such as additional chilli powder. Just be sure to simmer it in the sauce for a couple of minutes to cook out the raw flavour. Season with salt and lemon juice to taste.

Crab Crust Salmon

March 7, 2012 By Dan Toombs 2 Comments

Crab crust salmon takes me back to my California days.

This crab crust salmon recipe is now officially my wife’s favourite fish dish!

I happen to like it a lot too and hope you'll feel the same. Crab and salmon just seem to go so well together.

This is actually a play on a recipe I was brought up with back when I was growing up near San Francisco. Dungeness crab live in abundance off the Pacific Coast and my grandfather used to serve crab crust salmon with nothing more than lemon juice and olive oil. The flavours were amazing. I remember helping him put it all together knowing we were in for a gorgeous feast.

It is with this in mind that I kept the ingredients quite simple here.

I find the brown crabs that are caught off the coast of North Yorkshire work so well with this recipe. They have more moisture in the meat which when blended with a handful of dry breadcrumbs makes the meat easy to spread over the salmon steaks and quite tasty too.

Yield: 4

Crab Crust Salmon Served With A Coconut And Saffron Sauce

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

FOR THE SALMON
The meat of two brown crabs
100g country white loaf of bread
Rind of two lemons
30 black peppercorns coarsely ground
4 x 150g salmon steaks - skinned
Salt and pepper to taste
FOR THE SAUCE
2 tablespoons ghee
5 cloves garlic
2 inches finely chopped ginger
2 small shallots finely chopped
2 fresh green chillies
1 tablespoon cumin powder
1 tablespoon coriander powder
200ml coconut milk
100ml single cream
A pinch of saffron
A pinch of turmeric
4 tablespoons finely chopped coriander leaves
Juice of one lime

Instructions

Start by making your sauce.
Heat the ghee in a large pan or wok over medium heat.
When melted, add the shallots, garlic, ginger and chillies.
Allow to sizzle for about a minute and then add the cumin, coriander powder and turmeric.
Again, let this fry for about a minute.
Now add the coconut milk, saffron and turmeric and bring to a simmer while stirring continuously.
Add the single cream, chopped coriander and lime juice just before serving.
Now for the salmon.
Pick all of the meat out of the crabs and set aside.
In a food processor, blend the bread into very fine bread crumbs and then add the lemon zest and ground pepper.
Toast the bread crumb mixture over medium heat in a large pan until it is just beginning to brown.
Depending on the consistency of your crab meat, you may need to add more bread crumbs to it if it is too liquidy.
Season your salmon steaks with salt and pepper and the spread the crab paste evening over the top.
Sprinkle with the bread crumbs.
Place the steaks on a baking tray and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. I like to serve my salmon pink in the middle so watch the steaks carefully to ensure they cook through to the way you like them.
You could serve this crab crust salmon and sauce with rice but I like serving it with simple new potatoes and stir fried baby spinach leaves.

If you like this crab crust salmon, please be sure to subscribe to by blog. I have many more recipes to come!

Lamb Methi

March 5, 2012 By Dan Toombs 31 Comments

This lamb methi is certain to get gobbled up!

Cooking meat on the bone in curries is not done very often in British Indian restaurant (BIR) style cooking. Mainly because it is more difficult to prepare and eat. If you’re cooking these curries at home, however you will enjoy the extra flavour it adds to your meals.

This is how my son and I decided to cook a large lamb methi curry over the weekend. Normally I would use pre-cooked meat for my restaurant style lamb methi but as we were making the curry for a large group and had hours to do it, we decided to go all out.

We purchased a leg of lamb and we went to work on it. My butcher gave me his meat cleaver when he retired which made the job a lot easier. We took turns chopping away at the leg cutting it into two inch sections.

Once this was done, we roasted the leg parts in the oven which was set to the highest setting and browned the meat for about 40 minutes

The following recipe leaves this step out though by all means do it if you like. This lamb methi is spectacular!

I like to serve this lamb methi curry with fresh naans like this recipe I learned at Sachins in Newcastle.

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Yield: 4

How To Make British Indian Restaurant (BIR) Style Lamb Methi

This is a homemade version of what you might get at a popular Indian restaurant. My ebook shows you how it's done in a busy restaurant kitchen!

Ingredients

1 kilo (2 lbs.) lamb shoulder - cut off the bone into bite sized pieces - retaining the bone
125ml tablespoon ghee or vegetable oil
2 onions - finely chopped
1/2 carrot - grated
1 tablespoon cumin powder
1 tablespoon coriander powder
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon red chilli powder (More or less to taste)
1 tablespoon garlic puree
1 tablespoon ginger puree
250ml (1 cup) chopped tomatoes
1 small bunch fresh methi (fenugreek) leaves or 5 tablespoons tried methi leaves
2 tabelspoons plain yogurt
3 tabelspoons chopped coriander leaves
Juice of on lime
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon garam masala

Instructions

Heat the ghee/oil in a large pan or wok.
When hot, throw in the sliced onions and fry for about 15 minutes stirring continuously so that the onions become soft and translucent but not browned.
Sprinkle in a pinch of salt - this will help release some of the liquid from the onions - and fry for a further minute or two.
Now add the, grated carrot, and the garlic and ginger purees and stir to combine.
Pour in the cumin powder, coriander powder, curry powder and the red chilli powder.
Stir all the ingredients and then add the chopped tomatoes, the meat and bones and just enough water to cover.
Cover and simmer for at least one hour until the meat is nice and tender. Don't rush this stage! If it takes longer, then so be it.
Once the meat is tender, add the turmeric along with the methi leaves followed by the yogurt one teaspoon at a time. It is import to stir the yogurt in slowly or it will curdle.
Let simmer for a further five minutes before adding the chopped coriander and the garam masala.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Add the lime juice and serve with white rice or naans.

If you like this lamb methi, please be sure to share it with your friends using the icons below.

Thanks. 🙂

How To Make British Indian Restaurant (BIR) Style Lamb Bhuna

February 21, 2012 By Dan Toombs 43 Comments

This restaurant style lamb bhuna will get you great restaurant style results.

I have made a lot of beef and lamb bhuna curries over the past year. The authentic Indian bhunas are quite a lot harder to make than this restaurant style bhuna. Bhuna cooking is a style of cooking in India where hot oil is used to release the flavours of a long list of spices before adding raw meat - often cut into small pieces on the bone.

Once the meat is added, stock or water is sprinkled into the pan in small amounts which is then cooked into the meat. This process is repeated for an hour or more until the meat becomes fall off the bone tender and the flavour in the resulting dry curry is out of this world.

lamb bhuna curry — Delicious with a thick gravy that is perfect picked up with a naan or chapati.

How is curry house style lamb bhuna different?

Authentic bhuna cooking as mentioned above would not be possible in a busy Indian curry house so the recipe has been changed.

BIR lamb bhuna is still a dry curry with a rich thick gravy but it is made in a fraction of the time as cooked meat is used instead of slow cooking raw meat.

Also, at curry houses, a base curry sauce is used which becomes the sauce for the curry. This too is a time saver but it also gives the lamb bhuna its unique curry house flavour and texture.

Many Indian restaurants add a drop or two of red food colouring to this dish which gives the meat an attractive pink glow. I didn't do this but you can if you wish.

The food colouring adds no flavour but it does look good.

Ingredients

Fresh ingredients are key to getting the best flavour from this Lamb Bhuna recipe. You’ll find the ingredients listed below, while the precise amounts are provided in the recipe card at the end of the page. For smooth cooking and the best outcome, it’s a good idea to have everything measured and prepared before you begin. All of the authentic Indian restaurant style curry recipes on my site use a base curry sauce. My 'go to' recipe is here.

See recipe card for quantities.

Ghee or rapeseed (canola) oil
Onion, finely chopped
Red bell pepper, diced
Garlic and ginger paste
Coriander (cilantro) stalks, finely chopped
Tomato puree
Mixed powder
Tandoori masala
Base Curry Sauce
Pre-cooked lamb
Natural plain yogurt
Coriander (cilantro) leaves, finely chopped
Lime juice
Red spur chilli, cut into thin rings
Salt

Step by step photos

Below, you’ll see step-by-step photographs to guide you through the recipe. At the bottom of the page, you’ll also find the full recipe card, which includes the complete list of ingredients and written instructions in an easy, printable format.

Step 1:Heat the oil over medium-high heat and fry the onion, bell pepper and and chillies for about 5 minutes

Adding garlic and ginger paste to the pan

Step 2: Stir in the garlic and ginger paste and let it fry for about 30 seconds.

Step 3: Stir in the tomato puree and bring to a bubbling simmer.

Step 4: Stir in a ladle or two of the base sauce. This is a dry curry but you can add more from time to time if the curry is looking too dry.

Step 5: Add the pre-cooked lamb to the pan. You can add more base sauce if needed. Only stir if the sauce is sticking to the pan.

Step 6: As the curry simmers, the base sauce with caramelise to the side of the pan. Scrape this in for more flavour. Season with salt to taste to serve.

Forward Planning

As with most of my British Indian restaurant style curries, you will want to pre cook your meat and make a base sauce first. Once this is done, you can literally cook this lamb bhuna curry in under 10 minutes.

It is always a good ideas to prepare your ingredients before starting cooking.

You don't want to have to start looking for ingredients when that pan is hot.

Curry Sauce

I have written a large and small version of my curry sauce recipe which will need to me made before cooking this recipe.

The large version is made just like they do in the best curry houses. Make a large batch for best results. It keeps in the fridge for three days and freezes well.

The small batch version works well too though it's not as authentic.

PRE-COOKED MEAT

I pre-cook meat in two ways. Most restaurants slow cook their meat in a spicy sauce such as this one for this recipe. They usually swirl in a little of the cooking juices too for extra flavour.

If you're feeling adventurous, you might like to add tandoori lamb tikka instead.

There is another option too if you're in a rush. Simmer the meat in your base sauce until it is really tender.

Don't rush this! Simmering the meat in the base sauce will also give the sauce a delicious meaty flavour.

Here are more curry house curry favourites you might like to try!

Chicken Korma
Chicken Madras
Chicken Dhansak
Lamb Rogan Josh
Lamb Vindaloo
Chicken Chilli Garlic
Chicken Patia

What do you serve with Lamb Bhuna?

Other Curries: If you are serving a group, why not make a few other popular rich Indian curries such as, Chicken Madras, Chicken Dhansak, Lamb Rogan Josh, Lamb Vindaloo, Chicken Chilli Garlic, Chicken Patia, Chicken Korma. Lamb Dopiaza

Rice Dishes: All of these side dishes will go great with dahi chicken curry - Steamed Basmati Rice, Boiled Basmati Rice, Pilau Rice, Mushroom Fried Rice

Breads: Tandoori Naans, Tandoori Roti ,Chapatis , Spiced Chapatis , Stovetop Naans (1493)

Dals: Chana Dal , Tarka Dal, Spinach Dal, Dal Makhani

Storage

Fridge: Allow your dish to cool completely, then store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Flavours often develop even more after a night in the fridge.
Freezer: Portion and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge, then reheat gently on the hob or in the oven until piping hot.

Top Tip

Cook the spices slowly in oil first – before adding any sauce or meat, gently fry your garlic, ginger, and spices in hot oil until fragrant. This “blooming” of spices unlocks their full flavour, giving your lamb bhuna that rich, deep, restaurant-quality taste.

FAQ

Can I use frozen lamb?

Yes, but thaw it fully and pat dry first. This helps it brown properly and prevents it from steaming in the pan.

How do I make it less oily?

Skim off excess oil after cooking, or reduce the initial amount of oil. Using yogurt or tomato puree helps create a thick sauce without extra fat.

Can I make it ahead of time?

Absolutely. Like many curries, bhuna tastes even better the next day as the flavors deepen. Reheat gently on a low heat, adding a splash of water if needed.

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

Pairing

Rice

Naan

Dahls

Have you tried this recipe?

If yes, please give it a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I love receiving your feedback and I’m sure other readers of my blog do too. Thank you.

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Yield: 2

How To Make British Indian Restaurant (BIR) Style Lamb Bhuna

You will get restaurant quality results with the lamb bhuna recipe. Just like you find at the best curry houses! Try this!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

2 tbsp ghee or rapeseed (canola) oil
1/2 onion - finely chopped
1/4 red bell pepper - diced
1 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
2 tbsp coriander (cilantro) stalks - finely chopped
70ml (1/4 cup) tomato puree
1 tbsp mixed powder
1 tbsp tandoori masala
250ml (1 cup) base sauce
300g (11oz) pre-cooked lamb
1 tbsp natural plain yogurt
2 tbsp coriander (cilantro) leaves - finely chopped
Juice of one lime
1 red spur chilli - cut into thin rings
Salt to taste

Instructions

Heat the ghee or oil in a frying pan over medium high heat. When visibly hot, add the chopped onion and bell pepper and fry them for about four minutes or until the onion is soft and translucent.
Stir in the garlic and ginger paste along with the coriander stalks and fry for a further 30 seconds
Stir in the tomato puree and when it begins to simmer, stir in the mixed powder and tandoori masala, followed by about half of the base sauce.
Bring this to a simmer and let it bubble for a couple of minutes, only stirring if the sauce is sticking to the pan. As it simmers, the sauce will caramelise to the side of the pan. Stir this into the sauce for additional flavour.
Stir in the pre-cooked lamb and stir to coat with the sauce. Simmer for a couple of minutes.
Increase the heat to high and add the remaining base sauce. Continue simmering until you have a really thick sauce.
To finish, reduce the heat to medium and whisk in the yoghurt. Check for seasoning and add salt to taste. Top with the fresh coriander and serve with a good squeeze of lime juice and garnish with the spur chilli rings.

Tandoori Masala - Homemade Tandoori Spice Powder

February 17, 2012 By Dan Toombs 28 Comments

For the best tandoori, make your own tandoori masala!

You will find many tandoori masala recipes out there. This tasty spice blend is amazing on poultry, meat, paneer and vegetables. You'll get amazing results every time as the spices are freshly ground and roasted. Doing this really brings out their flavour!

Tandoori masala isn't only good in a marinade. You can use it as a spice blend for many curries including this curry house style chicken tikka masala.

WHY MAKE YOUR OWN TANDOORI MASALA?

It's just plain better! The roasted and ground spices take everything up a notch. There is so much more flavour than anything you can purchase.

The resulting tandoori masala is great used as a dry rub or mixed into marinades and curries.

I usually use mango powder (amchoor) to add a nice citric flavour to the blend. If you want that tandoori restaurant flavour, however you will need to use citric acid powder.

STORING YOUR TANDOORI MASALA

Your homemade tandoori masala will keep for at least three months in an air tight container. This is how I normally store it.

Once you’ve made this recipe, you might like to try making a tandoor masala paste with the powder. Here is the link to my recipe.

The paste lasts longer than the ground powder and is delicious stirred into curries, raitas and marinades.

I don't always add red food colouring powder as it adds no flavour.

If you want that curry house look, however, you might like to add it.

STEP BY STEP PHOTOGRAPHS

Roasting spices for the tandoori masala blend — Roast the whole spices over a medium high heat until warm to the touch and fragrant but not yet smoking.

The roasted spices on a plate cooling. — Pour the hot, roasted spices onto a pate to cool a little.

Adding the roasted spices to a spice grinder — Pour the cooled spices into a spice grinder or grind the with a pestle and mortar.

Adding the dried onions and garlic to a spice grinder. — Add the dried onions and garlic and then grind it all to a fine powder.

Adding the ground spices to the tandoori masala. — Once finely ground, add the turmeric, paprika, amchoor, dried ginger and chilli powder.

Adding red food colouring to the tandoori masala. — This is totally optional. If you would like your tandoori masala to be bright red, add about a tsp of red colouring.

Amazon.co.uk Widgets

Yield: 2 cups (about 18 tbsp)

Tandoori Masala

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

3 tablespoons coriander seeds
3 tablespoons cumin seeds
1 tablespoon black mustard seeds
2 inch piece of cinnamon stick
6 green cardamom pods
1 tbsp black peppercorns
3 dried bayleaves
1 small piece of mace
3 tablespoons dried garlic flakes
2 tablespoons dried onion flakes
1 tablespoon ginger powder
1 tablespoon anchoor (mango) powder or citric acid
1 teaspoon (or more) red food colouring powder (optional)

Instructions

Place the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, cinnamon stick, bay leaves and mace in a dry frying pan and place over medium heat.
Move the spices around in the pan so that they roast evenly. When the spices become warm to the touch and fragrant, remove them from the heat to cool.
Grind these spices with a spice grinder or pestle and mortar until you have a fine powder.
Now grind the garlic and onion flakes until you again have a fine powder and add this mixture to the ground spices along with the ginger powder and amchoor or citric acid powder.
Add food colouring until you are happy with the colour and then store the tandoori masala in an airtight container in a cool cupboard and use as required.

Notes

If you don't have dried garlic and/or dried onions, you can substitute about a tablespoon garlic powder and 2 tsp onion powder. Just add it when you add the other ground spices.

Onion Bhajis

February 10, 2012 By Dan Toombs 79 Comments

Restaurant style onion bhajis at home!

Are you ready to start making the best onion bhajis around? Look no further than this onion bhaji recipe. It gets outstanding results.

These are the onion bhajis that feature in m cookbook 'The Curry Guy' and so many people have tried and loved it. The thing I like most about this onion bhaji recipe is how crispy they get on the exterior while being super soft on and hot in the centre.

If you're counting the calories, you might also like to try my air-fryer onion bhajis and baked onion bhaji recipe.

These are real onion bhajis, not a lot of stodge!

So often, you go out and order onions bhajis just to find they are like little balls of gram flour bread without much onion in them. More often than not, it is the ready made meals that have these stodgy onion bhajis in them.

You won't find that with this recipe!

The onions are first salted to extract moisture out of the onions. Then, that liquid is used to make the batter. The batter really just holds them together. What you find inside is almost all onion!

So here you have my famous and authentic restaurant style onion bhaji recipe!

Make the recipe your own:

Feel free to play with the recipe some. If you like them spicier, add chilli powder or more fresh chillies. Want to try different spices...? Why not?

If it sounds good, it probably will be.

Just in case you aren't familiar with panch phoran - it is Indian five spice. You can purchase it at most Asian shops or you could make it yourself if you have the ingredients on hand.

Just take equal measures of fennel seeds, fenugreek seeds, black mustard seeds, onion seeds and cumin seeds.

Give the mixture a good mix and you have panch phoran. Add as much or as little as you like. Play with the recipe and have fun!

If you like cooking by photos, I have step by step pics below.

The written recipe is at the bottom of this page.

All the ingredients — Sprinkle the salt over the onions and leave for an hour. Then add the remaining ingredients.

forming the bhajis — Form the onion mixture into small onion bhajis.

The bhajis ready for the fryer — Get you bhajis all ready before frying.

Adding to oil — Cook in batches. This is important. Add to many and it will lower the oil temperature.

Onion bhajis after first cook — Transfer the onion bhajis to a paper towels after the first frying.

Frying onion bhajis a second time. — Raise the heat and fry the bhajis for a few more seconds.

You will find many spicy and delicious recipes on my blog. Here are some you've got to try!

Curry house style base sauce - Make a curry just like those at the best curry houses using this sauce.
Lamb Bhuna from Scratch - This one is from my book 'The Curry Guy One Pot'
One Pot Chicken Dhansak - from my book 'The Curry Guy One Pot
Asian Honey Glazed Baked Salmon
Sri Lankan Black Chicken Curry
Peruvian Chicken - Pollo a la Brasa
Korean Braised Beef Stew
Dal Makhani - An Indian restaurant favourite!
Tonkotsu Broth - When only the best will do. This one takes some time but it is just like you find at the best ramen restaurants!
Tonkotsu Ramen - Use that homemade tonkotsu broth in this ramen!
The Best Butter Chicken - Try it and you'll agree.
Authentic Saag Recipe - This is so good
Thai Beef Green Curry - Authentic recipe with homemade curry paste
Air Fryer Chicken Biryani
Cajun Mac and Cheese - The creamiest mac on the planet!
One Pot Chicken Vindaloo
Chicken 65 - One of my favourites. You might also like to try this air fryer chicken 65.
One Pot Chicken Chilli Garlic Curry
Homemade Sriracha Sauce - So much better than any sriracha you can purchase!
Tandoori Chicken Tikka - Homemade is alway best and this recipe gets restaurant quality results.

Have you tried this recipe for onion bhajis?

If yes, please give it a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I love receiving your feedback and I’m sure other readers of my blog do too. Thank you.

If you are not already doing so, please follow The Curry Guy on Instagram and Facebook for all our latest recipes.

Yield: 15

How To Make British Indian Restaurant (BIR) Style Onion Bhajis

Make the best onion bhajis with this crispy and delicious recipe. Step-by-step photos included for perfect results every time.

Prep Time 40 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

3 white onions slightly larger than tennis balls
Oil for deep frying
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon garlic paste
3 green chillies - pounded to a paste
1 tablespoon panch poran*
1 tsp chilli powder
4 tbsp rice flour
140g (approx) sifted gram flour
3 tablespoons finely chopped coriander leaves

Instructions

Cut the onions in half and then finely slice them. Mix the salt into them and set aside for an hour or so.
After an hour the onions will be limp and moist. Add the remaining ingredients to the onions, being careful not to add to much gram flour. You should easily be able to pick up a ball of the onion mixture.
Divide the mixture in to small bhajis.
Heat some oil for deep frying to 160c (320f).
When this heat is reached, cook the bhajis in batches until they turn light brown. Transfer to a plate while you cook the remaining bhajis. At this stage, you are not cooking the bhajis through. You just want to get them started.
Turn the heat up until your oil reaches 180c ((356f)
Add the bhajis in batches and cook for a further couple of minutes until they are crispy and deep brown in colour.
Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain excess oil and serve hot.
If not serving immediately, place in a warm (not hot) oven.

Cucumber Salad

February 8, 2012 By Dan Toombs 12 Comments

This simple cucumber salad is very low in calories while being quite high in taste!

One thing I have learned through making so much Indian food is that there are so many amazingly good recipes out there with next to no calories! That’s right... you can eat healthily and still enjoy some great food. Lately I have been cooking a lot of vegetarian curries and serving them with salads like this this cucumber salad. It only takes minutes to make and works well as a side dish or on its own.

Depending on where you live, you might find it difficult to find all of the ingredients. Do try to source them as they all work so well together in this dish.

Of course, if you must, you could leave some of the ingredients out. It should still be very nice.

On the weekends when I allow myself to indulge a bit more, I like topping naans with a selection of curries and a bit of this cucumber salad and a yogurt raita. It tastes incredibly good.

Yield: 4

Real Indian Food Recipes - How To Make A Healthy Cucumber Salad

Ingredients

1 large cucumber thinly sliced
1 red chilli pepper - deseeded and finely chopped
3 tablespoon fresh coriander finely chopped
The juice of one lemon
4 tablespoon desiccated coconut - toasted in a dry frying pan
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon black mustard seeds
10 fresh (or frozen) curry leaves. DO NOT use dried leaves
1/2 teaspoon asafoetida

Instructions

Place the sliced cucumber into a bowl with the red chilli, fresh coriander, desiccated coconut and lemon juice.
Mix well to coat the cucumber pieces with the other ingredients.
Now pour the vegetable oil into a small frying pan and place over medium high heat.
When the oil is quite hot but not smoking, add the mustard seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida.
Allow to sizzle for about 30 seconds and then more the mixture over the cucumber salad.
Again, stir to combine and serve.

If you like this cucumber salad recipe, please subscribe to my blog. I have many more recipes - some healthy, some quite dangerous - on the way.

Ranch Dressing Recipe

February 7, 2012 By Dan Toombs 11 Comments

Creamy, tangy and flavourful, make this Ranch Dressing Recipe in just 5 minutes!

This Ranch Dressing Recipe is incredibly flavourful and versatile. You will love this recipe for its ability to enhance the flavour of your foods while adding a creamy texture.

Ranch dressing is a popular condiment in the United States. It originates from cowboy Steve Henson. He invited guests to his ranch and wanted to impress them with a salad dressing featuring buttermilk, herbs and spices. This Ranch Dressing Recipe is sure to impress your family and enhance your meals.

Why make homemade ranch dressing?

Obviously you can buy ranch dressing in bottles, but believe me this is far better than you can purchase. There are no preservatives, only fresh ingredients. Whether its to go on a salad, accompany a dish or to stir into this delicious crack chicken recipe, you are going to love it.

What ingredients do you need to make ranch dressing? Can I substitute?

Typically, ranch dressing is made with sour cream, mayonnaise, buttermilk, garlic powder, onion powder, dried dill, dried parsley, salt and black pepper including some extra ingredients I have added to this particular recipe. You can substitute some of these ingredients for healthier alternatives or if you're struggling to get hold of the key ingredients.

You can use Greek yoghurt instead of sour cream in this Ranch recipe as a healthy alternative. Instead of buttermilk, you can use a mixture of regular milk and lemon juice or white vinegar. So easy, there really isn't any excuse to not make this delicious ranch dressing.

What could compliment this Ranch Dressing Recipe?

There are many recipes on the blog that this Ranch Dressing Recipe will compliment well, including this Crack Chicken Crock Pot recipe that requires ranch dressing. I have listed some other suggestions below.

Air Fryer Bang Bang Chicken
Chicken Parmo Recipe – Posh Chicken Parmesan
Oklahoma Onion Burger
Korean Fried Chicken
Smash Burger Recipe
Spicy Smash Burger
Honey Roast Chicken
In-n-Out Burger Recipe

Step by step photographs...

Ingredients for this ranch dressing recipe — Prepare your ingredients. This saves time!

Add the sour cream, buttermilk and mayonnaise to your bowl.

whisking ingredients — Whisk together the ingredients so far.

Add the dried herbs, salt and pepper to the bowl.

lemon juice in the Ranch Dressing Recipe — Stir in the herbs then squeeze the lemon juice into the bowl.

served up ranch dressing — Serve up ready to accompany your meal of choice. Delicious!

Yield: 450ml

Ranch Dressing Recipe

You have to make this creamy, tangy and flavourful Ranch Dressing Recipe!

Prep Time 5 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 cup (120 ml) of sour cream
1/2 cup (120 ml) of buttermilk
1/2 cup (120 ml) of mayonnaise
1 tsp dried dill
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dried chives
1/4 lemon (squeezed)
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Add your sour cream, buttermilk and mayonnaise to a bowl. Mix well to combine.
To the mixture, add your garlic and onion powder, all of your dried herbs and salt and pepper. Give it a good mix to evenly distribute the herbs and spices. (See notes)
Finally, squeeze your lemon juice into the bowl and mix to combine the ingredients one final time. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Notes

Now is the time to try your Ranch Dressing, here you can make the recipe your own and add more garlic, onion powder or herbs based on your own personal preference.

Restaurant Style Lamb Saag

February 4, 2012 By Dan Toombs 47 Comments

This lamb saag recipe will get you restaurant quality results.

I have a restaurant style lamb saag recipe in my cookbook 'The Curry Guy Bible' which I love demonstrating at my cooking classes.

This recipe is similar to that one but in the book the recipe serve 4 or more as part of a multi-course meal. Here I show how to make it as a curry house portion to serve 1 - 2 people.

This lamb saag is amazing with plain Basmati rice or flavoured Basmati rice. You might also like to try it with naans or chapatis. Don't forget the homemade dal and samosas! You might also like to serve this with homemade poppadoms and a selection of chutneys and raitas.

Lamb saag curry recipe — Give this a try! It's even better with a cold beer by the Fourpure Brewing Company!

Ingredients

Fresh ingredients are key to getting the best flavour from this Lamb Saag recipe. You’ll find the ingredients listed below, while the precise amounts are provided in the recipe card at the end of the page. For smooth cooking and the best outcome, it’s a good idea to have everything measured and prepared before you begin. All of the authentic Indian restaurant style curry recipes on my site use a base curry sauce. My 'go to' recipe is here.

See recipe card for quantities.

baby spinach leaves
green bird's eye chillies - roughly chopped
handful coriander (cilantro) leaves
ghee or rapeseed (canola) oil
onion - finely chopped
garlic and ginger paste
coriander (cilantro) stalks
cumin
ground coriander
mixed powder
Kashmiri chilli powder
tomato puree
base sauce
pre-cooked lamb
plain natural yoghurt
lemon
garam masala
Salt to taste

Step by step photos

Step 1:Heat the oil in your pan over medium high heat. Fry the chopped onions for about 5 minutes and then stir in the garlic and ginger paste. Fry for a further 30 seconds.

stirring coriander (cilantro) stems into the pan

Step 2: Stir in the chopped coriander (cilantro) stems.

Step 3: Add the ground spices.

Step 4: Stir it all up well.

Step 5: Add the tomato puree and bring to a simmer.

Step 6: Add the pre-cooked lamb to the pan.

Step 7: Stir to coat the lamb with the sauce. Add more base sauce if the curry is looking dry.

Step 8: Stir in the spinach puree.

Step 9: Stir in the spinach and add the yoghurt.

Adding kasoori methi (fenugreek) to the pan

Step 10: Add the dried fenugreek (methi). Then season with salt to taste to serve.

If you like this lamb saag curry recipe, you might like to try some of these too. No base sauce required...

Railway Curry
Lamb Curry
Keralan Lamb Curry
Stir Fried Lamb
Coconut Lamb
Pre Cooked Lamb

Finished lamb saag curry with other curries. — Dig in!

Prepared ingredients and substitutes for lamb saag.

So this is a lamb saag just like the recipe in my cookbooks. You could however try other main ingredients.

Just like when you go out for a curry and see saag on the menu, you could add something else such as chicken, paneer, king prawns, beef... Whatever sound good to you.

As this is a curry house style recipe, you will need to make a base sauce first. This is really easy and great to have on hand for that last minute curry craving. Here is one of my recipes.

I usually make a large batch and freeze what I don't use. It freezes really well.

You will also need to pre-cook your lamb. Authentic lamb saag curries are made by slowly simmering the lamb until it is tender.

Restaurants don't usually have that much time so they use pre-cooked lamb. You might like to try my stewed lamb recipe or this lamb tikka.

For this lamb saag recipe I used leftover roast leg of lamb.

Here are more curry house curry favourites you might like to try!

Chicken Korma
Chicken Madras
Chicken Dhansak
Lamb Rogan Josh
Lamb Vindaloo
Chicken Chilli Garlic
Chicken Patia

What do you serve with Lamb Saag?

Rice Dishes: All of these side dishes will go great with dahi chicken curry - Steamed Basmati Rice, Boiled Basmati Rice, Pilau Rice, Mushroom Fried Rice

Breads: Tandoori Naans, Tandoori Roti ,Chapatis , Spiced Chapatis , Stovetop Naans (1493)

Dals: Chana Dal , Tarka Dal, Spinach Dal, Dal Makhani

Storage

Top Tip

Blend your spinach (or other greens) into a smooth purée after blanching before adding it to the curry. This gives the saag its silky, restaurant-quality texture, while still allowing the lamb’s richness to shine through.

FAQ

Should I use fresh or frozen spinach?

Both work. Fresh gives a slightly brighter flavor, but frozen is convenient and often used in restaurants. Just thaw and squeeze out excess water before blending.

How do I stop the saag from turning brown?

Don’t overcook the spinach. Blanch it briefly, blend, then stir it into the curry at the end of cooking to keep that deep green colour

Can I make it dairy-free?

Yes. Traditionally, some recipes use ghee and yoghurt, but you can swap for oil and coconut cream (or skip the yoghurt altogether) for a lighter, dairy-free version.

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

Pairing

Rice

Naan

Dahls

You will find many spicy and delicious recipes on my blog. Here are some you've got to try!

Curry house style base sauce - Make a curry just like those at the best curry houses using this sauce.
Lamb Bhuna from Scratch - This one is from my book 'The Curry Guy One Pot'
One Pot Chicken Dhansak - from my book 'The Curry Guy One Pot
Asian Honey Glazed Baked Salmon
Sri Lankan Black Chicken Curry
Peruvian Chicken - Pollo a la Brasa
Korean Braised Beef Stew
Dal Makhani - An Indian restaurant favourite!
Tonkotsu Broth - When only the best will do. This one takes some time but it is just like you find at the best ramen restaurants!
Tonkotsu Ramen - Use that homemade tonkotsu broth in this ramen!
The Best Butter Chicken - Try it and you'll agree.
Authentic Saag Recipe - This is so good
Thai Beef Green Curry - Authentic recipe with homemade curry paste
Air Fryer Chicken Biryani
Cajun Mac and Cheese - The creamiest mac on the planet!
One Pot Chicken Vindaloo
Chicken 65 - One of my favourites. You might also like to try this air fryer chicken 65.
One Pot Chicken Chilli Garlic Curry
Homemade Sriracha Sauce - So much better than any sriracha you can purchase!
Tandoori Chicken Tikka - Homemade is alway best and this recipe gets restaurant quality results.

Have you tried this recipe?

If yes, please give it a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I love receiving your feedback and I’m sure other readers of my blog do too. Thank you.

If you are not already doing so, please follow The Curry Guy on Instagram and Facebook for all our latest recipes.

Yield: 2

How To Make Lamb Saagwala - An Indian Restaurant Favourite

Make delicious restaurant style lamb saag at home just like those at the best restaurants! an Toombs aka The Curry Guy shares his recipe.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

110g (1/4 lb) baby spinach leaves
3 green bird's eye chillies - roughly chopped
1 handful coriander (cilantro) leaves
2 tbsp ghee or rapeseed (canola) oil
1/2 onion - finely chopped
1 1/2 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
1 tbsp coriander (cilantro) stalks
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
2 tbsp mixed powder
1/2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
70ml (1/4 cup) tomato puree
250ml (1 cup) base sauce
300g (11oz) pre-cooked lamb
1 tbsp plain natural yoghurt
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp garam masala
Salt to taste

Instructions

Start by preparing the spinach. Place all of the spinach, chillies, coriander and lime juice in a food processor and blend to a smooth paste. You may need to add just a bit of water to do this. Set aside.
Now heat the ghee/oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium heat.
When hot, add the chopped onions and fry for about 15 minutes until translucent and soft but not overly browned.
Add the ginger and garlic pastes and allow to sizzle for about 30 seconds.
Add the ground spices and stir to combine..
Stir in the tomato puree and bring to a simmer. Then add a ladle or two of the base sauce and bring to a simmer, only stirring if it is sticking to the pan.
Stir in the lamb and ensure it is covered in the bubbling sauce. Then stir in the spinach puree.
Cook for a couple of minutes and then stir in the yoghurt.
Check for seasoning and add the salt to taste.
Stir in the lemon juice and sprinkle with the garam masala and dried fenugreek and serve.

Monkfish Curry

February 2, 2012 By Dan Toombs 31 Comments

Monkfish curry just plain gets it!

I'm a big fan of monkfish. In fact I wasn't sure if I should cook it into a curry the first time I did. I needn't have worried. This monkfish curry is one of my all time favourite curry house style curries. If you're looking for something really different and better than you'll find on most curry house menus, this is one you've got to try.

Ingredients

Fresh ingredients are key to getting the best flavour from this monkfish curry recipe. You’ll find the ingredients listed below, while the precise amounts are provided in the recipe card at the end of the page. For smooth cooking and the best outcome, it’s a good idea to have everything measured and prepared before you begin. All of the authentic Indian restaurant style curry recipes on my site use a base curry sauce. My 'go to' recipe is here.

See recipe card for quantities.

ghee or vegetable oil
garlic and ginger paste
red chilli powder
turmeric
cumin
coriander powder
mixed powder
tomato puree
heated curry sauce - Here is how I make mine
monkfish cut into pieces
thick coconut milk
dried fenugreek leaves (optional)
garam masala
chopped coriander (cilantro)
lemon (optional)
Salt to taste

Step by step photos

Step 1:Heat the oil over medium high heat in the pan and then stir in the garlic and ginger paste.

Step 2: Stir in the ground spices.

Step 3: Stir in the tomato puree and bring to a rolling simmer.

Step 4: Stir in a ladle or so of the base sauce and bring to simmer. Add more when your curry is looking dry.

Step 5: Now stir in the monkfish and ensure it is coated with the bubbling sauce.

Step 6: Add the coconut milk and stir well.

Step 7: Add the kasoori methi (dried fenugreek) leaves and coriander (cilantro) and stir these in.

Step 8: See the crusty bit around the edges? This is caramelised base sauce. Scrape and stir this in for fantastic flavour.

If you like the look of this restaurant style monkfish curry recipe, you might like to try some of these too...

Seafood curry
Easy monkfish curry (no base)
Easy prawn curry
Keralan fish curry
Prawn Pathia - restaurant style

Here are more curry house curry favourites you might like to try!

Chicken Korma
Chicken Madras
Chicken Dhansak
Lamb Rogan Josh
Lamb Vindaloo
Chicken Chilli Garlic
Chicken Patia

What do you serve with Monkfish Curry?

Rice Dishes: All of these side dishes will go great with dahi chicken curry - Steamed Basmati Rice, Boiled Basmati Rice, Pilau Rice, Mushroom Fried Rice

Breads: Tandoori Naans, Tandoori Roti ,Chapatis , Spiced Chapatis , Stovetop Naans (1493)

Dals: Chana Dal , Tarka Dal, Spinach Dal, Dal Makhani

Storage

Top Tip

Add the monkfish towards the end of cooking. Monkfish is firm but can still dry out or become rubbery if overcooked. Simmer the sauce first, then gently poach the monkfish in the curry for just a few minutes until opaque and tender.

FAQ

Can I use another type of fish instead of monkfish?

Can I use another type of fish instead of monkfish?
Yes, firm white fish like cod, haddock, or halibut work well. Monkfish is prized because it holds its shape in curry without breaking apart.

Do I need to marinate the monkfish?

A short marinade with turmeric, salt, and a squeeze of lime or lemon enhances flavor and helps the fish stay firm, but it’s optional.

Can monkfish curry be made ahead?

The sauce can be prepared in advance, but add the monkfish just before serving to avoid overcooking. Reheat the sauce gently, then cook the fish fresh.

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

Pairing

Rice

Naan

Dahls

You will find many spicy and delicious recipes on my blog. Here are some you've got to try!

Curry house style base sauce - Make a curry just like those at the best curry houses using this sauce.
Lamb Bhuna from Scratch - This one is from my book 'The Curry Guy One Pot'
One Pot Chicken Dhansak - from my book 'The Curry Guy One Pot
Asian Honey Glazed Baked Salmon
Sri Lankan Black Chicken Curry
Peruvian Chicken - Pollo a la Brasa
Korean Braised Beef Stew
Dal Makhani - An Indian restaurant favourite!
Tonkotsu Broth - When only the best will do. This one takes some time but it is just like you find at the best ramen restaurants!
Tonkotsu Ramen - Use that homemade tonkotsu broth in this ramen!
The Best Butter Chicken - Try it and you'll agree.
Authentic Saag Recipe - This is so good
Thai Beef Green Curry - Authentic recipe with homemade curry paste
Air Fryer Chicken Biryani
Cajun Mac and Cheese - The creamiest mac on the planet!
One Pot Chicken Vindaloo
Chicken 65 - One of my favourites. You might also like to try this air fryer chicken 65.
One Pot Chicken Chilli Garlic Curry
Homemade Sriracha Sauce - So much better than any sriracha you can purchase!
Tandoori Chicken Tikka - Homemade is alway best and this recipe gets restaurant quality results.

Have you tried this recipe?

If yes, please give it a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I love receiving your feedback and I’m sure other readers of my blog do too. Thank you.

If you are not already doing so, please follow The Curry Guy on Instagram and Facebook for all our latest recipes.

Yield: 2

How To Make Monkfish Curry Just Like They Do At The Fancy Indian Restaurants

Monkfish curry is a curry that is only served at the best curry houses. Now you can make it at home with fantastic results.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

2 tablespoons ghee or vegetable oil
1 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
1/2 - 1 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tbsp mixed powder
70ml (1/4 cup) tomato puree
300ml (1 1/4 cup) heated curry sauce - Here is how I make mine
300g (11 oz) monkfish cut into pieces
60ml (scant 1/4 cup) thick coconut milk
1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves (optional)
1/2 tsp garam masala
2 tbsp chopped coriander (cilantro)
Juice of 1/2 lemon (optional)
Salt to taste

Instructions

Heat the ghee/oil in a frying pan.
Stir in the garlic and ginger paste and let it sizzle for about 30 seconds.
Pour in the turmeric, cumin, coriander powder, red chilli powder and mixed powder.
Allow to sizzle for about twenty seconds and then add the tomato puree.
Let these fry for a further 30 seconds and then add 1 to 2 ladles of base curry sauce. Only stir if the base sauce is sticking to the pan. The base will caramelise to the sides of the pan as it cooks. Stir this back in for additional flavour. Add more base sauce whenever your curry is looking dry.
Add the monkfish pieces and coat then with the sauce to cook through.
Allow to cook for 3 to 5 minutes until the fish is cooked through and the curry sauce is hot. Stir in the coconut milk.
Check for seasoning and sprinkle with salt to taste.
Squeeze the lemon/lime juice (if using) over the top and garnish with freshly chopped coriander and garam masala. Serve immediately.

Chicken Saagwala

February 1, 2012 By Dan Toombs 44 Comments

I think you're going to love this chicken saagwala!

Chicken saagwala is a lightly spiced curry that is as simple as it is appealing. I love it!

If you crave a bit more heat, a sprinkle of freshly chopped green chillies will do the job. The additional chilli also tastes great.

Just be a bit careful so that the chillies zing rather than zap your tongue!

HOW THIS CHICKEN SAAGWALA RECIPE CAME TO BE

When I started my curry blog, I did so with the goal of learning how to cook authentic Indian food.

After a while, however, I began to realise just how popular British Indian restaurant (BIR) style curries like this are.

This recipe is based on several different recipes that were sent to me by top curry chefs around the UK.

For best results, it is important to use fresh baby leaf spinach for this chicken saagwala.

Many curry houses use tinned spinach which simply isn't as nice.

PLANNING AHEAD

As with all BIR meals, it will be much easier and faster if you prepare ahead of time. Be sure to cook your base curry sauce and pre-cook your chicken just like they do in curry house kitchens. If you do, this chicken saagwala will only take you ten minutes to cook and serve.

Curry Sauce
I have written a large and small version of my curry sauce recipe which will need to me made before cooking this recipe.

The large version is made just like they do in the best curry houses. Make a large batch for best results. It keeps in the fridge for three days and freezes well.

The small batch version works well too though it's not as authentic.

PRE-COOKED CHICKEN
I pre-cook chicken in two ways. Most restaurants use this method to prepare their chicken for chicken saagwala.

You could also add tandoori style chicken tikka to this recipe if you'd like to create tandoori Chicken Saagwala.

If you are in a rush, you could also simply simmer your cubed chicken in the base sauce until cooked through.

This adds a really nice flavour to the base sauce. It's another layer of flavour!

For best results when cooking chicken saagwala, please use fresh or frozen spinach. Tinned spinach just doesn't get it!

If you love this recipe try these other similar ones:

PRE COOKED RESTAURANT STYLE CHICKEN
Cumin Chicken Curry
Chicken Curry with Paprika
Chicken Curry with Andhra Chicken Sauce
Chicken Curry with Coconut
Chicken Curry with Black Pepper
Kuzhambu Chicken Curry

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Yield: 3 - 4

How To Make British Indian Restaurant Style Chicken Saagwala

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts - See link to pre-cooked chicken above
750ml (3 cups) Curry sauce - See links to my recipes above
2 tablespoons ghee or vegetable oil
1 tablespoon garlic paste
1 tablespoon ginger paste
1 tablespoon cumin powder
1 tablespoon coriander powder
1 tablespoon chilli powder
200g (about two large handfuls of fresh spinach)
2 fresh green chilies (or more to taste)
juice of one lemon
3 tablespoons finely chopped coriander leaves
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon garam masala

Instructions

Start with the spinach. In a food processor, blend the fresh spinach, green chillies and lemon juice together with just enough water or stock from your pre-cooked chicken so that it blends to a smooth paste. Set aside.
Now heat the ghee or oil in a wok or large frying pan.
Pour in the ginger and garlic pastes and fry for about 30 seconds.
Add the cumin, coriander powder and chilli powder and stir to combine.
When the spices begin to fill the room with their magnificent aroma, pour in the hot curry sauce and chicken pieces. Always add the curry sauce hot.
Allow this to cook for about three to five minutes until the chicken is warmed through and the curry sauce is bubbling nicely.
Now pour in the spinach mixture and stir it in. The red and bright green colours will look amazing together as the spinach and curry sauce blend.
Cook for about another two minutes.
Season with salt and pepper to taste and then check for seasoning. Sprinkle with the chopped coriander and garam masala and serve with white rice or naans.

How To Make Chicken Tikka Masala

January 31, 2012 By Dan Toombs 231 Comments

This is a chicken tikka masala recipe just like those you find at the best curry houses.

There's no doubt about it, chicken tikka masala is a firm favourite at Indian restaurants. The smooth, mild and creamy sauce is out of this world delicious. This is the recipe from my cookbooks The Curry Guy and The Curry Guy Bible but done in a curry house portion to serve 1 to 2 instead of for 4 as in the books.

Chicken Tikka Masala Curry in a frying pan ready to serve.

Is chicken tikka masala Indian or British?

I get asked often in my curry classes how chicken tikka masala came to be in the first place.

British Indian restaurants prepare curries that are a lot different to what you'll find in India. That said, the past few times I visited India, I found chicken tikka masala on the menus just like those you find in the west.

Indian food made its way to the UK and we sent it back again with a British touch. Many chefs in India are now learning how to make BIR (British Indian restaurant) style curries like this chicken tikka masala for tourists and the curious.

What is the origin of chicken tikka masala?

There are many stories about the origin of chicken tikka masala. Some say that it is simply a curry house version of the world famous butter chicken which became popular in New Delhi back in the 50s. This could be true as the two curries are quite similar.

Another theory is that it was developed in a curry house in Glasgow. The story goes that a customer sent his chicken curry back because he found it too dry.

Wishing to please his customer, the chef added tomato soup and cream to the curry. Those were the days before the essential base curry sauce which is now used at all curry houses and in this chicken tikka masala recipe. The customer loved it and the curry was added to their menu.

There are many other stories and the real truth of its origin will probably never be known. One thing is certain... people love it worldwide now.

What do you serve with chicken tikka masala?

If you'd like to make this curry into a feast, you've come to the right place. You could just go for a side of Basmati rice or mushroom fried rice. You might also like to check out all these famous rice sides.

If you'd like to make naans, why not try one of these? Instant naans, Peshwari naans, stove top naans, keema naans, garlic naans, tandoor naans (if you have a tandoor oven), or if you're cooking outdoors, karahi naans. Just as delicious are homemade chapatis.

Want to start your chicken tikka masala meal off with a bang? How about fried shop bought poppadoms or if you're feeling ambitious, make your own poppadoms from scratch and serve them with coriander chutney, red onion chutney, and/or tamarind chutney.

Why not try your chicken tikka masala along with another famous curry house curry like Chicken Madras.

What is this chicken tikka masala different to others?

Most Indian cookbooks and blogs show how to make chicken tikka masala using more authentic Indian cooking methods. Finely chopped onions are fried and water or stock added instead of using the base sauce.

Although this does make a good curry, it's nothing like the restaurant style chicken tikka masalas you find at curry houses. Using a base sauce is essential for getting the correct flavour and sauce texture.

I do have a one pot chicken tikka masala recipe that doesn't use base sauce which you might like to try and compare the two.

Ingredients

There are quite a few ingredients in an authentic chicken tikka masala. Get them prepared and ready before starting. You will find many different chicken tikka recipes below that you can try.

ghee or rapeseed (canola) oil
garlic and ginger paste
sugar
ground almonds
coconut flour
tomato puree or passata
mixed powder
tandoori masala
paprika
base curry sauce
tandoori chicken
single cream
red food colouring powder (optional)
Juice of one lemon
Salt to taste
dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi)
garam masala
coriander (cilantro)

See recipe card for quantities.

How To Make Base Sauce and Chicken Tikka

The Base Sauce

In order to get this chicken tikka masala to taste just like it does when you go out, you will need to do some forward planning. First, you will need to cook a base sauce and have it hot and ready to add to the curry. Following are a few methods you can try with the first and second options being the closest to how. base sauce is cooked at restaurants.

You can also freeze the base sauce for that last minute chicken chicken tikka masala craving. Just be sure to label and date it and freeze it in convenient sized containers. It will freeze for up to 6 months.

The Pre-Cooked Chicken

Although you could add raw chicken and let it cook through in the sauce, that isn't what curry house cooking is all about! By pre-cooking the chicken you will add another delicious layer of flavour. I have many chicken tikka recipes on this site but the following will all be delicious stirred into the tikka masala sauce:

Step by step photographs

Once you have your chicken tikka cooked and base sauce ready, you can cook this curry up in about 10 minutes. You will find substitutes for some of the ingredients listed below.

Frying garlic and ginger paste in oil in a hot pan.

Step 1: Heat the oil in a pan over a medium-high heat and stir in the garlic and ginger paste. Let it fry for about 30 seconds.

adding ground spices to the pan and stirring them into the oil, garlic and ginger.

Step 2: Stir in the ground spices, sugar, ground almonds and coconut flour and let it all sizzle for another 30 seconds.

Step 3: Stir in the tomato puree or passata and bring to a simmer.

Step 4: Then add about a ladle of base sauce and bring it to a simmer.

Adding tandoori chicken to the sauce in the pan

Step 5: Stir in the chicken. Add more base sauce when the curry is looking dry and be sure to scrape any that caramelises to the sides of the pan back in for additional flavour

Adding food colouring to the sauce in the pan

Step 6: If adding food colouring, add it now. Remember to add more base sauce if the curry is looking dry or cook it down if it is too liquidy.

Adding cream to the pan and then adding the kasoori methi

Step 7: Stir in the cream and add the kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves) by rubbing them between your fingers over the top. Season with salt to taste.

adding chopped coriander (cilantro) to the pan

Step 8: Add lemon juice to taste and garnish with the chopped coriander. A spoonful of butter melted into the sauce is also a nice touch.

Authentic chicken tikka masala curry on a fork with rice.

Should you use ghee or oil...

Although oil is usually used at curry houses, this chicken tikka masala recipe will benefit from the buttery flavour of ghee.

Ghee isn't used as much these days because it is more expensive. You can purchase small tubs of ghee that will last you for at least 20 curries.

How do you add the base sauce?

The base sauce should always be added in small amounts. The reason for this is simple: You want it to cook down and caramelise to the pan. As it does this, you scrape it into the pan for extra flavour. If you add too much base sauce at once, it is difficult, but not impossible to get that caramelisation.

I would like to mention here that you will not achieve caramelised sauce if you are using a non-stick pan because the sauce won't stick and sizzle.

Flavour boosting ideas...

Just like tandoori chicken add another layer of flavour to your chicken tikka masala, there are also other things you can do.

One of my personal favourites is to prepare my base curry sauce with chicken stock instead of water. Another way to really achieve excellent flavour when using tandoori chicken is to add the meat juices that accumulate under the cooked chicken.

You should also think about what else you might like to add. Chopped chillies, more salt, sugar, freshly roasted garam masala and lemon juice all help achieve a good combination of spicy, savoury, sour and sweet flavours.

Variations

If you know how to make the recipe fit a certain diet, let the reader know here. Don't fake it - only provide guidance on topics you have actual experience with.

Other proteins - Although chicken is the most popular protein for a tikka masala curry, you could try others like I do in this salmon tikka masala or paneer tikka masala. Same sauce, just a different protein.
Yoghurt - If you want to make a healthier version, try using less oil and substitute whisked yoghurt for the cream. It won't be curry house style but your chicken tikka masala will still be delicious.
Spicy - Chicken tikka masala is known for being a mild curry. When you make it yourself, however there are no rules. Go ahead and add Kashmiri chilli powder to taste instead of or with the paprika.

Substitutes

I hope you try this chicken tikka masala exactly as written. That said, there are a few cheats you can get away with.

Mixed Powder - Mixed powder is commonly used at curry houses. You can easily make it but if you don't have time, you could substitute a good quality curry powder.
Tandoori Chicken - For best results, you will use one of my tandoori chicken recipes on this page. If you want to use up leftover cooked chicken, you could use that instead but you won't get the full flavour of tandoori.
Coconut flour - This is used a lot in curry house style cooking. It just gives the curry a mild flavouring of coconut. You could substitute a tablespoon or two of thick coconut milk.

Useful Kitchen Equipment

You can prepare this chicken tikka masala recipe using whatever you have on hand. Following is some of the equipment I use;

A good blender: One of the things that makes British curries what they are is that smooth sauce. Although you could blend the base sauce in a countertop blender, I prefer using a hand blender for ease and less mess.

A good chef's knife: If you are using tandoori chicken tikka, as I suggest you do, a good, sharp chefs knife important. One excellent quality knife is much better than a selection of useless knives. You know the ones I'm talking about.

A stainless steel of aluminium pan: At curry houses, the pans of choice are aluminium. These are cheap pans that get fantastic results when cooking curry house style curries. Not only do they heat up really quickly but they are also not non-stick. As the curry sauce sizzles over the high heat, it caramelises to the pan. You can scrape those caramelised bits back into the sauce. We are talking delicious here!

Storage

You can store leftovers in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Then just reheat in a pan over a medium heat. You can also use a microwave but I prefer the pan method.

This curry also freezes well for up to 3 months. If you are batch cooking, I recommend not adding the cream until you defrost and reheat the curry. Cream doesn't freeze well but if you have already added the cream, it will be fine.

Top Tip

Use your eyes, not the recipe when you are adding base sauce. Let it come to a simmer and scrape any that caramelises to the side of the pan back in for extra flavour. Add more base sauce if the curry is looking dry and cook it down if there is too much liquid.

FAQ

Do I need to grill the chicken before adding it to the sauce?

Yes! Traditional Chicken Tikka Masala uses grilled or broiled chicken for a smoky flavour. If you don’t have a barbecue or tandoor oven, you can use my stovetop method.

How do you get that deep, bright red colouring?

That is done with red food colouring powder. There is no substitute. The red food colouring has no flavour so it is added purely for presentation.

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

Pairing

Rice and naan

Have you tried this chicken tikka masala recipe?

If yes, please give it a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I love receiving your feedback and I’m sure other readers of my blog do too. Thank you.

If you are not already doing so, please follow The Curry Guy on Instagram and Facebook for all our latest recipes.

I also have a Youtube Channel where I share full videos on how to prepare my recipes. Cook along with me.

Yield: 1 - 2

How To Make Chicken Tikka Masala

All of the spice blends for this chicken tikka masala can be purchased at Indian grocers and online. I have provided links to my homemade blends if you would like to make them. I hope you do! If you don't want to go outside to grill the chicken tikka, you could also try my stovetop chicken tikka and air fryer chicken tikka. Looking for a chicken tikka masala recipe without the base sauce? You can try my One Pot Chicken Tikka Masala from my book 'The Curry Guy One Pot'.

For more ideas, please see notes.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

3 tbsp ghee or rapeseed (canola) oil
1 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
1/2 tbsp sugar (more or less to taste)
1 tbsp ground almonds
1 tbsp coconut flour
70ml (1/4 cup) tomato puree
1 tbsp mixed powder
1 tbsp tandoori masala
1/2 - 1 tbsp paprika
300ml (1 1/2 cups) base curry sauce
300g (11 oz) tandoori chicken
100ml (scant 1/3 cup) single cream (more or less to taste
1 tsp red food colouring powder (optional)
Juice of one lemon (optional)
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi)
1/2 tsp garam masala
2 tbsp chopped coriander (cilantro) to taste

Instructions

Heat the ghee/oil in a frying pan over medium high heat
When visibly hot, add the garlic and ginger paste and stir well to cook out the rawness.
Stir in the coconut flour, sugar, ground almonds, mixed powder, tandoori masala and paprika and again stir well.
Pour in the tomato puree and bring to a simmer. Then add about a ladle of base curry sauce. You will need to top this up from time to time. If the curry is looking too dry, add more base sauce. If too saucy, cook it down.
Bring this all to a bubbling simmer and then add the pre-cooked tandoori chicken. Stir well to coat the meat with the sauce. Remember to add more base if it is looking dry. Scrape around the edges of the pan as the base sauce caramelises to the side. This will add a delicious flavour to your chicken tikka masala.
Now add the food colouring if using.
Continue stirring to colour the sauce adding more of the heated curry sauce when required
Simmer for about a minute and pour in the cream.
Stir in the fresh coriander, season with salt to taste and finish with a squeeze of lemon the dried fenugreek and the garam masala.

Notes

There is so much you can do with this chicken tikka masala recipe!

Proteins: You can substitute any protein you like for the chicken. Why not try this tikka masala sauce with slow cooked chicken? The cooking liquid can also be added in small amounts to the sauce for additional flavour.

You might also like to try this tikka masala sauce with tandoori lamb tikka, slow cooked meat, tandoori prawns, curry house style potatoes or marinated paneer.

How To Make Chicken Dhansak

January 26, 2012 By Dan Toombs 83 Comments

Chicken dhansak is a delicious, mildly spiced curry with lentils. There is a bit of a debate in the UK about how a curry house style chicken dhansak should be cooked. Some insist that it have pineapple chunks in it. Others, of which I am one, prefer to leave the pineapple out.

That said, I developed this chicken dhansak recipe the way it is most often served, with pineapple. Feel free to leave it out though but don't leave out the pineapple juice!

Chicken dhansak is a curry house favourite that is perfect served with plain or flavoured Basmati rice, naan and chapatis, chutneys and of course poppadoms! Don't forget the samosas!

chicken dhansak curry — Chicken dhansak is even amazing paired with an India pale ale by Fourpure Brewing Company.

What exactly is a dhansak curry?

The chicken dhansak you get when you order at your local curry house is nothing like what you would get in India.

BIR (British Indian restaurant) chicken dhansak is a play on a Parsi dhansak.

Traditional Parsi dhansaks are made with goat or mutton and are served with brown rice, The Parsi dhansak also has lots of vegetables like pumpkin, aubergine (eggplant) and potato added to the sauce as well. Often, many different varieties of lentil are used to make the sauce along with a long list of spices.

Our curry house style dhansak is a lot less complicated, though it is a sweet and sour curry like the original. Lentils are added to the sauce, with lemon juice as a souring agent and pineapple juice and pineapple (sometimes) added for sweetness.

Ingredients

Fresh ingredients are key to getting the best flavour from this chicken dhansak recipe. You’ll find the ingredients listed below, while the precise amounts are provided in the recipe card at the end of the page. For smooth cooking and the best outcome, it’s a good idea to have everything measured and prepared before you begin. All of the authentic Indian restaurant style curry recipes on my site use a base curry sauce. My 'go to' recipe is here.

See recipe card for quantities.

ghee or vegetable oil
garlic and ginger paste
ground turmeric
mixed powder
chilli powder (more or less to taste)
tomato puree
red split lentils (rinsed and cook until soft - about 30 minutes)
heated base curry sauce
pre-cooked chicken
salt and pepper to taste
pineapple juice
pineapple rings - cut into pieces
Salt to taste
Juice of one lemon
2 tbsp chopped coriander (cilantro)

How To Make Base Sauce and Chicken Tikka

The Base Sauce

The Pre-Cooked Chicken

Step by step photos

Step 1: Heat the oil in a pan over medium-high heat and stir in the garlic and ginger paste and turmeric. Fry for 30 seconds.

Adding spices and tomato puree to the pan

Step 2: Add the spices and stir. Then add the tomato puree, stirring again to combine.

Step 3: Stir and combine.

Step 4: Add the lentils and a ladle of the base sauce. Top up the sauce as needed.

Step 5: Stir in the pre-cooked chicken.

Step 6: IBring to a simmer and add more base sauce if looking dry. If too saucy, cook it down.

Step 7: Stir in the pineapple juice, pineapple pieces (if using) and lemon juice. Season with salt to taste and garnish with the chopped coriander (cilantro).

Step 8: Dig in!

If you like the look of this chicken dhansak, you might like to try some of these too...

Seafood curry
Easy monkfish curry (no base)
Easy prawn curry
Keralan fish curry
Prawn Pathia - restaurant style

Here are more curry house curry favourites you might like to try!

Chicken Korma
Chicken Madras
Lamb Rogan Josh
Lamb Vindaloo
Chicken Chilli Garlic
Chicken Patia

What do you serve with Chicken Dhansak Curry?

Other Curries: If you are serving a group, why not make a few other popular rich Indian curries such as, Chicken Madras, Lamb Rogan Josh, Lamb Vindaloo, Chicken Chilli Garlic, Chicken Patia, Chicken Korma. Lamb Dopiaza

Rice Dishes: All of these side dishes will go great with dahi chicken curry - Steamed Basmati Rice, Boiled Basmati Rice, Pilau Rice, Mushroom Fried Rice

Breads: Tandoori Naans, Tandoori Roti ,Chapatis , Spiced Chapatis , Stovetop Naans (1493)

Dals: Chana Dal , Tarka Dal, Spinach Dal, Dal Makhani

Storage

Top Tip

Cook the lentils separately and blend them smooth before adding to the curry base. This gives the dhansak its signature thick, velvety texture and lets you control the balance of lentil richness and spiced tomato sauce, just like in restaurants.

FAQ

Is chicken dhansak meant to be sweet or sour?

Both. A good dhansak balances sweetness (often from pineapple or sugar) with tanginess (lemon juice or tamarind). Restaurant versions lean slightly towards sweet-and-sour with a medium heat.

Can I use tinned lentils?

Yes. While traditional recipes use dried red lentils, tinned lentils save time and still give a creamy finish once blended. Just rinse well before using.

How spicy should a dhansak be?

hansak is usually medium spiced in UK restaurants, but you can easily adjust the heat with more or fewer chillies to suit your taste.

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

Pairing

Rice

Naan

Dahls

You will find many spicy and delicious recipes on my blog. Here are some you've got to try!

Curry house style base sauce - Make a curry just like those at the best curry houses using this sauce.
Lamb Bhuna from Scratch - This one is from my book 'The Curry Guy One Pot'
One Pot Chicken Dhansak - from my book 'The Curry Guy One Pot
Asian Honey Glazed Baked Salmon
Sri Lankan Black Chicken Curry
Peruvian Chicken - Pollo a la Brasa
Korean Braised Beef Stew
Dal Makhani - An Indian restaurant favourite!
Tonkotsu Broth - When only the best will do. This one takes some time but it is just like you find at the best ramen restaurants!
Tonkotsu Ramen - Use that homemade tonkotsu broth in this ramen!
The Best Butter Chicken - Try it and you'll agree.
Authentic Saag Recipe - This is so good
Thai Beef Green Curry - Authentic recipe with homemade curry paste
Air Fryer Chicken Biryani
Cajun Mac and Cheese - The creamiest mac on the planet!
One Pot Chicken Vindaloo
Chicken 65 - One of my favourites. You might also like to try this air fryer chicken 65.
One Pot Chicken Chilli Garlic Curry
Homemade Sriracha Sauce - So much better than any sriracha you can purchase!
Tandoori Chicken Tikka - Homemade is alway best and this recipe gets restaurant quality results.

Have you tried this recipe?

If yes, please give it a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I love receiving your feedback and I’m sure other readers of my blog do too. Thank you.

If you are not already doing so, please follow The Curry Guy on Instagram and Facebook for all our latest recipes.

Yield: 2

How To Make Chicken Dhansak

Chicken dhansak is a curry house classic and you can easily make it at home. This recipe will get you restaurant quality results.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

2 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil
1 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp mixed powder
2 tsp chilli powder (more or less to taste)
70ml (1/4 cup) tomato puree
90g (1/4 cup) red split lentils (rinsed and cook until soft - about 30 minutes)
250ml (1 cup) approx. heated base curry sauce
350g (11oz) pre-cooked chicken
salt and pepper to taste
100ml pineapple juice
2 - 3 tinned (canned) pineapple rings - cut into pieces
Salt to taste
Juice of one lemon
2 tbsp chopped coriander (cilantro)

Instructions

Heat the ghee/oil over medium heat. Add the turmeric and the ginger and garlic paste and let sizzle for about 30 seconds. The turmeric will darken in colour as it cooks.
Stir in the remaining ground spices and fry for a few seconds in the oil.
Add the tomato puree and stir to combine with the spices. Bring to a simmer and then add about one ladle of base sauce. The base sauce should be added as required. If the curry is looking dry, add more base sauce. If too saucy, cook it down.
Add the cooked lentils and stir it all up. Be careful as lentils will burn to the bottom. Stir often and reduce the heat if necessary.
Now add the chicken pieces and the pineapple juice and pineapple pieces. Remember to add more base as required.
Season with salt to taste and squeeze the lemon juice over the top. Garnish with the chopped coriander and serve.

Restaurant Style Lamb Vindaloo Curry

January 23, 2012 By Dan Toombs 94 Comments

When people think of lamb vindaloo curry, it's recipes like this restaurant style vindaloo that come to mind. Make it... you'll love it! I had a few friends from my hometown in California visit me in the UK recently and they couldn't wait to dig into a real lamb vindaloo curry. So I decided to make them this!

They had tried authentic Goan vindaloo curry a few times at restaurants in the US but were finding it hard to find anything like the vindaloos we get here in the UK. You can enjoy this lamb vindaloo just like you would at a good curry house with plain or flavoured Basmati rice, naans or chapatis, samosas, dal and of course a few good chutneys or raitas!

Watch how I make this Restaurant Style Lamb Vindaloo

So what exactly is lamb vindaloo curry?

Before moving on the this lamb vindaloo curry recipe, here's a bit of vindaloo trivia for you.

Authentic vindaloo curry owes its origins to Portuguese controlled Goa in the fifteenth century where the dish was served with pork meat.

The name vindaloo was most likely a mispronunciation of the similar Portuguese dish carne de vinho e alhos or meat with wine and garlic.

So the Goan cooks called this new and much loved vinho e alhos 'vindaloo' and the name stuck. Notice the 'aloo' at the end of 'vindaloo'.

This caused one of many changes in the recipe when it was served hundreds of years later at British curry houses.

One thing the Goans changed when making vinho e albos or vindaloo was that they add a lot of chillies. They loved chillies which had only recently made their way to the Indian subcontinent from the new world.

Ingredients

Fresh ingredients are key to getting the best flavour from this lamb vindaloo recipe. You’ll find the ingredients listed below, while the precise amounts are provided in the recipe card at the end of the page. For smooth cooking and the best outcome, it’s a good idea to have everything measured and prepared before you begin. All of the authentic Indian restaurant style curry recipes on my site use a base curry sauce. My 'go to' recipe is here.

See recipe card for quantities.

apeseed (canola) oil
cardamom pods - bruised
star anise
Indian bay leaf
garlic and ginger paste
bird's eye chillies - finely chopped
scotch bonnet chilli - finely chopped
ground turmeric
Kashmiri chilli powder
mixed powder
tomato puree
base sauce
white wine vinegar
fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi)
pre-cooked potato - peeled
coriander (cilantro) - finely chopped
Salt to taste

How To Make Base Sauce

In order to get this Lamb Vindaloo to taste just like it does when you go out, you will need to do some forward planning. First, you will need to cook a base sauce and have it hot and ready to add to the curry. Following are a few methods you can try with the first and second options being the closest to how. base sauce is cooked at restaurants.

You can also freeze the base sauce for that last minute Lamb Vindaloo craving. Just be sure to label and date it and freeze it in convenient sized containers. It will freeze for up to 6 months.

Pre-Cooked Meat

I have used pre-cooked lamb for this recipe. Pre-cooking the meat not only makes cooking faster but also adds another delicious layer of flavour. Here is my recipe for this method.

You could use the main ingredient of your choice. For example, try this vindaloo recipe with tandoori chicken tikka or marinated and grilled paneer.

You may also like to try a more tandoori style lamb. Here's my tandoori lamb tikka recipe which tastes amazing in a vindaloo.

Do I have to pre-cook the meat?

That is how you will get curry house style results. I am asked often if you have to pre-cook the meat. It does add another layer of flavour so it is worth doing.

That said, you could add the meat raw and just cook it longer. A lot longer! Lamb takes at least 40 minutes to cook to tender.

You will of course need to add more liquid during the cooking process too.

I prefer to do it the curry house way and have lots of pre-cooked meat on hand. It's faster. It tastes better. It freezes well. Do that and you can whip up this curry house style lamb vindaloo in minutes.

Step by step photos

Step 1: Heat the oil over medium high heat and add the whole spices to infuse and flavour the oil.

Step 2: Stir in the garlic and ginger paste and fry for about 30 seconds.

Step 3: Now add the chillies and ground spices and stir into the oil.

Step 4: Stir in the tomato puree and bring to a simmer.

Step 5: With the tomato puree simmering, stir in a ladle or two of the base sauce.

Step 6: Bring this to a simmer, adding more base sauce if it is looking dry. Be sure to scrape any caramelised sauce from the side of the pan into the sauce.

Step 7: Add the pre-cooked meat and stir to coat in the sauce.

Step 8: Add the pre-cooked potatoes and stir well.

Step 9: Stir in the dried fenugreek (methi) and the lemon juice.

Step 10: Season with salt to taste and add a little coriander (cilantro). Leave some to garnish before serving.

So what's the difference between British Indian restaurant (BIR) vindaloo curry and the more authentic versions?

Many UK Indian restaurant chefs add potatoes to their vindaloo curries. ‘Aloo’ means 'potato' in Hindi and Urdu so a lot of the original self-taught Pakistani and Bangladeshi immigrant chefs mistakenly added potatoes to this fiery curry and it stuck.

British Indian restaurant vindaloo is not very similar to the authentic Goan version other than in name and that it is quite spicy. If you would like to read my authentic pork vindaloo recipe, please click here.

As most curry houses are muslim run, the use of pork was a big no no. When dining out you are much more likely to order vindaloo with a range of main ingredients from chicken to lamb to paneer.

How did this curry house vindaloo recipe come about?

This recipe is the result of trial and error and of course watching many great curry house chefs do their work. I have been lucky to have been invited into hundreds of curry house kitchens to see the chefs work their magic.

I use both green chillies and also super hot scotch bonnet chillies just like many of the chefs I learned from do.

It is spicy but not over the top so. You can still taste and enjoy all the flavours. If you want yours even hotter, just add more chillies or chilli powder. That tends to do the job.

By the way, if you are adding potatoes to this lamb vindaloo curry, I recommend cooking them in the curry base sauce until very tender. Then just scoop them out and add them to your vindaloo curry.

You could just boil them in water too.

You might also like to cook your potatoes ahead of time as many curry house chefs do. Here is a good recipe for doing this.

Here are more curry house curry favourites you might like to try!

Chicken Korma
Chicken Madras
Lamb Rogan Josh
Chicken Dhansak
Chicken Chilli Garlic
Chicken Patia

What do you serve with Chicken Dhansak Curry?

Other Curries: If you are serving a group, why not make a few other popular rich Indian curries such as, Chicken Madras, Lamb Rogan Josh, Chicken Dhansak, Chicken Chilli Garlic, Chicken Patia, Chicken Korma. Lamb Dopiaza

Rice Dishes: All of these side dishes will go great with dahi chicken curry - Steamed Basmati Rice, Boiled Basmati Rice, Pilau Rice, Mushroom Fried Rice

Breads: Tandoori Naans, Tandoori Roti ,Chapatis , Spiced Chapatis , Stovetop Naans (1493)

Dals: Chana Dal , Tarka Dal, Spinach Dal, Dal Makhani

Storage

Top Tip

Marinate the pre-cooked lamb overnight in a mix of vinegar, spices, and garlic/ginger paste. This tenderises the meat and infuses it with the signature tangy, spicy flavour that makes restaurant vindaloo so punchy.

FAQ

Can I make vindaloo less spicy?

Yes. Reduce the number of chillies or use milder chilli powder. Restaurants often balance heat with a little sugar or extra tomato to soften the intensity.

Do I need to use vinegar?

Yes. Vinegar gives vindaloo its distinctive tang. You can adjust the amount for a milder acidity if preferred.

Can I make it ahead of time?

Absolutely. Vindaloo flavours deepen after a day, so it often tastes even better reheated gently the next day.

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

Pairing

Rice

Naan

Dahls

Have you tried this recipe?

If yes, please give it a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I love receiving your feedback and I’m sure other readers of my blog do too. Thank you.

If you are not already doing so, please follow The Curry Guy on Instagram and Facebook for all our latest recipes.

Yield: 2

How To Make Lamb Vindaloo

This is an authentic British curry house style vindaloo, not to be confused with the Goan vindaloo which is a lot different. I love this recipe. Give it a try.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

2 tbsp rapeseed (canola) oil
3 green cardamom pods - bruised
1 star anise
1 Indian bay leaf
1 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
2 green bird's eye chillies - finely chopped
1 scotch bonnet chilli - finely chopped
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder
1 tbsp mixed powder
70ml (1/4 cup) tomato puree
300ml (1 1/4 cups) base sauce
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi)
1 pre-cooked potato - peeled
1 tbsp coriander (cilantro) - finely chopped
Salt to taste

Instructions

Heat the oil over medium-high heat and then throw in the cardamom pods, star anise and bay leaf. Allow these ingredients to infuse into the oil for about 30 seconds and then add the garlic ginger paste.
Stir the garlic ginger paste into the spice infused oil and then add all the chopped chillies. Fry these for about 30 seconds and then add the ground spices and fry for a further 30 seconds.
Your pan might be looking a bit dry at this point. Add the tomato puree and a couple of ladles of the base sauce and bring to a simmer. Only stir if it looks like the sauce is sticking to the pan.
Stir in the pre-cooked lamb and stir to coat with the sauce. Simmer for about 3 minutes adding more base if it is looking dry.
Add the vinegar and then the fenugreek leaves by rubbing them between your fingers. Add the pre-cooked potato and heat them through in the sauce. Then garnish with coriander (cilantro).
Season with salt to taste.

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How To Make Chicken Madras

January 22, 2012 By Dan Toombs 175 Comments

Chicken madras curry as it should be! This recipe gets restaurant quality results! Slightly milder than a vindaloo and equally as delicious, if you like spicy curries, you'll love this madras curry recipe. This is how chicken madras curry is made at the best curry houses.

I know because I have visited and cooked at so many of them! If you have my cookbook 'The Curry Guy' and/or 'The Curry Guy Bible', you might recognise the madras curry sauce. In the books I featured lamb madras curry to serve 4 people. Here I have done it with chicken in a curry house portion to serve 1 - 2 people.

Chicken Madras curry on a serving plate with chapati. — If you like your curries spicy, this vindaloo curry is one you have to try!

You can make things easier on yourself!

This is a chicken madras curry recipe just like those you'll find at curry houses. To make it, you will need to first prepare a base sauce and pre-cook your chicken.

It tastes amazing but if you would like to make a chicken madras curry without all the forward preparation, you could try my one pan version here.

About this chicken madras curry recipe...

Back in the early 90s when I moved to the UK, Indian food was a new cuisine for me. Chicken madras curry and also vindaloo were my favourites as I love spicy food.

In fact, it was my love of chicken madras curry that led me to starting my blog in the first place. The blog started as an authentic Indian food blog but before long I was receiving requests from readers to show how to make British Indian restaurant (BIR) style recipes.

Before long, I was right in the middle of the restaurant kitchens, learning the secrets behind curry house style curries like this chicken madras.

Ingredients

Fresh ingredients are key to getting the best flavour from this Chicken Madras recipe. You’ll find the ingredients listed below, while the precise amounts are provided in the recipe card at the end of the page. For smooth cooking and the best outcome, it’s a good idea to have everything measured and prepared before you begin. All of the authentic Indian restaurant style curry recipes on my site use a base curry sauce. My 'go to' recipe is here.

See recipe card for quantities.

rapeseed (canola) oil
Kashmiri chillies
green cardamom pods
garlic and ginger paste
bird's eye chillies
ground cumin
ground coriander
turmeric
kashmiri chilli powder
mixed powder
tomato puree
base sauce
pre-cooked chicken
smooth mango chutney or lime pickle
lime
garam masala
fresh coriander (cilantro) to garnish
Salt to taste

How To Make Base Sauce

In order to get this chicken madras to taste just like it does when you go out, you will need to do some forward planning. First, you will need to cook a base sauce and have it hot and ready to add to the curry. Following are a few methods you can try with the first and second options being the closest to how. base sauce is cooked at restaurants.

You can also freeze the base sauce for that last minute chicken chicken madras craving. Just be sure to label and date it and freeze it in convenient sized containers. It will freeze for up to 6 months.

Pre-Cooked Chicken

Although you could add raw chicken and let it cook through in the sauce, that isn't what curry house cooking is all about! By pre-cooking the chicken you will add another delicious layer of flavour. I have many chicken madras on this site but the following will all be delicious stirred into the madras sauce:

Step by step photos

Step 1: Heat the oil over medium-high heat and then throw in the whole spices to infuse.

Step 2: Add the garlic and ginger paste and fry for about 30 seconds.

Step 3: Stir in the ground spices.

Step 4: Then add the tomato puree and bring to a simmer.

Step 5: In go the green chillies.

Step 6: Add a ladle or two of the base sauce. You can continue topping this up if the curry is looking dry.

Adding chicken to the chicken madras curry

Step 7: Dump in the chicken and stir well to coat with the sauce.

Adding mango chutney to the madras curry

Step 8: Add the mango chutney and bring it all to a rolling simmer, adding more base as needed.

Step 9: Top with fresh coriander.

What is the difference between a chicken madras curry and a vindaloo?

Vindaloos are now made a lot more like the authentic Goan pork vindaloo. That said, pork isn't used at most curry houses because they are run by muslims. They do add ingredients like vinegar and spicier fresh chillies to give their vindaloos a flavour that is similar but usually spicier than an authentic vindaloo. This gave them them a flavour that was different but equally as delicious to the Madras.

A chicken madras curry is just over medium heat where vindaloo will often give you a spicy kick to remember.

Go on... You know you want it. Make this and enjoy!

Do I have to use chicken?

Of course not! This Madras curry recipe is all about the sauce. Any meat, vegetables or paneer can be used as a main ingredient. For example, try this tandoori paneer.

One of my favourites! Try this lamb vindaloo today.

What do you serve with Chicken Dhansak Curry?

Other Curries: If you are serving a group, why not make a few other popular rich Indian curries such as, Lamb Rogan Josh, Chicken Dhansak, Chicken Chilli Garlic, Chicken Patia, Chicken Korma. Lamb Dopiaza,

Rice Dishes: All of these side dishes will go great with dahi chicken curry - Steamed Basmati Rice, Boiled Basmati Rice, Pilau Rice, Mushroom Fried Rice

Breads: Tandoori Naans, Tandoori Roti ,Chapatis , Spiced Chapatis , Stovetop Naans

Dals: Chana Dal , Tarka Dal, Spinach Dal, Dal Makhani

Storage

Top Tip

Fry your spices in the oil until they release their aroma before adding the base sauce. This “tempering” step is what gives restaurant curries their deep, rounded flavour and stops the dish tasting flat.

FAQ

How do I make my Chicken Madras as spicy as the restaurant version?

You can control the heat by adding more fresh chillies, extra chilli powder, or using hot Madras curry powder. Restaurants often balance the heat with a touch of lemon juice or vinegar.

Why does my curry taste different to takeaway?

Restaurants prepare a “base curry sauce” in bulk, which is lighter and onion-heavy. Adding this in ladlefuls while cooking creates the smooth texture and depth of flavour you’re used to.

Can I make Chicken Madras ahead of time?

Yes – it actually tastes better the next day as the spices develop. Just cool quickly, refrigerate, and reheat thoroughly. Add a splash of water if it thickens too much.

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

Pairing

Rice

Naan

Dahls

Have you tried this recipe?

If yes, please give it a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I love receiving your feedback and I’m sure other readers of my blog do too. Thank you.

If you are not already doing so, please follow The Curry Guy on Instagram and Facebook for all our latest recipes.

I also have a Youtube Channel where I share full videos on how to prepare my recipes. Cook along with me.

Yield: 2

How To Make Chicken Madras

This curry house style chicken curry is a favourite with spicy food fans. You can adjust the heat of this chicken Madras curry to taste.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

2 tbsp rapeseed (canola) oil
2 dried Kashmiri chillies
2 green cardamom pods
1 1/2 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
2 green bird's eye chillies
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp kashmiri chilli powder
1 tbsp mixed powder
70ml (1/4 cup) tomato puree
300ml (1 1/4 cups) base sauce
300g (11oz) pre-cooked chicken
1 tbsp smooth mango chutney or lime pickle
Juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tbsp fresh coriander (cilantro) to garnish
Salt to taste

Instructions

Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add the dried Kashmiri chillies and cardamom pods.
Move these whole spices around in the oil for about 30 seconds to infuse into the oli and then add the garlic and ginger paste. Fry for a further 30 seconds.
Add the green chillies followed by the cumin, coriander, turmeric, chilli powder and mixed powder and stir to combine.
Stir in the tomato puree followed bye a ladle full or two of the base sauce. Bring to a simmer and then add the chicken pieces. Only stir if the base sauce is obviously sticking to the pan. As the base sauce cooks, it will caramelise to the side of the pan. Scrape this in for more flavour.
Stir in the mango chutney and lime juice. Allow to simmer for a couple of minutes, again only stirring if the sauce is obviously sticking to the pan.
To finish, sprinkle the garam masala over the top, garnish with the fresh coriander (cilantro) and season with salt to taste.

Chana Dal

January 20, 2012 By Dan Toombs 12 Comments

You can serve this chana dal as a side or main dish.

Walk into any Indian restaurant and chana dal is almost certain to be on the menu. Many people think of chana dal as a side dish for a good curry with a few naans and chapattis and/or rice. Don't forget the poppadoms and samosas!

The thing is, chana dal is also amazing as a main meal. You can serve it on its own or over rice and never be disappointed.

What is Chana Dal?

Chana dal, also known as split chickpeas, is a type of lentil made from dried, split, and skinned chickpeas (garbanzo beans). Not only is the lentil used to make Indian style chana dal but it is also a popular ingredient in other South Asian cuisines.

Chana dal is yellow in colour and has a mild, nutty flavor. It is rich in protein, fibre, and various essential nutrients, making it a nutritious and versatile ingredient in various dishes.

Where is this recipe from?

I have seen chana dal cooked at restaurants more times than I can count. This is a recipe inspired by a visit to Prashad in Bradford. It features in my cookbook 'The Curry Guy Bible'.

Is it difficult to make this dal?

Not at all! All you need to do is soak the lentils for about 30 minutes and then cook them until soft. This takes about 45 minutes.

While the lentils are cooking, you can prepare the tarka which only takes minutes to make. Then you stir the tarka into the soft lentils and you've got yourself one of the best dals on the planet!

What is the difference between tarka dal and chana dal?

You do make a tarka for this chana dal recipe so why isn't it a tarka dal? In theory, it actually is but there are differences.

With this chana dal, the tarka you prepare with ghee or oil, onion, garlic and spices is stirred right into the chana dal. It becomes part of the soupy lentil dish.

With tarka dal, there are usually fewer ingredients in the tarka and it is poured over the cooked lentils to serve. The tarka actually floats on top.

Can you prepare this dish ahead of time?

Yes! In fact much easier than you can tarka dal because the tarka is stirred in.

You can prepare this dal up to a few days ahead of serving. The flavour actually gets better and bolder as it rests in the fridge. Then all you have to do is heat it up in a pan or in your microwave and serve.

Are any of the ingredients difficult to find?

No! The most difficult to find would be asafoetida but I purchased mine from my local supermarket so you will find it.

The lentils are quite common and easy to find too. If you do have trouble finding any of the ingredients, you will surely find them online.

How long can you keep chana dal in the fridge?

You should be able to store this in your fridge for up to 5 days. Then just heat it up in a pan or microwave and serve.

Can you freeze chana dal?

Yep. I have some in my freezer right now as I write this. It freezes well for up to 6 months.

It's great to have on hand for that last minute curry feast. You don't have to just settle for a curry and rice. Take it out and serve your chana dal with the curry and rice.

To blend or not to blend? That's the question.

You might like a really smooth chana dal. This is done by first blending the cooked lentils before adding the tarka.

Personally, I prefer a bit of texture so I rarely blend the lentils. Both options are right. It's down to you and your personal preference.

How do you serve chana dal?

You can serve it as a side for one or more curries or serve it like you would a curry, over rice.

One way I like to serve chana dal is as a soup. To do this, just add a little more water or stock to thin the finished dal a bit. There are so many tasty ingredients in chana dal that adding a little water or stock will not take away from the flavour.

If you find that it does, simply stir in more spices or salt to taste.

Step by step photographs.

Ingredients for chana dal. — Soak your lentils for at least 30 minutes and gather all your ingredients together.

Cooking the lentils. — Heat 750ml (3 cups) water in a saucepan and add the soaked lentils. Skim off any foam that rises to the top and cook until soft. The whole process takes about 45 minutes

The dal is ready when it's ready!

You should find that this chana dal takes about 45 minutes to cook. You might taste it after 45 minutes and find the lentils are still a bit hard. Let it keep cooking and add more water if needed.

It will only take a few more minutes and it may as well be cooked to perfection!

Infusing the flavour of cumin seeds into hot oil. — While the lentils are simmering, start making the tarka. Heat oil or ghee over a medium heat and stir in the cumin seeds to infuse for about 30 seconds.

Adding onions to the pan to fry until soft and translucent. — Stir in the chopped onions and add a little salt. The salt will help the onions cook faster. Fry for about 5 minutes or until soft and translucent.

Adding chopped garlic and chilies to the pan to fry for 30 seconds. — Stir in the garlic and chilies and fry for a further 30 seconds.

Stirring ground spices and chopped tomatoes into the other ingredients. — Now add the chopped tomatoes and ground spices and stir well to combine.

Continuing to fry the tarka to soften and mix the flavours. — Fry for a further few minutes to soften.

Adding the tarka to the cooked lentils. — When your dal is cooked to your liking, pour the tarka over the top and stir it in.

If you like this chana dal recipe, you might like to try some of the Indian Vegetarian favourites.

See more Indian Vegetarian Recipes →

Dal Recipes are often served alongside a delicious curry or two. Here are my top Indian curry recipes you may like to try.

Rice

See more Indian Rice Recipes →

Naan

See more Indian bread recipes →

Have you tried this chana dal recipe?

If yes, please give it a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I love receiving your feedback and I'm sure other readers of my blog do too. Thank you.

If you are not already doing so, please follow me on Instagram and Facebook for all my latest recipes.

Yield: 4

Chana Dhal - Yellow Split Lentils - A Popular Curry House Side Dish

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

300g dry chana dhal – soaked in water for two hours
3 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 pinch asafetida
1 - 5 green or red finger chillies – finely chopped
5 cloves garlic – finely chopped
3 tomatoes roughly chopped
1/2 onion - finely chopped
1 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
salt to taste
2 tbsp fresh coriander (cilantro), finely chopped

Instructions

Rinse the lentils in several changes of water and then place in a saucepan with 750ml (3 cups) water.
Bring the water to the boil and be sure to skim off any of the foam that rises to the top.
Reduce the heat and simmer until the lentils are soft - about 45 - 60 minutes. Do not strain. Allow the water to reduce down.
Meanwhile, in a separate pan, melt the ghee over medium high heat. Toss in the cumin seeds and fry for about 30 seconds and then add the chopped onions and sprinkle with a little salt to assist cooking. Fry the onion until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
Now stir in the garlic and chillies and fry for a further 30 seconds.
Add the chopped tomatoes, turmeric, coriander powder, asafoetida and cumin powder and stir well to combine.
Your lentils are ready when they are nice and soft. You can serve it like this or do as many chefs and blend the lentils until creamy.
Whisk the onion and ghee mixture into the lentils and sprinkle in the garam masala.
To serve, top with a little chopped coriander and a little more garam masala if you like.

How To Make Chicken Chilli Garlic Curry

January 19, 2012 By Dan Toombs 134 Comments

Chicken chilli garlic curry is a curry house favourite!

Now you can make chicken chilli garlic curry that is just as good as, if not better than what you find at the best curry houses. This recipe is straight forward, authentic and easy.

If you like garlic and a spicy kick to your curries, this chicken chilli garlic curry is one you need to try. Make your curry into a feast with a side of rice, naans or chapatis, a selection of chutneys and dal. Of course, don't forget the samosas!

Who should make chicken chilli garlic curry?

Garlicky and spicy, chicken chilli garlic curry has to be one of my all time favourites.

I have experimented with this recipe many times and talked my way into a few restaurant kitchens for tips. This is a winner!

Anyone who loves garlic and spicy chillies needs to give this chicken chilli garlic curry a try.

This recipe is quite spicy but not numbingly so. You can always add a few more chillies at the end if you want to turn the zing into a zap.

If spicy curries aren't your thing, just reduce the amount of chillies and/or chilli powder.

Getting curry house style curries right...

At curry houses, the chefs make their curries using a base sauce. This is an essential ingredient for achieving that famous flavour and sauce texture.

This means that there is some prep work you need to do before starting a curry house style curry.

I usually make my tandoori meats and base curry sauce in large batches so I always have some on hand for that last minute curry craving.

Once the preparation is done, both the sauce and tandoori meat can be frozen with excellent results.

If you want to take you Indian restaurant style curries to a whole new and delicious level, try my spice blend recipes too.

Ingredients

Fresh ingredients are key to getting the best flavour from this Chicken Chilli Garlic recipe. You’ll find the ingredients listed below, while the precise amounts are provided in the recipe card at the end of the page. For smooth cooking and the best outcome, it’s a good idea to have everything measured and prepared before you begin. All of the authentic Indian restaurant style curry recipes on my site use a base curry sauce. My 'go to' recipe is here.

See recipe card for quantities.

rapeseed (canola) oil
garlic cloves, cut into thin slivers
onion, finely chopped
garlic and ginger paste
fresh green chillies, sliced into thin rings, plus extra to serve (optional)
chilli powder
mixed powder or curry powder
tandoori masala
tomato purée
base curry sauce, heated
tandoori chicken tikka
dried garlic flakes (optional)
dried fenugreek (methi) leaves
chopped coriander (cilantro)
lime (optional)
Salt

How To Make Base Sauce

In order to get this chicken chilli garlic to taste just like it does when you go out, you will need to do some forward planning. First, you will need to cook a base sauce and have it hot and ready to add to the curry. Following are a few methods you can try with the first and second options being the closest to how. base sauce is cooked at restaurants.

You can also freeze the base sauce for that last minute chicken chilli garlic craving. Just be sure to label and date it and freeze it in convenient sized containers. It will freeze for up to 6 months.

Pre-Cooked Chicken

Step by step photos

Step 1: Heat the oil over medium heat and fry the garlic slivers until soft but not burnt. Stir in the onion and fry for a further 3 - 5 minutes.

Adding chillies and garlic/ginger paste to the pan

Step 2: Stir in the chopped chillies and garlic and ginger paste. Fry for about 30 seconds.

Adding chilli powder and mixed powder to the pan

Step 3: Stir in the mixed powder and chilli powder.

Step 4: Stir the tomato puree into the pan and bring to a simmer.

Step 5: Add a ladle or two of the base sauce.

Step 6: Bring to a simmer.

Step 7: Add the pre-cooked chicken and stir to coat with the sauce.

Stirring in dried garlic and coriander (cilantro)

Step 8: Add a little dried garlic and some coriander. (optional) and stir it into the sauce.

Step 9: Add the dried fenugreek (methi) and stir it in.

Alternative Ingredients...

So this might be a chicken chilli garlic curry but the recipe is really all about the sauce.

You don't have to use chicken! Just like when you go out for a curry and see chilli garlic curry on the menu, you can decide what goes into it.

Try this with tandoori lamb tikka, paneer, keema or vegetable kofta for example.

If it sounds good, it will be.

finished chicken chilli garlic curry — Top with some more coriander and dried garlic flakes if you like. A twist of lime juice is also nice. Season with salt to taste.

Do I have to use chicken?

Of course not! This Madras curry recipe is all about the sauce. Any meat, vegetables or paneer can be used as a main ingredient. For example, try this tandoori paneer.

Here are more curry house curry favourites you might like to try!

Chicken Korma
Lamb Rogan Josh
Chicken Dhansak
Chicken Chilli Garlic
Chicken Patia

What do you serve with Chicken Dhansak Curry?

Other Curries: If you are serving a group, why not make a few other popular rich Indian curries such as, Lamb Rogan Josh, Chicken Dhansak, Chicken Madras, Chicken Patia, Chicken Korma. Lamb Dopiaza,

Rice Dishes: All of these side dishes will go great with dahi chicken curry - Steamed Basmati Rice, Boiled Basmati Rice, Pilau Rice, Mushroom Fried Rice

Breads: Tandoori Naans, Tandoori Roti ,Chapatis , Spiced Chapatis , Stovetop Naans (1493)

Dals: Chana Dal , Tarka Dal, Spinach Dal, Dal Makhani

Storage

Top Tip

Add the garlic in two stages: first when frying with onions for depth, then later with fresh chopped or sliced garlic for that bold, punchy flavour that makes the dish stand out.

FAQ

How do I balance the garlic so it isn’t overpowering?

Use both cooked and fresh garlic, but don’t overdo the raw at the end. A handful of fresh coriander and a squeeze of lemon helps balance it out.

Can I make it less spicy but keep the flavour?

Yes – reduce the number of chillies but still add them for fragrance. You can also use mild Kashmiri chilli powder, which gives rich colour without too much heat.

Why is my sauce too thin or watery?

Simmer it uncovered for a few minutes after adding the base sauce. This thickens it up and intensifies the flavour, just like restaurants do on a hot tawa.

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

Pairing

Rice

Naan

Dahls

You will find many spicy and delicious recipes on my blog. Here are some you've got to try!

Curry house style base sauce - Make a curry just like those at the best curry houses using this sauce.
Lamb Bhuna from Scratch - This one is from my book 'The Curry Guy One Pot'
One Pot Chicken Dhansak - from my book 'The Curry Guy One Pot
Asian Honey Glazed Baked Salmon
Sri Lankan Black Chicken Curry
Peruvian Chicken - Pollo a la Brasa
Korean Braised Beef Stew
Dal Makhani - An Indian restaurant favourite!
Tonkotsu Broth - When only the best will do. This one takes some time but it is just like you find at the best ramen restaurants!
Tonkotsu Ramen - Use that homemade tonkotsu broth in this ramen!
The Best Butter Chicken - Try it and you'll agree.
Authentic Saag Recipe - This is so good
Thai Beef Green Curry - Authentic recipe with homemade curry paste
Air Fryer Chicken Biryani
Cajun Mac and Cheese - The creamiest mac on the planet!
One Pot Chicken Vindaloo
Chicken 65 - One of my favourites. You might also like to try this air fryer chicken 65.
One Pot Chicken Chilli Garlic Curry
Homemade Sriracha Sauce - So much better than any sriracha you can purchase!
Tandoori Chicken Tikka - Homemade is alway best and this recipe gets restaurant quality results.

Have you tried this recipe?

If yes, please give it a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I love receiving your feedback and I’m sure other readers of my blog do too. Thank you.

If you are not already doing so, please follow The Curry Guy on Instagram and Facebook for all our latest recipes.

Yield: 2

How To Make Chicken Chilli Garlic

Learn how to make a delicious and authentic chicken chilli garlic curry at home. Quick, easy, and full of flavour.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

3 tbsp rapeseed (canola) oil
8 garlic cloves, cut into thin slivers
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
2 (or more) fresh green chillies, sliced into thin rings, plus extra to serve (optional)
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tbsp mixed powder or curry powder
1 tbsp tandoori masala
70ml (1/4 cup) tomato purée
300ml (1 1/4 cups) base curry sauce, heated
300g (11 oz) tandoori chicken tikka
1 handful of dried garlic flakes (optional)
1 tsp dried fenugreek (methi) leaves
2 tbsp chopped coriander (cilantro)
Juice of one lime (optional)
Salt

Instructions

Heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat and add the garlic. It is very important not to burn the garlic, so watch the pan and move the slivers around in the pan until they become soft and are just beginning to brown.
Now add the onion and fry for about 3 minutes until soft and translucent, sprinkling a little salt over the onions to help release moisture.
Stir in the garlic and ginger paste and chillies, and fry for about 20 seconds. Increase the heat to medium-high, add the ground spices and tomato purée and sizzle for a further 30 seconds, stirring continuously.
Add about a ladle or two of the base curry sauce and bring to a rolling simmer. (You don’t need to stir the sauce unless it is obviously catching on the pan.)
Be sure to scrape any sauce that caramelises to the sides of the pan back into the sauce. Add more base as required. If the curry is looking too dry, add more base. If too saucy, just cook it down.
Add the pre cooked chicken and coat with the sauce
Continue simmering until fenugreek leaves and check for seasoning, adding salt to taste.
Sprinkle with the chopped coriander (cilantro) and a few more chillies if you like. A twist of lime juice is a nice addition.

Chicken Pathia

January 18, 2012 By Dan Toombs 66 Comments

Like your curries sweet, sour and mildly spiced? Try this chicken pathia!

Many people love a good pathia and the great news is, they are easy to prepare at home. No need to go out for an expensive takeaway! Give this recipe from my cookbook 'The Curry Guy Bible' a try. The recipe in my cookbook serves 4 but I have scaled this one down to a curry house portion to serve one to two. You can easily upscale the recipe if you like.

About this recipe

Chicken pathia is a UK original! It was developed first by Bangladeshi chefs at British curry houses in an attempt to compete with the hugely popular sweet and sour chicken that was becoming popular at Chinese takeaways.

Chicken pathia is so good with plain Basmati rice or flavoured Basmati rice. You might also like to try it with naans or chapatis. Don't forget the homemade dal and samosas! You might also like to serve this with homemade poppadoms and a selection of chutneys and raitas.

How To Make Base Sauce and Chicken Tikka

The Base Sauce

In order to get this chicken pathia to taste just like it does when you go out, you will need to do some forward planning. First, you will need to cook a base sauce and have it hot and ready to add to the curry. Following are a few methods you can try with the first and second options being the closest to how. base sauce is cooked at restaurants.

You can also freeze the base sauce for that last minute chicken pathia craving. Just be sure to label and date it and freeze it in convenient sized containers. It will freeze for up to 6 months.

The Pre-Cooked Chicken

Ingredients

Get your ingredients prepared and ready before you start cooking. With the prep done, this recipe should only take about 10 minutes to cook!

rapeseed (canola) oil
onion, finely chopped
garlic and ginger paste
mixed powder
Kashmiri chilli powder
sugar (more or less to taste)
tomato puree or passata
base curry sauce
pre-cooked chicken
smooth mango chutney
tamarind concentrate
dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi)
Juice of one lemon
red food colouring (optional)
chopped coriander (cilantro)
Salt to taste

See recipe card for quantities.

Step by Step Photographs

When you look at these step by step photos, you see just how quickly and easily your chicken pathia will come together. For more detailed instruction, please read the method in the recipe card below.

Step 1: Heat the oil over a medium-high heat and stir in the chopped onions. Fry for about 5 minutes to soften.

Adding garlic and ginger paste to the frying onions in the pan.

Step 2: Stir in the garlic and ginger paste and fry for another 30 seconds.

Adding spices to the onions, garlic and ginger in the pan

Step 3: Now add the ground spices and stir well to combine.

Adding tomato puree (pasatta) to the pan.

Step 4: Add the passata or tomato puree and bring to a simmer.

Adding base sauce to the pan and bringing it to a simmer.

Step 5: Add about a ladle of the base sauce and bring to a simmer.

adding pre-cooked chicken to the curry sauce in the pan

Step 6: Stir in the pre-cooked chicken.

Adding mango chutney and tamarind to give a sweet and sour flavour to the sauce.

Step 7: Add more base sauce as needed. If the curry is looking dry, add more. If it is too liquidy, cook it down to your preferred thickness. Stir in the dried fenugreek leaves, tamarind and chuntney.

FInishing the curry off by adding food colouring and garnishing with chopped coriander (cilantro)

Step 8: Add the coriander (cilantro) and season with salt to taste.

Step 9: Give it all another good stir. This is a good time to adjust the sweet and sour flavours to taste too.

Step 10: Serve hot with rice or naans.

Tips & Tricks

Get that pan smoking hot. In the recipe I suggest cooking over a medium-high heat but as you get better at cooking curry house style curries, feel free to turn up the heat for more caramelisation and flavour.

Substitutions

Chicken pathia is hugely popular at restaurant but so are other proteins.

You might like to add tandoori prawns to the sauce instead of chicken to make a prawn patia. Lamb tikka, vegetable kofta, tandoori paneer, beef... All of these will work.

Variations

Variation is what curry house style cooking is all about. This recipe is for a pathia like you might have tried many times at Indian restaurants and takeaways. You can, however vary the flavour to taste. It may not still be a traditional chicken pathia but it could be just the flavour you are going for. Try some of the following and see how you like it:

Spicy - Stir in chopped green chillies to taste or and more chilli powder
Deluxe - This recipe doesn't call for cream but you could add some for a creamier texture at the end of cooking, just before serving.
Kid friendly - Leave out the chilli powder or use sweet paprika.

What do you serve with Chicken Patia?

Other Curries: If you are serving a group, why not make a few other popular rich Indian curries such as, Lamb Rogan Josh, Chicken Dhansak, Chicken Madras, Chicken Chilli Garlic, Chicken Korma. Lamb Dopiaza,

Rice Dishes: All of these side dishes will go great with dahi chicken curry - Steamed Basmati Rice, Boiled Basmati Rice, Pilau Rice, Mushroom Fried Rice

Breads: Tandoori Naans, Tandoori Roti ,Chapatis , Spiced Chapatis , Stovetop Naans (1493)

Dals: Chana Dal , Tarka Dal, Spinach Dal, Dal Makhani

Equipment

At curry houses, the chefs most often use inexpensive aluminium pans because they heat up fast. Personally I have cooked curries like this chicken pathia in many different pans such as stainless steel and cast iron. It works so use what you have.

That said, I don't recommend using pans with a non-stick surface. You want the base sauce to caramelise to the pan for additional flavour which is not possible

Storage

If you would like to work ahead or have leftovers, you can store your curry in an air-tight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. It will actually improve as the flavours develop.

You can also freeze this curry for up to 6 months. Just let it defrost completely and then reheat in a pan or in your microwave.

Top Tip

Cooking curry house style was developed over time for ease, speed and economy at restaurants. Get you base sauce heated up and your ingredients at the ready before you start cooking. You'll be able to whip this popular curry up in minutes!

FAQ

What is the secret to achieving the authentic British Indian restaurant (BIR) curry flavour?

That amazing flavour comes from several things including a base sauce and pre-cooked meats and vegetables. Using these will get you what you're looking for. Yes, there is some preparation to do but once that's done, you will be cooking curry house style curries like a professional.

How do you prepare a proper base sauce?

Over the years I have added a few different base sauce recipes to this blog. The one I use most is the curry house version which is slowly cooked for about an hour or longer. You will also find my 20 minute base sauce and slow cooker base sauce are excellent substitutes.

What oil is used by chefs at curry houses?

It is usually sunflower or rapeseed oil because both of these oils have a high smoking point, perfect for this style of cooking. For a richer flavour, you could also use ghee. Any oil with a high smoking point will do. Just don't ever use olive oil. It tastes great on a salad but it will burn and taste terrible in a curry like this.

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

Pairing

Rice

Yield: 2

How to Make Chicken Pathia Curry

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

2 tbsp rapeseed (canola) oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
1 tbsp mixed powder
1 tsp red chilli powder (more or less to taste)
1 tbsp sugar (more or less to taste)
70ml (1/4 cup) tomato puree
300ml (1 1/4 cup) approx. base curry sauce
350g ( 12oz) pre-cooked chicken
1/2 tbsp smooth mango chutney
1/2 tsp tamarind concentrate
1/2 tsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi)
Juice of one lemon
red food colouring (optional)
2 tbsp chopped coriander (cilantro)
Salt to taste

Instructions

Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. When hot, stir in the chopped onion and fry for about 3 to 5 minutes or until soft.
Add the garlic and ginger paste and stir, allowing to sizzle for about 45 seconds.
Now add the mixed powder, chilli powder, and sugar and fry for a further 30 seconds.
Add the tomato puree followed by a ladle of base sauce. Continue adding a little base as required. If the curry is looking too dry, add more base sauce. If too saucy, just cook it down.
Stir in the pre-cooked chicken or what ever pre-cooked main ingredient you like.
Now add the tamarind concentrate and mango chutney and stir it into the sauce.
Allow to cook down to your preferred sauce texture or add more base sauce if necessary.
Add the dried methi and lemon juice. The stir in the food colouring if using.
Garnish with the chopped coriander (cilantro) and season with salt to taste.

Chickpea Curry

January 8, 2012 By Dan Toombs 13 Comments

If you like this chickpea curry recipe, let me know. I have many more

This chickpea curry can be served hot or cold. If served hot, you should add more tomatoes and spices to make a more liquid sauce. I prefer to eat chickpea curry cold as an appetizer or light lunch. Chickpea curry is normally eaten by hand or wrapped up in an Indian bread such as naan.

Over the years, I have come across quite a few chickpea curry recipes and they almost always go down well. This recipe is my own though it is quite similar to most of the recipes out there.

I love recipes like this. They are low in fat yet you don't have to compromise on flavour. If you agree, please use the share icons at the bottom of this page to help spread the word. Thanks.

Love Indian Vegetarian Recipes? Why not try one of these too...

All Indian Vegetarian recipes

Rice

See more Indian Rice Recipes →

Naan

See more Indian bread recipes →

Dahls

See more Dal Recipes →

Chickpea curry is often eaten by hand or wrapped in chapati or naan.

Yield: 4

How To Make Chickpea Curry - Delicious Indian Street Food

Ingredients

400ml (1 tin) chickpeas
1 large tomato chopped
1 onion roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic - smashed
1 inch ginger - sliced and smashed
1 (or more) fresh green chili chopped
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon garam masala - my homemade recipe is here
1 teaspoon amchoor (dried mango powder)
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Blend the onion, tomato, garlic, ginger and chili together in a food processor until smooth and set aside.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan and then add the bay leaves and turmeric. The turmeric will darken in colour as if fries.
Stir the turmeric and bay leaves in the oil for about 30 seconds and then add the chickpeas along with the cumin, coriander, garam masala and amchoor powder.
Pour in the tomato mixture and simmer until most of the liquid evaporates - about five minutes.
Check for seasoning, adding just enough salt and pepper and allow to cool to room temperature.

Chilli Roasted Pistachios

December 30, 2011 By Dan Toombs 11 Comments

Chilli roasted Pistachios anyone?

These chilli roasted pistachios just plain gets it!

Great for picnics or snacks you can’t go wrong with this easy dish so I really hope you give it a try.

Once made, they keep for months in an air-tight container in a cool and dark place. I usually quadruple this recipe for that reason.

The spicy and savoury ingredients would work with almost any type of nut but I really love the flavour of these chilli roasted pistachios together with the tangy lime.

It works so well with the natural sweetness of pistachios. Plenty of salt is also a good thing. At least for your taste buds!

I purchase unsalted pistachios. If you can only find salted pistachios, leave the salt out of the recipe and add it at the end.

To shell or not to shell?

I like these both with the shells on or shelled.

If I'm cutting back on the calories, I leave them in the shells. It's more work and they are also cheaper to purchase that way.

If you really want to go for it though, buy your pistachios shelled. Yum!

That's how I usually do it.

Where is this roasted pistachio recipe from?

I'm not even sure if it's Indian as I've never seen them served there. I first tried roasted pistachios like this at a curry house in Darlington.

They were so good and the perfect start to the meal. I think the chef there added a little honey to his roasted pistachios too but I like this recipe as is.

If you want to add a bit of sweetness, honey roasted pistachios are very good. Just add about 2 tsp honey to the following recipe.

Getting this recipe right.

When you first take the roasted pistachios out of the oven, they may not be as crunchy as you are expecting.

That's ok! This recipe works. Just let them cool slightly and they will be deliciously crunchy.

Once you try the recipe, however you might like to try other variations. The main part of this recipe is the roasting time, add what you like.

Rosemary is awesome, pounded and then added to the marinade. So is black pepper! You might also like to adjust how much chilli powder you use.

Taste and adjust is what I always say.

Step by step instructions... Be sure to watch the video.

roasted pistachios — Add the olive oil and lime juice.

Add all the remaining ingredients and stir well to coat.

Baking pistachios — Bake until roasted to your liking. Be sure to stir from time to time.

chilli and garlic pistachios — I bet you can't eat just one.

Salted pistachios — Add a bit more salt if you like.

If you like these salty and spicy chilli roasted pistachios, you might like to try some of these snacks too...

Samosa chaat
Toor dhal samosas
Spinach chaat
dahi papdi chaat
Roasted chickepeas

Yield: 10

How to make Chilli Roasted Pistachios

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

2 cups pistachios
1/2 fresh lime
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon red chili powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Preheat your oven 175°C (350°F).
Whisk together lime juice, olive oil, chili powder, salt and garlic powder. Stir in pistachios to coat evenly.
Spread the nuts over a baking tray.
Roast on the middle rack for about 20 - 30 minutes or until the spice mixture has dried on the nuts or shells.
The aroma in your kitchen will be amazing as they roast.
After about 30 minutes, remove the nuts from the oven. The nuts will get more crispy as they cool.

Whether you are planning an Indian dinner or you just want something different to present at your next get-together, chilli roasted pistachio should be on your list.

Chicken Do Pyaza - Restaurant Style Chicken Dopiaza

December 13, 2011 By Dan Toombs 23 Comments

If you’re a fan of British Indian Restaurant (BIR) cooking, you’ve probably already noticed one thing: onions are the backbone of most curry house dishes. But when it comes to curry where onions are the star of the show, nothing beats the legendary Chicken Do Pyaza, often spelt Chicken dopiaza.

Rich, aromatic, savoury, and beautifully textured with soft onions cooked into the sauce and chunky onions stirred in at the end, Chicken Do Pyaza is one of those dishes that often surprises people. It’s not flashy. It’s not terrifyingly hot. It is not bright red or loaded with cream. Instead, it’s a deeply comforting curry that showcases the sweetness, aroma, and complexity of onions in a way few dishes can match.Intro paragraph

Chicken Do Pyaza served on a plate with rice.

What Is Chicken Dopiaza?

The name do pyaza or dopiaza literally means “two onions” or “double onions”. But that doesn’t mean twice the amount, it's about using onions in two distinct ways:

Onions cooked into the sauce until they melt and help create a thick, rich gravy.
Chunky and sliced fried onions added toward the end, giving the curry texture, sweetness, and that signature dopiaza character.

Chicken Do Pyaza sits somewhere between a bhuna and a medium curry. It’s richer than a rogan josh, less acidic than a madras, and not as chilli-heavy as vindaloo. Instead, it’s known for:

A balanced spice profile
A savoury-sweet onion-forward flavour
Tender chicken pieces
A medium level of heat
A thick, glossy onion gravy

In British curry houses, it’s classed as a medium curry, usually slightly less spicy than a jalfrezi but richer than a standard curry.

The History of Do Pyaza (dopiaza)

Get to know your curries!

Do Pyaza is one of the oldest documented Indo-Persian dishes, dating back more than 500 years. It is widely believed to have originated in the kitchens of the Mughal Empire, where Persian influence shaped much of royal cuisine.

Onions were abundant, inexpensive, and central to Persian cooking, so a dish that celebrated onions in two ways made perfect sense.

As the dish travelled across India, regional variations developed:

In Hyderabad, dopiaza often includes whole spices and can be quite spicy.
In North India, it’s more tomato-based with tangy notes.
In BIR restaurants, the dopiaza has evolved into a gravy-based curry with a medium heat level and signature onion chunks added late in cooking.

The British Indian Restaurant version is unique. While still onion-heavy, it relies on the typical BIR base gravy, pre-cooked chicken or tandoori chicken tikka and fast, high-heat cooking to create that takeaway-style richness.

Ingredients

Be sure to get all your ingredients prepared and ready before you start cooking. It's easier that way. The ingredient measurements are in the recipe card at the bottom of this page.

See recipe card for quantities.

Rapeseed (canola) oil
Onion
Cardamom pods, lightly bruised
Cumin seeds
Coriander seeds, roughly chopped
Garlic and ginger paste
Mixed powder
Ground cumin
Kashmiri chilli powder
Tomato purée
Base curry sauce
Pre-cooked chicken
Onion paste made with yoghurt
Dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi)
Salt, to taste
Fresh coriander (cilantro)
Garam masala

Step by step photos

Check out my step by step photos below to see for yourself just how easy it is to make restaurant quality Chicken Do Pyaza. The exact ingredient measurements are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this page.

Step 1: Fry two medium, thinly sliced onions in oil until crispy and browned. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a paper towel on a plate and set aside.

The blended onions before mixing with the yoghurt.

Step 2: Blend the onions into a paste. Use 4 tablespoons of this paste to make a yoghurt and onion paste by whisking in about 3 tablespoons of yoghurt. Set aside.

Step 3: Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large pan over a high heat. When good and hot, toss in the onion petals and sear them until they are nicely charred but still quite crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate.

Infusing the whole spices in oil for 30 seconds.

Step 4: Reduce the heat to medium–high and pour in the rest of the oil. When bubbles start to appear, add the whole spices. Stir the spices around in the oil for about 30 seconds

Adding the garlic and ginger paste to the whole spices in the pan.

Step 5: Stir in the garlic and ginger paste and let it sizzle until fragrant.

Adding the tomato purée and ground spices.

Step 6: Then add the mixed powder, ground cumin, chilli powder and tomato purée.

Step 7: Give this all a good stir and then add a ladleful of the base curry sauce. The curry sauce will begin to bubble rapidly and, when it does, add the rest of the sauce.

Step 8: Turn up the heat and simmer; some of the sauce may begin to caramelize on the side of the pan, so just stir this in from time to time for more flavour.

Stirring in the chicken and seasoning the sauce. Stirring in the onion and yoghurt paste.

Step 9: Add the chicken pieces and continue to simmer, without stirring, for about 2 minutes until the chicken is warmed through. The sauce will cook down and become thicker, but if it becomes too thick for your liking, add a little chicken stock or base curry sauce. Stir in the onion paste 1 tablespoon at a time, then the dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi) and charred onion petals.

Chicken do pyaza at the table with rice and naan.

Step 10: Season with salt, then sprinkle with the coriander (cilantro), fried onions and garam masala to serve.

Storage and Reheating

Storing Chicken Dopiaza

Fridge: Up to 3 days in a sealed container.
Freezer: Up to 3 months.
Freeze in single portions for easy reheating.

Reheating

Do not reheat more than once.

On the hob: Best method. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if needed.

Microwave: Heat in 1-minute intervals, stirring frequently.

Top Tip

Brown the onions deeply.
Darker onions = deeper, sweeter, more complex dopiaza. That onion paste in the recipe can really add to the dish!

FAQ

Is Chicken Do Pyaza spicy?

It’s traditionally medium heat. You can make it milder by omitting chilli powder or hotter by adding fresh chillies or more chilli powder.

Can you make this curry without the base sauce?

Yes and that is easy too. It just takes a little longer to cook. Give this One Pot Chicken Dopiaza (Do Pyaza) a try.

Can this curry be made vegetarian?

Absolutely. Paneer, chickpeas, tofu and/or vegetables all work beautifully.

Which is better, chicken thighs or breasts?

That's down to the cook. I prefer thigh meat because it has more flavour. Many people prefer breast meat because it is white meat and it's easier to see that it is cooked through. Red thigh meat often looks raw even when it is perfectly cooked through.

My curry is too thin. How do I fix it?

Turn up the heat and reduce the sauce uncovered until thickened. Likewise, if your curry is too thick, just add more base sauce.

Can you add peppers to this curry?

Many curry houses do. Green peppers add sweetness and aroma.

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these curry house favourites:

Pairing

A good side of rice always goes down well.

Have you tried this Chicken Do Pyaza recipe?

If yes, please give it a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I love receiving your feedback and I’m sure other readers of my blog do too. Thank you.

If you are not already doing so, please follow The Curry Guy on Instagram and Facebook for all our latest recipes.

Yield: 1 to 2

Chicken Do Pyaza

This is a curry house style Chicken Do Pyaza (dopiaza) that you can literally prepare in about 20 minutes if you have batch cooked chicken tikka and the essential base curry sauce. It's just as good, if not better than the chicken do piaza curries you find at the best curry houses.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

4 tbsp rapeseed (canola) oil
1/2 small onion, quartered and divided into petals
3 green cardamom pods, lightly bruised
½ tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp coriander seeds, roughly chopped
1 ½ tbsp garlic and ginger paste
2 tsp mixed powder
½ tsp ground cumin
1–2 tsp mild or hot chilli powder, to taste
70ml tomato purée
300ml (2 cups) base curry sauce
300g (10.5 oz) pre-cooked chicken
4 tbsp onion paste made with yoghurt
½ tsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi)
Salt, to taste
Small bunch of coriander (cilantro), chopped
½ tsp garam masala

Instructions

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large pan over a high heat. When good and hot, toss in the onion petals and sear them until they are nicely charred but still quite crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate.
Reduce the heat to medium–high and pour in the rest of the oil. When bubbles start to appear, add the whole spices. Stir the spices around in the oil for about 30 seconds and enjoy the aroma of that awesome meal you’re making.
Stir in the garlic and ginger paste and let it sizzle until fragrant, then add the mixed powder, ground cumin, chilli powder and tomato purée.
Give this all a good stir and then add a ladleful of the base curry sauce. The curry sauce will begin to bubble rapidly and, when it does, add the rest of the sauce.
Turn up the heat and simmer; some of the sauce may begin to caramelize on the side of the pan, so just stir this in from time to time for more flavour.
Add the chicken pieces and continue to simmer, without stirring, for about 2 minutes until the chicken is warmed through.
The sauce will cook down and become thicker, but if it becomes too thick for your liking, add a little chicken stock or base curry sauce.
Stir in the onion paste 1 tablespoon at a time, then the dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi) and charred onion petals. Season with salt, then sprinkle with the coriander (cilantro), fried onions and garam masala to serve.

Onion Sauce

December 13, 2011 By Dan Toombs 37 Comments

British Indian Restaurant (BIR) style onion sauce is super easy to make but takes a long time so plan ahead.

This onion sauce is part of what makes do piazza curries so good. It can also be added to other curries for extra flavour.

The secret to success is in the slow cooking. I usually cook my onion sauce in a low oven over night. Doing this gives the sauce more depth. You can use the finished onion sauce exactly as it is when you take it out of the oven or blend it if you prefer smoother curries.

When you take the finished sauce out of the oven, the top will be slightly blackened. Try it. If you like the flavour, stir it in. If not, skim it off the top.

Making onion sauce — I used four onions this time around.

How To Make A Tasty Onion Sauce To Add To Your Curries

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 10 hours

Total Time 10 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients

4 onions - finely sliced
2 red bell peppers - finely sliced
Curry sauce - enough to cover plus about 200ml water
1 teaspoon fennel powder
3 whole cloves

Instructions

Slice the onions so that the are paper thin. You want to almost fill the pan you are using with the onions.
Slice the red bell peppers and place them on top of the onions to fill the pan.
Add the fennel powder and cloves and cover.
Now add the base curry sauce so that it covers the onions and about 200ml water.
Place on a low heat and bring very slowly to a simmer.
This is when I place the onion sauce in the oven on the a very low temperature with the lid on. You can leave it there all night if you like. The longer you cook the sauce the better up to about ten hours.
The top of the sauce will be quite blackened when you take it out of the oven. Try it. If you like it, stir it in. If not, remove the blackened bits.
Place the finished sauce in a blender and blend until smooth or leave it chunky as it is.
Use immediately or freeze.

Mutton Biryani

December 5, 2011 By Dan Toombs 3 Comments

This mutton biryani can also be made with quality lamb meat.

There is nothing like a traditional mutton biryani. I’ve been making this recipe for years and it’s a true favourite around my house.

For best results, try to purchase your mutton on the bone. Cooking the meat with or on the bone will make a great mutton biryani into a work of art.

This is a family sized mutton biryani.

I once got to see a massive mutton biryani being prepared for a wedding. It was cooked in a huge pot that was about the same size as a small car.

I think the chef must of thrown the meat from three sheep into that pot which was then covered with rice and spices and slowly cooked to perfection.

I have scaled down that recipe here so that you can enjoy authentic mutton biryani at home. If you would like to scale this recipe back up again for a special occasion, go for it!

Lamb vs. Mutton Biryani...

Mutton can be difficult to come by in the west though most good butchers can get if for you.

The flavour of mutton is deeper than that of lamb though lamb will still work very well with this recipe.

Whichever you use, ask your butcher to cut the leg into small pieces for you on the bone. By exposing the marrow in the bones, you will get a much better and more authentic tasting sauce.

Working ahead...

It is essential that you marinate your mutton for at least 24 hours or, better, 48 hours.

This is done not only for flavour but to tenderise the meat. Mutton is not as tender as lamb as it has a lot more muscle.

By marinating the meat for a long period of time, you will not only get a delicious mutton biryani, but the mutton will also be fall apart tender and amazing.

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If you like this recipe, you might also like to try some of these too...

Railway lamb curry
Kashmiri meatball curry
Keralan lamb curry
Keralan quick fried lamb
Staff Curry - Chana gosht

Yield: 6

Indian Food - How To Make A Mutton Biryani

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time 2 hours

Ingredients

4 cups basmati rice
1 good pinch of saffron
1 tablespoon sea salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 leg of mutton - meat cut into 3 inch pieces on the bone.
FOR THE MARINADE
250ml plain yogurt
2 tablespoon cumin powder
1 tablespoon coriander powder
1 tablespoon red chilli powder
3 fresh green chillies finely chopped
2 tablespoons garlic paste - That’s about 12 cloves mashed into a paste
2 tablespoons ginger paste - About two inches of ginger mashed into a paste
2 tablespoons papaya paste
FOR THE SAUCE AND RICE
8 tablespoons ghee
1 teaspoon whole cloves
5 black cardamom pods
5 Indian long peppers (Optional) you could also use a tablespoon of black peppercorns
Juice of one lime
2 tablespoons cumin powder
2 tablespoon coriander powder
8 bay leaves
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 two inch piece of cassia bark or cinnamon
2 cups fried onions - fry onions in oil until crispy and brown
1 large handful of chopped coriander leaves
1 large handful of chopped mint leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
FOR THE YOGURT RAITA
500ml plain yogurt
3 cloves garlic smashed and finely cut
1 inch ginger grated and finely chopped
3 fresh green chillies finely cut
Juice of one lime
1 teaspoon cumin powder
3 Tablespoons fresh chopped coriander
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

First make the marinade by combining all of the ingredients and blending until smooth.
Coat the meat with the marinade and allow to marinate for as long as possible up to 48 hours.
When ready to cook, remove as much of the marinade from the meat as possible and retain it.
Heat half of the ghee in a large frying pan and brown the meat over high heat. You may need to do this in batches.
When the meat is nicely browned, wipe the pan dry with a paper towel and add the rest of the ghee.
When the ghee has melted and hot, add the cardamom pods, cloves, Indian long peppers (if using) and cassia. Be careful not to burn the spices and turn down the stove if necessary.
After about a minute, add the meat and stir to coat in the spices and ghee.
Add just enough water to cover the meat and the roasted bones. Allow to simmer for about 20 minutes.
Now add the retained marinade, turmeric, cumin, coriander powder and lime juice and stir well.
FOR THE RICE
The rice can of course be cooked earlier while you’re cooking the meat.
First place the rice in a bowl and cover with water. Stir the water around with your hand. The water will turn white from the starch. Repeat about ten times until the water runs clear and then let the rice soak for about half an hour.
Drain one last time and then cover with about 6 cups (1 1/2 litres) of water.
Add the salt and butter to the rice and cover. Bring to a boil and then turn off the heat. Let the rice sit, covered for about 20 minutes.
The rice will not be completely cooked because you will be finishing the cooking with the meat.
Now bring about 150ml of water to a boil and add the saffron. Set aside.
TO FINISH
Scoop about half of the rice over the meat mixture and cover with half of the mint leaves, coriander leaves, bay leaves and fried onions.
Place the rest of the rice over this and top with another layer of coriander, mint, bay and onion.
Place a tight fitting lid on the saucepan. If you do not have a large pan with a tight fitting lid, you could make a water and flour dough and line the pan with it before sealing the lid on top. That is how it’s done in India.
Now, over a very low heat, let the mutton biryani simmer and steam for about 40 minutes. If you are worried the sauce could be burning to the bottom of the pan, turn the temperature way down.
After 40 minutes your biryani will be ready to serve. Take it to the table and lift the lid. The room will fill with the amazing aroma of the spices, rice and meat juices.
Now you can ceremoniously pour the saffron water over the top of the rice.
Serve the mutton biryani with the yogurt raita which is made by simply blending the raita incredients until smooth.

I hope you enjoy this mutton biryani recipe. If you do try it, please leave a comment below. I'd love to hear from you.

How To Make A British Indian Restaurant (BIR) Style Prawn Bhuna

November 29, 2011 By Dan Toombs 18 Comments

Prawn bhuna is a thick curry that is great served on its own

Although I have tried a lot of restaurant style prawn dishes over the past years, I have to say this is one of my favourites. It's funny as I've never really been all that crazy about buhna curries.

Buhnas are quite dry and I prefer my curries with a bit more sauce.

This prawn bhuna is different because prawns just don't need a lot of sauce.

I guess I just like the flavour of the prawns which all too often are over-powered by a strong curry gravy.

Not here!

This prawn bhuna just gets it!

I have left the prawns whole so that you get a nice mouthful with each bite. The sauce is also not overpowering though it is a bit spicy.

I serve this hot curry with a simple lettuce salad that is mixed with mint leaves. Personally I think it's the perfect accompaniment. I hope you agree.

Prawn Bhuna INGREDIENTS

3 Tablespoon ghee or vegetable oil
25 prawns in their shells
500ml curry gravy
1 Tablespoon ginger paste
1 Tablespoon garlic paste
1 Tablespoon cumin powder
1 Tablespoon red chilli powder
1 Tablespoon Coriander powder
1 Tablespoon tomatoe paste
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 four inch cinnamon stick
Juice of one lemon
1 small bunch coriander leaves - chopped
Salt and pepper

method

Heat the ghee or oil in a large pan or wok over a medium to medium high heat. If the oil begins to smoke, turn down the heat.

When the oil/ghee is quite hot, throw in the cinnamon stick and move it around in the oil for about 15 seconds before adding the prawns.

Fry the prawns until they are almost cooked through. This should only take a couple of minutes.

When the prawns are pink and almost about 90% cooked, remove them from the oil and set aside to cool.

Now add the ginger paste, garlic paste, cumin powder, coriander powder and chilli powder. Adjust the heat so that the garlic doesn't burn.

Stir continuously for about a minute and then add the turmeric, tomato paste and curry gravy.

As you cook the gravy, the turmeric will make it slightly darker. This is what you want.

Allow to simmer for about two minutes while you peel and devein the prawns.

Add the prawns to the gravy and stir to combine.

Throw in the coriander leaves and squeeze the lemon juice into the sauce.

When the gravy is quite thick and coats the prawns nicely, season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

I hope you enjoy this prawn bhuna as my as my family and I do.

How To Make British Indian Restaurant (BIR) Prawn Jalfrezi

November 27, 2011 By Dan Toombs 2 Comments

The word Jalfrezi is a combination of two words, 'Jal' meaning spicy and 'frezi' meaning stir-fry

Prawn jalfrezi is a popular BIR curry that is easy and fast to make. Like most BIR curries, you can cook this dish in ten minutes or less. As this is a restuarant style curry, You could cook the prawns and prepare them in advance. This is how it is usually done at Indian restaurants in order to get the curry to the table faster.

Jalfrezis were invented in the days of the British Raj as a way of using up leftovers. If you would like to read a little more about the concept behind jalfrezi curries, and try a really nice curry, take a look at my rather more authentic chicken jalfrezi recipe here.

Prawn curry fans who like a bit of spice will love this curry. The peppers, onions and green chillies add a nice crunch to the recipe that really works great.

Serves 4

Prawn jalfrezi INGREDIENTS

3 Tablespoon ghee or vegetable oil
25 Medium sized fresh prawns cooked, shelled and cut into thirds
2 Tablespoons garlic and ginger paste
1 Tablespoon roasted cumin seeds grinded into a powder
A pinch of turmeric
700ml curry gravy
1 green bell pepper - thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper - thinly sliced
1 white onion - thinly sliced
3 green chillis - chopped into rings
Salt and pepper to taste - I use a lot of black pepper with this dish

method

Heat a wok or large frying pan over the highest heat.

Add the ghee or vegetable oil.

Throw in the prawns and fry them until they are pink and lightly browned. Cut them in thirds and set aside in a bowl.

Now toss in the bell pepper slices, onion and green chilli.

Stir the vegetables around for about 30 second and then add the cumin powder, turmeric and ginger and garlic paste.

Fry for a further ten seconds before adding the curry gravy.

Reduce the heat slightly and simmer for about two minutes before adding the prawns.

Stir to combine and serve when the prawns are heated through.

I'm always looking for new recipes to try. Do you have a jalfrezi curry you'd like to share?

Roast Pheasant in Tandoor or Oven

November 25, 2011 By Dan Toombs 4 Comments

Easy and delicious... Give this roast pheasant recipe a try!

This is an updated version of my roast pheasant with honey glaze recipe. Originally, I cooked the roast pheasant in my oven but today I decided to get outdoors and cook it in my Doori tandoor oven. The result was truly spectacular with flavours not only from the delicious marinade but also cooking in the hot and smoky tandoor.

Whether you use an oven, barbecue or tandoor to cook this, I really hope you give my roast pheasant recipe a try soon.

About this roast pheasant recipe.

Cooking the roast pheasant in a tandoor is quick and easy and you get the added bonus of the smoke flavouring the meat. You could cook this in your barbecue over indirect heat but using a tandoor is faster and in my opinion a bit more fun.

The most important part of the recipe is the marinade which is simple but the flavours go so well with the pheasant. I developed this recipe to be easier than my more elaborate tandoori pheasant recipe so that you could try it without all the fuss. If you would like to take a look at my authentic tandoori marinated pheasant recipe, you will find it here.

What does pheasant taste like?

Pheasant tastes a lot like chicken though it does have a slightly stronger flavour because it's wild. So using a good marinade that compliments that game flavour is always nice.

The marinade I have for you here is an easy tandoori marinade with the addition of honey that you baste the pheasant with at the end of cooking. This gives the skin a delicious sweet and smoky flavour.

You could actually use this same marinade with chicken but when it's pheasant season, I tend to stay away from boring chicken and go for pheasant or another game bird such as quail or partridge.

Do you have to cook tandoori roast pheasant in a tandoor oven?

No! I use a Doori tandoor oven which is economical and also easy to transport. It's great for taking to the beach or camping.

You could cook this roast pheasant over indirect heat on your barbecue. Aim for a cooking temperature of about 200°C/400°F and let it cook until the internal temperature reaches 74°C/175°F. The same applies to cooking the pheasant in your oven.

Which ever cooking method you choose, be sure to baste the bird with the melted ghee and honey mixture a few times at the end of cooking. Allow the pheasant to rest for 10 minutes before carving.

Can you upscale or downscale this recipe?

Yes and I did it this time too. I made twice as much marinade and marinated two pheasants when I cooked this recipe. If you were to cook four pheasants, you could probably get away with just doubling the marinade.

How long can your store leftovers in the fridge?

If you happen to have leftovers, you can reheat them in a pan. Just shred or slice the meat and fry it in a tablespoon of oil.

if you have larger pieces or a whole bird, you could reheat it in an air fryer or oven until heated through. I usually do it in an air fryer and set the temperature to 200°C/400°F and cook it until heated through. You could do the same in an oven.

The meat will keep in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.

Are there other ways to use tandoori pheasant?

Yes. Just like when you prepare tandoori chicken for curries, you can do the same with this meat. Adding cooked, smoky tandoori pheasant to a curry tastes amazing.

You might like to try this spicy pheasant curry or a milder coconut pheasant curry.

Step by step photographs.

The pheasant rubbed with the garlic and ginger paste, oil, lemon juice and ground spices. — Whisk the lemon juice, oil, 2 tbsp garlic and ginger paste and the ground spices together in a bowl and rub them all over and inside the pheasant.

Whisking garlic and ginger paste, yoghurt and salt together until smooth. — In the same bowl, whisk the yoghurt, salt and remaining garlic and ginger paste together until smooth.

Applying the marinade to the pheasant. — Rub this marinade all over and inside the pheasant. Leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes or overnight. The longer the better.

Skewering the pheasant for cooking. — When ready to cook, skewer the bird down its backbone, from the neck end. Place a potato at the end to stop the pheasant from sliding.

Placing the pheasant skewer in the tandoor oven. — Move the coals to one side and place the pheasant skewer on the other.

Cooking the pheasant in a covered tandoor oven. — Let the pheasant cook, covered for about 20 minutes.

Letting the pheasant cook on top of the tandoor oven. — Take the pheasant out after 20 minutes and let it roast on top of the oven, turning from time to time for about 10 minutes.

Basting the pheasant with the ghee and honey mixture. — This is a good time to start basting the pheasant with the ghee and honey mixture. Do this a few times during the cook.

The roast pheasant on a cutting board, resting after the cook. — Continue cooking and basting, inside and on top of the tandoor until the internal temperature is 74°C/165°F. Let rest for 10 minutes before carving.

The roast pheasant on a paratha wrap with salad vegetables and hot sauce. — You could simply carve and enjoy but I like to eat the meat as a wrap with salad vegetables and sauces.

Roast pheasant from the tandoor oven in a wrap with salad vegetables and sauces. — You are going to love the smoky flavour of this roast pheasant!

If you like this roast pheasant recipe, you might like to try some of these other recipes, cooked in the Doori Tandoor.

Have you tried this grilled rabbit recipe?

If yes, please give it a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I love receiving your feedback and I’m sure other readers of my blog do too. Thank you.

If you are not already doing so, please follow The Curry Guy on Instagram and Facebook for all our latest recipes.

Yield: 2 - 3

Roast Pheasant with Honey Glaze

Try this updated version of roast pheasant with honey glaze recipe. Roast this delicious pheasant in an oven, tandoor or barbecue.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Additional Time 4 hours

Total Time 4 hours 55 minutes

Ingredients

1 pheasant
FOR THE MARINADE
1 tsp rapeseed (canola) oil
3 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
Juice of one lemon
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp tandoori masala
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
250ml plain yogurt
TO BASTE
3 tbsp honey
3 tbsp melted, hot ghee

Instructions

Whisk the oil, 2 tablespoons of the garlic and ginger paste, the lemon juice and all of the ground spices together in a bowl.
Apply this to the pheasant but rubbing it right into the flesh and inside the cavity. Set aside for 10 to 20 minutes.
Using the same bowl, whisk the yoghurt, remaining garlic and ginger paste and the salt together until smooth.
Rub this all over the pheasant inside and out. Allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes or overnight. The longer the better. If marinating overnight, you can pour it all into a large freezer bag and seal it.
When ready to cook, build a fire in your tandoor. Please see notes for BBQ and oven method. Heat your tandoor up to around 230°C/450°F.
Rub most of the marinade off the pheasant and skewer it by running the skewer down the back bone from the neck end. Try to weave it through the meat to make it extra secury. It is a good idea to place a potato at the end of the skewer to stop the pheasant from sliding. I also used a clamp from my rotisserie but that wasn't really necessary.
Move the coals to one side of your tandoor and place the pheasant skewer on the other side. You really need to watch things as the dripping juices will probably cause the tandoor to get hotter.
If you find the tandoor is getting too hot and you have no way of reducing the heat, no problem! Simply take the pheasant out and lay it across the top. Turn it from time to time and it will continue cooking from the heat below. You can then return the pheasant to the tandoor once it has cooled some.
Regardless, it is a good idea to remove the pheasant from the tandoor from time to time to let it cook on top. This will help ensure that it cooks in the centre without scorching the exterior.
Continue cooking until the pheasant has reached an internal temperature of 74°C/165°F. You can do this both inside and on top of the tandoor. Toward the end of cooking, whisk the hot, melted ghee with the honey and baste the pheasant generously. all over a few times.
Once cooked, let the pheasant rest for 10 minutes before carving. You can eat it as is or wrap it up in a paratha or chapati which is my favourite way to enjoy it.

Notes

Oven and BBQ Cooking.

If cooking over indirect heat in your barbecue or in an oven, cook it at 200°C/400°F for about 40 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 74°C/165°F. Be sure to baste it with the hot ghee and honey mixture a few times toward the end of cooking. Once cooked, let rest for 10 minutes before carving.

Dal Makhani

November 21, 2011 By Dan Toombs Leave a Comment

Dal Makhani just like you get at the best Indian restaurants!

Butter, creamy, deliciously spiced, what's not to like about dal makhani? You are much more likely to see dal classics like tarka dal on curry house menus but a hot bowl of dal makhani is something special. This easy dal makhani recipe takes some time to prepare and cook but it's worth the effort. Actually, it's not a lot of effort at all. It's more of a waiting game. This is probably why you won't find this dal on many menus other than higher end Indian restaurants.

About this dal makhani recipe...

This recipe first featured in my cookbook 'The Curry Guy Easy' and then later in 'The Curry Guy Bible'. It was only after seeing it made many times that I came up with this recipe. You are going to love the creamy smooth texture and the buttery flavour is incredible with all those complimentary spices.

T0 get this dal makhani right, however, you need a bit of patience. There is no rushing the required soaking or cooking time! Many chefs have tried but this popular dal simply isn't the same if not completely cooked.

It takes 4 hours to cook the lentils on the stove but you can cook them in an electric pressure cooker in a fraction of the time. All is explained below.

Which dal is most commonly served at restaurants?

As mentioned above, you are far more likely to see tarka dal served at restaurants because of the red (masoor) and/or yellow (chana) lentils used. Red dal can be cooked in under 30 minutes and chana dal only takes about 40 minutes. Both dals only need to soak for about half an hour.

Makhani dal, on the other hand is made with whole black (urad) lentils. These lentils need to soak for at least 12 hours and it takes 4 hours to cook them until soft and creamy. This process is all shown in the photos below. So you can probably see why it is that they don't feature on many low cost curry house menus.

Luckily, this dal makhani recipe will get you creamy smooth dal like you get at the best Indian restaurants.

My first real bowl of dal makhani

So many people love dal makhani so it is little wonder that chefs wishing to please their customers feature it on their menus. I tried it a few times at restaurants in the UK and didn't think much of it. What were people thinking? Why did they think dal makhani was so good?

While in Mumbai researching recipes for my cookbook 'The Curry Guy Easy', I went into a Punjabi restaurant and ordered some dal makhani as a side for a few mains. It was amazing! When I asked the chef how he got it so creamy smooth, he invited me back to the kitchens where a huge pot of black dal was simmering away.

He told me how it had been simmering for 6 hours and that a proper dal makhani needs to simmer for at least 4 hours. So when I got home I tried it and it worked! Since then, I have had many deliciously cooked dal makhanis at restaurants in the UK. As the delicious dal catches on, people know what it should be like and restaurants have had to step up and cook it correctly.

Dal makhani in India

People in India love their dal. In some families, dal is served with every meal. They don't limit themselves to the dal that is most popular in the west.

Because of the time it takes to cook, dal makhani is still something for special occasions. That said, the use of pressure cookers is much more common in India and they can cook their dal makhani a lot quicker than using the one pot stove method.

Cooking makhani dal in an electric pressure cooker.

This makes a lot of sense as it greatly reduces the cooking time. Electric pressure cookers like the Instant Pot Duo Crisp Air Fryer has been an excellent addition to my collection of kitchen tools.

To cook the lentils, place them in your electric pressure cooker and pressure cook on high for 20 minutes. It will take about 10 minutes for the pressure cooker to come up to heat and start cooking.

After cooking on high for 20 minutes, allow the pressure to naturally release for another 10 minutes. Then manually release the pressure. Your black lentils will be cooked to perfection. Carry on with the recipe as written.

How to make one pot dal makhani

Ingredients for dal makhani — It's always best to get all your ingredients ready before starting cooking.

Step 1.

Soak the lentils for at least 12 hours. As the black urad dal lentils soak, they will rehydrate and plump up.

Step 2.

Simmer the lentils for about 4 hours or until fall apart tender. Don't rush this! You should literally be able to easily smash the cooked lentils between two fingers.

Step 3.

Strain the cooked lentils into a bowl and retain all of the cooking liquid. This will be added to the dal makhani too.

STEP 4.

Returning to your pot, heat the oil and fry the onions for about 5 minutes or until soft and translucent.

Step 5.

Adding garlic, ginger and tomatoes to pot.

Stir in the garlic and ginger followed by the chopped tomatoes. Then stir in the ground spices.

Step 6.

Cover with some of the cooking liquid and add the cooked lentils.

Step 7.

Simmer for another 10 minutes and the stir in the butter and cream. Check for seasoning and add salt to taste.

When it comes to the butter and cream, do this to taste. Butter and cream taste great in pretty much everything. So if you want your dal makhani to be super buttery and creamy, that's how it's done. That and the naturally creamy, cooked lentils, of course!

Can dal makhani be frozen?

Yes. I do recommend, however, freezing it before adding the cream and butter which don't freeze well.

You can then defrost the cooked dal makhani and add the butter and cream just before serving.

If you like this dal makhani recipe, you might like to try some of the Indian Vegetarian favourites.

See more Indian Vegetarian Recipes →

Dal Recipes are often served alongside a delicious curry or two. Here are my top Indian curry recipes you may like to try.

Rice

See more Indian Rice Recipes →

Naan

See more Indian bread recipes →

Have you tried this dal makhani recipe?

If yes, please give it a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I love receiving your feedback and I'm sure other readers of my blog do too. Thank you.

If you are not already doing so, please follow me on Instagram and Facebook for all my latest recipes.

Yield: 4 - 6

Black Lentil Dhal - A Punjabi Dish You Are Sure To Love

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients

200g (7oz) black urad dal, soaked overnight in cold water
5 tbsp rapeseed (canola) oil
2 onions, finely chopped
2 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp garam masala
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp salt or to taste
3 tbsp butter
250ml (1 cup) single cream
Chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves, to serve

Instructions

In a large saucepan over a low-medium heat, simmer the urad dall in water until fall-apart soft. You will need to top up the water from time to time while the lentils cook. After 3 -4 hours of simmering, the lentils will be perfectly soft.
Strain the lentils, reserving the cooking water, and set it all aside.
Wash out the pot and place it over a medium-high heat. When visibly hot, stir in the chopped onions and fry for about 10 minutes until soft and lightly browned.
Stir in the garlic and ginger paste and fry for about 30 seconds before adding the chopped tomatoes and the spices.
Cook for another minute, then add about 125ml )1/2 cup of the strained lentil stock. Bring it to a simmer and then add the cooked lentils.
Cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes, adding more strained stock if needed, The Makhani dal should be thick and soupy.
To finish, season with salt. I recommend about 2 teaspoons which I think works really well but add it to taste.
Makhani means butter, so you can't leave that out. I recommend using about 3 tablespoons but if you don't want to use that much, the dal will still be delicious.
Stir most of it into the dal and then add whatever is left over to melt on top and sprinkle with the chopped coriander (cilantro) and you are ready to serve your masterpiece.

Spicy Squash Soup

November 3, 2011 By Dan Toombs 10 Comments

No fuss pumpkin soup! There are so many ways to make this.

This is the perfect soup for a cold Autumn day. My pumpkin soup recipe will take the chill out of any frosty evening.

Each year it's kind of a tradition around our house to make pumpkin soup when pumpkins come into season and this year was no exception.

This is a recipe that is very easy even for absolute cooking beginners. All you need are the freshest ingredients you can find, a pot, a knife and a blender. For a more refined texture, you could pass the finished soup through a fine mesh strainer but that's not necessary.

spicy pumpkin soup — Nicely spiced and a great way to cook pumpkin.

Ingredients and substitutes

I used my spice stock recipe as a base. It's simple to make and adds a lot of flavour to this soup. Great for vegetarians.

You could also use chicken or vegetable stock.

As for the pumpkin... This pumpkin soup recipe is one that works equally well with butternut squash.

That's what I do when pumpkin isn't in season.

Making spicy pumpkin soup — Frying the onions, carrots, bell peppers and chillies.

Working ahead

As with most soups, this pumpkin soup can be made ahead of time.

Feel free to make it a day or two before serving. The flavours will actually develop and your soup will be even better.

Making pumpkin soup — Pour your stock of choice in. The pumpkin pieces should be completely submerged in the stock.

If you like this pumpkin soup recipe, you might like to try some of these too.

Thai prawn soup
Thai Tom yum gai
Tom kha gai
Chickpea soup

Yield: 8

Spicy Pumpkin Soup

To make the optional red chilli creme, toast 10 Kashmiri chilli pepper in a pan over medium high heat for about 30 seconds. Then soak them in 300ml water for 30 minutes. Blend the soaked chillies with the water and add salt to taste.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 Kilo (2 lbs) skinned and diced fresh pumpkin
1 litre spice, vegetable or chicken stock
3 tablespoons butter
1 green chilli pepper - chopped
5 cloves garlic - smashed and chopped
A pinch of dried thyme and oregano
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon red chilli powder (optional)
2 red bell peppers - seeded and chopped
2 onions - finely chopped
250ml fresh corn kernels
250ml double cream
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Melt the butter in a large sauce pan and then add the onions, chilli pepper, red bell pepper and garlic.
Fry until the the onion is translucent and soft.
Now add the spices and herbs followed by the chopped pumpkin. Cover the pumpkin pieces with your stock of choice.
When the pumpkin is soft, add the corn and then blend until very smooth.
Bring up to a simmer again and allow to cook uncovered for about 15 minutes.
Stir in the cream and salt and pepper to taste.
Bring back up to heat just before serving.

I hope you enjoy this pumpkin soup recipe. If you do try it, please let me know in the comments. I'd love to hear from you.

How To Make That Popular British Indian Restaurant Style Duck Tikka and Mushroom Madras

November 1, 2011 By Dan Toombs 2 Comments

Duck tikka and mushroom madras can be made easily at home

As part of an ongoing series of posts showing you how to make British Indian Restaurant (BIR) style curries, I thought it was time to offer you this old favourite - Duck Tikka and Mushroom Madras.

The word tikka means 'pieces'. Usually these tikka are off the bone though I have had this delicious and hot curry served on the bone as well.

This BIR recipe can therefore be prepared in a number of ways.

Here I will show you my favourite options.

Please note that preparation option one takes a lot more planning but oh is it good!

Option two can be done quickly and easily. The end result is still mouthwateringly good and also less fattening. This is the version I'm showing up there in the right hand corner of this post.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, British Indian restaurant style cooking is all about delivering great Indian food to the table quickly. You are going to need to make my BIR style curry gravy before hand. This can be a big job but my recipe is for a large batch and it does freeze very well.

Make the gravy and you could be making top quality BIR curries quickly and easily in your own home whenever you want.

Click here to view the list of free restaurant style curry recipes I am adding to regularly.

You could of course purchase a ready made curry gravy but the resulting curry just won't be as good. I strongly recommend going the home-made route.

Serves 3 - 4

INGREDIENTS

1 farmed duck (option one) or 3 farmed duck breasts
1 Tablespoon garam masala

Curry sauce ingredients

3 Tablespoons ghee or vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic - finely chopped
1 Inch ginger - grated
1 Tablespoon turmeric
700ml (3 cups) curry sauce
1 Tablespoon cumin powder
1 Tablespoon coriander powder
2 Tablespoons red hot chilli powder
1 Tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves
2 cups field mushrooms - cut in half or quartered
3 Tablespoons chopped coriander
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 Tablespoon garam masala

Duck preparation - option one

Bring a large pot - capable of holding the duck - to a boil.

Make about 30 holes in the fatty skin of the duck with a fork.

When the water is boiling rapidly, carefully place the duck in the water.

Allow to boil for about four minutes and then remove the duck from the water and dry it with paper towels.

Using a hair dryer, dry the skin even more. The more moisture/fat you can dry off the duck the better.

Now rub the skin of the duck with the garam masala and hang in a cool place for a few hours or preferably over night. This will allow more fat to drip from the skin and allow for nicer, crispier skin.

When you are ready to cook the duck, preheat your oven to it's highest temperature and bake it until crisp and the meat tears away easily. This takes about an hour.

Duck preparation - option two

Remove all the fatty skin from the duck breasts and cut the breasts into bite sized pieces.

Add a little oil to a pan and throw in the duck pieces.

As the duck pieces (tikka) cook, pour in about three tablespoons of the curry sauce.

Allow to cook in the gravy until the duck is just cooked through.

To finish

If using a whole duck, cut it into bite sized pieces on the bone.

Pour about three tablespoons of oil or ghee into a wok or pot and place over medium high heat.

Sprinkle in the turmeric powder and add the garlic and ginger. Be careful not to burn the garlic.

Now add the mushrooms and fry for about 30 seconds.

Add the curry gravy, cumin, coriander powder, chilli powder and fenugreek leaves and stir to combine.

When the curry is nice and hot add the duck tikka pieces.

If you are using the crispy duck option, try to stir the duck while keeping the skin dry and crispy. This is not easy!

To Serve

Check for seasoning. Add salt and pepper as needed and top with the fresh coriander leaves and garam masala.

I really love this curry and hope you do too! If you want, you can add a little chilli powder to make a vindaloo but for me, this duck tikka and mushroom madras is hot enough!

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