Favourite Curry / Spicy food recipes

This is one of my favourite dal´s (meethi dal) although I do make it differently because of the lack of cocum. A friend of mine always had cocum and brings his own spices back from india everytime he goes. It is quite magic when he makes but I also enjoy my version a lot.
I use a little bit of lemon juice instead of cocum or mango powder when I have it.

The recipe is from an old book from Guajarat my friend had from his family.
 

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Another favourite of mine: murgh jal frazie, especially when the BBQ is on.
Just marinade and throw on the grill.

This recipe and also the one from post 4 can be eaten by most people; these are not overyl spicy but with a kick.
As usual it depends on the chili´s/chili powders one uses.
Spice up to your liking.
 

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When I´m lazy and long for a dal I simply cook some red lentils and make a spice oil (tadka) from panch phoron, curry leaves, chili and hing.
It is super easy and panch phoron can be bought from the store although I make my own batches, often without fennel seeds but with dried curry leaves & chili instead.
Some salt for the lentils and some bread to go with it.
 
Cocum is not essential in Gujarati cuisine, you can add mango powder or the more preferred tamarind paste to get the sour taste.
Cocum is more Sindhi / Maharashtra style.


As for the Jal frezie, try using a thick iron pan, covered, on the BBQ, instead of leaving it open.
Add some onions, let them caramelize a bit (light brown), add the rest of the dish, cover up.
First time keep checking on progress.
 
Phaal is a style of Vindaloo developed by Bangladeshi restaurant owners in Birmingham....
Sylhet in Bangladesh is 2159 km by air from Goa, where Vindaloo comes from...
This means that the 2000 km arc from Glasgow is an area full of people who can make proper Scottish Haggis, or similar traditional Scottish food.
All of Portugal, most of Spain, half of Italy, Belarus, Ukraine, and so on come inside that radius.

Poseurs, like I said about Phaal as a dish.
And no, no protective clothing for our cooks when they cook spicy food, that too was a marketing gimmick.
Though that is relative, for a person from Toledo 25 Celsius is hot, for us here it is a pleasant mild day.
 
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I sincerely look forward to this thread sticking around, like the unmistakable scent of ground spices popping in hot oil. :)

This of obviously an intl forum and the introduction of curried food for me was of the Caribbean variety. (heavy on the turmeric and coarse chopped alliums, fresh hot peppers to taste), typically with chicken or goat.

Then there were the Thai curries, but these are little one-trick-pony.

I've since delved into the Eastern varieties and found that I love these spices: mustard seed, methi, Kashmiri red pepper. The vast nature of Indian curry can leave a cook's head spinning at times. My lady says.... just buy the stupid little box already! (Shan, MDH). A thousand no's... We're getting the spices!
 
I have three to cook for, I prefer Shaan to MDH, both are good.
Doing it yourself is good to better if you are able to, and I have no idea if what is sold abroad is milder or different to what is sold here by the same seller.

A tip, add a little water or oil to the cold spices before adding to the hot oil, prevents burning the spices.
Another tip is to use freshly made hand pounded spice pastes, though getting fresh ginger, garlic, mint and so on might be difficult at times for you.

And sometimes I heat the oil to smoking, then turn the heat way down before adding spices.
 
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Completely different to what I first ate in 1958 in the first 'Indian' restaurant outside of London in Hove, Sussex.

Like a lot of 'Indian' restaurants it was run by a Pakistani (probably from Bangladesh). His version was very mild, definitely no chillis,otherwise my mother could not have eaten it. Mohammed the owner and cook came round to our house to show my mother how to cook rice so that it's fluffy with body and all grains are separate, I still cook rice this way today. Basmati still remains my favourite.

Sometimes when I'm feeling lazy or in a hurry I don't use a mortar and pestle but use the coffee grinder.

I must try the method for cooking spices by using a little oil first before frying because they do burn as the post said.

Cardoman is a wonderful spice and when I do a pilau rice as I did tonight I always shell the cardoman so that when you crunch into the seed it really adds an amazing and immediate taste.

We are lucky where we live just about 6 K away is an excellent Asian shop that also sells my favourite poppodoms. Many Brits make the mistake of cooking them in oil, don't, just cook in a really hot pan, we have an old trusty steel frying pan that is black with use. It takes seconds to cook flipping over, great with any curry.

A lot of the recipes in the UK cannot be found in anywhere in India itself but none the less many are excellent.
 
@Soundchaser:
Please adjust the cooking time for chicken, that generally takes five minutes in pressure cooker, goat / lamb takes 15. and beef takes 45...


@Black Stuart:
You can roll the cardamom seeds with a rolling pin, then add to the dish.
That distributes the taste, and also gives an immediate taste when crushed by the teeth, try that.
And add spices to the (cooking food) oil at about frying eggs temperature, too high means burning.
Our cooking means infusion of flavors, slightly slow and gentle, compared to the flash frying often seen in Chinese cooking.
Go slow, at a barely adequate temperature.


Papad (poppodum) is generally open roasted over a flame, held by tongs.
Second method is to cook on a thick griddle, like used for roti, takes too long.
Third method is shallow fry, like you said.
Fourth is deep fry.
Fifth...just microwave without oil, may be convenient, and gives the open flame result.
Have fun...
 
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NareshBrd,
vindaloo is for young guys, the rear end can't take that punishment anymore.

Here's a funny story (well it was for me) - With some student friends and after a couple of pints we went to the Indian I mentioned, this was 2 decades later and sadly the standard had dropped. We all had chicken vindaloo.

We went back to the halls of residence which was had been a hotel sold cheaply to Sussex University as a way of saying thank you by a Polish soldier who didn't want to go back to a country controlled by Red Fascists.

We put on some music (1973) and partook of some Chitral. After a few minutes I became aware that I needed to make a visit very quickly to the khazeer. Luckily there was one just a few metres from my friend's room.

About 2 minutes later the door opened with a blast of Pink Floyd, a rush of feet and a trying of the door handle (bugger) - feet pounding down the stairs - khazeer number 2 occupied. A minute later another similar situation and after another couple of minutes a third. Then came the 4th - much swearing and frenetic pounding of feet down to the ground floor - a cry was heard - he didn't make it in time.

Totally agree about cooking Indian/Singalese food, when you cook even over a medium heat the dish always turns dark - not good.

Re. chillis - after a lifetime of enjoying chillis my favourite is the ones from the Antilles in the Caribbean - they are hot but sweet. I really do not like the Thai ones, they are bitter.

Last Friday at the marche (street market) and arriving late I found some of the Antilles chillies selling for €1 per kilo. I had to be selective and they were mostly small and misshapen - so what. I now have half a kilo for 50 cents when normally they are around €17 per kilo - makes them taste even better.

If you have a south facing window the Amazonian rain forest chillies are very nice, they make very very small Christmas tree shaped plants. They are attractive and as the chillies grow they change colour from green to white to orange and last to red, they have great WAF rating. They are bell shaped and again aren't bitter like Thai ones.
 
We get Guntur chillies, less hot than Patna chillies, Kashmir or Kumthi chillies are mildest, best for color but quite mild, almost sweet.
My uncle lived in Hyderabad, and one of his dealers was from Vellore, coastal Andhra / Tamil Nadu border.
Asked about chillies, he said that they draw out the heat from the body, and until they burn coming and going, they are not strong enough.


The normal day temperature there is about 40 degrees, and above 80% humidity for 9 months, it rains the other three months of the year...
 
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Amchar masala, a corruption of Achar Masala, or pickle powder:


Instructions

Put all the spices in a small, cast-iron frying pan and set over medium heat. Stir and roast for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the spices turn a shade darker.
Remove from the pan, allow to cool, and then grind as a finely as possible in a clean coffee or spice grinder.
Empty into an airtight jar and store in a dark cupboard or pantry.


Found on the net.