How to Make Your Own Authentic Indian Curry.
Make Your Own Curry Powder Too
It has been said that the Indian dish known as Chicken Tikka Masala does not originate from India at all.! It is apparrently the favourite dish in Britain according to recent polls. Indian restaurants all over the country have it on their menus.
l can´t tell how true the story is but the story goes, that an Englishman ordered Tandoori chicken at his local Indian restaurant but was very disappointed at how dry his tandoori was .(It is meant to be dry, fantastic flavour from being cooked in a special Tandoor oven)
The customer was so disappointed that his chicken was not covered in a curry sauce, that the obliging chef made a quick sauce for him and the Englishman loved it.. he told so many others that Chicken Tikka Masala was born.
The dish has made its way to India of course and is included in most menus over there. This is very broadly speaking, since Indian cooking in the North of the country can be extremely different from that in the South.(To me all Indian food is delicious)
If you enjoy Indain food at a restaurant or have a ´´take away´´ eaten at home, why not try making your own.! ? It´s not as difficult as you may think and you have the pleasure of making it exactly to your familys´taste.
l feel l ought to mention that not every Indian female is automatically a great cook. l have Indian frends who eat out a lot of the time and ´buy in´ or in Britain we´d say ¨take away¨to eat at home.OR the maid does the cooking. (I love India)
Nevertheless having a go at making your own curry , tuned to your own taste is well worth the time and effort. l always make sure that l make quite a large amount so that plenty of the curry can be put in the freezer for busier days when you don´t have time to spend hours in the kitchen, but can still retrieve a homemade curry from the freezer. After all it´s as easy to make the mixture for 12 as for 2 people.
CURRY POWDER. (make your own)
Coriander 125 grams
Cumin 100 grams
Cayenne 20 grams
ginger 30 grams
black pepper 15 grams
Gara Masala 40 grams
(food colouring optional)
Method: Mix all the powdered spices together thoroughly and store in a jar in a cool dry place. This is a medium strength curry powder. Change it to suit your own family if neccessary.
Since it is Chicken Tikka Masala that l´ve been talking about , it seems the obvious recipe to put here, but all curries are cooked in a similar way since curry only means ¨Meat in sauce¨.
First the tandoori chicken.
Cut up 1 3lb chicken into pieces and marinade overnight or for at least 8 hours in:-
half a cup of plain yogurt.
2 tablespoons of lemon juice.
1 tablespoon of minced garlic.
1 tablespoon of grated root ginger.
1 tablespoon of cumin.
MASALA SAUCE
Butter 50 grams
grated onion 300 grams
grated garlic 2 cloves
chopped red chilli 1
ground coriander 10 grams
ground cardamon 5 grams
Sieved tomatoes 500 grams
chicken stock 500 grams
Yogurt 200 grams
Almond powder 100 grams.
Now for the gorgeous smells as you begin to cook.
Retreive your chicken from the marinade and fry in a little hot oil till the juices run clear. Set aside. In the same pan sweat the onion, garlic, and ginger together for 5 minutes. Then add all your spices (Your own curry powder) , the chicken pieces, stock and tomato paste.
After 10 minutes stir in the almond powder and yogurt, slowly so as not to curdle the yogurt. Gently stir adding any meat juices left over. Once everything is well blended and hot, serve with a little chopped, fresh coriander on the top.
You may like to serve with rice or Indian bread. It´s your choice but whatever you choose to go with the curry it will be twice as delicious because you made it all yourself.
