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In our first magazine for 1993, we welcome back one of our popular authors, Bruce Edwards, whose three part
feature, “Curry House Cookery” appeared in our Winter 1990 Curry Magazine and the subsequent two issues.
Photocopies of the original three part feature available at £2.00 for the full set of nine pages from P0 Box 7,
Haslemere (full address on page 3). Now, three years on, Bruce feels he has learned so much more that he just
has to tell us all. Bruce starts his fascinating illustrated four part feature with a review of the equipment you’ll
need. He then goes on to reveal the secrets of the restaurant masala, pre-cooked main ingredients and curry
gravy. In our next edition Bruce will examine standard curries such as Korma, Medium, Madras and Phall and
some well known side dishes. In magazine no.35 he’ll examine specialist curries such as Roghan Gosht, Jal Frezi,
Tandoori/Tikka Masala and Pullao Rice and Tandoori. in the final part, in magazine no. 36, he’ll tackle the
celebrated Onion Bhaji. It is all fascinating essential reading, so don’t forget to renew your membership during
the year. Meanwhile read on to begin your Curry House Cookery Update.
Just about everything described in Curry House Cookery imported from India and sold by Asian shops.
was arrived at by deduction and experiment. The methods
worked reasonably well, but after a while I became BAY LEAVES
dissatisfied with the results I was producing in the kitchen. The ones sold by Asian shops are different from the usual
The problem was that I could tell the difference between English bay leaf. They are much larger, have three veins
my cooking and that of a typical Indian restaurant. I along the back instead of the usual one, and have a much
needed to find out about the finer points of the restaurant stronger flavour.
method. As anyone who has tried to extract information
from restaurant staff will know, this is not easy. I KITCHEN EQUIPMENT
suspected that this was a communication problem rather If you have a kitchen with all the usual equipment, you
than a matter of secrecy. After all, how would you explain should have everything you need to produce the majority
your job to a complete stranger (Who you assumed knew of restaurant style dishes. If, however, you are really
nothing about it) in a few sentences of a language you serious about this type of cooking, there are things that you
don’t speak too well, while several other people are probably haven’t got that would make life easier. The
demanding your attention ? So it was down to how I asked. single most essential piece of equipment is a blender. If
it seems I was right; I was very quickly invited into the you are considering replacing your current one, it would be
kitchen of my regular take - away. (Possibly this had a good idea to look for one that is easy to clean; it is going
something to do with the fact that I annually contribute to be used to puree some oily mixtures. I use a large hand-
around a thousand pounds to their turnover.) In the course held one for making curry gravy. It makes short work of
of several sessions the staff showed me everything I the contents of a 4 or 8 litre cooking pot, in fact it is
wanted to know. (Which was just about everything.) This supposed to be able to cope with 20 gallons at one go.
is not an article on traditional Indian cookery, I will be Most people would find this rather excessive. though.
concentrating on the restaurant style and how it differs. Ordinary domestic sauce pans will of course do, but if you
are prepared to invest in at least one 4 litre catering- style
ONIONS ‘boiling pot’, so much the better. These don’t have long
Indian restaurants use a lot of onions. In fact they use them handles to get in your way, and that makes storage easier.
by the sackful. And just to confuse matters, only one type I'm not keen on aluminium pots - I don’t like leaving
of onion will do, and (strangely) this is the Spanish onion. mixtures standing in them for long periods, especially if
Not the really large ones, what is used is the tennis-ball the mixtures are mildly acidic (as anything that contains
sized variety. Costs could be cut considerably by using any lemon will be). Stainless steel looks better, wears better,
old onions, but the result just doesn’t justify the saving. and has a price to match. if you have ever sat in an Indian
Also, it is far easier if you have to peel 3O lbs. of onions to restaurant waiting for your meal to be served while
use fairly large ones. wondering what all the clunking and clanging noises
coming from the kitchen mean, you are not alone. This
AJOWAN SEED (Also known as AJWAIN, LOVAGE, puzzled me for years. It is the sound of a large, long
CAROM) handled stainless steel spoon hitting the side of a frying
This lesser used (Traditionally) spice is an essential pan. The reason for this is that when a chef prepares a
ingredient of the universal sauce known as Curry Gravy in dish, he first adds the ingredients to the pan with this
the restaurant trade. spoon, striking the side to shake them off, then uses it to
(Curry Base in Curry House Cookery.) stir the contents of the pan. As he will probably be working
on several dishes at once, arid using only one spoon, he
CURRY POWDERS will need to keep hitting the side of a pan to clean his
These have a lot to answer for, but they are used by spoon before’ transferring his attention to another one. The
restaurants. (In conjunction with other spices.) Not the point of this is to try to convince you that the ideal
corner-shop or supermarket variety, the sort that are implement for stirring your curry is a stainless steel spoon.
It should be equivalent in capacity to about 4 tablespoons. CORIANDER (GROUND) 8 PARTS (By volume)
No Indian chef would be without his spoon. Try using one TURMERIC 7 PARTS
‘and you will soon wonder how you did without it. If you CUMIN (GROUND) 5 PARTS
use a metal spoon, you wont be able to use it with non CURRY POWDER 4 PARTS
stick frying pan. The ideal curry pan is a stainless steel PAPRIKA 4 PARTS Optional, used for colour only.
omelette pan 8-9 inches in diameter (widest part) and
without a heavy base. When I explain how to make the My advice is to avoid it as problems can arise if it is not
standard restaurant curries, I will frequently refer to a’ completely fresh. When a chef Is using these spices
portion’ of curry gravy. By this I mean a 7oz. ladle full individually, he uses the proportions 2 Spoons coriander 1
(The cook’s spoon and the ladle are the usual measures in 3/4 Spoons turmeric 1 V4 Spoons cumin 1 Spoon curry
the restaurant kitchen). Of course, you can make do with a powder You will see that the proportions are identical in
measuring jug or even a mug dipped in a cooking pot, but both cases.
this can be a messy business, especially if you drop it. So a It would no doubt come as a surprise to the average curry
ladle is a very useful addition to your kitchen. Some dishes house diner to learn that the meat in his or her Madras or
will call for ingredients to be deep fried before being added Vindaloo was previously cooked in a more traditional kid
to the pan, so an electric deep fryer is useful. Restaurants of curry. But this is how it is usually done. The same is
use a large karai type of vessel full of oil permanently on a true of some vegetables, such as potatoes and cauliflower
gas ring to serve a dual purpose; it is used for deep frying
(using a small chip basket) and it provides ready heated oil PRE COOKED MEAT
for the cooking of other dishes. The chef simply places a If you want meat, use Leg of lamb, cut into cubes.
spoonful of this in a pan before adding the other Alternatively, use chicken. I use only breast portions, and
ingredients. You should have at least one good quality medium sized ones I cut into three pieces for cooking.
kitchen knife. I only mention this because chopping large Later, when it is added to a curry sauce, it can be
quantities of onions with a carving knife might put you off ‘chopped’ into smaller pieces using the cooks’ spoon. But
curries permanently. before you cut up the meat, do the following : Add plenty
of oil (About 5 fl. oz. will do.) to a 4 litre cooking pot, (or
PREPARATION AND PRE COOKING OF large sauce pan) and place on the cooker at moderate heat.
INGREDIENTS Add some finely chopped onion, two or three handfulls, to
A Large part of the work done in the kitchen has to be give a layer’ in the pot. Add plenty of bay leaves, three or
completed before the doors open. Even then, the staff will four good sized pieces of cinnamon (Cassia) bark, and five
be hard pressed to keep up with demand at busy times. or six cardamoms. Let this start to fry. and now you can
And work does not stop when the doors are finally locked. get to work on the meat. But don’t forget to give the pot a
There is cleaning up that must be done, and tomorrow to stir from time to time. When the onions show signs of
think of. If there have been any quiet times during the frying, add a tablespoon of garlic and ginger puree, stir it
evening, anyone not preparing dishes for customers will for a few moments, then do the same with a tablespoon of
have been doing other things, such as chopping onions. yogurt. Now add a chopped tomato or half a tablespoon of
When I was shown how to make curry gravy, I was told to tomato puree straight from the can (the kind that is meant
arrive at midnight. Work started at about 12.30, and I to be diluted) and stir a little longer. Add three or four
didn’t leave until after 4.00 A. M. Of course, other things good pinches of salt. By now the mixture should be getting
were going on all the time, but this serves to show quite dry, so add about half a cupful of water. Allow this to
something of how an Indian restaurant functions. When I simmer briskly while you work on the meat. The purpose
start cooking from scratch, the first thing I normally do is of this is to extract as much flavour as possible from the
deal with the garlic and ginger. This is used mostly in the whole spices. You can let it cook for quite a long time; half
form of a puree. The restaurant chef will make two an hour isn’t too long. Add water, a little at a time to keep
separate purees, but the home curry cook will probably it from drying up. But aim for the pot to be nearly dry
find it easier to combine the two. when the meat is ready. When you reach this stage, add a
rounded tablespoon of the spice mixture, and stir. Now tip
GARLIC AND GINGER PUREE in the meat, mix well and cover the pot. Allow to heat
Peel and chop a whole bulb of garlic. It need not be finely briefly, and turn down to absolute minimum. Although the
chopped. Now peel and chop an equal amount of ginger. mixture is very dry, enough moisture should be released
Add just enough water to make blending to a fine puree from the meat to cook it. To check that this is happening,
possible. When you have finished, it may look as though after a few minutes feel the lid; it should be hot indicating
you have made a lot, but any that Is not used can be frozen. that steam is being produced. Using this method, chicken
This is best done in a microwave oven tray, so that when should be cooked in about twenty minutes, lamb up to an
you want some more, you don’t have to thaw it all, just hour.(Check to see If it is tender after 30-40 minutes.) it is
ease it out of the tray, and cut a piece off. obvious that it is hardly worth cooking very small
Just four spices are essential to the mixture that is used in quantities like this, I always cook a fairly large batch and
just about every restaurant dish. One more is optional. freeze what isn’t going to be used the same day. If you do
They are pre-mixed for use in preparing the dishes as this, don't leave cooked meat sitting around for too long —
served, but chefs tend to use them individually when freeze it as soon as possible (and save some of the sauce, it
making large quantities of anything. can be added to your curries).