Curry Blog

No Comments » - Thursday 18th February 2010

National Chip Week – Connoisseur’s Curry Sauce

You’ve probably guessed by now that here at Cobra we love curry… I mean really love it. We honestly can’t stop eating the stuff; from Vindaloos to a nice creamy Korma, we’ll eat the lot. One thing that has always left us a little disappointed though is fish and chip shop curry sauce – it never quite hits the spot or gets the taste buds tingling in quite the same way that a proper curry does.

Well, it seems we’re not the only people that are partial to some curry sauce with our chips – research has shown that almost a fifth (17%) of Brits admit to loving nothing more than dipping their chips in curry sauce… now that’s a lot of people!

So, in celebration of National Chip Week we have joined forces with renowned Indian chef, Cyrus Todiwala, to create the only curry sauce fit for a true curry fan!

Connoisseur’s Curry Sauce

Glistening with gold leaf, the Connoisseur’s Curry Sauce uses only the finest ingredients on the market, including Morel mushrooms costing £150 per kilo, and is worth a whopping £36 a portion – 36 times the price of your bog standard curry sauce found in your local ‘chippy’. I tried some the other day at Cyrus’ restaurant and it was so delicious I ended up eating it with a spoon! This supreme curry sauce definitely has the ‘wow’ factor and as far as I’m concerned should be crowned king of the curry sauce.

Now, we appreciate that not everyone will want to spend that kind of money on curry sauce so feel free to swap the morel mushrooms for some shitake – oh, and the gold leaf is optional too. Plus, what’s even better is that the sauce can be kept fresh in the fridge for up to five days, so you can enjoy it at your leisure!

As always you can find the recipe here so open a bottle of King Cobra to share with your friends, get some of your favourite chips, tuck in and enjoy!

Tags: Cobra, Cyrus Todiwala, King Cobra, National Chip Week
Posted in Recipes |

No Comments » - Monday 15th February 2010

Cyrus Todiwala’s Connoisseur’s Curry Sauce

“To celebrate National Chip Week I’ve teamed up with Cobra beer to create this rich, unique and luxurious curry sauce which is guaranteed to both complement the great British chip and tantalize the most discerning of taste buds. Even better, this simple and versatile sauce can be easily stored in your refrigerator for up to five days and makes a delicious cold dip as well“ – Cyrus Todiwala.

Cyrus Todiwala’s Connoisseur’s Curry Sauce with King Cobra Ingredients:

- 2-3 fresh or dried morel mushrooms

- 50gm ground almonds

- 1 tin coconut milk

- 2 heaped tbsp butter

- 1 or 2 green chillis (depending on taste) – slit into 4 lengthways

- 2 garlic cloves – peeled and very finely chopped

- 1 small banana shallot – very finely chopped

- 1 heaped tsp good English smooth mustard

- 1 level tbsp madras curry powder

- 1 heaped tbsp fresh coriander – chopped

- 1 sheet gold leaf

Equipment:

- 1-2 litre capacity casserole or saucepan

- Strainer

- Blender/ liquidizer

- Wooden spatula

- Heat resistant scraper

- Bowl

- High spirits (for the enjoyment)

To serve:

- A portion of your favourite chips. For the ultimate homemade chip, why not try Heston Blumenthal’s triple-cooked chips

- King Cobra – best served shared and ice cold

Method:

- Clean and chop your morel mushrooms into very tiny pieces. If using dried morels, soak them for a while (or as instructed on your package) drain and chop

- Puree the ground almonds with the coconut milk and set it aside ready for use

- Take the casserole or saucepan and heat it on a medium flame

- Add the butter and, once melted and foaming, add the mushrooms and sauté for a minute or two. Drain over a small bowl in the strainer

- Return the butter to the pan and add the slit green chillis. Sauté for a minute or two, then add the finely-chopped garlic

- As soon as the garlic turns pale add the finely-chopped shallots and continue to sauté for a couple of minutes until the shallots turn pale

- When the shallots turn pale add the chilli powder, incorporate the pureed almonds and coconut milk – stirring until well blended

- Bring to a boil and simmer for three to four minutes before adding the mustard paste

- Remove from the cooker and add the sautéd mushrooms. Keep mixing until the mustard settles down – this might take a minute or two

- Check the seasoning and see that it is to your liking

- Now add the chopped coriander and stir it in – ensuring the mixture is blended into a smooth sauce

- Finally, garnish with a flourish of gold leaf before serving with a portion of your favourite chips and a glass of ice cold King Cobra.

Tags: Cobra, curry, Cyrus Todiwala, King Cobra, National Chip Week, Recipes
Posted in Recipes |

No Comments » - Tuesday 9th February 2010

CurryCouncil.com announces their Restaurant of the Year

Here at Cobra we love anything that encourages people to eat more curry – whether that’s trying great recipes, enjoying excellent takeaways, visiting top Curry houses, the lot. So, when the guys at CurryCouncil.com let us know about their Restaurant of the Year Awards we just had to tell you know about them.

The CurryCouncil.com’s annual award honours the best restaurants in the Manchester area, as voted by their members. Finalists were chosen from a list of eleven South-Manchester-based restaurants and visited by the CurryCouncil in 2009. Each restaurant was then rated in the following areas: atmosphere, value for money, originality and most of all; exemplarily food and service. A complete list of contenders is available here.

This year’s winner is (drum roll please)…. The Purple Pakora, in Poynton, Stockport. David Marchbank-Smith, co-founder of CurryCouncil.com, paid tribute: “The awards are designed to recognize the very best Indian restaurants in the South Manchester region. The team at the Purple Pakora have created a stylish contemporary dining arena which is complemented with exemplary food and a high standard of service. ”

Check out their site for more reviews, recipes and other great curry news!

Tags: awards, Cobra, curry, Curry Council, Purple Pakora, review
Posted in Restaurants |

1 Comment » - Monday 1st February 2010

Come Dine With Me – Curry Dinner Party

We love Channel 4’s Come Dine With Me in the Dr Spice household – it’s one of the only times we all sit and watch TV in relative silence. However, as you’d expect, there’s always a big debate on what we’d serve for our guests.

Despite being a house of curry fanatics, Indian food is rarely mentioned as the top choice for cuisine – preferring, instead, to go for an old French classic or something equally as predictable. Obviously, being a curry fanatic I’d definitely do all three courses as Indian dishes matched of course with the only beer brewed especially to go with Indian food – Cobra beer.

For inspiration I’ve nabbed a few of one of my favourite Indian chef’s, Anjum Anand, recipes for the basic reason that they’re really tasty, simple and most of the ingredients can be found in the local supermarket!

One of the great things about Indian food is that it can often be prepared well in advance, leaving you time to talk to your guests rather than being cooped up in the kitchen slaving over a hot stove!

I would do the following:

Starter – Aktar Islam’s Tandoori Salmon

Just because this recipe from F-Word Best local Restaurant Lasan’s in Birmingham is low in fat certainly means it’s not low in taste! Simple and easy to prepare this makes a cracking starter served with some mint yoghurt or Raita.

Main Course – Jamie Oliver’s Southern Indian Crab Curry

As you’ll have seen in my past post I love Southern Indian food so this dish ticks that box nicely. There’s also something fantastically decadent about crab – not many people eat it on a regular basis so it feels special and will make your guests marvel at your taste and sophistication.

Dessert – Anjum Anand’s Indian Brioche Pudding with Cardamom and Saffron “Cream”

I think it’s best to let Anjum explain this one:

“This dessert is my easy, cheat’s version but it is still luscious and moreish. You can serve it as it is simply garnished with some fried cashew nuts, toasted almonds or pistachios or with the caramelized apples for an added dimension or with any other fruit you like.” – My mouth is watering just thinking about!

Drinks – Cobra of course! In particular I’d go for King Cobra – looks great, tastes great and goes wonderfully with curry!

Finally, here are my top tips for a successful dinner party:

- Prepare as much in advance as you can – get marinating several hours before your guests arrive. Not only will this develop the flavours but it’ll also save you rushing around when you have guests to entertain!

- Set the table the night before – your day will be manic and stressful enough so why not cut yourself some slack

- Make sure you have all your extras (naan, chutneys, Raita etc) prepared and on the table before your guests arrive

- Ensure you’ve put your Cobra in the fridge before you start – nothing will put a dampener on the evening more than serving warm beer to your guests

- Don’t forget to drink in moderation – no-one likes a drunken host!

- Above all, enjoy yourself! Relax, chat to all your guests and most importantly don’t panic – it’ll all be ok, there’s always a takeaway if it all goes horribly wrong … no-one will notice the difference!

So guys, no excuses – what are you waiting for? What would you cook?

Tags: Channel 4, Cobra, Come Dine with Me, Dinner Party
Posted in Recipes |

1 Comment » - Wednesday 27th January 2010

Lazy Curry Recipes

Now, my last blog post covered off supermarket ready meals but, for some (most of my readers in fact!), nothing is quite as good as home made. However, many of us are still pushed for time and often lack the patience to cook a curry so I’ve rummaged through my recipe book and have chosen a handful of recipes for you try for yourself – all of which are delicious, quick and shouldn’t cost the earth.

First-off is Cobra’s very own Chicken Naag, created by Anjum Anand – not only is it very tasty but it is very quick and easy to make.

Secondly, dear old Jamie Oliver does produce some cracking, easy to make recipes that are certainly worth a try. I’m a huge fan of his Quick Salmon Tikka with Cucumber Yoghurt – it only takes about 20 minutes, is reasonably healthy and damn tasty!

Another favourite of mine is Kedgeree, a dish most commonly associated with Colonial India which doesn’t take long to cook and is a great way to use up left over Rice.

Finally, Sainsbury’s do a cracking Prawn and Tomato Curry that is tasty, quick and only costs a fiver! Who can argue with that!

Do you have any quick recipes you can recommend – please post them below and we’ll have a go!

Tags: Anjum Anand, Cobra, Jamie Oliver, Sainsbury's
Posted in Recipes, Uncategorized |

No Comments » - Tuesday 26th January 2010

Supermarket Ready Meal Curry Review

After a long hard day at work, it’s often hard to find the motivation to cook a meal from scratch and getting a takeaway isn’t always the most practical solution.

This great conundrum can often be fixed by picking up a ready meal on the way home but the big question is: which supermarket has the best offering?

I went out this week and bought a ready meal version of the nation’s favourite curry – Chicken Korma* and rice (where possible I bought the top of the range) from my local supermarkets – Waitrose, Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s and got tasting with a couple of friends.

Each meal has been scored out of 10 on:

- Ease of cooking

- Presentation

- Taste (rice out of 5, curry out of 5)

- Value

So how did they fare…?:

Waitrose:

- Ease of cooking: 8

- Presentation: 7

- Taste (rice out of 5, curry out of 5): Rice = 4 Curry = 4

- Value: 7

- Total: 30

Comments:

I was a little disappointed with this one to be honest, I expected more from Waitrose. The curry was tasty and had plenty of flavour but there was a lot of oil on the surface and it lacked a bit of punch. The rice was the fluffiest of the lot and was nicely flavoured with cardamom but lacked the complexity of some of the others.

Tesco:

- Ease of cooking: 9

- Presentation: 9

- Taste (rice out of 5, curry out of 5): Rice = 5 Curry = 5

- Value: 8

- Total: 36

Comments:

As soon as it came out the packet this one looked the best. You could clearly see the spices in the rice and the curry and it had a strong colour. It got even better once cooked with a fantastic smell coming from the plate. The rice was delicious with a good mix of spices including curry leaves, cardamom and cumin which went with the Korma perfectly. The Korma itself was delicious, creamy with hints of coconut and plenty of spices and most importantly looked like it could have been made at home from scratch.

Asda:

- Ease of cooking: 8

- Presentation: 4

- Taste (rice out of 5, curry out of 5) rice = 1 Curry = 3

- Value: 9

- Total: 25

Comments:

This was the cheapest curry of the lot and it does show. The rice seemed to be undercooked and just seemed to taste of yellow food colouring rather than any of the spices you’d hope to be in there. The Korma itself was okay – it was creamy and wasn’t swimming in grease. The taste of coconut was slightly overpowering but overall the chicken was very good and so succulent.

Sainsbury’s:

- Ease of cooking: 7

- Presentation: 3

- Taste (rice out of 5, curry out of 5): rice = 3 Curry = 1

- Value: 3

- Total: 17

Comments:

By far the worst of the lot. The rice was average; I have nothing really to say about it that’s how dull it was. The Korma was swimming in grease and just tasted of cream, the chicken was fibrous and chewy in comparison to the others and they were stingy with the amount of meat as well. I was particularly disappointed with this one as their other ready meals are often very good.

So, in conclusion, the winner is (drum roll please….) Tesco’s Finest Chicken Korma and Rice. It was slightly more expensive (by £1) but totally worth it, the chicken was perfectly cooked, the sauce incredibly tasty and by far the best rice! I strongly recommend it if you’re after a curry in a hurry – just don’t forget the Cobra!

*Cobra research for National Curry Week 2009 showed that 22% of Brits preferred a Korma to other curries

Tags: Asda, Chicken Korma, Ready meal, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose
Posted in supermarkets |

1 Comment » - Tuesday 19th January 2010

Curry House Offers

After a no-doubt expensive Christmas and New Year I’m sure many of you aren’t too keen on heading out for dinner, so I’ve put together a brief list of some of the places in London (and one in Stratford-upon-Avon) that currently have special offers.

- Aroma Romford – 2 for 1 on main courses

- Imli Soho – 25% off when dining from the A la Carte menu

- Salaam Namaste Bloomsbury – 50% off food

- Mint Leaf Restaurant Piccadilly Circus – 50% off food

- http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/offers.html – Many more offers can be found here, all London based of course

- Aladdin’s Indian Dining Stratford-upon-Avon – offers any starter, main course, vegetable accompaniment (one shared between two diners), any rice or naan bread, freshly-brewed coffee and mints for only £12.95 per person.

If you know of any in your local area then please do post them into the comments section for all to see!

Tags: Cobra, curry, London, offers, restaurant
Posted in Restaurants |

No Comments » - Wednesday 6th January 2010

New Year’s Resolution – Less Fat, More Curry!

I’m not sure about you guys but my New Year’s Resolution is to shed a couple of pounds over the next few weeks – Christmas has been very good to me! I know I’ve eaten far too much Turkey, Cheese and Chocolate so I’m going to do more exercise and cut back on some of the more unhealthy curries!

Curries that can be higher in calories are those which are heavy on the cream such as favourites Korma, Tikka Massala and Passanda whilst curries that are slightly lower in calories (but you still need to be careful) include Jalfreizi, Sambar and the legendary Phall.

Now I know from the Facebook page that many of you aren’t always too keen on lower fat curries but believe me – they can be incredibly delicious.

If you’re feeling adventurous then one of my all time favourite curries has to be Crab Varuthathu. It’s a dish that is cooked dry with ginger, curry leaves, chilli and mustard seeds – it’s delicious and also pretty healthy! I first discovered it when I was in India, and now look out for it whenever I’m out for a curry – sadly as it’s a speciality of Kerala in South India it’s a touch tricky to find! An alternative lower fat curry that’s just as good and easier to find is one of my staples Masala Nu Roast Gos (which you can see how to make here).

If you’re looking to cook some healthier options at home, but don’t want to skimp on the spice, then give weightlossresources.co.uk a go. They have some cracking recipes – I’ll be trying the Lamb Masala Kebabs soon!

Finally, don’t forget the beer. Don’t believe that beer is fattening (in fact all beer has Zero fat), Cobra Zero has just 79 calories per bottle and Cobra Premium has 132 calories per bottle. So when drunk in moderation you don’t need to give up on the odd treat to keep your diet going!

Good luck (I know I’ll need it)!

Posted in Recipes |

1 Comment » - Tuesday 22nd December 2009

What do you do with Christmas leftovers? Turkey curry of course

Come Boxing Day and there is one huge dilemma that always needs to be resolved? What on earth do you do with all the Turkey leftovers? Make them into sandwiches (again)? Feed them to the dog?

Well how about turning them into curry?

Dr Spice recommends Anjum Anand’s very own Turkey Naag. It’s really simple and best of all takes just 30 minutes to cook, and let’s face it, on Boxing day the last thing you want to do is actually cook!

Needless to say it’ll certainly be making an appearance on Boxing Day in my household and everyone but the dog will be happy!

I hope you all have a very merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year!

~~~ Anjum Anand’s Turkey Naag ~~~

Serves 4-6

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 25-30 mins

Anjum’s top tips:

- If you’re tight on time, replace ginger and garlic with garlic and ginger pastes

- For a richer dish, stir in a dash of cream or sour cream before serving

Ingredients:

- 3 tbs. vegetable oil

- 2 tbs. ghee or butter

- 1 tsp. brown mustard seeds

- 750g turkey (cooked)

- 7 baby potatoes, par boiled, peeled and quartered

- 1 medium onion, finely chopped

- Handful of finely chopped coriander leaves and stems

- 330ml of water

Paste:

- 5 fat garlic cloves, peeled

- 3/4” ginger, peeled

- 3 medium tomatoes, chopped into 2 cm chunks

- 3 rounded tbs. full fat Greek yoghurt

- 1½ tbs. coriander powder

- 1¼ tsp. garam masala

- ¼-½ tsp. red chilli powder plus some paprika for colour (optional – add more chilli if you like it a little hotter)

- ½ tsp. turmeric powder

- 1 tsp. cumin powder

- Salt to taste

Step 1:

Create a fine paste of the ginger, garlic and tomatoes (ideally use a blender but if you don’t have one then grate the ginger and garlic to create a rough paste and chop the tomatoes).

Stir in the powdered spices, salt and yoghurt. Add the potatoes and leave while you get going with step 2.

Step 2:

Heat the oil and butter/ghee in a medium non-stick saucepan. Add the mustard seeds and cook until you can hear that they‘ve all popped – this shouldn’t take any more than a minute. Add your onions and cook over a moderate flame, stirring often, until the onions are browned on the edges – this takes around 7-8 minutes.

Add the potatoes and paste and cook over a moderate-high heat, stirring occasionally at first but more often when the paste starts to thicken. Once the sauce begins to release oil droplets back into the pan (look at the edges of the pan), around 10-12 minutes, it is cooked. If you are not sure, taste it – the sauce should taste delicious without any raw garlic flavours. If it is not cooked or has reduced too much while cooking, add a splash of water and continue until you can see the oil around the edges.

Step 3:

Add your turkey and enough of the remaining water to come halfway up the pan (or a little more if you like a little more sauce) and bring to the boil. Simmer for a few minutes, taste and adjust the seasoning. Stir in the chopped coriander and serve with some lovely pure Basmati rice and an ice cold Cobra.

Tags: Christmas, Cobra, Leftovers, Recipes, Turkey
Posted in Recipes |

No Comments » - Tuesday 15th December 2009

Dr Spice visits the home of Curry

Recently I was lucky enough to take two weeks out to visit India. In addition to visiting the usual tourist haunts like the Taj Mahal, I also headed down to the Keralan coast for some R&R, most of which consisted of eating an awful lot of Indian food.

There’s just so much to talk about so I’m just going to give my top ten learnings about the real Indian food:

Even an avowed carnivore like myself found the vegetarian food to be out of this world good. There is just so much choice in even the smallest restaurants.
Seafood on the coast is also amazing – check out the picture of the prawns below!
Whisper it, but on the whole Indian food isn’t that hot, it is just packed full of mouth watering flavour
Not everything is covered in creamy sauces. I had as much food with little or no sauce as I did with plenty of sauce
Everything can be spiced, a nice cup of tea with some Tea Masala (cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, star anise, peppercorn, and cloves usually although it differs at each restaurant) is actually surprisingly refreshing, especially when it starts to get a bit chilly in the evening
Travel for one hour from wherever you are staying and the food will be completely different
The bread is so much more than just Chapati and Naan, I counted at least four other types, most of which I can’t remember but tasted amazing
Any food overlaps with the UK are likely to be very different. I had a Samosa in Mumbai that was the size of my hand and had thick, almost pasty like, pastry and was stuffed with spicy potatoes (my mouth is watering just remembering it!)
The service can be a touch slow but if you’re watching the sun go down with an ice cold Cobra does it really matter?!
Finally, and most importantly, it’s actually very hard to get a beer and often you’ll get it wrapped in newspaper to avoid the police seeing it….

Tiger Prawns in Varkala

I hope this has inspired you to go to India – there are some great places to visit and I had an amazing time. If you’re planning on visiting India, Kerala in particular, then leave a comment with any questions and I’ll answer as best I can!

Tags: Agra, curry, curry origins, India, Mumbai, Varkala
Posted in India |