Curry Blog

1 Comment » - Saturday 28th November 2009

The Great British take-away

After a busy day at work sometimes nothing hits the spot quite like a takeaway and beer. And let’s be honest, an Indian takeaway has to rank as one of the best.

Keen to try somewhere new I logged on with anticipation to the Bombay Bicycle Club (BBC) website for the first time eager to place my order and get stuck in. The website was easy to use and there was a good amount on offer, not so much I spent ages faffing around but enough that there could be something for everyone.

So what did we order? Well, there were two of us and we were keen to try a selection of dishes so aside from the normal sides (Naan, rice etc) we ordered the below:
Shish Kebab Kabli, “Tender fillets of lamb mildly marinated, cooked in the tandoor”
Murgh Jaisalmar, “A light chicken dish cooked in the dopiaza style, not too hot but with plenty of spices and herbs”
Bhuna Gosht Khybari “Tender lamb tempered with a touch of ginger and coriander cooked in tomato, garlic and onion sauce”
Pasanda Khybari, “Tender lamb fillets marinated in yoghurt and spices, cooked in the tandoor and served in a rich sauce with cashew nuts”
Royal Bhenta “Fresh baby aubergines cooked in a rich tomato and onion sauce”
Selection of Sides “Naan bread, Rice”

I hope you’ll agree we had a good variety of dishes, well, except the two Lamb dishes… First impressions of the dishes were very good, the smell filled my flat in seconds and the packaging was soon cast aside. The dishes looked great, the meat to sauce ratio was excellent (something that always bothers me about takeaway) and none of the dishes were swimming in grease, in fact there was not a drop of grease to be seen anywhere.

The food was very good, subtly spiced with fantastic balance of flavours. The Murgh Jaisalmar in particular was excellent – the chicken was cooked to perfection, wonderfully moist and succulent, the sauce was creamy and the spices well rounded. Needless to say it was finished first and in not a lot of time! The lamb dishes were also good however I am pleased that we dialled up on the spice as otherwise they may have lacked some of the punch that you want with a curry.

The side dishes were also good, the Royal Bhenta provided some of our 5-a-day and the Naan bread was terrific, nicely doughy but with plenty of crispy bits. The only real let-down was the meagre couple of (well broken) poppadoms – it would have been nice to have a couple more then we were given.

I must admit though there were some great touches throughout the entire experience. As usual I’d forgotten to go to the off license to pick up some beer so it was great we could add Cobra to the order – let’s face it, a curry just isn’t curry without a nice cold Cobra!

So – was it worth it? It’s not the cheapest takeaway in south London but the food was good, it was very easy to order online and delivery was far quicker than expected. Overall a good service. I recommend you give them a try.

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1 Comment » - Friday 27th November 2009

Cooking Anjum Anand’s Chicken Naag

As you will have seen top Indian chef and presenter of “Indian Food Made Easy” Anjum Anand has created a new dish especially for Cobra National Curry Week. The recipe for the curry can be found on the Cobra website here  with a video demonstration from Anjum herself, as well as  Galaxy FM DJs Rob, Nige and Rachel to prove that anyone can make the dish! 

Last week the Cobra team were lucky enough to have a sneak preview of the curry and got to be the first ones to try it out.  The curry is supposed to so simple that anyone can make it, without compromising the great tastes of authentic Indian food.  With the team having various levels of cooking skill, it was going to be a good test run for some of the guys.

The curry is a great way to get into making your own – there is a strong balance of flavours and yet it’s not too spicy, it’s simple to make, preparation time is no more than 20 minutes and the cooking time is around 35 – 45 minutes maximum.  It’s very simple to make and is broken down into three stages so it’s easy to follow.

Rather than give you a blow-by-blow guide to cooking the curries here are my top tips and FAQs

-          How will I know when the mustard seeds are popping?
This will happen after about 30 seconds – 1 minute, it’ll sound like mini pop-corn popping, don’t lean too close, they sometimes spit a bit….

-          I don’t have a blender – how do I make the paste?
The easiest way is to grate the garlic and ginger using one of the smaller holes on your cheese grater and just chop the tomatoes up a bit smaller.
You will get a slightly chunkier sauce but it will still cook out as well and most importantly taste the same

-          Where do I get all the ingredients from?
You should be able to get them from your local supermarket

-          My potatoes are taking a while to cook how can I speed this up?
Make sure you’ve added enough water and have covered the pan whilst it simmers, this should speed things up a bit

-          Any other top tips?
Make sure the potatoes are cut quite small (about 2cm thick is ideal)
Right at the last minute add the coriander – this adds a nice freshness to the curry and cuts through the spice nicely
If your hands smell a bit of Garlic, cut a lemon slice and rub your hands with it – this will get rid of the smell
Serve it with chapattis and a nice cold Cobra!

So now you have no excuse now for not being able to cook a very simple, tasty curry!

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4 Comments » - Thursday 26th November 2009

Shopping For Indian Ingredients

One of the biggest problems with many curry recipes, especially the ones found in those glossy cook books that everyone loves, is where to get the more obscure ingredients.  I’m lucky enough to live just 10 minutes on the tube from Tooting, a haven for Indian shops of all types, and in particular food shops. 

Passing one of the many Sari shops are some great family-run Indian food shops where you can get everything from Asafoetida (a spice to help digestion) to Charmagaz (dried melon seeds).  These shops are great and full of smells and sights that you certainly don’t get in Tesco’s.  One of the great things about these small independent shops is that there is always someone on hand to help out whether that’s finding an alternative spice or giving cooking advice and tips.

If you’re unable to get to an Indian supermarket in person then I recommend the website Spices of India.  You’ll be able to find all the ingredients you want and delivery time is usually a couple of days.

I think the most important thing to remember is try not to be intimidated when buying ingredients, I’m sure it puts many people off but it really shouldn’t.  If you’re in a shop then people are usually more than happy to help and if anything love talking about cooking Indian. I actually ended up leaving with a handful of recipes which I cannot wait to try!

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2 Comments » - Wednesday 25th November 2009

Curries from the Indian sub-continent

It’s a great misconception that there are just a handful of Indian styles that are repeated across the vast country. This could be said to be put down the fact that for over 40 years the majority of restaurants in the UK are in Bengali in origin.  The truth is that there are in fact hundreds of different styles and in some areas the food can change from village to village with each having its own subtle differences in both the taste and type.   

I’ll try to broadly summarise this in easy to digest sections but suggest you go here if you want a far more detailed breakdown of the different regions.

Bengali, Bangladeshi and Oriya cuisines

Bengalis are big on seafood and are tend to be very keen on fresh fish. So if you are eating a Seafood curry chances are It is a Bengali one. Mustard seeds and mustard oil are added to many recipes, as are poppy seeds.

As for the Oriya people they tend to have similar eating habits and are considered masters in preparing these types of curries. This is proved by the number of Oriyas deployed in West Bengal as master chefs.

Gujarati cuisine

Ever wondered where the Thali comes from?  You know that Indian version of the Smorgasbord which is made up of Roti bread, daal or kadhi, rice, and sabzi/shaak (a dish made up of different combinations of vegetables and spices, which may be stir fried, spicy or sweet).  Well it is mainly a Gujerati dish, though there are versions that are popular in southern Indian too

North Indian and Pakistani cuisines

North Indian cuisine includes Mughlai cuisine, the cuisine of Kashmir, Awadhi cuisine, the cuisine of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthani cuisine and Bhojpuri cuisine.

One of the most-loved Pakistani curries is Karahi, which is usually chicken cooked in a dry spice rub. Also popular is Peshawari karahi which is a simple dish made with just meat, salt, tomatoes and coriander.

Punjabi cuisine

Do you know why Masalas are so popular in Scotland?  Well, it’s all thanks to the large Punjabi population whose curries are mainly based upon masalas (spice blends), pure desi ghee, with liberal amounts of butter and cream. It’s not just Masalas that the Punjabi region is famous for there are certain dishes that are exclusive to Punjab, such as Maha Di Dal and Saron Da Saag (Sarson Ka Sa)

Northeast Indian and Nepalese cuisines

The curries of North-East India are very different from other parts of India. This area’s cuisine has been influenced by its neighbours, namely Burma and Tibet. Its use of well known Indian spices is less. Yak is a popular meat in this region of India.

As many gap year backpackers will testify – Dahl baht, rice and lentil soup, are staple dishes of Nepal. Newa cuisine is a type of cuisine developed over centuries by the Newars of Nepal.

Malayali cuisine

One of my favourite regions of India and one where I have spent a fair amount of time is that of Kerala and not just for the stunning beaches!  Malayali curries of Kerala often contain shredded coconut paste or coconut milk from one of the many trees that line the beaches as well as curry leaves, and various spices.

Mustard seeds are a key ingredient along with onions, curry leaves, sliced red chillies fried in hot oil.  Kerala is known for its traditional Sadya, a vegetarian meal served with boiled rice and a host of side-dishes, such as Parippu (Green gram), Papadum, some ghee, Sambar, Rasam, Aviyal, Kaalan, Kichadi, pachadi, Injipuli, Koottukari, pickles (mango, lime), Thoran, one to four types of Payasam, Boli, Olan, Pulissery, moru (buttermilk), Upperi, Banana chips…. the list just keeps on going!

What do all of these different regions all have in common?  That a Cobra is the perfect companion to every curry!

(Thanks to Wikipedia for filling some of the gaps in my knowledge. Image from Students of the World)

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No Comments » - Tuesday 24th November 2009

Quick curry guide from Wikipedia

So what about the actual food?  Well although the names may be similar to traditional dishes, the recipes generally are not, below is a selection of dishes you’re likely to find in your local curry house:

  • Korma/Kurma – mild, yellow in colour, with almond and coconut powder. Good starter curry quite often favoured by people setting foot in an Indian restaurant for the first time.
  • Biryani – Spiced rice and meat cooked together and usually served with vegetable curry sauce.  However a lot of vegetarians opt for a meat-free version.
  • Pasanda – a mild curry sauce made with cream, coconut milk, and almonds or cashews.  Over the years it has established itself as the thinking curry lover’s alternative to Korma.
  • Chicken Tikka Masala – a dish of roast chicken chunks in a creamy, lightly spiced, tomato-based sauce, which as you probably know was invented in the UK and is the nation’s favourite dish.
  • Roghan Josh (from “Roghan” (fat) and “Josh” (energy/heat – which as in English may refer to either “spiciness” or temperature)) – medium, with tomatoes and paprika , Quite often comes with peppers too, a real favourite with the Curryarti
  • Bhuna – medium, thick sauce, some vegetables served with Lamb or Chicken. More popular in the north than the south of the UK,
  • Dhansak – medium/hot, sweet and sour sauce with lentils (originally a Parsi dish). Another curry that the connoisseurs favour, the Dhansak is also very popular with vegetarians.
  • Madras – fairly hot curry, red in colour and with heavy use of chilli powder. In our books a much under-rated curry which has a powerful, but not overpowering kick.
  • Jalfrezi – onion, green chilli and a thick sauce. The Jalfrezi became increasingly popular as an alternative to the Madras and the Vindaloo during the 1990s. Often the sauce isn’t that hot, but then when you chomp on a chilli…
  • Vindaloo – this is generally regarded as the classic “hot” restaurant curry, although a true Vindaloo does not specify any particular level of spiciness. Invariably the hottest dish on the menu  
  • Phaal – extremely hot dish using ground chillies, ginger and fennel.  A dish that every curry lover needs to eat at least once in their life! Quite often not included on the menu – you have to ask for it.

    • So there you go – a brief list of what you’re most likely to find in a curry house.  Of course, there one other thing we’re missing and something you’ll find in nearly every curry house across the UK – an ice cold Cobra.

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    No Comments » - Monday 23rd November 2009

    Ten things you didn’t know about the History of Curry

    So how much do you know about curry? Here are ten facts you can use to impress fellow diners the next time you hit the poppadoms.
    1. The first curry recipe in Britain appeared in The Art of Cookery made Plain and Easy by Hannah Glasse in 1747. Although simple in its choice of ingredients (using just peppers and coriander seeds) it nevertheless got the nation’s appetite for the spicy stuff up and running.
    2. In 1810, the British Bengali entrepreneur Sake Dean Mahomed opened the first Indian curry house in England, it was called the Hindustani Coffee House and was located in London’s Portman Square.
    3. Many of the early Indian restaurants in the UK were aimed at ex-pats from the Asian sub-continent. The first Indian restaurant to attract native Londoners was Veeraswamy’s Indian Restaurant in London’s Regent Street which was opened by Edward Palmer in 1927.
    4. Over the 1950s the number of curry fans increased dramatically thanks to its use in Coronation Chicken, the dish created to celebrate QE2’s coronation.
    5. Until the early 1970s more than three quarters of Indian restaurants in Britain were identified as being owned and run by people of Bengali origin. Currently the dominance of Bangladeshi restaurants is declining in some parts of London and the further north you travel your food is more likely to be made by Punjabis. There are also other smaller ethnic centres such as London’s Stoke Newington, which boasts several Keralan restaurants and the Nepalese and south Indian restaurants around Euston.
    6. Chicken Tikka Masala has, up until recently, been said to be the nation’s favourite dish. Apparently it was invented in Glasgow by a Bengali chef, when a customer demanded a sauce with a “too dry” tikka (legend has it that the cook then heated up a tin of Campbell’s condensed tomato soup and added some spices – the Korma has now taken the spot.
    7. There are more Indian restaurants in Greater London than in Bombay and New Delhi combined. There are also more English restaurants in Lahore than there are in London (actually that bits not true)
    8. UK curry lovers munch nearly four million poppadoms a week. That’s an awful lot of chutney. Apparently the main accompaniment to poppadoms is Mint Chutney (pudina ki chutney) which is completely different from Raita, which is heavier on Cucumbers than mint. Also popular is Lime Pickle, which in my opinion, the eating of which is the culinary equivalent of bungee jumping.
    9. Given the huge demand it is no great surprise that there are about 9,500 Indian curry houses in the UK, employing an estimated 70,000 staff.
    10. British-style curry restaurants are also popular in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. There is also bizarrely a cluster of Indian restaurants in Santa Monica, Los Angeles which serve the English ex pat community.

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    21 Comments » - Sunday 22nd November 2009

    Dr. Spice needs you!

    Since our Facebook page went live this morning, we’ve been overwhelmed with the fantastic number of comments from budding curry chefs around the country. A huge number of you like to add a bit of spice to your own kitchens and dinner tables, and we’d love to hear about your own individual tips, recipes and methods for getting the perfect curry.

    We’ve partnered with some great curry chefs and restauranteurs to provide a few recipe ideas and even have videos of some amateur cooks proving just how easy it is. But we can’t cover it all, and who knows? – one of you might have a secret recipe that could become the next Chicken Tikka Massala! So if you’ve got your own special set of ingredients, or even just a simple tip for perfecting a sauce, just add a comment to this blog post and share your love of curry with our other readers during National Curry Week.

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    5 Comments » - Thursday 19th November 2009

    National Curry Week 2009

    One of my favourite weeks of the year and possibly the greatest reason to eat curry it’s Cobra National Curry week 2009, which this year is running between the 22nd and 28th of November.

    In order to celebrate its involvement Cobra has packed the week with exciting curry related things for you to get involved with:

    - A brand new recipe from top Indian chef Anjum Anand called Chicken Naag
    - Find out what curry your personality is best matched to with a Twitter tool called Twindaloo
    - Competitions with XFM and Facebook where you can win some top curry prizes including a masterclass with top curry chef Pat Chapman and a leading curry chef to come and cook in the comfort of your own home

    It’s not just Cobra that’s getting involved either, National Curry Week 2009 will see many of the 9,500 Indian restaurants in the UK celebrate the cuisine and culture by hosting dinners, record-breaking attempts, raffles, auctions and more, all in aid of contributing to the alleviation of poverty and suffering in South Asia and worldwide.

    In 2000 the United Nations stated that over 800 million men, women and children are denied the most basic human right of all; the right to food. National Curry Week aims to raise as much money as possible for The Curry Tree Charitable Fund, a charity set up specifically to help alleviate the plight of the malnourished, starving and poor of South East Asia and the world. For your chance to donate please visit www.nationalcurryweek.co.uk

    So with all this going on I don’t think you have much excuse not to have at least one curry and a Cobra this week!

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    2 Comments » - Tuesday 17th November 2009

    Welcome to the new Cobra Beer Website

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    Hi my name is Dr Spice and I am happy to admit – I am addicted to curry. I used to work as a chef and enjoy everything about food; shopping for it, cooking it and most importantly, eating it! And my favourite food is… well you guessed it – curry.

    Chances are if you are reading this, you love curry too, and we are not alone. In a study carried out by Cobra over 87% of Brits feast on curry, whether it’s cooking at home, dialing in a takeaway, or dining out at their local curry house and nearly a fifth of Brits say curry is their favourite meal.

    I love curry so much that I am proud to say that I’m a Cobra (official partner of Nation Curry Week 2009) representative, and that means I get the chance to talk about my favourite food on a regular basis on this website. So make sure you keep coming back as I write about different types of curries, offer restaurant and takeaway reviews, pester the top curry chefs for their best recipes and of course rise a glass to the perfect beer to accompany curry of every nationality.

    This blog is for all curry lovers from seasoned pros who go out every week for a super spicy Phall through to those who are merely dipping their toe into the chilli water. Hopefully it’ll provide inspiration to try something new and exciting.

    I’m based in London so there will be a slight south east of England focus, however as much as I can I’ll try to get out and experiment with new exciting places – the curry mile for example is somewhere I’m desperate to visit!

    I’d love to hear your feedback too so if you have any tips on recipes, places to eat or shops for ingredients then please do leave me a comment.

    I can’t really sign off without answering the obvious question – why Cobra and curry? Well Cobra is far more than just being slightly less gassy than your bog standard lager! The complex brewing process means that it’s perfectly matched to complement spicy food. It has a different character from other lagers. Lower levels of carbonation mean Cobra delivers a calming, soothing, reassuring mellow rounded fullness buffering the next mouthful of food, while protecting the taste buds from the impacts of ginger and chilli heat.

    Finally, I just want to make it clear that all opinions are those of Dr Spice and do not always reflect those of Cobra, Molson Coors or any of its affiliates.

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