Regional curry strengths

Gadge

Bit creamy for me. Anyway I was in no Mad Ras to reply.

florerider

stratcat wrote:

jc4lab wrote:

Anyone remernber the Plaza in UpperBrook street Manchester.??The same curry different strengths.."Killer""Suicide" and "Kamikazee" options .+ a.Pint of water..

I've heard lots of stories but never went myself. Didn't they used to do t shirts with "I survived a killer at the plaza" on them, or something?

Used to go there quite often. Biriyani with killer sauce. Great stuff. With the wisdom of age, not sure frequenting somewhere that got closed down every now and then by the EHO such a great idea. :?
Probably a student right of passage that dates a whole generation of Manchester graduates.

laurentian

Ollieda wrote:

As my Dad is Sri Lankan I've always grown up eating curry. .

In my experience, the best food in the world is in Sri Lanka!

navrig

I travel a lot and have eaten in curry houses in many areas. I'm not convinced that there is a regional variation to the extent that you could create a map with curry strength contours however.

The best curries have been Glasgow, Skipton, Leeds. The poorest Cambridge and London. I daresay in very large places the quality will depend on the individual restaurant whilst in smaller places a good quality restaurant will drag up the quality of the competitors - probably why Skipton was so good (I ate in 3 Indian restaurants).

If you want a really good curry then make it yourself. This is a brialliant recipe which if you follow to the letter will be as good if not better than most restaurants. I've made it loads of times for friends and family and there is NEVER any left and everyone compliments it. The spicy heat can easily be varied by changing the quantity of chillies.

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NOTE this is the original recipe however I like lots of sauce so I double up on the sauce ingredients inlcuding all the spices and garlic. I'll also chuck in some mushrooms.

Lamb & Spinach Karahi

Ingredients
150g ghee
550g onions, chopped (about 3 large onions)
65g garlic, peeled (about 1 bulb/12-15 cloves)
50g root ginger, peeled and chopped roughly (about the size of a golf ball)
400g canned tomatoes
200ml water
900g boneless lamb (leg or shoulder), cut into large cubes
1 tbsp sea salt
1 tbsp each of the following: turmeric, red chilli powder, sweet paprika, ground coriander, ground cumin
2 tsp garam masala
200g baby spinach
2-4 medium-sized green chillies, stalks removed
2 handfuls fresh coriander leaves, chopped

Method

Heat the ghee in a large cast-iron casserole. Cook the onions gently for about 20 minutes until soft and light brown in colour. Take the casserole off the heat.

Blitz the garlic, root ginger, tomatoes and water in a blender until smooth. Remove the browned onions using a slotted spoon and add to the blender. Blend again until very smooth.

Return the mixture to the oil in the casserole and add the lamb and salt. Simmer gently for 30 minutes. The sauce will now be well-reduced.

Stir through the ground spices and cook for a further 1½-2 hours. Add a little water every now and then if the sauce starts to stick.

Just before the lamb is finished cooking, make the spinach puree. Put 150g of the spinach leaves in a large saucepan along with a splash of water. Place a lid on the saucepan and cook for about 2 minutes or until the spinach has wilted down. Transfer the spinach to a liquidizer along with another splash of water and blend until smooth. Set aside.

Make the chilli pureé. Blend the green chillies with some water until smooth and add to the curry. Set aside.

Check the lamb is cooked to your satisfaction. At this point, you can spoon off the fat which has risen to the top of the sauce (see below). Stir through the spinach puree and the rest of the spinach leaves. Add the green chilli puree and simmer and heat through for another 10 minutes.

Stir through the garam masala and fresh coriander. Taste for seasoning, adding plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Serve with rice and naan bread with some cooling yoghurt on the side, if you wish.

Notes

The addition of pureéd spinach may seem bonkers, but it tastes really good and also lightens the dish somewhat. You could add the spinach directly to the curry without pureéing but you lose out on the excellent colour it gives the dish. A note on cooking times: Rick’s recipe specifies 1½ hours total cooking time. I’ve found this does not give enough time to make the meat very tender, which is the way I like it. I cook this gently for 2-2½ hours which gives me the result I want. Next time I make this curry, I’m going to cook it in the oven - 160°C for 2½ hours should do it. Finally, important for all curries (indeed, all stews and braises), this will taste immeasurably better on the second day after being left to stand overnight. This softens the flavour of the garlic, onion and spices and allows the curry to mellow. Do give this a try if you can - leave to stand overnight then prepare the spinach puree when you’re reheating the curry.

Paul-Posh

Swindon is mild compared to Stoke. But generally get better food and lots of chef special options. At least at the place I go to. Must have a choice of about 10 restaurants/takeaways within 5 miles.

Had a Naga Chilli Chicken Special last night and only suffering from light ring sting this morning. Hot but enjoyable. (The curry...)