Cabbage curry?

[MINESAPINT]

I have often tried over the ast 20 years to recreate curry as served in Indian restaurants in the UK. Some success but never totally satisfied with my endeavours. I hope someone can offer me some tips?

However I have lots of Spring Cabbage ready now and wonder if anyone can slip a recipe on here for me to try tonight? I will let you know how I get on later.

Thanks in anticipation.

[MKG]

Yeah, difficult isn't it? But the Curry Club have "authentic" restaurant recipes (the books are written by Pat Chapman). Just Google it and it's easily found. It's all to do with pre-preparing a couple of sauces.

For really quick and reasonably restauranty curries, you can't beat Pataks pastes (not sauces - pastes). Send my fee by cheque, please, Mr. Patak.

[ina]

For really quick and reasonably restauranty curries, you can't beat Pataks pastes (not sauces - pastes). Send my fee by cheque, please, Mr. Patak.

That's what I use, too - never have a recipe, just use Patak's and whatever else I find in the fridge...

[MINESAPINT]

Thanks MKG & ina,

I have done the Curry Club thing and have 2 of their books. Had some success. Never considered buying anything pre prepared, just don't seem right! Maybe thats what they put in my favourite curries at the local restaurant!

[ina]

They probably do... I wouldn't buy the sauces, either; but I find the pastes really taste nicer than dry curry. That's basically what they are: curry powder, made up with oil - which brings out the taste much better.

[Milims]

Won't cabbage curry give you really really bad wind?

[Lady Willow]

Try this ....

2 large onion, chopped finely
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp sunflower oil
Sautue until transparent.

1 tbsp black mustard seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp fenugreek
1 tbsp garam masala
1 tsp coriander seeds, crushed lightly
1 tsp chilli power (more if you like it hotter)
Add and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add a drop or two of water if it starts to stick.

cabbage, roughly chopped
few potatoes, par boiled and cut into large chunks (leave this out if you like)
Add and stir to coat the cabbage with the spices and onion.

tin crushed tomatoes (or home grown, skinned, de-seeded and chopped)
Add to the pan and bring to the boil, addint enough water so the cabbage is almost covered.
Bring to boil, lower heat and simmer until tender.

[ocailleagh]

When I'm making a curry I usually pop the fresh spices (such as chillies, garlic and ginger) into the pestle and mortar and pound them into a paste with black peppercorns (they help to stop the fresh spices sliding around while you're trying to smoosh them up), then I add the other dried spices til I think it has enough. Then I fry them gently to bring out the flavours. Then I add a LOT of chopped onion, I'd say at least 4 large ones and cook it down, adding a little water, some lemon or lime juice, as necessary. This is a basic curry paste. It might not be completely traditional, but its pretty similar so far as I remember! Use this when making your curry in the usual way, and add a spice blend, garam masala for example, towards the end of the cooking time.

Won't cabbage curry give you really really bad wind?

Not so much. Curry spices are generally good digestive aids (cumin, fenugreek, ginger etc) so should cut down on it. And its mostly sugar that causes wind anyway, or rather the intestinal bacteria that feed on sugar.

[ina]

Won't cabbage curry give you really really bad wind?

Not so much. Curry spices are generally good digestive aids (cumin, fenugreek, ginger etc) so should cut down on it.

We always cooked cabbage with caraway seeds for exactly that reason. Never knew cabbage was supposed to give you wind...

[MINESAPINT]

Thanks for advice. Will do although by the time I read the posts I had eaten it.

What I actually did cos I wanted a quick meal was:

Splash of oil in large pan.
Hand full of cumin seeds & smaller hand full of corriander seeds - fry.
Add 2 chopped onions - keep frying.
Add a whole spring cabbage & some chard shreaded - keep frying.
Add 1 teaspoon of curry powder made from recipe in Curry Club book some time ago.
Add a tin of tomatoes & simmer.

Meanwhile boil rice & make chappatis out of bread flour & water to cook dry in heavy frying pan.

Meal was quite acceptable & took about 30 mins to prepare once cabbage & chard had been picked.

Will try other recipies over next few days.

[mrsflibble]

when I was at uni my housemate used to steam cabbage, then cook asofetida, caraway, garam masala (her own blend) and garlic in a little oil, then she'd toss the cabbage in that mix. it was lovely. not quite a cabbage curry, but she was originally from dehli...

[AXJ]

The best curry paste are from Veeraswamy, which is a restaurant in Regent Street London. It was the FIRST curry restaurant in Britain, when friends from here go to London I always direct them to it for a real 'Tale of the Rhaj' experience, although the last lot wound up with a waiter from the Basque Country, and they made their order in Euskera LoL

http://www.bartspices.com/html/veer.php ... astes.html

http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/restaurants ... -5308.html

The secret with curry etc. is to produce a thick onion soup effectively, this is your base for everything else. That's what makes the difference between a home effort and that made in you local curry house. The onion sauce can take hours, so it makes sense to make loads of it. That is the secret, so onion growers, go get 'em.

[mrsflibble]

also indians tend to cook their onions to caramelisation point, unlike most brits who only go so far was the transluscent point. you want 'em a bit burnt.

[AXJ]

exactly, just as it is about to burn, chuck in a little water or white wine just to stop the burning, but to encourage the caramelisation. Once caramelised, boild like a billio untill you have a brown onion soup (sort of LoL)

[Lady Willow]

also indians tend to cook their onions to caramelisation point

The Indian folk I know don't do this unless they are making a very heavy, thick, powerful dish, as the caremalised onions overpower a lot of the other spice. Something more subtle, like cabbage curry, would be made using lightly cooked onions so that the other flavours stand a chance.

I love caremalised onions in a lot of dishes ... one of my favourites is a Goan tofu curry which I've just realised I haven't made for ages, so maybe I'll make it for dinner tonight. Another fave is Malay tofu curry .. .made with star anise amoung other herbs ... neither would be the same withoutht the onions being caremalised.

Talking of onions, has anybody harvested any yet? I'm going to pull a few up today ... and some garlic. Happy days