Curry pastes.

breakstuff

Can anyone recommend me any decent curry pastes for a curry night with the family I've got coming up.I've tried the usual Pataks and Sharwoods stuff but it never seems to give that proper curry experience.(at time of eating I mean,not the morning after).I recently had one which was made in India but for the life of me a can't remember the name of it,just that it had in it what looked like mustard seeds (but probably weren't) and came in a much smaller jar than the usual suspects.It made the best homemade lamb curry I've ever had and I've been chasing that flavour experience ever since.

So guys,what are your recommendations?

Phil_aka_Pip

Rafi's Spicebox

breakstuff

I like the look of that website Phil.Have you tried any?

Going to check that out in more detail I think.

Sambostar

Got a blender?  Dice your onions and fry them add your cumin seeds and some tomato puree, shove it in the blender with some turmeric, chilli and curry powder and make it!  And buy some gee. 

Thai curries are really easy to make too. Get some coconut cream and some fish sauce.

I like spicy thai salads, although they don't seem to taste the same in cold countries like ours, but basically just crushed coriander seeds, chilli and fish sauce over salad.  You can add some roasted chicken feet as you wish.

Drew_TNBD

Sambostar said:

cumin seeds

You wanna get to the doctors about that mate!

stickyfiddle

Make your own? Not difficult and 99% of the time better than shop bought.

(also entirely likely that it had mustard seeds in - they're used a fair bit)

breakstuff

I was wondering about making my own as it looks quite simple.

Ok then,anyone got any decent homemade curry paste recipes?

Majorscale

Rafi's is OK, but Mr Vikkis do some excellent pastes.

http://www.mrvikkis.co.uk/Category/curry-sauces

Phil_aka_Pip

breakstuff said:

I like the look of that website Phil.Have you tried any?

Going to check that out in more detail I think.

Yes. They're rather good. I've bought the "medium" kind (just to be safe), but have decided the "medium" kind need an extra chilli to be added!

Best way to use them is make to them up the day before and marinate your chicken (or WHY) in the sauce before cooking the next day.

I've tried jalfrezi & dhansak. IIRC there's a xacutti in my freezer but I'm not sure if its safe because when I moved my freezer stayed unplugged for a bit too long and it might have started to thaw then re-froze

duotone

The best curry I made at home was from a Gordon Ramsey recipe,

badlydrawnbanjo

This is a great curry to make at home
http://i1150.photobucket.com/albums/o605/banjo74/9B9B64B9-91C2-4CE7-8DC5-C7CA5727A5EC_zpst9pvyhcc.png

badlydrawnbanjo

And this is all you ever need to know about making curry.

http://www.morpeth17.freeserve.co.uk/The_Curry_Secret.pdf

Headphones

The Spice Tailor ones are about the best of the supermarket ones, they taste pretty close to the real thing, though not always the one on the label!

DIY is the best and you'll be a hero; much like getting out your guitar rather than playing a recording...

breakstuff

Thanks @badlydrawnbanjo I'll check that Out.

@Headphones I've tried one of them.It was pretty good.Regarding guitar if you heard me play you'd be begging for the recording.

IanSavage

breakstuff said:

I was wondering about making my own as it looks quite simple.

Ok then,anyone got any decent homemade curry paste recipes?

Right - the absolute KEY to a decent curry paste is small onions, chopped very small. Fry them up to the point of browning, throw in some chopped fresh chillies (I tend to use one per person, or one and a half if I want to take peoples' heads off) and garlic and ginger to taste (personally I go with one clove and a half-thumb's worth of ginger to each chilli). You can then add some pasata or tomato puree - I prefer the former, because then if you've chopped the onions small enough you won't need to liquify it all to get that nice resturant-ish sauce. Probably a 250ml (I think? Don't know what size I buy; Aldi job, anyway) pack per 400g-ish of meat.

From the nice Indian ladies I used to work with, then add spice from lightest colour to darkest AFTER you've chucked the meat in; usually salt, ground coriander, tumeric (more for the colour than the flavour), pepper, mustard seeds, garam masala to finish. I've missed one and I can't remember what...anyway, stir away, keep it JUST off the boil, amazing curry in half an hour. 

Deadman

Not curry paste but I make a big batch of curry base gravy and freeze it. It's the way forward if you want British Indian Restaurant quality at home. I've never looked back since I started doing it the way they do it in the curry houses.
It's easy too. Check out cr0.co.uk it's the best website for all things Indian.
Edit: the site's now called curry-recipes.co.uk

By the way. My key to a top notch curry is to fry off my garlic, onion if you're using it, chillies, ginger and spices etc. (all dependent on what curry you're making but the base is always the same), then add the base gravy a small bit at a time and WAIT for it to sizzle each time, evaporating the moisture on each occasion. This gives it a nutty smell and texture and is the secret of a truly successful curry. Use vegetable oil too. Lots of it. Then skim it off. If you re-use that oil you skimmed off for your next curry you will die and go to curry heaven.

breakstuff

Some great information there @IanSavage and @Deadman

Thanks guy's.

stickyfiddle

This one's really good. Not your traditional meat+gravy curry, but really really nice.

http://www.bigapplecurry.com/2013/01/28/my-favorite-indian-cookbook-recipe-lamb-korma-pilaf-from-50-great-curries-of-india/

50 Curries of India is a brilliant book if you want to try some more traditional, less Indian-takeaway, type of curries

TheMarlin

Store bought is stupidly expensive.  Make it yourself.

I make one huge batch at a time, then freeze it into family curry size portions.  One big pot can last for months of home made family curries. 

I'm defrosting some for a chicken Madras to feed 25 on Saturday, plus making a Thai red curry (salmon and King prawn).  Also makeing, starters, vegetable pakoras, onion bhajis, and naan breads.

Easy peasey.

Marlin

breakstuff

Loads of ideas there.

Thanks @TheMarlin

TheMarlin

You can get all the ingredients for the paste in most large supermarkets, or Asian food shops/grocers.   It might cost about £5 to make huge pot of paste, but it'll last you months, and you'll have plenty of the dry ingredients left over to make more paste again and again.

It might take a day to ventilate the kitchen afterwards though

Marlin