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Anyone looking to duplicate the taste of Indian food as its served in British Indian restaurants, this site’s for you: http://www.realcurryrecipes.co.uk/ Real chefs are sharing their recipes for every Indian restaurant dish you ever heard of, and then some. The site’s not very old, but already it’s causing somewhat of a sensation in England. This is not some gimmicky thing. They’re not trying to sell anything. If a brand is mentioned (and that’s only rarely), it’s to help members duplicate a dish exactly. The site has an eGullet mentality -- members cook, post photos, ask questions, experiment, and debate. They're very dedicated curry makers, LOL. And the food? OMG! Start with the Chicken Ceylon and Saag Gosht. I bet you won’t be sorry.

Beet Salad- South Indian Serves 2 as Salador 4 as Side. This is a great and versatile way to serve beets. I was served this version as part of a thali in a South Indian vegetarian restaurant- it was easy to copy because there are really no secret ingredients, but truth be told I find this dish to be much more than the sum of its parts. It is earthy, sweet, incredibly fresh, spicy, quenching and just plain old addictive. Of course it works best as an accompaniment to an Indian meal, but just as well goes with your summer BBQ, light sandwich lunch, or whatever. The photo included is the salad prepared as a taco, and the avacado really brings it to another level. 2 Fresh beets 1/2 c Red Onion- sliced 1 tsp Black Mustard Seeds 1/4 c Fresh Coriander(Cilantro)- rinsed and dried 2 Green Chiles(small) 1 T Lemon juice Salt to taste Heat a small skillet to medium high heat. Add mustard seeds and toast for a few seconds until you can smell them bloom and take on a nutty scent. Immediately remove to a separate bowl and set aside. Peel beets and grate (uncooked), either on a box grater or food processor, into a lerge mixing bowl. Due to the staining nature of the beets it would be wise to use rubber gloves and a stainless steel bowl. Chop the chiles and fresh coriander and add to the bowl with the shredded beets. Add all other ingredients and toss to combine. Set aside in the refrigetator for a half hour before serving. Keywords: Salad, Hot and Spicy, Vegetarian, Indian, Easy, Food Processor, Vegetables ( RG2125 )

South Indian Style Broccoli Serves 2 as Main Dish. Broccoli isn't a traditional Indian vegetable, but I designed this recipe to use up leftover boiled broccoli in the style of cauliflower. 3 c broccoli, cut up and cooked 3 T oil 2 T cumin seeds 2 tsp tumeric 2 tsp corriander powder 2 green chilis, sliced thinly 1/2 c chopped cilantro salt, to taste Fry the spices in the oil until they smoke a little. Add the broccoli and chilis and fry for a couple minutes to get the flavors mixed. Add salt to taste and stir in the cilantro before serving with chapati. Bonus recipe: just before adding the cilantro, crack 2-4 eggs into the pan and stir them around. Keywords: Main Dish, Side, Easy, Vegan, Vegetables, Indian ( RG2107 )

Indian River Consomme Serves 8. This soup is a very light starter--a little tart and very unusual. Great served (like you'd serve hot cider) at large gatherings with cheese straws. (From my cookbook "Nobody Cooks Like Ruth: Menus from Cherotree" 2003, Infinity Publishing, www.buybooksontheweb.com) 1 medium onion, sliced 2 T butter 32 oz tomato juice 8 oz double strength beef broth 2 oz orange juice concentrate 2 tsp lemon juice 1 T sugar, or to taste 1/4 c vermouth White pepper 1/4 c fresh basil, cut in chiffonade Saute onion in butter until soft. Puree in food processor or blender, adding a little tomato juice to rinse it out. Combine with all remaining ingredients except basil and simmer 20-30 minutes. May be made ahead and reheated. To serve, reheat and garnish each serving with basil. You may use a 10 ounce can of beef broth, undiluted, instead of the home made beef broth. Keywords: Soup, Easy ( RG1860 )

Panfried Salmon in Indian spices This is a recipe which my Mom makes using fresh water or sea fish. Fishes like Salmon and Tilapia would go very well with this spice mix. The dish can be served with a simple side of shallot salsa. The spice rub can be modified to make it less hot. Spice Rub 1/2 tsp Turmeric 1 tsp Cayenne pepper 1 Curry leaves 1 tsp Fresh Ginger 1 tsp Coriander powder 1 tsp Oil Water Pepper Salt to taste Fish Salmon or Tilapia fillet Shallot salsa 5 Shallots 2 tsp Cilantro 2 tsp Fresh lime juice 1 Tomato Salt and Pepper Fish Fry: Clean the fish by removing the scales. Grind the ginger and curry leaf. Mix the ingredients in the spice rub to make a paste. Apply the spice rub on the fish fillet and marinate for an hour. Pan fry the fish under low heat. Shallot Salsa: Cut the shallots in to very thin slices. Take them apart by splitting them with your fingers. Add chopped cilantro and tomato. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the lime juice and mix well Keywords: Main Dish, Dinner, Seafood, Indian, Easy, The Daily Gullet, Fish ( RG1771 )

Asparagus with Indian spices Serves 2 as Appetizer. This is an entry for Monica's competition. I have not tested it myself, asparagus not yet being in season here. 1 lb Fresh Asparagus 2 T Olive or groundnut oil 2 T FIncely shreded coconut 1 tsp salt 1 tsp Light curry powder of your favourite spice mixture 1. Prepare the asparagus: break off the tough part of the base of the sticks, and if fancy peel from below the bud area 2. Toss with the oil 3. Roast in a hot oven for 10 minutes 4. In a hot pan put the salt and the ground spices, heat until the aroma is released. 5. Mix in the grated coconut 6. Plate the asparagus and either strew the coconut mix over, or leave on the side of the plate, or put a soft poached egg on the plate, and top with the spice mixture ( RG983 )

Pork Vindaloo (Adapted from “Everything Indian, by Monica Bhide, Adams Media) This recipe is from The Beginner's Guide to Regional Indian Cooking in the eCGI. 3/4 c rice vinegar 1/4 c water 1 tsp black peppercorns, roughly pounded 1 T minced garlic 2 tsp red chili powder 1 ½ lb. boneless lean pork, cubed 3 T vegetable oil 1 T ginger root. julienned 1 large red onion, peeled and finely chopped 6 whole dried red chilies, roughly pounded 1 1inch cinnamon stick 1/2 tsp turmeric powder Table salt to taste In a non-reactive bowl, combine the rice vinegar, water, black pepper, garlic, red chili, green chili and pork. Refrigerate, covered, for an hour. In a deep pan, heat the oil. Add the cinnamon, ginger root and sauté for about ten seconds. Add the onion and sauté for about 7-8 minutes or until golden brown. Add the red chilies and turmeric powder and sauté for another 20 seconds. Remove the pork pieces from the marinade and set the marinade aside. Add the pork and sauté on high heat for about 10 minutes or until the pork is browned and the oil starts to separate from the mixture. Add the marinade and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for about 30-45 minutes or until the pork is tender. Add salt to taste. Serve hot Keywords: Main Dish, Pork, Indian, eGCI ( RG891 )

Matar Paneer ( Indian Cheese ) 10 c whole milk 1/2 c buttermilk / yogurt (more maybe needed, so keep some extra In a large heavy bottomed pan, bring the milk to a boil over medium heat. Stir often to ensure that the milk is not sticking to the bottom of the pan. When milk starts to boil, lower heat and add the buttermilk and stir until the milk starts to separate into curds. Remove from heat as soon as this happens. You can even add a few ice cubes to the curd-whey mix. The heat will make the protein tougher. Hence the need to expose the cheese to as little heat as possible. If the curds are not forming, add a little more buttermilk and cook for a couple of minutes more. And do the above as soon as the curds form. Pour the curds-whey mix into a collander lined with several layers of cheese cloth or even a layer of muslin, draining onto a dish that will collect the whey. Collect the sides of the cheesecloth or muslin and tie them up together and twist gently to help drain the whey from the curds. Place the bundled curds on a tray and press this bundle with a heavy pan/container or obejct. Make sure this heavy weight covers the bundle fully. To make cheese for dessert recipes or for koftas or even a bhujia, weight it down for no more than a half hour. For recipes where cheese cubes are used, weight the bundle down for an hour or more. This will make the cheese form a firm mass that can be cut into neat cubes. Note: I use buttermilk as it makes for cheese that has very little sour flavor. People use lemon or vinegar, these curdle the milk quickly but leave a strong aftertaste. This aftertaste is not nice when making desserts with cheese. Try and use the cheese the same day as you make it. The more time it is kept the dryer it becomes and the harder it will be. When making soft cheese for desserts. Weight it down for a shorter time as I write above. You can leave more moisture in, if you know you will not use it till the next day. The cheese will get dryer in refrigeration. For the firm cheese, you can make the firm cube and store it overnight in chilled water. But you cannot put the cheese in water until a firm cake, with all the whey drained is formed. So, first make your cheese cube, and if you are not using it the same day, immerse it in a container of water, seal with a cover and cut only when ready to use into smaller cubes. Keywords: Side, Indian ( RG886 )

Indian-inspired Lentil Soup Serves 20 as Soup. I readily admit to fiscal irresponsibility. Inasmuch, I often find myself having to create something that will feed Shawn and I for a week at a time without costing a lot of money. We both like lentil soup and the following offering was a complete experiment that I am very thrilled with. 1/4 c olive oil 1 lb diced carrot 1 lb diced celery 2 lb diced onion 1 can (28 oz.) diced, peeled tomatoes 1 qt chicken broth (can substitute vegetable) 1 qt beef broth (can substitute vegetable) 4 c dried lentils 2 T Panch Phoron 2 Bayleaves Salt and Pepper as needed Fresh baby spinach leaves, to taste Heat olive oil in large, heavy-bottomed stock pot. Over medium heat, saute onions until translucent (about five minutes). Add carrots and celery and continue cooking another five minutes. Add Panch Phoron and continue sauteing to release the spice scent (a minute or two). The tomatoes, broth, lentils, and bayleaves are added. Bring to a boil and then reduce, simmering for a half-hour or until very reduced and thick. Add another quart or two of water back into the soup to desired brothiness. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve garnished with a handful of fresh baby spinach leaves. Keywords: Vegetarian, Vegan, Easy, Beans, Indian, Soup ( RG866 )

Almost every time I tried to prepared anything with yogurt, such as curry yogurt recipes, I had a problem with the yogurt - when heated, it becomes, well, a cheese - milk solids separate from water, etc. Resulting dish doesn't usually goes well What's the secret technique am I missing here, how to make yogurt to stay... yogurt when cooked?

using the following as the standard criteria: for regional chinese: grand sichuan on 9th bet 50/51st for thai: the original wondee siam on 9th bet 52/53rd & pam real on 49th nr 9th av which 1-2 indian restaurants should be listed?

alright, folks. planning a four day excursion in march...limited budget so i thought i'd go for gastropubs and indian food... with one blowout meal...suggestions welcome. is ramsay all he's cracked up to be? any good chop houses? if you had to list your top four in each category...what would they be? i've been scrolling through the best of 2004 thread...but they're not arranged by category so a lot of the names mean nothing to me... thanks!

Hello, I’ve eaten food from many British Indian restaurants and takeaways, and I always wonder what gives their curries that special taste that isn’t found in American restaurant curries. The closest I’ve come is Kris Dhillon’s curry sauce base seasoned differently for each curry, but there’s still something missing. This is driving me crazy! Does anyone have an answer, or at least a clue? Is chicken stock added to either the curry base sauce or to the actual curries? Is oil skimmed off the curries and added back to the base sauce? Is monosodium glutamate added? If the oil in the pan catches on fire -- does that add that special flavor? Is the base sauce left out to ferment? Is there something else I haven’t thought of? Something complex -- something simple? Has anyone else noticed this? I’d appreciate any info or ideas. I’ll still go to restaurants and takeaways when I’m in Britain, but I really miss that taste when I’m at home. -Mary

I've heard this rumor a couple of times recently that there's a really good Indian Restaurant in the upstairs of Natl. Wholesale Liquidators on 17. Does anybody know anything about this? Is there any juice to it, or are people severly misguided

Went to dinner with some South Indian friends, who made a feast. Things for which there are really no equivalents in Western cooking, but where the principles could be extended. For example Western cooking uses lentils and other dhals like chickpeas, but almost never grinds them. Here they were ground to produce interesting batters and textures. Our garcious hostess explained the secret to Vadais is their freshness and ground to "fluffyness" with very little water - she imported from Inda a wonderful electric stone edge roller mill. I want one - I could see it being a must have for molecular kitchens... She also served Vadums - crispy snacks. Since I had just done the prawn crackers ( http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=63405 ) I was very interested, since these are almost the same process. Again I feel they could be adapted to new and interesting things, although I expect there are already many varieties. I particularly liked the ones with onion in them. Anyone make their own? Recipies? Recollections? Secret tips?

A request from the France forum for the kandathippili(poivre long/long pepper) rasam. This is what I have in my books. Any other version? recipe: for four cups, black pepper 1/2 tsp red chillies 4 coriander seeds 2 tsp bengal dhal gram 1 tsp 5-6 kandathippili(poivre long) 5-6 arisithippilli cumin seeds 3/4 tsp curry leaves -few a lime sized ball of tamarind a few pinched curry leaves+11/2 tsp salt 1 tsp ghee 1tsp black mustard 2red chillies method: 1.soak tamarind in hot water. 2.fry the pepper, chillies, coriander, dhal, thippilis in a tsp of oil until golden brown. 3.let cool and grind to a paste. 4.seperately, grind the cumin seeds and curry leaves together.(no need to fry this one.) 5.extract juice from the soaked tamarind. squeeze and then strain the pulp from the juice. discard pulp. 6.add to the tamarind water, the ground paste(from #2) made from the fried ingredients and the salted pinched curry leaves. Boil until the 'raw tamarind' smell goes away. 7.finally, add the cumin/curry leaves paste.(#4). 8.continue boiling until the liquid boils and froths over. 9.for seasoning, melt 1 tsp of ghee(or clarified butter) and add the mustard seeds until it sputters. tear the red chillies so the seeds fall into the hot fat when you add it. empty this into the rasam. optionally, 1/2 cup of cooked, mashed toor dhal can be added provided there is no garlic involved. But I dont like it as the broth like quality is lost. Kandathippili is more famously used in 'diwali marunthu'. Translated that means diwali medicine that most south indians adore. It is an acquired taste. It is a bunch of stuff ground to a fine paste with ghee. It used to be made at home by our grandparents and then distributed. The idea is that a little ball of this 'diwali marunthu' heals ailing tummies of indigestion after a particularly gluttonous diwali feast. Although, traditionally, it is made only once a year, I have known instances where people gulp down little balls like snacks. Like I said, it is an acquired taste. When you acquire it, you are stuck with it for life. A commerical, slightly altered version of it can be found in most Indian grocery stores abroad as 'dabur chawanprash'(someone please correct me if i got the wrong spelling) which isnt exactly the same(it has gooseberries and other assorted goodness), but it does well during cold turkey. I remember this rasam making only rare appearances but I do have memories of a slightly altered version of this rasam* mixed with mashed rice and loads of ghee as the sunday afternoon meal. Every sunday, my grandmother would line us, The Cousins, and we'd get a oil massage for the scalp and body. We'd sit glistening for an hour or so. At this time, into our mouths was shoved a tablespoon of castor oil. Yes, this is all true. It was done with the best of intentions. After the ritual oil bath aka head bath and we are cleansed in every sense of the world, we'd be starving. I mean..a gnawing hunger from the pit of your very being. A meal of rasam rice later, we'd sleep like corpses. We'll be good as new to tackle the next week. *the other version of this, cumin-pepper rasam, omits the poivre long and has more of the black pepper. it is not as aromatic. and often it was prepared to clear a phelgm congested chest. inside my head, i'd imagine that the 'sharp' pepper will cut through the coagulation that is the chest goo and the soothing cumin will follow..making it all ok.

Is paneer a common item in South Indian diets? Or is it mainly a North Indian ingredient?

I enjoy a good Dahi Puri and Sahi Samoosa Chaat. What is your favorite?

i have a craving for tomato fry and chapati - but my recipe for chapati makes sooo many!! i am terrible at splitting recipes - it never works out. does anyone have a chapati for one or two recipe?

Most of the food that is available at Indian restaurants worldwide is commonly referred to as Mughlai. However, I was reading a book on the history of the Mughals (Mughal; Hindi/Urdu for Mongol) and found out that the Mughals,originally Mongolian tribesmen and warriors, were living in Ferghana, modern day Uzbekistan for a couple of centuries before they invaded India. I asked a friend of mine who lived in Central Asia for a number of years what the cuisine there was like. NOWHERE close to what we know as Mughlai food! The cuisine, flavours and cooking styles are very different (though one can liken the shashlik somewhat to the Indian kabab minus the masala)......none of the rich curries, their version of the Biryani is totally different, no Dal Bukhara even the famous Mughlai breads were nowhere to be seen. What then is the origin of Mughlai cuisine? Did it come from Afghanistan (As many Indian restaurents would like us to believe...Kandahar, Peshawar, Frontier and all the dishes named after towns in the region), where Babur traversed before coming to India? I was in an Iranian restaurant recently and kept commenting on how similar the food and cooking style was to Indian muslim cooking (much more subtle without all the masalas ofcourse). So could it be Persian in origin? This brings us to another question, if Mughlai food is really foreign....what was Indian food like before the Mughals came? I am sure many of these questions have come into your mind at some point, so lets brainstorm and try to find out about the origins of Indian cuisine

Every now and then since December 2004, a good number of us have been getting together at the eGullet Recipe Cook-Off. Click here for the Cook-Off index. For our third Cook-Off, we've chosen Indian lamb curry. Yes, it's true: that's a huge category for a cook-off, and saying "Indian" is about as stupidly broad as saying "American." However, like gumbo, there are some basic elements to most of the many, many permutations of this dish, and several cook-off participants wanted to start cooking Indian at home with several options. So, instead of choosing a specific lamb curry, I thought that having a conversation about those different permutations (like the gumbo okra/roux discussion, say) would be interesting and fun. I also wanted to avoid too particular ingredients that some of our cook-off pals can't get in certain places. A few things that we can discuss, photograph, and share include: -- the spice mixture: If you've never toasted your own spices, then you have a world of aromatic wonder ahead. I'm sure many people can share their ingredients, ratios, and toasting tips for curry powders that will blow away the garbage in your grocery's "spice" aisle. We can also have the ground vs. whole debate, if there are takers! -- the paste: many curry dishes involve frying a blended paste of onion, garlic, and/or ginger, along with the spices, in oil or ghee (clarified butter). I found that learning how to cook that paste -- which requires the same sort of patience demanded by roux -- was the key to making a deep, rich curry. -- accompaniments: rice dishes or bread (I have a pretty good naan recipe that I'd be glad to try out again). Here are a couple of related eGullet threads: lamb kangari a lamb and goat thread If anyone finds more, post 'em! So: find yourself a leg of lamb to bone, sharpen your knives, and get ready to update your spice drawer!

So, I finally got my paws on a copy of Dastarkhwan-e-Awadh. There's a nice recipe for this extravagant masala "available in. . . a few selected shops in old Lucknow" in the glossary. It calls for both jarakush and baobeer. Anybody know anything about these critters? Also, many of the recipes finish with a combo of keora and mitha ittr. Can anybody tell me anything about mitha ittr? (Other than it's a sweet perfume? )

I was making a butter chicken (or kind of a fusion butter chicken/masala) on the fly and lo and behold... I had absolutely no tomatos in the house! (not even canned). Since I was in the "cooking zone" I grabbed a can of tomato soup and used that instead. I also cut in a couple of tablespoons of sour cream since I didn't have cream or yogurt as well. I have to say, it tasted absolutely amazing! I used to be kind of a prude when it came to using canned soups in any of my dishes but I've got to say, if it tastes good.... Why not? PS It now tastes exactly like the tikka masala at my favorite Indian restaurant. Sometimes accidents are the greatest sources for new flavors!

Hello, I’ve eaten food from British Indian restaurants and takeaways, and it has a special taste that isn’t found in American restaurant curries. Do you know what that is? Is there something in the base sauce that is special? Chicken broth? I’ve heard that oil is skimmed off the curries and added back to the base sauce? Is that true? Is monosodium glutamate added? If the oil in the pan catches on fire -- does that add that special flavor? Is the base sauce left out to ferment? Is there something else I haven’t thought of? Something complex -- something simple? A special herb or spice? I’d appreciate any thoughts you have, any clues. I’ve tried many cookbooks -- Kris Dhillon, Pat Chapman, and on and on. They are close, but not quite there. I want to recreate some of those great meals at home! Thanks, -Mary

I had some really good South Indian food at Devi in Exton on saturday. They do a buffet for lunch every day, and at at dinner only on friday and saturday nights. This particular night they were serving only the buffet, and it had a special Tamil theme. Devi is a vegetarian restaurant, and serves a number of dishes I don't recall seeing very often at other places around Philly. I don't know if it's always buffet only on the weekends. Devi makes a wide variety of Dosa and Uthappam, the rice and lentil crepes stuffed or topped with various things. I was initially disappointed that there was only the buffet because I was really hankering for a masala dosa. I was thrilled when someone came by and asked if I wanted a dosa, I think I could have gotten any kind. A few minutes later a nice, fresh, crispy dosa filled with potato and onions arrived, at no extra charge. The buffet itself was not especially lavish, but it did have a nice variety, including a few things I hadn't ever seen before. Everything I had was very good, especially the dark brown, rich, mushroom curry and the cauliflower with peppers. I also liked a polenta-ish thing that I couldn't see the name for, but it had a nice creamy texture, studded with nuts and raisins. Oh, and the vegetable kurma, and..... Sadly, there was one chaffing dish set out by itself, seemingly the highlight of the buffet, and shortly after i sat down, there was a big crash - apparently it wasn't balanced too well, and a customer had accidentally tipped it over onto the floor. It was never refilled, so I don't know what it was. They had Sambar and Rasam soups, which were both good, especially for dipping a doughy iddly. There were Mudhu Vada savory donuts, pakoras, little mini poofy Puri bread, a pulau, a couple more curries... lots to eat. I really liked the wide variety of chutneys, not just mint and tamarind, but also sweet onion, tomato, mango pickle, more. It was nicely different from most of the other places I go, and quite a value: the best $11 dinner I've had in a long time. I'm always reluctant to fall back on this old cliche, but almost everyone eating there was Indian, which is a little unusual out in the burbs, so I'll take it as an indication of some measure of authenticity. Regardless, it was good, and different.