Something along the lines of south Indian-cuisine?

Sick of eating (good) but oily takeaways.

I can give you the recipe for a fat free curry base if you want?

Some good stuff in this one "Indian Food Made Easy" by Anjum Anand (BBC program not so long back. I've also got the "New Curry Bible" by Pat Chapman but that needs a bit more faffage.

I've foolishly said I'll make a curry for tea tonight..

Ta guys- yes please Tiger'

I had my usual curry on Tues night (stuffed full) and as soon as I'd eating I went and laid-flat on the sofa.

FFS I've had indigestion for the past few days 🙁

Home-made definitely the way to go, much tastier, doesn't take long and you get to have a cupboard that stinks of all sorts of weird s**t. Breads are all dead quick too.

A few here to be going on with..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/chefs/anjum_anand

Damn it, bloody hungry now! Found this a while back too, haven't tried any though – apparently its for recreating that restuarant taste at home..
http://www.natco-online.com/acatalog/Holy_Grail.html

Oh yeah, home made naans are the best!
If you can get/have got a pizza stone they're pretty useful. Get the oven and stone as hot as you possibly can and then slap the flattened dough on it – cooked in less than 5 minutes and totally lush.
<slobber>
Right, I think that's my tea sorted…

I've been cooking curries at home for about 5 years. My current fave recipe book is Curry which covers India by region, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. The other one I use is 50 Great Curries of India.

I only use fresh spices etc so they take some time but you get flavours you can't imagine, and there is very little salt, fat or sugar. Cook in large batches and freezing makes it more practical. Be warned – if you take the time to cook curry like this you may not enjoy standard take away stuff like you used to

Not much help to the OP, but thought I'd thank whooever it was that posted the spicy lentil curry stew recipe on the diet thread a week or so back, made it last night and it was great!

Pretty much fat-free too, just the one teaspoon of oil.

Damn it Cap'n, you've got me looking at more books while stroking my Waterstones gift card..

Hadn't thought of using my pizza stone for naans. Hmmm, I sense extra brownie points tonight…

(And apologies for the hijacking Hora!)

Alll you ever need to know.

Be warned – if you take the time to cook curry like this you may not enjoy standard take away stuff like you used to

Yeah, I shot myself in the foot with this. Husband won't buy take away curries now I have started cooking them. 😐 (he has a point – they're generally greasy slop – but it's more work for me.)

WRT the pizza stone/naan – also, roll the dough really thin because it will rise/puff up when cooking. (the recipe I use includes yeast, I am not sure they all do so this might not apply if not)

You want
Yamuna Devi's "The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking"

Don't be put off by the Hari Krishna link (the recipes are Vedic so contain no onions or garlic). I have a lot of Indian cookbooks & this is the one i turn to first. Recipes here will turn out like the Southern Indian ones you're looking for (and also Gujarati, Bengali etc).

You'll find many of the recipes at the Krishna's recipe page

This recipe was invented by me has no exact amounts and is not in anyway authentic but it is tasty and seems healthy.

Make all of this in a big pan like this one

Fry 2 massive onions chopped into big(ish) pieces in as little oil (teaspoon?) as you dare. If you’ve got some garlic through that in as well, can't hurt, and when you think they are looking nice, add a bit of water to the pan. They should be sort of brown(ish) and soft.

Chuck in some tinned tomatoes, 2 or 3 tins usually does it, (depends on how tomatoey you like it).

Chop up 2 Butternut Squashes in to pieces that are a bit bigger than an oxo cube and throw them in the pot.

Slice up 3 red & 3 green chilies

Some mixed herbs and a bit of paprika go in

Peas, peppers, raisins, apple all seem to work well.

Throw in a liberal amount of curry power (half of one of those Tesco pots usually)
Simmer for about an hour to break down the squash and thicken.

And because you've made loads put into old chinese tubs and freeze. Easy dinner when your knackered and fancy a takeaway.

Tastes good, eat with brown rice add a bit chicken do what you like, no rules

Apart from 1 teaspoon of oil and curry powder everything that goes in is pretty good for you

What dishes would you normally go for hora? For example Chicken Makhani or Butter Chicken has about 1/4 block of butter per serving plus oil for the initial frying and topped off with copious amounts of double cream. A bit of a heart attack on a plate really. Other dishes are less fatty.

I feel an evening of fine creativity coming on 😀

Throw in a liberal amount of curry power (half of one of those Tesco pots usually)

No, no, no. Frogmarch that man out and have him shot!

It is quick and easy and I'm sure the results are fine, but if you want to experience proper Indian food taste rather than ordinary curry house taste you MUST buy the herbs, spices, chillies, garlic, ginger etc fresh and grind/chop them yourself.

You don't actually need that many spices and they last forever. Chillies, garlic and ginger can all be bought in your local supermarket and will last for a week or more in the fridge

This one is really nice http://www.foodari.com/Recipes/Sarah%20Scott/Kadhai-Chicken?BackToListUrl=/Recipes/Default.aspx%3fSearchText%3dgaram%2520masala%26From%3d10%26To%3d20

What do folks use to grind up the spices? I was after a little electric job to powderise from seed but haven't found quite what I'm after.

Hmmm, curry powder (only) –> Indian fine dining?! Blindfold readied.. 😉

I use a pestle and mortar but I think you can use a coffee grinder to grind them up.

Pestle & mortar here and use twisting/pressing motion.

I had my usual curry on Tues night (stuffed full) and as soon as I'd eating I went and laid-flat on the sofa.

Surely the answer there is not to eat so much?! 😀

You'd think so but you know when you've got a particularly good one and carry on past full? 8)

This is my fave – not too many recipes
Little Indian Cookbook

CaptainMainwaring – Member

Throw in a liberal amount of curry power (half of one of those Tesco pots usually)

No, no, no. Frogmarch that man out and have him shot!

It is quick and easy and I'm sure the results are fine, but if you want to experience proper Indian food taste rather than ordinary curry house taste you MUST buy the herbs, spices, chillies, garlic, ginger etc fresh and grind/chop them yourself.

You don't actually need that many spices and they last forever. Chillies, garlic and ginger can all be bought in your local supermarket and will last for a week or more in the fridge

I am not a Woman, I'm from Yorkshire, I stand by by my throw in a pot of powder and be done with. Bloody mincers. 😉

is not in anyway authentic

Curry powder is just a mix of four or so spices which is a common base for a lot of dishes. Nothing inherently evil or in-authentic about it. An Indian lady made me dinner once, and she just used the spices that are typically in curry powder. Of course, she was just a normal woman not a high-class chef…..

You don't actually need that many spices and they last forever.

Spices most definitely DO NOT last for ever, any more than coffee does 🙂

To the OP – have you tried Harvey Day? Old skool but interesting.

Apart from 1 teaspoon of oil and curry powder everything that goes in is pretty good for you

Curry powder is very good for you. Full of minerals and vitamins, and many spices have antibacterial or antiseptic properties.

Rick Steins book is excellent. Everything is from scratch so you can see whats going in so far all the things I've cooked have been far better than any take away.

Yes, if you have the time and facilities, then homemade curry has got to be the way to go, imo.
😉

If all you're ever going to do is throw stuff in a pot, then I suppose curry powders may be ok, but I'd just watch out for the salt content.

As for grinders, I was about to use a William Bounds pepper mill to test my latest curry powder mix, from seeds and spices, etc.

Once I've given it a second go, and so long as I like it, I'll post the recipe for the powder.

I like the William Bounds grinders as some of them have a handle you can rotate in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the grinder.
This in-turn allows me to grind stuff up in larger quantities, without needing fore-arms like Popeye's, which is was you need with those spherical topped grinders. ime.

Good luck

🙂

S

Have you tried the cinnamon club cook books,Rice, Spice and
all Things Nice by Reza mahammad and any of the books by Atul Kochhar, hope that helps oh there is also Rasoi by Vineet Bhatia.

+1 for Anjum Anand, her coriander chicken is tasty!

Dare I say it jamie Olivers Vindaloo is one of my favourites too!!

I got this Ultimate Curry Bible last week. cooked a couple from it so far and really impressed.

Try Simple Indian by Atul Kochhar,he's a Michelin starred chef,but these recipes are easy and taste delicious,I got the paperback from Amazon IIRC.
Ian

Here is a recipe from my friend Masood. It's home made paneer 'kofte' in a spicy tomato sauce and it is truly delicious. Although the paneer's made with full fat milk so isn't *that* healthy, I guess…

Paneer (makes about 350g)

4 pints full-fat milk
60ml spirit vinegar

Bring milk to scalding point (till little bubbles appear at edge of pan), then add the vinegar. Stir gently until the liquid turns clear and curds form.
Increase heat until it just reaches boiling point, then strain through a sieve or through muslin. Squeeze the moisture out until the paneer is fairly dry and crumbly-looking.
Allow to cool

Malai Kofta

Kofte
350g paneer
3 Tbsp plain flour
1 level Tbsp baking powder
4 finely chopped green chillies
2 Tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves
1 tsp coarsely-ground cumin seeds
a good pinch of salt

Mix all the ingredients well, season to taste and form into 2.5 cm balls. Shallow-fry in batches until pale golden, and set aside.

Sauce

4 large tomatoes, skinned and pureed (420g puree)
4 medium onions, finely chopped (290g)
2 tsp ginger & garlic paste (see notes below)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cashew nut powder (see notes)
1 heaped tsp finely-ground cumin
1 heaped tsp ground coriander seeds
1 heaped tsp red chilli powder
¼ tsp turmeric

Heat the oil, and fry the onions until lightly coloured. Add tomatoes and ginger & garlic paste,and cook for 2-3 minutes on a medium heat. Add the rest of the spices and cook for a further 5-6 minutes.

Add 600ml of water, reduce heat and simmer until the sauce thickens. (see notes below)

Add the kofte, and simmer for 30 minutes. Garnish with fresh coriander, and serve with naan bread.

Notes

1) Coarsely-ground cumin seeds are important in the kofte, I tried normal ground cumin and it didn't work well. If you don't have a pestle and mortar, put them in a small plastic bag and roll a rolling pin over them.
2) I've given weights for the tomato puree and onion, as obviously, vegetables vary in size! As this dish is not very highly spiced, the balance of these two ingredients is quite important IMHO.
3) Ginger & garlic paste is 2 parts ginger to 1 part garlic (peeled weight), pureed in a blender with a bit of water until it resembles apple sauce. This can be prepared in bulk and frozen almost indefinitely. It defrosts very quickly when required, and survives frequent defrosting/refreezing without any deterioration in flavour.
4) Powdered cashew nuts are optional, but give a real creaminess to the curry which is disappointing to lose. I powder them in a pestle and mortar.
5) The sauce, once cooked, freezes very well. Bring it up to simmering point before adding the kofte and simmering for 30 mins.

As previously stated, all credit for this goes to Masood. He spent a lot of time getting the quantities right and I think it's just spot on. 🙂

I don't get all spices fresh, but I do get black pepper (obviously) cumin and coriander seeds, use a pestle and mortar and it tastes a lot better than preground. What else do you get "fresh"? tumerac? paprika? Tandoori, garam masala and bog standard "curry powder" are all premixed, wouldn't know where to start mixing my own.

I was told that electric grinders aren't as good for the flavour, always use P&M, no idea why, it could be complete mince but that's what I was told.

+1 for Anjum Anand

i'd give her one too!

any curry recipe can be healthy. just cut out the ghee [ horrible melted butter ] and use oil.

Last night's curry was so so, Muttar Paneer and mushroom pilau but the rice was nothing special. Can anyone recommend a decent recipe for this?

P&M it is for grindage then..

I had an at-home cookery course last year and still have recipes on my work computer – email me and I will send you them – healthy, easy and really nice 🙂