It's not a beer recipe! It's for Curry!

[richard_senior]

I've only done it haven't I!?
I've managed to make a curry that is a little bit like one you get from a restaurant, and it doesn't have tons of oil in it!
So here it is :

Burnside Biriani

Ingredients :

Grind in a mortar and pestle, or a good blender:

Fennel Seeds (1/2 tsp, this is what makes it distinctive)
Cumin Seeds (3 tsp)
Coriander Seeds (1 tsp)
black peppercorns (1/2 tsp)
Cardamom (seeds of 1 large pod)
Curry Leaves or Bay Leaves (2)
Cloves 2
Cinnamon (about 1cm off the end of a stick)

When it's ground, add to it :

Turmeric Powder (3 tsp. Biriani is yellow)
paprika (2 tsp)
chilli powder (to taste)
salt (1 tsp)
garam masala (1/2 tsp).
a pinch of whole cumin seeds, and literally a few whole fennel seeds.

Other ingredients :

Balsamic vinegar (have a bottle handy)
natural yoghurt (small pot)
mint sauce (2 tsp)
Lemon (1 cut in half, one half sliced)
2 Large white onions finely chopped (put 2 tbsp aside in a bowl)
coriander leaves (handful finely chopped)
cucumber (a bit about an inch long, finely chopped)
Garlic, finely chopped (to taste)
Red chillies finely chopped (to taste)
Ginger, finely chopped (a bit about 3/4 inch cubed)
Frozen Peas (cup full)
Tomato (2 big ones, sliced)
Meat (chicken or mince, enough for 4 people, cubed etc.).
saffron (4 or 5 bits)
Milk (have some handy).
1 small tin of chopped tomatoes.
Sugar (2 tsp)
1 egg

Method :

Put 4 portions of basmati rice in a pan and juuuuust cover it with boiling water. Add 1/4 of your spice mix to this and stir.
Pop your egg in (in the shell) and leave the rice to soak and the egg to cook.

Heat 1 cup of oil in a wok and throw 1/4 of your spice mix into it (you have 3/4 left)
When you smell the spices, pour the whole lot into a dish (oil and all)
Add your pre cut meat to dish, a splash of balsamic vinegar and a little squeeze of your half lemon. Mix it up then leave to marinade in the fridge.

Get a bowl and put in it one of your sliced tomatoes, your peas and 1/4 of your fresh corriander, put it to one side.

Raita
Get your yoghurt in the bowl with the 2 tbsp of onions and add a splash of milk, your mint sauce, 1/2 tsp of balsamic and another little squeeze of your half lemon.
Add your cucumber, one slice of tomato chopped more finely, a bit of chopped chilli and 1/4 (or a good pinch at any rate) of your finely chopped coriander leaves. Then add a pinch of garam masala, stir well and put in fridge.

heat 2 tbsp of milk in a dish in the microwave till it's hot but not boiling, then add your saffron to it. Stir then put to one side, keep stirring it to let the colour run.

In the same wok you fried spices in, add a splash more oil and fry your onions until they're very very very well cooked (this is essential)
Some of them should be almost entirely black! Remove about a quarter of them and put them in your bowl with the tomatoes and peas.
Add your ginger, garlic and chillies to the wok and what remains of the onions, and cook for a further 30 seconds. Put wok and contents aside (off heat)

Your rice should have been soaking for a while now, so boil it until it's half cooked (a few minutes is all it should take)
Your egg should be hard boiled, so shell it and put it to one side.
Using a collendar, strain out the rice so that the water from it goes into the wok with the onions in it, it should be gloopy.
Then over the sink, run cold water over your rice to stop it cooking, it should be yellow and have bits in it. Put it to one side.

In the wok with the rice juice and onions in it, add the sliced tomato that wasn't in with the peas, ¼ of your spice mix (you should have 1/2 left),
1/4 your coriander leaves, and 1 tsp of balsamic. Cook the whole lot until it's a sauce consistency (should only be 5 minutes or so).
Put the whole lot in a blender, and blend it into a nice yellow sauce. Put blender to one side.

In the same wok, fry your meat in the oil it was marinading in with the last of your spice mix (1/4) and the sugar. When it's browned add your tin of tomaoes and simmer until you see oil on the surface or you think it's had enough. when it's cooked spoon it out into the bottom of a good casserole dish which has a lid that can go in the oven.

On top of the meat, pour half of your sauce from the blender so that the meat is pretty much submerged in liquid.
On top of that, layer the contents of the dish which contains your peas, onions and tomatoes etc.
On top of that place your hard boiled egg (whole!)
On top of that, layer your cold rice.
On top of that, squeeze the last of your whole half lemon
On top of that, drizzle the milk from your saffron
on top of that add what remains of your coriander (1/4)
on top of that, arrange your half sliced lemon.
on top of that, sprinkle a tsp of paprika in a nice pattern

put lid on dish and place in oven for half an hour on a medium heat.

While you're doing that. Heat what remains of your sauce and put it in a serving dish on the table.
Put your now chilled raita next to it.
Open two bottles of very cold lager and place them next to your place mats at the table.

When the oven pings, remove lemons, then dig into it as if it were a pie, going down through the layers.

Optionally you can buy some poppadoms from the supermarket and put them in the microwave while your biriani is in the oven. They dip nicely in the raita.

Bon Appetit

[MightyMouth]

That looks complicated but very tasty.

[Whorst]

Man that's heavy duty. I usually just buy the Patak's or Sherwood's Vindaloo or Madras paste. Nothing better than about 10 pints spread out over many hours, then hitting the Indian on the way home. I call that gracious living!
I also do a curry sauce for chips. I add some cream to it to smooth and mellow it out.

On another note, my Naga Morich chili plant is thriving in the California sun. I've got it in a big pot outside. I'll take some pics.

[richard_senior]

Do you have to go to specialist shops to buy pataks in the US?
I'm a big fan of pataks, but I try to do all my curry from scratch now.
I think it's the homebrew bug that's spreading.

[Talisman]

mmmmmmmmmm curry. were curry mad. in fact a few mates coming round for a curry tomorrow night.. and im still having one tonight too.

and all ours are cooked from scrath, no sauces in a jar.

[brewzone]

RS:

That sounds delicious mate!

Will be getting the ingredients for that when I next go shopping.

/BZ

[MightyMouth]

Man that's heavy duty. I usually just buy the Patak's or Sherwood's Vindaloo or Madras paste. Nothing better than about 10 pints spread out over many hours, then hitting the Indian on the way home. I call that gracious living!
I also do a curry sauce for chips. I add some cream to it to smooth and mellow it out.

On another note, my Naga Morich chili plant is thriving in the California sun. I've got it in a big pot outside. I'll take some pics.

There is a good recipe for Chicken Naga here, its supposed to be the worlds hottest curry. Be aware that the recipe seems to call for 24 naga chillies but I think that is a typo and would kill you if you managed to eat it. It should say 2-4, I tried 2 to begin with and then the next time I changed it to 1 as 2 was too hot. Its good with Lamb also

[richard_senior]

Mighty. Where do you get your exotic chillies from?

[MightyMouth]

I ordered mine from peppers by post

[adm]

mmmm......that sounds good. it's so much better when you do the spice cooking bit yourself rather than using ready made pastes.

I'd give it a go, but I had a beautiful lamb vindaloo last night. Spuds and vinegar and asafoetida and all the bits....

Anybody in Surrey,Sussex or nearby fancy a JBK curry and beer meet some time?