why is there no such thing as an Authentic Indian Curry Recipe to cook at home?

Question

all recipes never EVER taste like the REAL thing in the restaurant, why cant we cook a good curry at home, like we get in the restaurant, whats the secret? Chicken Madras or Rogan for example!

Answer 1

You have to make the spices just right by frying the seeds, pods, and dried chiles and then crushing them in a moral & pestle, adding them to the frying onions, which should be fried in butter or vegetable ghee until it bubbles and the onions turn golden. This takes practice and you are bound to mess it up the first few times.

Another trick is to make an onion pure to add to the sauce. This gives it the authentic consistency. You just boil half a dozen onions until they are really soft. Drain the water and mash them into a pure. Then add to the sauce and mix in.

When you have finished. Leave the sauce to cool and reheat.

Answer 2

Curry is a very generic term for any gravy based dish in India (meat and vegetarian) - each region in India will differ in the ways they prepare it. Every person will say their dish is AUTHENTIC!

What you taste in restaurants is usually not the kind you would taste in Indian homes. The ones made at restaurants are more rich and cooked with lots of oils to heighten the flavor. Some restaurants actually have the same curry base that they add to different dishes!

But the most traditional form of curry that you will find in Indian homes will have a good blend of spices ( turmeric being an essential part because Indians consider it to have medicinal properties). Apart from that the curries may or maynot have onion, ginger and garlic paste, and powdered spices like red chillies, cumin, corriander seeds being the most common ones. (Curry powder sold in the shops is just a mix of all this to make life simpler! However a traditional cook in India will not use it, but make their own at home)

Every person who makes curry will have their own unique taste - even in my house when my grandmother cooked something I liked it better than what my mom cooked - even though they had used the same ingredients!

Answer 3

Hi, CURRY is a general term used to call Indian gravy dishes. There are different types of curries depending on different regions and cultures of India. The curries in restaurants are not necessarily 'authentic'. The ones made at home by our moms and grand moms are the authentic ones.

Restaurants customize the curry to cater to the palate of the people from different countries. So a Chicken Madras Curry will taste different in Indian, British and US restaurants. Generally in US they reduce the spice (in terms of heat and also in terms of types of spices).

Also, in restaurants, they add cream and other fattening agents which normally may not be used in the authentic dish.

Answer 4

Maybe it's the curry that you are using. Remember that the curry you buy in the market has been sitting around for a long time waiting for someone like you who wants a good curry dish to cook/eat to come along and buy it. Also, I find that depending on the brand and where it is made or comes from the different the taste and level of spicy it has. Try different ones. When you go shopping try an ethnic store rather than the usual supermarket. Best wishes and take care.

Answer 5

The secret to a GREAT curry is"it has to cook on a slow flame without the meat added for atleast 2 hours. Add the meat and cook on a slow flame again till meat is tender which is again an hour for read meats. You will get a finger licking delicious curry.

Normally we grind atleast 10 herbs/spices with coconut and it takes time for the flavors to really integrate with each other.

If you do not have that much time to spend in the kitchen make your paste and refrigerate it for a day. Cook the curry in the morning but eat it only at night the taste will be yum.

I grind these ingredients for my chicken curry.

A whole coconut, 6/8 medium red chillies, a handful of roasted peanuts( you have to pre roast them and all the other ingredients separately for the real taste), roaster cummin seeds one tsp, roasted coriander seeds 1 tsp, poppy seeds soaked in water 1 tsp sesame seeds roasted 2 tsp. one tomato, one onion. A few cloves and peppercorns Make a very fine paste of this with water and even after the paste is ready run the blender for 5 mts.


If you want to make a fish/prawn curry do not add the tomato,cloves and peppercorns add vinegar and molasses instead.

Answer 6

First of all the idea of a 'curry' is totally UK.
2nd, India is a large country and their style of cooking differs vastly from north to south and east to west.
3rd, there are many authentic recipes available in authentic Indian cook books (not bastardised British versions).

I've cooked 'Indian' dishes for Indians and they have always enjoyed it. And no, they weren't just being polite. I once made dhal as a side dish when we were having a b-b-q. The Indian wife of the our local restaurant in Switzerland, where they served Indian food, came to me and confessed, 'I think I ate most of your dhal, it's better than ours in the restaurant.'

Answer 7

Try this one and see if you like it.........

INDIAN CHICKEN CURRY
Categories: Indian, Spices, Beverages, Poultry
Yield: 6 servings

2 1/2 lb Cooked, Cubed Chicken
Water
Salt
Celery Tops
3 tb Butter
1 md Tart Apple, Peeled And Diced
1 md Thinly Sliced Onion
1 tb Curry Powder, Or More
1/3 c Raisins
1 c Chicken Broth
1/2 c Coca-Cola
3 1/2 tb Flour
1 c Half And Half
1 ts Salt
1/8 ts White Pepper
Hot Cooked Rice

Rinse the chicken pieces. In a pot of boiling water, cook the chicken with
a few celery tops. Cover and simmer for about 1 hour or until fork tender.
Drain and strain the broth; reserve. Bone the chicken and cut into 1/2 inch
pieces to measure about 2-1/2 cups. In a skillet, melt the butter. Add the
apple, onion and curry powder. Saute for 5 minutes, blending well. Stir in
raisins, 1 cup of the reserved chicken broth, and the Coca-Cola. In a bowl,
mix flour with the Half and Half, stirring until smooth. Add the salt and
white pepper to the onion apple mixture. Stir and cook over low heat until
thick and creamy. Taste for seasoning. Add the chicken and turn into a
covered container to chill overnight. Reheat in the top of a double boiler
over hot water and serve on cooked rice with a selection of condiments;
including, grated coconut, chopped peanuts, chopped raw onions, raisins,
sweet pickle relish, chutney, chow chow, andor lime wedges. From:
"International Cooking with Coca-Cola", a give away pamphlet from The
Coca-Cola Company, 1981.

Answer 8

Always use BOLST Madras curry powder and plenty of tinned chopped tomatoes then add anything you want to. BOLST is stocked in most Oriental/Eastern supermarkets. Curry is always better the day after being cooked.

Answer 9

I hate to disillusion you, but the food in "Indian" restaurants is very seldom even remotely authentic. If you want authentic Indian cooking, befriend an authentic Indian and ask nicely for the recipes. Worked for me.

Answer 10

hmmm... i m not a cooker but making chicken curry at home is as simple as making chips or omlate at home.

as being asian my mom and other relatives always make chicken curry at home and we dont even like one made in resturants coz they tast alot differnt and delicious compare to resturants.

i think u should need conult with some pakistani-indian women for the recipe because almost everyone of them know how to make curry.