Homemade Curry

mjk_2 · 27 July 2005 at 11:26AM

I want to try making Indian style curries at home without cheating and using shop bought pastes etc. I have been checking recipes and it seems I need a vast number of spices, in both whole and ground versions. My question is, can I just buy the whole seeds and then grind them myself, or is there some extra process that is done to the bought ground spices?

Thanks for any help.

henhog · 27 July 2005 at 11:37AM

I am pretty sure you can (and most Indian chefs would say should) just buy the whole seeds and grind them yourself in a pestle and mortar type thing - you could just use the rolling pin on a chopping board to the same effect. I looked in my Indian cook book and basically she says that can also use the food processor or coffee griner to grind the spices.
The book is 50 Great curries of India by Camellia Panjabi and it has pages and pages all about spices, maybe you could borrow it from your library, as she has different instructions for different spices. HTH.

squeaky · 27 July 2005 at 11:38AM

You can by all means buy whole seeds and grind them as needed.

There are some curry recipes in our Old Style Recipe Collection that don't have too many ingredients in if you'd like a quick start.

You can find them in our "Indexed Collections" sticky at the top of the forum listing, or you can follow the clue in my signature any time you see it or...

..you can use the Indexed Collections link in the Blue Bar at the top of every page which looks something like this:-

leonie_2 · 27 July 2005 at 11:44AM

I enjoy making curries from scratch (my fave is a Thai green curry that I make for dinner parties, goes down a storm!)

I buy my spices from a oriental supermarket and it really makes a difference. I buy the whole spices and gently warm them in a heavy based fry pan. You can smell the flavour been released and it really livens up the spice. I then grind them in my coffee grinder. Chucking in dried ground spices from Tesco doesnt do it for me. And buying from the oriental supermarket is cheaper!

apprentice_tycoon · 27 July 2005 at 11:51AM

Hi Leonie, if you are using a coffee grinder for your spices does it taint it and therefore you can only use it for spices?

Zziggi · 27 July 2005 at 12:15PM

I've also discovered cheap spices in huge quantities in an Asian supermarket. I stock up now when i go. I spend far less than i would in asda/tescos and i get a much larger amount.

I would really recommend Curry-Queens curries that are in the index. They are fab. After the initial outlay of the spices, you can make real authentic curries for next-to-nothing. We love 'em!

leonie_2 · 27 July 2005 at 12:17PM

apprentice_tycoon wrote:

Hi Leonie, if you are using a coffee grinder for your spices does it taint it and therefore you can only use it for spices?

Hi there.

Well the thing is... I dont grind coffee in it lol! But to be honest I dont think it would taint it anyway as I grind loads of other things and they never smell of anything else.

Once i've ground the spice, I chuck in a bit of bread and grind that, any remaining spice sticks to the bread and I throw the lot in the bin. Then I just give it a quick rinse and its fine.

I grind aduki beans up in it and these are simply the best exfoliator ever. Once ground up, they are called japanese wash grains and the body shop used to sell them at a fiver a pot!! But that tip is probably more for the beauty thread lol!

nabowla · 27 July 2005 at 12:39PM

Leonie: I love the idea of grinding up aduki beans to make an exfoliator. Where do you buy them?

leonie_2 · 27 July 2005 at 12:46PM

nabowla wrote:

Leonie: I love the idea of grinding up aduki beans to make an exfoliator. Where do you buy them?

Well I buy organic ones in my local health food shop which is not a very money saving way to do it but i've seen them quite cheap in the supermarkets im sure.

Once they are finely ground, you can make them into a paste with water and massage them into your face. They really do leave your face silky smooth and no chemicals involved unlike the store bought scrubs.

This would be messy to do for the body so I simply make up massage bars (think lush buffy the backside slayer) I make them and give them to friends, they are very well received!

Meeten · 27 July 2005 at 2:25PM

def get the whole spices, and I 2nd the rec that you warm them through in a dry frying pan - brings out the flavour in them.

For Indian style curries, the main ingredients are mustard seeds and cumin seeds - that with onions and chopped toms .....

that's the small part i learned from my mom ... and she is a proffesional cook!

N9eav · 27 July 2005 at 10:24PM

I once got a free Sharwoods recipee book, it was great. You can get most online here. they also have a good helpline if you need some extra advice.

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Homemade Curry

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