50p a day til Christmas - healthily?! Weezl's next challenge...

spotdogkez

bails wrote: »

Ceridwen, I took this from a thread here the other day, the credit goes to Curry Queen and I haven't tried it yet:

Curry Sauce


1 kg onions
50g ginger
50g garlic
1.5 litres water
1 tsp salt
225g tinned tomatoes (or passata)
8 tbsp veg oil
1 tsp tomato puree
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp paprika

Method

Stage 1
Peel and slice onions, garlic and ginger (if cheating and using minced ginger/garlic from a jar miss next bit out) and put chopped ginger and garlic in a blender with half a pint of the water, and blend till smooth.

Place onions, blended ginger/garlic and the rest of water into a large saucepan.

Add salt and bring to boil. Turn heat down and simmer on very low, with lid on, for 45 mins. Leave to cool.


Stage 2
Once cooled, blend onion mixture (do half at a time) in a blender until perfectly smooth (this is important).

Can be frozen at this stage.


Stage 3
If using tinned tomatoes give them a blast in a blender until smooth (I use passata as I'm lazy LOL!).

Heat up oil in a large clean pan then add the tomato puree, turmeric and paprika. Stir in blended tomatoes and bring to boil. Turn down heat and cook for 10 mins, stirring occassionally.

Add onion mixture to saucepan and bring back to the boil. Turn down again to very low and simmer for 20-25 mins, stirring occassionally. During the cooking process a froth will appear on the surface which needs to be skimmed off.

The sauce is now ready to use or can be refigerated for up to 4 days. I've also frozen it at this stage and it's been absolutely fine.


I know it sounds like a long, complicated process, which is one of the reasons I make it in bulk batches, but it really is worth the effort if you want to make curries like the ones they serve in Indian restaurants/take-aways.

I'll dig out the beetroot cake recipe and post too, remind me if it doesn't appear!:D

I have tried this and it is well worth the effort. I made it to the end of stage two and then froze it in portions (made a total of 3 portions serving 4 people).

Note, this is the 'base curry', Curry Queen actually provides additional ingredients to make it into a certain curry. I made the Korma and it was lovely.

Sorry, this is my first ever post (although I have been following Weezl through both her challenges) and I do not know how to post the link.

I do now - http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=100759&highlight=curry+recipe

Lesley_Gaye

Softstuff wrote: »

I don't go in for premade curry sauces, so I have my own trick sauce.

The starter is: 2 teaspoons coriander powder, 1/2 teaspoon tumeric, 1/2 teaspoon cummin powder, 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1 teaspoon garlic. You mix all this with enough milk to make a paste.

After that you have choices -

1. If you fry off some onions slowly in the paste mix, then add veggies, then a tin of chopped tomatoes you get a relatively mild but tasty curry.

2. Again fry off onions in the paste, but this time chuck in some red lentils that have been boiled until soft, stir it all up well, add a tablespoon of yoghurt, and you have a pretty good dahl.

3. Onions in the paste again, but this time add a healthy knob of butter, then some cooked cubed potatoes and some peas.

4. Onions in the paste, add cooked chickpeas, then a slug of coconut milk.

These all (surprisingly) taste very different.... a little chopped coriander on any makes them look prettier, and I serve with rice and home made naan (if I can be bothered!!) The dahl in particular takes 10 minutes from start to finish, it freezes real well and you can throw in anything else you have around too.

thanks, that looks great. I now have 4 very long Word documents containing Soups, Main Meals, Baking etc and General Tips. I have gained SO many ideas from this thread

mumtoomany

Thanks everyone for your advice on the berries.

Yes I have checked out logan berries (wrong leaves), no I don't think they are wild raspberries (too shiny and a brighter/paler red). As for rubbing them on various parts of my anatomy!!!! I think I might get arrested.:rotfl: They are growing in the middle of the town centre.

Re "could I photograph them". I think you may have mixed me up with somebody who is capable!!!. I only stopped using windows 98 a few weeks ago! It has taken over 2 years for me to get the hang of texting! and I still can't work the DVD player! (now you know why I have so many children, if I can't work it, one of them will.)

I am sure they cannot be poisonous as they have been planted on the verge by (I guess) the local authority, and I'm sure health and safety rules would only allow none toxic plants to be planted.

I may resort to my mums theory. When we were children we often foraged (mostly to make jam), if we found an unknown fruit, mum would see what it most resembled. Eg "it looks like a small plum, it must be part of the plum family, therefore it must be edible". We all survived. I may try eating one next time I'm in town. If you don't hear from me again............


On a foraging note. eldest daughter has just bought a house. Very run down, with a jungle for a garden. She phoned and asked my to google knot weed for her. She did not seem impressed with the links for jam, curry, etc. "I want to get rid of it not eat it!":rotfl:

She also has half a garden of blackberries (huge box full now in my freezer and pie for last nights pudd). These she says she cannot cut down. Even when they have finished fruiting she says she will just prune them a bit.

She is a medical student and will rent out 4 rooms to pay the mortgage. She is doing much of the work on the house herself and project managing it all. She also plans to keep chickens when the garden is sorted. Very MSE. I must have taught her something.:D

Mumtoomany.

Plum_Pie

Mumtomany, do you thinkthey could be Tay berries, which are another kind of raspberry/blackberry cross?http://www.victoriananursery.co.uk/soft_bush_and_cane_fruits/hybrid_berries/tayberry_buckingham/

I just thought about this - I don’t know why people are so bl***y ****ing rude on the internet either!

If you were walking through your neighbourhood and someone asked you for directions, you would give them and do so politely. You wouldn't make them feel stupid because you know an area and they don't. Fie!

newlywed

Hi - I don't forage but interested in the berry question - could it be wineberries?

http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Plants.Folder/Wineberry.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/grow_your_own/expertgrowers_fruit.shtml

Wineberries have stems that are covered in a thick layer of golden bristles: although they're not particularly sharp, the bristles do seem to be a good bird-deterrent, allowing you to harvest more of these delicious berries.


http://www.practicallyedible.com/edible.nsf/pages/wineberries!opendocument&BaseTarget=Right

Wineberries are a species of blackberry closely related to raspberries.

The bush grows as a bramble bush, with bright red bristles and fine, red thorns on red cane stalks that can grow up to 8 feet (2 1/2 metres) tall.

The green, (generally) heart-shaped leaves are white underneath.

Wineberries grow on 2 year old canes. Small white flowers appear first, then berries about 2 months after that.

The Wineberries shelter inside fuzzy leaves (a "calyx") at first. When the calyx opens, the berries then ripen from green to yellow to orange to deep blackish, glossy red. The berries will feel slightly sticky when ripe.

Though hollow inside, Wineberries are very juicy. They are tarter than raspberries, without the pronounced taste of raspberries or blackberries.


Oooh and this blog says they are shiny too: http://plantjourneys.blogspot.com/2007/08/edible-rubies-blog-party.html

naturally_2

Ooh I want to know what the berries are now!! Hope you don't get poisoned! Have you googled poisonous berries etc and ruled out them? Might be a good idea. I'd be too chicken to try one and see!:rolleyes:

My basic curry sauce is a lot more basic than some of the ones already added here (but they sound delish!). I just use a carton of passatta (someone else on here mentioned it - its sieved tomatoes, and you might get a similar/the same thing from blitzing a tin of tomatoes but this one is free of seeds and makes a much nicer smoother thicker sauce IMO) - you can get a mazzive jar in Asda for about 35p or a carton in lidl for 29p - you can buy more expensive ones but not worth it IMO.

Anyway I just brown some onions and add passatta, a veg stock cube and curry powder for my most basic curry sauce. Then the more time/ingredients I have in I add any or all of the following; cumin, corriander, garlic, paprika, black onion seeds, cinamon, nutmeg, a tiny amount of sweetener/sugar and salt/pepper. My latest favourite is doing a split pea curry - 1/4 of a pack of split peas (39p per pack, lidl) soaked overnight and cooked added to the sauce makes enough for 2 hungry people with rice - sort of a dahl I think!

I'm afraid I'm a bit of a chuck it in and see what happens cook! They are usually edible!!:rotfl:

shaz_mum_of__2

naturally wrote: »

I'm afraid I'm a bit of a chuck it in and see what happens cook! They are usually edible!!:rotfl:

Me too

Shaz

cw18

mumtoomany wrote: »

On a foraging note. eldest daughter has just bought a house. Very run down, with a jungle for a garden. She phoned and asked my to google knot weed for her. She did not seem impressed with the links for jam, curry, etc. "I want to get rid of it not eat it!":rotfl:

:rotfl: that had me chuckling :rotfl:

thanks for sharing the conversation

BigMummaF

OK...I'll throw in my recipe for another varient on a theme:D This comes from an elderly but much-loved edition of "The Dairy Book of Home Cookery".

CURRY SAUCE Freezes Well.
For poring over hard-boiled eggs or combining with pieces of cooked fish, chicken meat or vegetables.

50g/2oz butter
2 tsp olive or corn oil
2 large finely chopped onions
1 finely chopped garlic glove [optional]
2 level tbs curry powder
1 level tbs flour
2 cloves (I've NEVER put these in!)
1 level tbs tomato puree
1/4 level tsp each of ground ginger & cinnamon
2 level tbs sweet pickle or chutney
1 tbs lemon juice
3 level tsp granulated sugar(don't put this in either!)
425ml/ 3/4pt stock or water
1/2 t 1 level tsp salt (nor this!!!)

1 Put butter & oil into pan. Heat til both are sizzling.
2 Add onions & garlic[if used]. Fry gently til pale gold.
3 Stir in curry pwder & flour. Add cloves, puree, ginger & cinnamon, sweet pickle or chutney, lemon juice & sugar.
4 Gradually blend in stock or water. Slowy bring to the boil, stirring.
5 Lower heat. Season with salt & cover pan.
6 Simmer slowly 3/4 to 1 hour.
7 Sauce may be strained & re-heated before using. Serves 4

HTH.

BigMummaF

Found this recipe on the back of a pack of peppers the other day & posted it here Mediterranean Vegetable Pasta

Not tried it mesen yet, but sounds tasty enough.....