Penny-wise (or anyone else) question re curry sauce

HopeElizzy

:hello: I have just been reading the menu planning section and came across Penny-wise's menu plan which is inspirational It reminded me that BC (before children) I used to make the Jamie Oliver curry sauce all the time. As I now have 2 toddlers I have tended to make a mild fruity chicken curry but as I really like Jamies recipe wondered if anyone could advise how to make it more palatable for toddlers?
If I list the ingredients could you all advise what you'd leave out or replace?
(if it isn't allowed to post from a recipe book please tell me as I'm not sure whether it's ok.....thanks)

Oil
2 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Fenugreek seeds
3 Green chillies
1 handful Curry leaves
2 thumb sized pieces Fresh Ginger
3 Onions
1 tsp Chilli powder
1 tsp Turmeric
6 Tomatoes
Tin of coconut milk

Thank You

Noozan

Maybe cut down on the number of chillis and reduce the chilli powder too.

Just a thought - why don't you make it as normal for the adults and reserve a small portion of the sauce. With the reserved portion, add either more coconut milk or water to dilute it and then thicken it up with a cornflour solution. This should give you a milder sauce.

Swan_2

as well as Noozan's good suggestion to reduce the chilli components ...

you could mix in some yogurt to make the curry milder, I used to do this for my kids. greek-style would keep the sauce thick & make it nice & creamy

another thing I used to do, more with chilli than curries though, is to replace some of the chilli powder with paprika, not authentic, but it keeps the balance of flavour

and/or use some of those short, fat mild chillies instead of the hotter varieties

HopeElizzy

:T I think cutting down on the chillies or putting yoghurt in are both good ideas. I'm a naughty mummy because I won't do anything different for different family members.......I tend to say here's your dinner, if you don't want it there's nothing else! :shocked: I hear of so many people that cook 3 or 4 different meals in the evening because each person in the family won't eat certain things. I don't want to cook this curry and the little ones not be able to eat it as it's too hot.....though OH won't mind as he'll eat the left overs! :rotfl:

Swan_2

HopeElizzy wrote:

I'm a naughty mummy because I won't do anything different for different family members.......I tend to say here's your dinner, if you don't want it there's nothing else! :shocked: I hear of so many people that cook 3 or 4 different meals in the evening because each person in the family won't eat certain things

no, not naughty, sensible

from an early age my kids were offered toned-down versions of what the adults were eating & they accepted the 'whatever was going' policy as the norm (obviously genuine dislikes were accomodated, & fortunately I'd no allergies/intolerances to deal with)
I figured that if they didn't eat they weren't hungry & they'd eat when they were ready ... which they certainly did, my youngest's 6'2" & 13stone now

you're doing the right thing :T

Penny-Wise_4

HopeElizzy wrote:

:hello: I have just been reading the menu planning section and came across Penny-wise's menu plan which is inspirational

HopeElizzy wrote:

As I now have 2 toddlers I have tended to make a mild fruity chicken curry but as I really like Jamies recipe wondered if anyone could advise how to make it more palatable for toddlers?

I’d second everything that’s already been said, reducing chilli, & adding more coconut milk and or yoghurt, you could also try adding potatoes which will soak up some of the spice. You can either add them in large pieces and then fish them out (and they will take out some of the spiciness with them) and have them as a side dish, or add small cubes which will just make the curry go further & therefore the spice will be more ‘spread out’.

This can also work with chilli con carne. (I think someone posted on this site somewhere (sorry can’t remember who) about cooking potatoes into a chilli that was too hot, then fishing them out and making spicy wedges with them).

HTH and thanks so much for the compliment