curry disaster

doelani

Well I decided to make a curry today and trying to save money I thought it was great as I had the ingredients already so cost me nothing lol

I have only ever made curry once before that was not a packet and it was OK but could have been hotter, today was a real disaster,

I decided to make it in slow cooker and do not know where it went wrong but smelt ok, as soon as kids came in from school it was " ummmmm lovely curry " well it was only the smell lol It was tasteless, everyone was to polite to say until I did and everyone agreed,

Could I have overcooked it and the flavour cooked out ? was in slowcooker for about 7 hours

So do I try again ? Do I stick to packet in future? How many times do you try before getting it right or giving up ?

hot.chick

slow cookers dont reduce their volume of water, you might have needed to boil down the sauce to get rid of some of the water to get a stronger flavour, dont give up

a good rule is to taste tings as you go - once there cooked of course so you know what it is going to taste like before you dish up - gives you time to make adjustments if necessary too

doelani

hot.chick wrote: »

slow cookers dont reduce their volume of water, you might have needed to boil down the sauce to get rid of some of the water to get a stronger flavour, dont give up

I think this may have been one of the problems it was watery lol Just cannot understand how it smelt so nice but tasted so ...............well tastless

sooty&sweep

Hi

What sort of curry was it ? What did you add to get the curry flavour ? To be honest it sounds like you've not used enough spices to get the spicy curry flavour you wanted.

Don't give up ! OK this one may not have worked out as you'd like but it's only by having a go that you will learn !

Jen

hot.chick

defo sounds like too much water...

quite often when I use my slow cooker I spoon out all of the solids and put the liquid into a saucepan and fast boil it until its the flavour i want and has thickened until I'm happy with it.

meritaten

I cant help wondering - did you just chuck curry powder and all the other ingredients in the slow cooker together?

if so, then this may well be where you went wrong - if not - then ignore the following..............

a good curry begins with slow cooking of the onions then any garlic is added once the onions have softened. then the spices are added (the curry powder) and cooked very gently for about five minutes to release their full flavour. then I add the thickening agent (flour). cook that about a minute. then I add the liquid - usually stock either home made or made with cubes.
I may add a can of chopped tomatoes or some soy sauce but I always add some sweet (sugar, honey) and some sour (vinegar usually) equal amounts of both.
then I simmer (slow cook) for a couple of hours. if using raw meat then I usually brown it in the oil before removing it and putting the onions in. if using cooked meat then I add it after all the other ingredients and simmer it for only about half an hour.

doelani

sooty&sweep wrote: »

Hi

What did you add to get the curry flavour ?

I used curry powder ( medium ) and followed the recipe on the container,

onions softened and added the curry powder, cooked for a few minutes to release flavours ( in in recipe lol ) added tin tomatoes, then tranferred to SC and added diced chicken and water exactly as it said in recipe except cooked in SC instead of saucepan.

May try again :rotfl:

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

My ideas for a good curry...

Let the onions overcook whilst you chop other things up. They get sweet and rich and add loads of depth.
Patak's spice pastes (last for ages and less chance of underflavouring with a nice tbsp)
A source of sugar. Mango chutney, tomato ketchup, pineapple chutney, 2tsp silver spoon, whatever. Bung it in at the end and let it bubble away for 5 mins (the sauce will darken slightly).

Oh, and a splash of lemon/lime juice and fresh coriander (half stirred in as you get the things together to serve, then the remainder as you actually serve).

hot.chick

can someone find curry queens thread on good currys

try this one instead...

found it!

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/100759

consumer31

my idea of curry
one sliced onion allow to cook in oil on slow heat thinly sliced add crushed garlic dont let garlic burn, then add salt chilli powder corrinader powder a little turmaric and any tandoori powder to give it heat and flavour a tiny bit of currry powder, allow to cook, grate or chopp two tomatoes and add to mixture add the chiken u can use whole or breast and allow to cook first on full heat then low heat, garnish with fresh corriander peppers and spring onion. works a treat xxx

Caspian

I cannot comment on slowcookers because I have never owned one BUT the curry recipes in The Takeaway Secret are to die for. I bought the book following a thread on here and I have only cooked Chicken Korma and Chicken Curry but everyone loved it.