Personally, MY favourite was 'Homepride' Curry Sauce with home cooked Chicken Breast and Long grain rice... but, that ain't going to happen any more... home cooking has gone for me.
I like 'ready meal' Chicken Tikka Masala or Jalfrezi... but not keen on others. Supermarket versions vary. Did not care for Supermarket Thai or Chinese curries.
I don't 'eat out' or get 'Take Aways'... but will have to.
Thoughts?
I like Chicken, rather than Beef or Prawn. Will have to try Prawn... but have not, yet.
Something 'might' appetise?
You could try stiring in some curry powder into supermarket ready meals...
Buy Daramjit Singh's "Indian Cookery" (Penguin). You'll not only have fun cooking some of the recipes, you'll walk away with greatly enhanced understanding and enjoyment of the food.
There is, in fact, only one Thai curry, the Gaeng Massaman. The other dishes on Thai menus, while frequently delicious, are nothing like curries; they've been stuck with the label by foreigners who believe anything fiery and Asian is a curry. It's not. Roghan ghosht is a korma, not a curry; Hungarian goulasch, on the other hand, can be pretty reasonably called a curry (but for the sour cream garnish, admittedly).
Quote from: FierceKitty on 18 August 2022, 08:44:33 AMBuy Daramjit Singh's "Indian Cookery" (Penguin).
I'll second that, my copy is over 40 years old and falling to pieces. Murghi Khasa is my favourite. I can prepare it from memory now. I have several other books on Indian cuisine but I keep returning to it.
I don't think there is anything you can buy from a supermarket in a jar that is the same as the genuine article.
Cooking for one, the days of creating curries from basic ingredients are far behind me. Too much trouble to make just for me.
Like all the top chefs I have sous chefs to prepare my vegetables and sauces and merely blend these to create the final effect. They are Mr Tesco and Mr Sainsbury.
Stir fries, on the other hand, are slightly more hands on.
We love a curry in our house and we've been doing a lot of experimenting with new ones recently. We've been trying some of these 'recipe box' food delivery services, like Hello Fresh and Gousto, and they're actually really good. There's been all kinds of curry recipes that we've not had before, Thai, Malaysian, Vietnamese, etc. that have been fantastic. Some of the cooking methods are very different too which has been interesting.
The only downside to them is the cost, so we're only getting them when there's a discount offer available to make them a bit more reasonably priced.
May I suggest the Aldi curry sauces. There is a cap with flavour powder in.
Fry chicken.
Add powdered whatever it is.
Fry a bit more,
Pour on sauce and cook on low heat while rice does.
QuoteCooking for one, the days of creating curries from basic ingredients are far behind me. Too much trouble to make just for me.
If you have a freezer you could cook up multiple portions and freeze them for a homemade ready meal. Or make a base sauce with some core flavours and freeze in those big ice cube trays, then add it to whatever you have in the fridge and a tin of coconut milk, tomato or stock for a quick meal.
Quote from: John Cook on 18 August 2022, 05:15:33 PMI'll second that, my copy is over 40 years old and falling to pieces. Murghi Khasa is my favourite. I can prepare it from memory now. I have several other books on Indian cuisine but I keep returning to it.
I don't think there is anything you can buy from a supermarket in a jar that is the same as the genuine article.
Have you read Meera Taneja's books? They're far simpler, but she knows what she's doing in the kitchen. I rather like her
Indian Regional Cookery.
QuoteCooking for one, the days of creating curries from basic ingredients are far behind me. Too much trouble to make just for me.
If you are interested, then I recommend the 'One Pound Meal' books by Miguel Barclay. Simple recipes, single servings. Very good indeed.
Sadly, what some of my estemed collegues are describing as "meals" are simply NOT a curry! ;)
I spent a year of my apprenticeship being tutored by a lovely muslim Indian man who came over in WW2 to wire up spitfires. He considered that teaching me about proper Indian food and taking me to various "restaurants" in the east end of end London,(most seemed to be either in someone's Kitchen or front room) was more important than what I was actually being paid to learn.
Since then I have found that while I enjoy going out for a curry or getting a take away, most are only passable. They are essentially "Anglicized" junk food. Chicken Tikka Masala being the lowest of the low.
The food is called the wrong thing. The deep fried Onion Bhajee is actually a Bhajia, as Bharjee means curry. Not a deep fried snack.
The spiciness rating where Korma is mild and a Vindaloo hot is also rubbish. You can have a Korma that is so hot it will make you sweat and a Vindaloo that merely tickles your palate. Its the style of cooking not the heat.
Rice is often eaten at the end of a meal before the desert to fill you up if the proper food has not.
Give me proper authentic Indian food Kachori's, nankhatai, Bhajia's, Badarm Burfi, Ras Malai etc.
I am fortunate that we have just acquired a local Indian take away that does more authentic stuff as well as the stuff asked for by the masses
I spent five and a half weeks in India on my first Asian holiday. I don't think I saw the word "curry" on a single menu!
It's not that I don't cook, just that there are plenty of tasty veggie dishes that require much less effort to prepare. Soups, stews and casseroles are usually prepared so I can have one portion today, one tomorrow and two for the freezer.
Curries have never been a big favourite of mine. OK for a change though.
We have the same issue here with "Chinese" takeaway food. Its all imported recipes that is totally un-authentic.
Quote from: Ithoriel on 19 August 2022, 09:36:50 AMthere are plenty of tasty veggie dishes
As a carnivore I am not sure I can agree with that :D . But I will submit to your superior knowledge of the subject as a vegetarian.
QuoteWe have the same issue here with "Chinese" takeaway food. Its all imported recipes that is totally un-authentic.
The most consistently bad food I've ever had was the diet of my two months domicile in Suzhou. I've heard it's much better in Taiwan, so perhaps the Cultural Revolution destroyed gastronomy along with most Chinese civilisation. The food in Chinatown here in Bangkok, in Kuala Lumpur, in London, and in New York was certainly far better (and I've had Chinese dining companions in some of these locations).
Quote from: FierceKitty on 19 August 2022, 08:01:40 AMHave you read Meera Taneja's books? They're far simpler, but she knows what she's doing in the kitchen. I rather like her Indian Regional Cookery.
No I haven't. I will give it a try. The other one I use a lot is Michael Pandya's Complete Indian Cookbook which dates from 1980. Can I mention Rick Stein's India – In Search of the Perfect Curry? It accompanied his Indian Odyssey TV programme.
Do you think we need a 'Cookery' sub-board? :)
Quote from: Orcs on 19 August 2022, 09:41:03 AMWe have the same issue here with "Chinese" takeaway food. Its all imported recipes that is totally un-authentic.
I'm afraid you are right. I worked in Hong Kong for a couple of years in the 1980s and was spoiled as far as Chinese food is concerned, well Cantonese anyway. The only good Chinese food I've found in UK is in London's Soho, and what I cook myself. The same goes for Indian food. I worked in Oman in the 1970s and again in the 1980s. Not only did we have Indian and Sri Lankan cooks where I lived but I took my leave on the Indian sub-continent rather than going back to UK.
Try China Town in Liverpool, look for the scruffiest resteraunt
QuoteWe have the same issue here with "Chinese" takeaway food. Its all imported recipes that is totally un-authentic.
If you're lucky enough to have any Chinese friends they can point you to where the expats go for the authentic stuff. Had some great meals off that, though it's usually restaurants rather than delivery. No doubt it's the same for other regional cuisines.
One of the most interesting we had was in Melbourne where we were walking through their Chinatown and there were lots of welcomers outside becoming people in and queues of Aussies, so we avoided those until we spotted some Chinese people going into this door up some steps with what looked like a restaurant sign beside it and we went in to investigate. Was a huge restaurant area, you'd never have known from outside, full of Chinese expats and with plenty of stuff on the menu we'd not seen before.
QuoteIt's not that I don't cook, just that there are plenty of tasty veggie dishes that require much less effort to prepare. Soups, stews and casseroles are usually prepared so I can have one portion today, one tomorrow and two for the freezer.
Curries have never been a big favourite of mine. OK for a change though.
Indian food is probably the best vegetarian food out there. I find a lot of meat dishes from Indian takeaway are underwhelming and samey, but the veg dishes have a lot of flavour and variety. Plus things like daals and saag and the like are easy to make, and some veg roasted in spices for crunch and a bit of flatbread or rice and you're sorted.
I agree about Indian veggie food, and often go for it, to Lee's disgust, but I think it's also hard to go wrong with lots of good olive oil and garlic.
It may seem difficult to credit, in modern society, but I NEVER had any form of curry until my mid 40s... when, from curiosity, I asked Ma to make one. She just cooked chicken, rice and used a can of Homepride and THAT became a staple for ME. :) She did not like curry... so it had never been on house table. I tried various 'Indian' sauces from cans/jars... but was not keen. It was only when Ma had difficulty cooking, that I started on ready meals... they are 'OK' for me.
I am afraid 'home cooking' is not really an option for myself. Too much of a faff. But, for those who do... pre-cooking Chicken, foiling and freezing... doing a big pan of rice and dividing into portion sized containers for freezer... was what Ma used to do. Same with various Pasta... pre-cook, divide and freeze. My meals were rather HUGE in comparison to ready meals or restaurant portions... and, somehow, stuff, now Ma gone... just 'not the same'. OK at best. :(
We hardly ever 'ate out', so I never became 'adventurous' about food. Maybe a voracious Female to feed might have been a benefit! ;D
QuoteI agree about Indian veggie food, and often go for it, to Lee's disgust, but I think it's also hard to go wrong with lots of good olive oil and garlic.
Very true, pretty much any vegetables cooked with garlic, herbs, a little tomato and plenty of extra virgin olive oil are hard to beat.
QuoteBut, for those who do... pre-cooking Chicken, foiling and freezing... doing a big pan of rice and dividing into portion sized containers for freezer... was what Ma used to do. Same with various Pasta... pre-cook, divide and freeze.
Very sensible, and much cheaper than ready meals. Think of all the money you could save to spend on the hobby!
Quote from: FierceKitty on 19 August 2022, 09:34:59 AMI spent five and a half weeks in India on my first Asian holiday. I don't think I saw the word "curry" on a single menu!
I was watching the TV chef, Rick Stein, recently (on TV, of course). He was in India and, from memory, I think he said 'curry' was simply the word for gravy in India.
Quote from: Westmarcher on 19 August 2022, 10:09:17 PMI was watching the TV chef, Rick Stein, recently (on TV, of course). He was in India and, from memory, I think he said 'curry' was simply the word for gravy in India.
That's what he was told as I remember too. It comes from the Tamil word for a sauce pronounced kari which was transliterated by the British as Curry and applied to any Indian dish with a sauce.
turkari - Hindi and other northern language for a kind of stew; always contains turmeric, never yoghurt or cream; the rest is negotiable.
kari - Tamil word, meaning "food"
kari phulia - the neem tree, whose leaves have an appetising smoky scent; used rather like a bay leaf, or fried to flavour various dishes. In no way interchangeable with bay.
Shiva alone knows which is the actual origin of the word we know and, in the case of so many Brits, so monstrously abuse!
Ah! The British Empire Soldiery! We ended up with much of World, if WE/THEY did not really want it. Took some of the cooking... and many of the words... and did 'Wot' with it? :o
And now?
Food... doubt many Chip Shops across globe! MacD's now't to do with us!
Language... IMHO global world has BIA! LOL. But SNAFU. ;)
At least not Romans. Latin based vocabulary in all Western occupied territory? Just be VERY glad Roman Cuisine did not last! :o :( 'Sounds' foul to Me... but maybe I should go to a reinactment sometime, and 'sample? :o
Quote from: Heedless Horseman on 20 August 2022, 02:26:33 AMAh! The British Empire Soldiery! We ended up with much of World, if WE/THEY did not really want it. Took some of the cooking... and many of the words... and did 'Wot' with it? :o
And now?
Food... doubt many Chip Shops across globe! MacD's now't to do with us!
Language... IMHO global world has BIA! LOL. But SNAFU. ;)
At least not Romans. Latin based vocabulary in all Western occupied territory? Just be VERY glad Roman Cuisine did not last! :o :( 'Sounds' foul to Me... but maybe I should go to a reinactment sometime, and 'sample? :o
I had to do the cooking for a small classics dept end-of-year do once (complicated by several Hindus and Muslims among the students). The recipes are unexpected at times, but not entirely terrible. Out east here we use fish sauce every day, and it's delicious.
Depends on what you are used to! I am not keen on Fish anyway. Think I would approach Garum with extreme caution! ;D
Well, it can be as difficult to get Chinese to realise cheese is varied and yummy. Frederick the Great had to be very sneaky to get his people to accept potatoes. After about sixteen years of intimate association, I've just got Lee to admit that tomatoes are good eating.
And I admit I loathe avocado myself.
I may have told tale before, but a great, great relative had a market stall, early C20, in South Shields, U.K. When he began to sell Tomatoes, locals would sample and spit out... they thought they were Plums!
I love cheese... but NOT runny or blue.
Avocado... never tried.
OK ... since nobody else is going top do it ... I'm fan of
Tim ... (https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Rocky-Horror-Picture-Show-Tim-Curry.jpg)
Taylor ... (https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/8c549187aaa9d88c61c548a5bbbe7d27)
but not Edwina ... (https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/10/02/article-0-0E2F19CB00000578-121_468x430.jpg)
I am ambivalent about John Curry (not the skater, but the "author") who has reprinted the works of the Blessed Featherstone and his acolytes Quarrie and Griffith.
Quote from: FierceKitty on 20 August 2022, 01:22:06 AMturkari - Hindi and other northern language for a kind of stew; always contains turmeric, never yoghurt or cream; the rest is negotiable.
kari - Tamil word, meaning "food"
Ha! So the Indian who lectured Rick Stein about the origin of the word curry, and objected to Madras Curry Powder on the grounds that it offends all 30 plus supreme deities and, moreover, doesn't exist as such on the Indian sub-continent, didn't know what he was talking about. ;D
Mind you lots of Brits have no idea of the origin of many words that have entered the language, some of them even think Waterloo is a railway station.
As an aside many of the mountains in Jebal Dhofar, Southern Oman, are called Jebal Hina and Jebal Hinaak, 'hina' and 'hinaak' meaning here and there respectively in Arabic. You can imagine the conversation between the locals and Brits back in 18whenever - Brit: 'What name this mountain?'. Dhofari: 'The one here?' Brit: What name that mountain? Dhofari: 'The one there?'
On the tomato and avocado, the former is indispensable in so many sauces, but needs lots of salt and pepper if eaten uncooked. Avocados? I don't get the point of them. They taste of nothing and their texture is awful. As bad as okra.
Uncooked tomatoes? Mixed with a chopped eschallion shallot and freshly ground black pepper, if adding to a salad.
Avocado. Chopped with a blue cheese dressing. Or mash to make guacamole and layer with lettuce, salsa and cheese to fill pittas. Or as a cradle for a nice vinaigrette. Add black pepper to taste to all of these.
You don't have to know many Indians to realise that they resemble Brits in despising their fellow-countrymen's ways, lifestyle, and language, before we even get on to the fairy tales people murder each other for. But "curry powder" is certainly an abomination.
We definitely need a food and drink board. What, I wonder, do people consider to be the perfect food and drink to accompany a wargame. Pizza perhaps? A glass of the red stuff? A decent cuppa? Perhaps nothing at all?
We very rarely have food to accompany a game - probably because we tend to play in the evening, so a cuppa is the most common accompaniment, for people who aren't driving then beer or a nice Spanish red may well be partaken of.
Even when we play all day games - we very much tend to break for food - I think there is a concern about getting food on figures or terrain.
Nuts, crisps, bread, olives, water, coffee, beer or wine are our normal accompaniments to afternoon or evening games.
All day games tend to involve Indian or Chinese takeaways. Occasionally the host cooks something suitable.
Best advice I ever got was to find where the locals ate. Had a wonderful time in Birmingham beginning of the year, staying in a flat in the "Chinese Quarter". Such a mix of restaurants (Korean, Vietnamese, Thai etc) and always packed with Asians, never had British food all weekend, it was great!
Quote from: fred. on 20 August 2022, 06:02:32 PMI think there is a concern about getting food on figures or terrain.
I empathise. I don't allow food or drink in my games room but will certainly break for 'refuelling'.
Sometimes a break for coffee and cake with us, but I insist guests wash their hands before we return to the big table.
Not a competitive gamer... but... 'Callan' scenarios might have been 'pleasant'... to an extent! lol.