Curry / Recipe book

The Lovely Muffin

Hi,

I have a few quick questions about Curry, would appreciate any help.

1) Is it possible to make curries without peppers/chilies? I am allergic to both of these foods.

2) Has anyone any recipes on how to make curries? Vegetable, Chicken, Beef etc.

I have never made curry before (and I haven't eaten it often, because most curries I've seen had peppers/chilies in it), I can't eat hot/very spicy foods (they make me ill), so would need something mild.

3) Can anyone recommend a good cookery/recipe/baking book for a beginner please? For meals/bread etc.

Thanks for any help.

shinikins

Purple_Bobbin wrote: »

1) Is it possible to make curries without peppers/chilies? I am allergic to both of these foods. No, curry contains chilli powder-its what add's heat to the overall taste

2) Has anyone any recipes on how to make curries? Vegetable, Chicken, Beef etc. Check out http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/cuisines fantastic website!

I have never made curry before (and I haven't eaten it often, because most curries I've seen had peppers/chilies in it), I can't eat hot/very spicy foods (they make me ill), so would need something mild. have you tried thai yellow curry? very mild, but packed full of flavour!

3) Can anyone recommend a good cookery/recipe/baking book for a beginner please? For meals/bread etc. Again, BBCfood is great, most of their recipies are easy to follow and make, and you get good feedback from its users

Hope this helps!

Curry Addict

its pretty much pointless making a curry without chilli of some form in it, as chilli is a cathalyst spice and enhances the flavours in curry.

The only one that might suit is a korma.

The Lovely Muffin

Thanks for the replies guys.

What is a Korma?:o

Minder

Is it possible to make curry without chilli or peppers - sure it is. We can hardly write off the cuisine of a continent because it might contain chilli. Whats a curry? A dish of meat, fish or veggies with a spicy sauce. Since the term is used widely (like half the world widely) the range and variation of curries is huge. Some like it hot and some do not. There is a very popular chinese curry that is flavoured with no chilli. The Japanese make curries that are not hot.

Rick Stein gave a recipe for a Karahi curry in his book, Food Heroes. The recipe came from an Indian restaurant in Bradford run by a guy called Mumrez Khan. The recipe is for a lamb curry. It contains chilli powder and paprika - both hot spices. But Rick also had a little trick for the chilli lovers. Green chillies blitzed in a blender with a little water. The bowl of fire that is produced is placed on the table and diners add fire as they like it.

I've cooked this many times without the tablespoon of chilli powder that Rick lists in his recipe. Did the recipe suffer for it - course not! If you are allergic to the active compounds in chilli, then don't add the paprika either. But if it's the heat you want to avoid, use a smoked sweet paprika in the recipe.

Ricks recipe is copied here

The Lovely Muffin

Minder wrote: »

Is it possible to make curry without chilli or peppers - sure it is. We can hardly write off the cuisine of a continent because it might contain chilli. Whats a curry? A dish of meat, fish or veggies with a spicy sauce. Since the term is used widely (like half the world widely) the range and variation of curries is huge. Some like it hot and some do not. There is a very popular chinese curry that is flavoured with no chilli. The Japanese make curries that are not hot.

Rick Stein gave a recipe for a Karahi curry in his book, Food Heroes. The recipe came from an Indian restaurant in Bradford run by a guy called Mumrez Khan. The recipe is for a lamb curry. It contains chilli powder and paprika - both hot spices. But Rick also had a little trick for the chilli lovers. Green chillies blitzed in a blender with a little water. The bowl of fire that is produced is placed on the table and diners add fire as they like it.

I've cooked this many times without the tablespoon of chilli powder that Rick lists in his recipe. Did the recipe suffer for it - course not! If you are allergic to the active compounds in chilli, then don't add the paprika either. But if it's the heat you want to avoid, use a smoked sweet paprika in the recipe.

Ricks recipe is copied here

Thank you very much.

The Sweeper

The two most prevalent flavours in a 'typical' curry are probably cumin and coriander - both sold either as seeds, or as ground powder.

A korma is a creamy, mild curry dish - British restaurants serve it as a cream-based sauce, where it originates the sauce is more yoghurt based.

When you say you're allergic to peppers and chilis, do you mean you actually get a physical allergic reaction, or they make you nauseous, or they just don't agree with you (an intolerence, rather than an allergy?) If you're more intolerent than allergic, you should be able to use a range of Sharwoods milder curry pastes - you buy the paste in a jar. Usually the cooking method involves softening a chopped onion in a pan, adding a couple of tablespoons of the paste and cooking that for a couple of minutes, then adding raw meat (beef or chicken or lamb or prawns), and a 'diluting' ingredient, e.g. a tin of tomatoes and some water, or a few spoons of yoghurt. These pastes in jars are a good way to get a taste for different types of curries, and the indications on both the Sharwoods and the Pataks brands in terms of the heat of the paste are quite accurate. Fewer chilis on the label, or 'mild' will usually indicate that there's very little chili in the paste blend - but check the ingredients list on the packet too.

You can also try malaysian or thai curries - again you can buy pastes in different heats. A thai green chicken curry, at its most basic, a few tablespoons of paste fried in a pan, add raw chicken, then pour over a tin of coconut milk. Simmer and then serve with boiled rice. It's one of the tastiest things ever. (And when you have the hang of it, you can cook it including baby corn, mange tout and carrot batons, and add a couple of lime leaves, a stalk of bashed lemongrass and a dash of fish sauce to the pot to finish it and improve the flavour )

The Lovely Muffin

The Sweeper wrote: »

The two most prevalent flavours in a 'typical' curry are probably cumin and coriander - both sold either as seeds, or as ground powder.

A korma is a creamy, mild curry dish - British restaurants serve it as a cream-based sauce, where it originates the sauce is more yoghurt based.

When you say you're allergic to peppers and chilis, do you mean you actually get a physical allergic reaction, or they make you nauseous, or they just don't agree with you (an intolerence, rather than an allergy?) If you're more intolerent than allergic, you should be able to use a range of Sharwoods milder curry pastes - you buy the paste in a jar. Usually the cooking method involves softening a chopped onion in a pan, adding a couple of tablespoons of the paste and cooking that for a couple of minutes, then adding raw meat (beef or chicken or lamb or prawns), and a 'diluting' ingredient, e.g. a tin of tomatoes and some water, or a few spoons of yoghurt. These pastes in jars are a good way to get a taste for different types of curries, and the indications on both the Sharwoods and the Pataks brands in terms of the heat of the paste are quite accurate. Fewer chilis on the label, or 'mild' will usually indicate that there's very little chili in the paste blend - but check the ingredients list on the packet too.

You can also try malaysian or thai curries - again you can buy pastes in different heats. A thai green chicken curry, at its most basic, a few tablespoons of paste fried in a pan, add raw chicken, then pour over a tin of coconut milk. Simmer and then serve with boiled rice. It's one of the tastiest things ever. (And when you have the hang of it, you can cook it including baby corn, mange tout and carrot batons, and add a couple of lime leaves, a stalk of bashed lemongrass and a dash of fish sauce to the pot to finish it and improve the flavour )

With Chillies I am physically sick (i.e; vomiting) with Peppers, it's just Nausea.

I don't like Peppers anyway

Thank you very much for your help.

Dizzyblonde

Purple Bobbin I think you might like my curry recipe - it's kind of old-fashioned and simple with no peppers or chillies. if you don't want it to be too hot then you could use mild curry powder, but give the medium one a go because mild can be bland. Serve it with a dollop of mango chutney on the side and that will help with the spiciness.

Chicken Curry

4 boneless chicken breasts (one per person), cut into cubes
3-4 medium onions
1 Large carrot, sliced
1-2 Cloves of garlic, crushed
1 dessertspoon of flour
3 tablespoons of medium curry powder
1 pint of hot water
1 chicken stock cube
1 Tablespoon of mango chutney
1 Tablespoon of lemon juice
1 Tablespoon of tomato purée
Oil for frying
Fry the onion and carrot in oil over a low heat until soft. Add the garlic and fry for a minute, then turn up the heat and add the chicken and fry until sealed.
Turn the heat down low and add the curry powder, cook for a few minutes. Sprinkle on the flour and stir until it’s absorbed. Then add the stock and stir well. Add the chutney, tomato puree and lemon juice and bring back to the boil. Simmer for around ½ hour. If it reduces too much, add some hot water, if it’s too thin turn up the heat and it will reduce.

The Hill Billy

Hi DB - Nice easy recipe! But I just thought that I'd mention that curry powder (mild, medium or hot) usually contains ground chilli in the mix.

OP - If chillis make you sick I'd stay away from this too.

Darkginger

Just a thought - if you do a Google for curry powder mixes, it should give you a list of spices you can blend to make your own curry powder. Replace any chilli powder in them with - not necessarily the same quantity, use your own judgement - white pepper, which would give a dish a bit of a kick without too much heat. It's what I use to make Hot and Sour soup 'hot'.

P.S. white pepper comes from a totally separate spieces of plant than the capsicum family which includes bell peppers and chillies.

Dizzyblonde

Hill Billy wrote: »

Hi DB - Nice easy recipe! But I just thought that I'd mention that curry powder (mild, medium or hot) usually contains ground chilli in the mix.

Thanks Hill Billy

bonkey

This is a curry powder recipe from my sister. Its a pretty good starting point...I rarely follow it any more, just use various combinations of the spices listed there as the mood takes me.

Anyway...

Ever since baby bonkey moved on to solid foods, i've taken to removing the chilli from my curry powders entirely, so that baby bonkey will eat it. It still gives great flavour, but (obviously) no heat.

When I serve, I either have stuff like raw chopped chilli, sambal olek, or a grinder of dried birds-eye chillis on the table, so that anyone who wants heat can add it to their hearts content.

If you want to add heat without resorting to chilli...then black/white pepper, mustard and wasabi are probably your best shot(s).

The Lovely Muffin

Thanks a million for all the help everyone.

NoQuarter

This is a great rendang recepie and its pretty easy:

http://www.grouprecipes.com/5442/malaysia-chicken-rendang.html

Just take out the chillies, it wont be hot but its still very very tasty!

Just use a little less water than it asks and make sure you mix the coconut milk and water together first (as the coconut milk tends to be hard when you open the can its in).

The Lovely Muffin

Thank you.

Lots of great recipes for me to try lol.

Minder

Have a look for a book called The Curry Club - don't buy it new, Amazon carry used copies for £0.01 + postage. There is a recipe in there for a curry powder - then another recipe of how to cook that into a curry paste. It's beautifully frgrant and makes a great curry - and you can leave out the chilli.

Another source of information is the spice merchants online. For example try The Spicery. Look at the curry kits they sell and the curries they make. For example, Opor Ayam (javanese chicken curry) contents: ground coriander, turmeric, white pepper, cumin, galangal, chilli, cassia, lemongrass, lime leaves.

A favourite curry throughout Indonesia, the flavour is rich, sweet and spicy. The ingredients include a mix of the dry spices familiar from Indian curries such as turmeric, coriander and cumin together with the fresh fragrance of South-East Asian lemongrass, lime leaves and galangal

You need: 500g diced chicken, 2 onions, 3 cloves garlic, ginger, coconut milk, rice, white cabbage and lemon to make a salad
preparation time: 20 minutes plus 45 minutes cooking time

Okay, they don't give the exact quantities of spices to use in making the blend, or how to cook the curry - but the combination of spices is what your after. If you have them, you can try your own version of the curry with your own mixture.

d'Oracle

NoQuarter wrote: »

This is a great rendang recepie and its pretty easy:

http://www.grouprecipes.com/5442/malaysia-chicken-rendang.html

Just take out the chillies, it wont be hot but its still very very tasty!
Just use a little less water than it asks and make sure you mix the coconut milk and water together first (as the coconut milk tends to be hard when you open the can its in).

Looks good, but Rendang without Chilli? I dunno....I had it before in an indonesian place, and ended up loading it up with the chilli sambal.

OP How are you with Black pepper?
I assume alright cos its not part of the capsicum family.

You can make great curries without chilli.
Use ginger and Garam Masala for heat.
Or even mild ones, Madhur Jaffery has some good ones in her books.
Big fan of her Lamb with cardamom which is mild as anything.