Brown curry sauce

Name Changed

Looking for some advice.

I have been experimenting making curries for the past while. I have tried loads of times to make a curry that has brown sauce, like you would get in most restaurants and pubs.

Every time I make a curry, it ends up pink or red in colour. I know that this isn't a problem in itself as they are still taste lovely, but I'd love to make one with that authentic brown colour.

Any ideas of any specific recipes for either the curry or curry paste???

The Hill Billy

Maybe tell us what your current recipe is and what sort of curry you are trying to make. It would help us identify your issue and allow up suggest a resolution.

For a start - Indian or Chinese?

chucken1

I use this recipie for Chicken or Meat in Indian cooking.

Recipe Ingredients

2 Onions - coarsely chopped (large)1 Garlic - finely chopped or grated1 teaspoon 5mlRoot ginger finely chopped or grated1 1/2 Water14 oz 397gChopped tomatoes1 tablespoon 15mlTomato puree1 teaspoon 5mlPaprika1 teaspoon 5mlTurmeric2 tablespoons 30mlCooking oil
Recipe Instructions

How to make the sauce:
Heat the water, onions, garlic and ginger in a large, heavy bottomed pan. Simmer gently with the lid on, for 1 hour. Remove the lid and let the mixture cool. Meanwhile: Whiz the tinned tomatoes in a food processor for a good two minutes. This is essential for absolute smoothness. Heat the oil in a large pan and gently fry the paprika and turmeric for 30 seconds. Mix in the tomato puree and add the whizzed tomatoes. Simmer for 20 minutes, making sure nothing sticks. Take the cooled onion mixture a bit at a time and whiz up in the food processor, again making sure it's absolutely smooth. Add to the tomato and spices and simmer for another 20 minutes. A scum will appear on the surface of the sauce - try to remove this as it forms. How to use the sauce:
The sauce basically replaces the tomatoes, onion, garlic and ginger in a curry. So to make your favourite curry, simply brown your meat or vegetables with a spice mixture of your choice, and add the brown stuff. Simmer for 20 minutes (or while the rice cooks) and you're ready to eat.
Makes 8 oz.
You can freeze your brown stuff or keep it in the fridge for 3 - 4 days.

Diceicle

This is like what I would do:

* 2 tbsp butter
* 2 clove garlic, chopped
* 1 small onion, chopped
* 3 Granny Smith apples
* 500 ml boiling water
* 2 bananas, sliced
* 2 tbsp honey
* 1 tbsp turmeric
* 0.5 tsp hot Madras curry powder
* 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
* 450 ml chicken stock
* 1 tbsp salt
* 1 tbsp ground black pepper, or to taste
* 2 tsp cornflour

brick tamland

I wouldnt even bother trying to make it tbh. Most pubs/take aways would use prepacket sauce anyway. Try the goldfish brand paste its available in the big asian shops, i got it in the one on drury st. Failing that there is a reciepe for one in the chinese food thread on here but its in huge bulk.

It sounds like youve been making indian style tomato based curry when all you wanted was the chinese ( i know not really proper chinese ) style one

Name Changed

Hill Billy wrote: »

Maybe tell us what your current recipe is and what sort of curry you are trying to make. It would help us identify your issue and allow up suggest a resolution.

For a start - Indian or Chinese?

Chinese I suppose.

I've been using Anthony Worrrell Thompson's recipe on BBC recently. When I put cream in it as he does, the curry always ends up pink.

This is his recipe...

Chicken curry

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ½ onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• ½ tsp dried chilli flakes
• ½ tsp cumin
• ½ tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp medium curry powder
• 100g/3½oz chicken breast, skinned and cubed
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 tomato, skinned and chopped
• 100ml/3½fl oz hot chicken stock
• 50ml/2fl oz double cream
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 25g/1oz chopped fresh coriander
• 25g/1oz pine nuts

Preparation method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
2. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the onion and garlic until soft.
3. Add the spices and fry for a further minute.
4. Add the chicken pieces and cook, stirring, for five minutes, then add the tomato purée and chopped tomato and cook until soft.
5. Pour in the chicken stock and cream, then simmer for five minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
6. Serve in a warm bowl and sprinkle over the chopped coriander and pine nuts.

Name Changed

brick tamland wrote: »

I wouldnt even bother trying to make it tbh. Most pubs/take aways would use prepacket sauce anyway. Try the goldfish brand paste its available in the big asian shops, i got it in the one on drury st. Failing that there is a reciepe for one in the chinese food thread on here but its in huge bulk.

It sounds like youve been making indian style tomato based curry when all you wanted was the chinese ( i know not really proper chinese ) style one

Will try that. Cheers.

I'd like to be able to make it from scratch myself. I have all the spices!

the beer revolu

Browning your (very finely chopped) onions will give you a darker colour.

A tea spoon of sugar put in at the browning stage and allowed to brown but not burn will also darken the curry.

Also coriander powder if fried for a few minutes will give a brown colour.

With the above suggestions, be careful to brown rather than burn to avoid a bitter burnt taste.

The Hill Billy

Hi there OP - the above recipe is for an indian-style curry. Your best bet for making something similar to the chinese-style curry that you get in pubs is to use one of the pre-made pastes as suggested by brick tamland above.

brick tamland

recent enough thread here



http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055896676

tribalwings

I have a very lazy but tasty method that used oxtail soup, curry powder and mixed spice to make the sauce

complicit

S & B Golden Curry from any asian store .

rylie

This one I posted is a nice golden brown colour

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056080897

Minder

If you are using tomato in a curry sauce, add some spinach puree to get the colour you're after, as in the following recipe from Mumrez Khan in Rick Steins Food Heroes Book.

Serves 4

The Ingredients

250g (9oz) Ghee/Clarified Butter
3 tablespoons Fresh Coriander (chopped)
65g (2 1/2oz) Garlic
1 tablespoon Ground Turmeric
1 tablespoon Red Chili Powder
350g (12oz) Fresh Spinach washed with large stalks removed
1 tablespoon Ground Cumin
4 medium sized Green Chillies with stalks removed
1 tablespoon Paprika
½ tablespoon Gharam Masala
550g (1 1/4lb) Onions Chopped
1 x 400g (140z) Can Chopped Toms
50g (2oz) Fresh Ginger, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon Salt
900g (2lb) Boneless leg or shoulder of Lamb (1½ in) cubes
1 tablespoon Ground Coriander
120ml (4fl oz) water
A pinch of ground cumin and freshly ground black pepper to serve

How to Cook

1. Heat the ghee in a large, heavy based pan. Add the onions and cook over a medium heat, stirring now and then, for 20 minutes until they are soft and a light brown

2. Put the tomatoes, water, ginger and garlic into a liquidizer and blend until smooth. Remove the fried onions with a slotted spoon, add them to the paste and blend briefly until smooth.

3. Return the puree to the ghee left in the pan and add the lamb and salt. Simmer for 30 minutes, by which time the lamb will be half cooked and the sauce will be well reduced. Stir in the turmeric, chilli powder, cumin, paprika and ground coriander and continue to cook for 30-45 minutes for shoulder or 45-1 hour for leg, until the lamb is tender, adding a little water now and then if the sauce starts to stick.

4. Meanwhile, put 175g (6oz) of the spinach leaves into a large pan and cook until it has wilted down into the bottom of the pan. Cook for 1 minute, then transfer to the rinsed out liquidizer and blend to a smooth puree. Set aside. Rinse out the liquidiser again and add the green chillies and 2-3 tablespoons of water and blend until smooth. Set aside.

5. When the lamb is cooked, there should be a layer of ghee floating on the top of the curry. You can either skim it off or leave it there, whichever you prefer (LEAVE IT). Then stir in the spinach puree and the remaining spinach leaves and cook for 2 minutes.

6. Now taste the curry and add as much green chili puree as you wish, according to how hot you like your curries (ALL OF IT). Simmer for 2 minutes more.

7. Stir in the fresh coriander and Gharam Masala. Transfer the curry to a serving dish and sprinkle with a little more ground cumin and some freshly ground black pepper just before you take it to the table.

Serve with your choice of rice, Naan breads, poppadoms and whatever else you can cram in. It may not look pretty but it is delicious, and even better on day 2!!!!

sillysasauge

the beer revolu wrote: »

Browning your (very finely chopped) onions will give you a darker colour.

A tea spoon of sugar put in at the browning stage and allowed to brown but not burn will also darken the curry.

Also coriander powder if fried for a few minutes will give a brown colour.

With the above suggestions, be careful to brown rather than burn to avoid a bitter burnt taste.

yep, browning the onions will do the trick.

http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2008/03/24/cutting-and-browning-onions-for-proper-flavor-in-indian-food/

That is a good guide on it.

coffee_cake

I haven't made a curry in a while, but I find
boiling some water, chicken stock, lots of turmeric, cardamom seeds, mixed curry spices (absolutely nothing but mixed spices, it's a tesco one, no salt or sugar), ginger, cumin, bit of cinnamon. For extra bite, cayenne.
Comes out brown.
I'm forgetting a couple of the spices, but you can experiment with a few.
If it's not thick enough, you can put in a spoon of flour.
Only takes as long as the rice takes to cook.

I tend to make the sauce separately in its own pot and stirfry everything else on their own, though my mother will cook it all together at once and use tomato puree then.

It won't be precisely like takeaway stuff, those are very sugary and full of god only knows what... just like most curry sauce jars in the shop...