Chicken Curry and Beyond - The CurryFocus Blog

When cooking curries, one of the most important parts of the meal that often gets little, or no, attention is, of course, the rice. There is nothing worse than trying to eat soggy, or badly cooked, rice and that’s why we scoured the internet finding the best Steamer and Rice Cookers on the market.

There are a few general things that it pays to know about a Rice Cooker, and these are things we have learned over the years, so we are passing on our experience here.

1. We suggest that you only use the cooker for cooking rice. Many rice cookers will say that they can also be used as a general slow cooker. However, it is best to ignore that advice and solely use the cooker for rice.
2. Use the right rice. Any rice can be done in a rice cooker but, for the best result, always use quality rice. Experience tells us that mixing two brands of rice gives a better taste so, if you are really into rice cooking, you may want to try that.
3. You don’t want your rice too dry so, when you use a new cooker or a new brand of rice, make sure to always adjust the amount of water you use. Try starting with more because rice has the capacity to absorb.
4. We advise that even for those rice cookers that have the keep-warm function, make sure you always switch it off (by unplugging it from the wall) when it switches to keep warm. If you don’t do this, the rice may continue to absorb water and, in some cases, this will cause the rice to stick to the bowl.
5. If you decide to use the steamer tray to steam food in the cooker whilst the rice is cooking, be prepared to find that the rice is going to be stickier than normal, and it will not taste as nice. This is because the other food will actually interfere with the steam current for the cooking rice.

Now onto the cookers themselves. We have listed the Amazon top-selling Steamer and Rice Cookers, with a brief description about each. You can find out more about each product by clicking on the picture of the cooker, which will take you through to Amazon’s site which has more information along with customer reviews.

1. Breville Family Rice Cooker & Steamer RC3

The RC3 rice cooker from Breville is ideal not only for cooking all types of rice but also for steam cooking all kinds of vegetables. In fact, the RC3 rice cooker is perfect for preparing rice. Thanks to its heat maintenance system, you can now serve your dishes at just the right temperature. Well-researched, the RC3 rice cooker has been made with diet cooking in mind. It is also ideal for cooking vegetables on its stainless steel basket. The RC3 can also be placed at the table and the spoon and measuring bowl can be used to serve up a healthy, delicious meal, this rice cooker is the bestseller on Amazon’s website so you can be assured that you are buying a popular product.

2. Tefal Automatic Slow Cooker / Rice Cooker / Steamer

Tefals 3 in 1 steam, slow and rice cooker is must have for any kitchen. The steam cooking function is great for cooking vegetables, fish or meat. The rice cooking function keeps perfectly the original flavour of rice with no need to drain after cooking. And the slow cooking function allows you to cook slowly for up to 9.5 hours. The large 10 cup or 3.2L capacity gives it the great versatility you need. The electronic control panel, easily shows you the 3 functions plus keep warm. Great features such as spoon storage, condensation collector and measuring cup and spoon show Tefal are right behind helping make life easier and quicker in the kitchen. The delayed start features mean you can time to perfection your meal preparation. This 3 in 1 cooker is also easy to clean with a dishwasher safe removable steam basket and non-stick coated removable bowl.

3. Cuisinart ‘Cook & Steam’ Rice Cooker

Originally a French company, Cuisinart became the leading exclusive merchandise brand in the US and is now in the UK. In 1973 Cuisinart’s legendary food processor became the definitive food preparation machine for American chefs. Continuous development since then has broadened the Cuisinart range of kitchen equipment to include innovative and state of the art products. Beautifully designed, supremely functional and guaranteed to last, Cuisinart products will give years of trouble free service, enabling you to “savour the good life”.

The versatile and muliti functional steamer is perfect for cooking and serving. The cooking timer of 1 to 8 hours allows flexible cooking time and the automatic keep warm function holds the food at the perfect temperarture without over cooking. The dishwasher safe removeable parts make it easy to clean. The simple dials make it easy to use.

4. Tefal 4 in 1 Slow Cooker, Steamer, Rice Cooker, Porridge Maker

The Electronic 4in1 Rice Cooker has 4 exclusive cooking settings that alllow you to cook rice, steam, slow cook and rice pudding or porridge. There is no compromise on style with a renewed control panel design with blue LED and brushed stainless steel housing, this rice cooker will fit into any kitchen. The automatic keep warm function switches on at the end of cooking so the food is ready to eat when you are.

Tefal’s product design communicates the brand’s identity:They are ingenious and guarantee success.They are useable by everybody in the family.They are pleasant to use.They find their place in various styles of living environments.

5. Russell Hobbs 10950 10 cup rice cooker

Rice is widely accepted as being an extremely versatile and nutritious source of food. Whether it be a rice pudding, an accompaniment to hot and spicy foods like curries or as a basis for the fresh and often delicate flavours of chinese foods, rice is a popular food source amongst all walks of life.

The new easy to use Russell Hobbs Classic White Rice Cooker (Model No. 10950) cooks 1.8litres/10 cups of rice to perfection, removing the need to stand and watch over a pan. A steaming rack for vegetables, fish or meat, fits neatly into the rice cooker and allows you to create a healthy meal all in one unit.

Additional features included are a handy measuring cup, spatula and a keep warm facility with boil dry protection, allowing you to serve your rice later if required.

For convenience, the Russell Hobbs Classic White Rice Cooker is operated by a simple one touch operation and also has a removable inner pan, with non-stick coating for easy cleaning. The product also has a toughened glass lid, to allow you to see at a glance the cooking progress.

Asafoetida (sometimes called Hing) is a spice that is used extensively in vegetarian Indian curries.

The asafoetida plant, Ferula assafoetida, is native to Iran and grows to a height of around two metres. Nowadays the plant is grown in Afghanistan and Kasmir as well as Iran.

The plant stems are from 5 to 8 cms in diameter at the base and sap is extracted from the stems. The sap hardens to a gum-like resin. This resin is difficult to grate and is usually pounded to a powder.

The pure asafoetida powder is usually mixed with rice flour, gum arabic and turmeric to give the asafoetida powder that is used in cooking. Gum arabic is itself an edible resin and it is used as a food stabiliser.

Asafoetida is very strong and should be used sparingly – follow the recipe and avoid the temptation to use too much.

Asafoetida powder does not have a pleasant smell but this mellows in cooking, resulting in an onion/garlic taste. The powder must be stored in airtight containers otherwise the smell will contaminate nearby spices.

Asafoetida is widely used by Indian followers of Jainism who avoid eating onions and garlic.

Asafoetida is used as a digestive aid and to treat flatulence, and is used to treat asthma and bronchitis.

Asafoetida is sometimes hard to find in supermarkets. Garlic or onion powder can be used as a substitute.

Allspice is the dried unripened fruit of the Pimenta dioica plant.

The taste of allspice is similar to a mixture of cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and pepper - hence the name allspice.

Allspice originally comes from the Caribbean. The Jamaican strain of the spice is regarded as the best (one of the alternative names for allspice is Jamaican pepper) and most of the world’s supply comes from Jamaica with the other main suppliers being Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras.

The fruit from the allspice plant is picked when it is green, before it has ripened, and then dried in the sun. The fruit changes colour to a ruddy brown and shrinks from being about the size of a pea to the size of a large peppercorn. Allspice is available as powder or as dried fruit (which can be powdered before being used).

It’s no surprise to learn that allspice is a key ingredient in a lot of Caribbean dishes, including jerk seasoning. Jerk seasoning involves rubbing a mixture of allspice and Scotch Bonnet peppers over the meat (chicken, pork, fish, beef and sausage) before cooking. Scotch Bonnet peppers are one of the hottest peppers on the Scoville scale.

Allspice is commonly used in flavouring sausages as well as meat and savoury dishes such as curries.

Allspice is used to treat digestive problems and is also used externally to treat arthritis and muscle pains.

Allspice is used in producing cosmetics, particularly men’s cosmetics.

I was not surprised to learn that Jamaican Curries are widely regarded around the world. Jamaica has long been known as a melting pot of cultures and, when a visitor to the site submitted this Jamaican Curry Chicken Recipe, I was surprised to see that it was the first one that we have from that corner of the world.

Jamaica was colonised by the English back in the 15th century. The addition of African slaves and workers from China and India has resulted in a unique blend of cuisines that is reflected in the food of this small Caribbean island.

The Indians brought their love for curry with them into Jamaica and, although some of the local produce was a bit different from what they were used to, they managed to create divine variations of their homeland curries.

If you have a favourite Jamaican curry recipe, we would appreciate it if you would share with everyone by submitting the details on the Curry Focus recipe submission page.

One of the most popular curries (along with curry chicken) is, of course, the well known curried eggs dish. Simple to make and extremely tasty, curried eggs have long been a favourite of cooks around the world because they are very easy to make and are nutritious (eggs contain all of the 9 essential amino acids and are a great source of protein).

Most curry lovers have their own curried eggs recipe that they enjoy the most, however, if you don’t have one of your own, we can help. Some of our favourite curried eggs recipes include Curried Eggs South African Style and also the standard but tasty curried eggs that many of us grew up on.

There are of course many variations of the curried eggs dish, and we cannot even try to address them all in this article. However, some of the more popular versions include Deviled Eggs, Spicy Egg Masala and so many more. Sometimes its hard to judge whether its an egg curry standalone dish, or one of many curries that have egg as a major ingredient.

Here, at Curry Focus, we love eggs in almost any dish. We are keen to try out more curry egg dishes, and maybe you have one that is delicious, and perhaps unique to your part of the world? If so we would love it if you could share the recipe with our visitors (and us) by adding at our add recipe page.

Lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus) is a tropical grass that is grown in India, southeast Asia, Africa and central America. The grass thrives in sandy in hot climates with a lot of rain.

The grass has a bulb like root at the bottom of the stalk and is used like an herb. It does taste like lemon.

Lemon grass can be used fresh, dried or as a powder.

The chopped stalk is used in soups and stews to add flavour but is hard to eat. If you are going to eat the lemon grass stalk then you should pound it into a paste before adding to the dish. Most people avoid eating the lemon grass stalk because it stays so fibrous.

The grass is used in tea (in Africa) as well as to flavour chicken, pork and fish dishes.

Medicinally, lemon grass is used to relieve flatulence and as a sedative.

Lemon grass is also used in perfumes.

Lemon grass is popular as a tea in Africa. Here’s a simple recipe that you can try.

Finely chop 3 stalks of lemon grass
Add the lemon grass and 4 teaspoons of Indian tealeaves (Darjeeling or Assam) to 1 litre of water and bring to the boil.
Simmer for 4 minutes.
Strain and serve hot.
Add milk and sugar to taste.

Cardamom is a member of the ginger family and is used to flavour food. The aroma is mild whilst the taste is sharply bitter and strong but is not unpleasant.

The cardamom plant, Elletaria cardamomum, originally comes from India and is a bush that grows to about 3 metres (10 feet). The cardamom plant is also grown in Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and Guatemala.

The cardamom pods are ready for picking at various times during the summer and it is the seeds of the pods that contain most of the flavour.

There are three types of cardamom, green, white and black. The white cardamom is just green cardamom that has been bleached. The green and white pods can be used in savoury or sweet dishes whereas the black pods are only used in savoury dishes. Some recipes call for the pods to be used whilst others only use the seeds.

If using cardamom powder in powder form, it is best to have cardamom pods and then you can grind the seds into powder when you need to use it. In this way, the powder is freshest and most potent.

Cardamom seeds are a main ingredient in garam masala.

Amongst other things, cardamom is used to treat flatulence, stomach disorders, tuberculosis, throat infections, gum infections and dysentery. Cardamom seeds are also used as a breath freshener in India (where they are chewed after a meal).

1. Indian Curry restaurants serve approximately 2.5 million customers every week!
2. The most popular Indian dish is, of course, the tasty chicken curry ( and our top recipe most months ) - Chicken Tikka Masala
3. Over 70,000 staff are employed by the more than 9,000 Indian Curry Restaurants in the UK and, in fact, in London there is a greater number of Indian Restaurants than there are in Bombay and Delhi combined!
4. Balti means Bucket
5. Indian food is without doubt the UK’s favourite cuisine. According to a recent survey, retail sales accounted for 42% of total sales of ethnic foods and was valued at £250 million.
6. According to records, Britain’s first curry restaurant was opened in 1809. (the Hindustani Coffee House which is located in London’s Portman Square)
7. Suprisingly enough, the actual word ‘curry’ isn’t often used in India - rather there are a variety of curry style dishes, which have their own regional characteristics
8. Nottingham Trent University studies show that people begin to crave for a curry mainly due to the fact that the spices arouse and stimulate the taste buds.
9. There are two indian restaurants to every one chinese restaurant.
10. Two thirds of all meals out in the UK are Indian Food and this is worth 3.2 billion pounds a year!

Its clear that Indian Food has become a big part of British culture, we hope that you enjoy the recipes from our curry site.