Chicken Curry and Beyond - The CurryFocus Blog

Hi, Ray again.

Last Sunday, it was time for another chicken curry recipe. The Massaman chicken curry recipe on the Curry Focus website looked really tasty and easy to cook.

All of the spices and basic ingredients were already in the cupboard but I had to make sure that the shopping contained the chicken breasts, peanuts, tomatoes and fresh coriander that I would need. Note that this recipe contains peanuts – if you have a peanut allergy then you should not try this recipe.

The recipe looks easy enough and Sunday evening saw me preparing all of the ingredients whilst the Red Hot Chilli Peppers blasted out of the lounge. Somehow it seemed appropriate.

It didn’t take too long to get everything ready.

Cooking time arrived and on went the onions. It crossed my mind that there are hardly any Indian curry recipes that don’t contain onions. It really is a staple ingredient.

In go the spices and that familiar, lovely, spice fragrance drifts around the kitchen.

The chicken broth and coconut milk go into the frying pan and start simmering.

Into the pan go the potatoes whilst I wash the rice and get it underway in the microwave.

Then the little chicken cubes go into the liquid and they cook really quickly. I was amazed at how quickly the chicken cooked – I suppose the really small pieces made this happen, makes sense really.

Finally the tomatoes, peanuts and coriander go into the pan.

The rice is ready just after the curry is ready. I’m getting pretty good at cooking timing nowadays.

The Massaman curry and rice hit the plates and were eagerly devoured by my dinner guests.

The curry has wonderful delicate flavours and the meal was well received.

The meal was awarded an excellent 8 out of 10.

The curry is not super-spicy hot and is definitely one that you should try if you don’t like really spicy curries.

Spices are relatively expensive.

We all know that spices lose their flavour and potency as time goes by, even when they are stored in airtight containers.

Every time you open a spice container, air gets in and the spice reacts with it and loses a bit more of its strength.

So how do you keep your spices fresh?

If you make your own ground spice from seeds, then you should try to only make enough powder to last a month of your normal usage.

You can usually keep ground spices for up to three months but I always try to replace them after a month. But you don’t want to throw spices away because they are relatively expensive – try to use them.

Keeping spice seeds for too long is as bad as keeping the ground spice for too long. The seeds last longer than the ground powder but they still go stale.

Whether you buy seeds or ground spices, you should not buy really large amounts unless you know you are going to use them before they go stale. Even if a large pack of spice is a bargain, you don’t want to have to throw them away because they’ve lost their effectiveness.

Where possible, always buy spices in airtight containers.

My local supermarket sells 25-30 grams (1 oz) jars of spices and I can buy almost any type of spice that I need.

But my local Indian shop sells a wider range of spices in small plastic bags with each bag having about 120 grams (4 oz) of spice. And the spices cost less than buying the same amount from the supermarket.

I use some spices quicker than others. So I buy my ground turmeric, cumin, garam masala and chilli powders in plastic bags from my local Indian shop and put them into empty jars that I have kept. I never throw away a glass jar once it has been emptied – I wash it out and keep it in the back of the cupboard ready to reuse. I’ve got a supply of labels so I can write what’s in the jars. My current collection of jars has ground cumin, turmeric, cardamom pods, fenugreek seeds, cloves and cinnamon sticks.

Store your spices in a dark dry cupboard. Don’t allow water or moisture to get into the spice containers. When measuring a spice into a teaspoon, always do it away boiling water of the frying pan. And make sure that the teaspoon is dry when scooping a spice out of a container.

To recap. Buy in quantities that will last between one and three months. Keep the spices in airtight containers. Store the containers in a dark dry place. And don’t let moisture get into your spices.

If you follow these simple steps, you’ll get the most from your spices.

Well, maybe it had to happen.

A curry “sandwich� is now on sale in the UK and the maker of the new snack is Tesco.

The sandwich is a tortilla wrap filled with curried chicken, rice, raita and mango chutney. So it is a blend of Indian and Mexican cuisine that should appeal to the hungry consumer who wants a quick curry fix.

The sandwich was launched less than a week ago and nobody in the Curry Focus team has tried one yet.

Presumably you need to heat the sandwich before eating, but we don’t know for sure yet. But we’re going to find out soon. Why don’t you send us an email if you’ve tried one and let us know what you think?

Tesco says that the sandwich is designed to “satisfy people’s curry cravings� and to “line people’s stomachs before going out for a drink�.

The curried chicken sandwich sells at £2.60 and the range of available fillings will be extended if the sandwich sells well.

One of the main spices used in Indian cooking is turmeric. But more recently its medicinal uses and applications are being tested.

Earlier this month we wrote about how curcumin, one of the components of turmeric, was being investigated for its effectiveness in treating cancers. You can read the original article, titled “Is Turmeric a Spice or Medicine?�.

The newswires are currently busy reporting more curcumin advances with the production of synthetic versions of curcumin.

Japanese scientists have been testing synthetic curcumin and have found the synthetic versions to be more effective than natural curcumin.

Natural curcumin quickly loses its cancer fighting potency when it is taken orally. But the synthetic versions do not have this problem.

The synthetic curcumin has been tested on mice with colorectal (bowel) cancer with good results.

There is speculation that the synthetic curcumin could also be effective in fighting other cancers, such as gastric cancer, breast cancer, pancreas cancer and lung cancer.

And curcumin is also effective in treating Alheimer’s so it will be interesting to see if the synthetic product also has similar results with this terrible disease.

These developments are very exciting and we will be keeping an eye open to see how they progress.

You can read some of the posts about synthetic curcumin by going to the following links.

New versions of curry ingredient to fight cancer

Curry Offers Hope for Cancer and Alzheimer’s Victims

Curry-derived molecules may help stave off colorectal cancers

Time to try out another of the delicious recipe from the Curry Focus website.

I made a dhal a few weeks ago and it was a great success. Curry Focus has a recipe for Tarka Dhal so I chose this to see if I could repeat the previous success.

For the first time since starting to review the Curry Focus recipes, I had everything in the kitchen to make the dhal. But I love scooping up dhal with an Indian bread so I made a quick trip to my favourite Indian supply store and bought a couple of their large stuffed paratha – the paratha are stuffed with potatoes, chilli and spices – simply heaven.

I wanted to freeze some dhal for a later day so increased the amount of lentils used in the recipe. My freezer usually has a couple of home made curries waiting for me. I always deliberately make too much and freeze the extra.

I soaked the lentils during the afternoon whilst I was pottering around in the garden.

Evening arrived and I started to cook the lentils.

I saw the next step was to well cook the onions so I started to do this whilst the lentils were cooking. I figured it would take a while to get the onions nice and brown and I was right.

The onions were cooked at almost exactly the same time as the lentils were finished cooking.

So I cooked the spices and mixed everything together – it was easy as that.

I grabbed the last of my coriander plant’s leaves and chopped them up whilst the paratha were cooking in the microwave.

Then I served up the dhal and garnished it with the held back onions and a sprinkling of coriander.

I was only cooking for two tonight and we both really like the dhal. It was another successful meal.

The tarka dhal received a good 7.5 out of 10, not as good as my first attempt at dhal but very tasty nevertheless.

The extra dhal was put into plastic takeaway containers when it was cold and it now sits in the freezer. I don’t think that it will be in there for too long.

Garam masala is a mixture of different spices and there are dozens of different recipes for garam masala.

There are two different recipes for garam masala on the Curry Focus website and you can find a recipe here and here.

Which recipe is the best? Well, it’s all a matter of taste. The only way to find out is to try out different recipes and find out the one that you like the best.

As you can see from the recipes, all that is really involved is dry cooking cinnamon and spice seeds for two minutes and then turning them into a powder that you add to dishes when you’re cooking them.

You can grind the cooked ingredients into a powder by using wither a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder.

A mortar and pestle is a bowl and a stick-like implement that you use to grind the spices. You put the spices into the mortar and grind, or pound, them with the pestle. This is obviously a labour-intensive process.

A spice grinder is usually just a coffee grinder that is used to grind spices. It’s essential that you keep your spice grinder separate to your coffer grinder, if you have one, otherwise you’ll end up drinking spicy coffee.

Which is best way to grind the spices? Whatever you like. Most people go for the convenience of using a spice grinder but some purists would never, ever, do this and always use a mortar and pestle.

Spices do start to quickly lose their flavour and potency once they have been turned into a powder. So don’t make too much garam masala at a time. Aim to produce only enough garam masala to last you for a month. You can probably keep garam masala powder in airtight containers for up to three months but I wouldn’t recommend keeping garam masala longer than this.

Of course, you can always take the ultimate shortcut and buy garam masala from a shop or supermarket. But where’s the fun in that?

Chiles (or chillies or chillis or chilis) are widely used in cooking, especially in curries and other hot and spicy foods.

Technically, chile peppers are in the Capsicum genus of the nightshade family of plants.

Chile peppers were originally from Central and South America and today are used worldwide, primarily for cooking.

The main country for growing chiles is India, which produces around 100 million tons every year.

The “heat” in chile peppers is contained in the component called capsaicin. Capsaicin is an active part of the chile pepper and it irritates mammals, including people. It is widely accepted that capsaicin developed as a defence mechanism for the chile peppers.

The capsaicin is found in the membrane of a chile pepper, where the seeds are found. The seeds themselves do not produce any capsaicin. If you want to reduce the “heat” from a chile pepper, slice the pepper open, cut away the membrane, and seeds, and then discard them. This reduces the “heat” from a chile pepper to about 50% of what it would be if the whole chile were eaten.

You should take care when handling chile peppers. Most cookery books recommend that you wear kitchen gloves. You should certainly be wary of handling chile peppers if you have any cuts or abrasions on your hands because the capsaicin can really make them sting, sometimes very painfully. You should never, ever rub your eyes after handling chile peppers because the pain can be excruciating.

The “heat” of chile peppers is often measured on the Scoville scale. Read here for a Curry Focus article on the Scoville Scale. The Scoville Rating is not an exact science so the ratings for a particular chile pepper can vary wildly from publication to publication. However, the relative “heat” of the chile peppers can be understood.

There are lots of different types of chile and the main ones are as follows. The Scoville Rating is shown with the letters SR (the bigger the number, the hotter the chile pepper).

Bell (SR 0). This is a squarish pepper that has no heat with sides averaging about 4 inches (10cm). Comes in lots of colours with the main ones being green, red and yellow.

Paprika (SR 0 – 500). There are really two types of paprika chile pepper. The sweet kind is used in the United States and has a 0 Scoville Rating. The hot kind is synonymous with Hungary and has a Scoville Rating of 100 – 500).

Anaheim (SR 500 – 2,500). This is a red narrow chile that can be up to 6 inches (15cm) long. Also known as the Colorado.

Poblano (SR 1,000 – 5,000). This is a large, flat, green chile pepper that can be up to 5 inches (12.5cm) long. It is very popular in Mexico. The Poblano is called an Ancho when it has been dried.

Jalapeno (SR 2,500 – 16000). This is a thin green chile peppers that can be about 3 inches (7.5 cm) long. This chile pepper is widely used in the United States.

Cayenne (SR 5,000 – 60,000). This a long, thin, chile pepper that can be up to 5 inches (12.5 cm) long. This chile pepper s usually green, but can be yellow or purple, and is often bought in powder form.

Serrano (SR 5,000 – 60,000). This is a small chile (around 2 inches, or 5cm) that turns red (from green) when ripe. This chile pepper is widely used in Mexico.

Tabasco (SR 30,000 – 50,000). This is a small, thin, chile pepper of about 1.5 inches (4cm). It is a main component of Tabasco sauce.

Aji (SR 30,000 – 50,000). This is a roundish chile pepper of about 3 inches (7.5cm). It is popular and widely used in Peru.

Habanero (SR 100,000 – 300,000). This is a small, lantern-shaped, chile of around 2 inches (5cm). It may be small but it packs a big punch – check out its SR rating.

Scotch Bonnet (SR 150,000 – 325,000). This is also a small, roundish, chile of about 2 inches (5cm). Like the Habanero, it packs a big punch. The Scotch Bonnet is a favourite in Caribbean cooking.

Chile peppers are one of the most well known cooking additives.

There are numerous books written about chile peppers if you want to read up more.

And the New Mexico State University even has a Chile Pepper Institute. You can find their website here.

Okra is a plant that has edible green fruits that are delicious in a curry. The fruits are also called okra and are often called ladies, or lady’s, fingers. In the southern States, it is also known as gumbo.

A common Indian curry that contains okra is bhindi bhaji, and there’s a great Curry Focus recipe for bhindi bhaji here.

Okra originally comes from Africa (from the banks of the Nile) and grows in tropical climates all around the world.

The okra fruits are pods that can grow up to about 18cm (7 inches) but the best ones for cooking are around 7cm (about 4 inches) in length.

The pods have a sticky interior and the okra seeds are in the centre.

When you cook okra, you eat everything. And it is delicious.

And why are they called ladies fingers? Because they are about the length of a finger, are slender and smooth. But personally, I wouldn’t want to meet a lady with green fingers.

There are lots of curry clubs around the UK and there is room for lots more of them.

Just what is a curry club?

Simply, it’s a group of like-minded people who meet regularly to have a good time whilst enjoying a great meal.

Most curry clubs meet once a month at a pre-determined Indian restaurant and indulge themselves in their favourite meals.

Some clubs exist just to meet up for a curry.

And other curry clubs rate the restaurants that they visit for qualities such as ambience and service as well as the food itself.

At least one club that I’ve heard about (the Bognor and Regis Curry Club) organise an annual overseas trip. Their last trip was to Sorrento, in Italy. I’m unsure as to what kind of curry they have down there. But I’m sure that the club members had a good time.

Most clubs don’t charge any membership fees – they just want you to turn up and have fun.

If there’s a local curry club in your area, why not try it out? You can keep an eye on the local press for community advertisements or flyers posted around town. Or even do a search on the Internet to see if there’s one close by that has a website. There are quite a few club websites around – I found clubs in Bognor Regis, Petersfield, Milton Keynes, Isle of Man, Bury and Plymouth in less than 10 minutes.

If you can’t find a local curry club then why not start one? All you need is a group of curry eating friends or acquaintances, such as workmates, who can meet one day a month. And if you’re quick on your feet, you can sometimes get a discount from a local curry house if you just ask for one – tell them you’re bringing 5 friends along on a Tuesday or Wednesday evening and see what they offer.

Being part of a curry club is all about eating good food and having fun. I belong to an informal club that meets on the 2nd Tuesday of each month. We’re into curries and football and have a great time.

Why not join or start a club now?

This is the second article in a short series about Indian curry spices and your health. The first article was titled “Is Turmeric a Spice or a Medicine?� and you can read it here.

A fair number of articles have appeared on the Internet about the use of cinnamon to treat Type 2 Diabetes.

Cinnamon is a spice that is made from the bark of a tree in the Lauaraceae family.

Cassia is also a spice made from the bark of a tree.

Both spices have similar flavours and are very difficult to tell apart when in their powdered form.

And, to confuse matters even more, Cassia is often labelled and sold as being Cinnamon.

Studies have been carried out in treating patients suffering from Type 2 Diabetes with Cassia.

The treatment has proved to reduce the blood sugar levels in people who have Type 2 Diabetes (Type 2 Diabetes is having too much blood sugar, or an insensitivity to blood sugar, whilst Type 1 Diabetes is having too little blood sugar). This is very good news for the estimated 170 million people who suffer from Diabetes.

The study that is often quoted was carried out in Pakistan and, as well as reducing blood sugar levels; the treatment also reduced levels of LDL (the bad cholesterol).

And more good news is that the Cinnamon/Cassia can be taken in tea, drinks and lots of foods (just think how many things you can eat and drink that contain cinnamon).

And the magic of cinnamon doesn’t stop with Diabetes. There are claims that cinnamon can be used to treat stomach upsets, flatulence, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, angina, hypertension, kidney problems, menopausal symptoms, infections and even the common cold.

Go the following links to read more on the medicinal uses of cinnamon. Or use your favourite search engine to unearth the information for yourself.

Cinnamon. What Is It?
The Effects of Cinnamon in Type 2 Diabetes
Cinnamon as Medicine?
Cinnamon
Cinnamon spice produces healthier blood