Am I the only one using (Indian) 'cook in sauces'?

[save the frogs]

10 minutes ago, NextG said:

Which ‘prepared’ jars have you tried? I’ve tried a few over the years. Some are good, some are not so good. 
Lots of silly stories with regard to making from scratch. That would be viable if it were something you made regularly, but since I make an Indian style curry perhaps once every few months, I would spend hours creating a base sauce alone.   

I don't remember the brand name of the jars I tried. 

It doesn't take hours to make from scratch.

Maybe little old grandmas in India let it simmer for hours for the spices to reach their full potential ..... not sure. But a good butter chicken doesn't take hours. 

Maybe I will make it at some point and post pictures. 

But you can find tons of recipes online these days. 

 

[NextG]

4 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

I don't remember the brand name of the jars I tried. 

It doesn't take hours to make from scratch.

Maybe little old grandmas in India let it simmer for hours for the spices to reach their full potential ..... not sure. But a good butter chicken doesn't take hours. 

Maybe I will make it at some point and post pictures. 

But you can find tons of recipes online these days. 

 

I know about online recipes. My sauces are slow cooked/simmered for hours to develop the flavours, depending on the kind of curry. 
I have no interest in butter chicken, as it’s relatively bland and uninteresting to me. But I doubt any of the people here make it properly anyway. None have made mention of marinating the meat beforehand nor do they have even a single example of them doing so nor a picture of any result. 

[roo860]

2 hours ago, n00dle said:

Oki Doks, care to share yours now?

 

Haven't cooked yet today, but this is the kitchen i wake up to most mornings.  The house  had an awful outdoor kichen, so i converted the front room few years back. 

Nice view 

[n00dle]

42 minutes ago, roo860 said:

Nice view 

indeed. its the back wall of a 2 storey house on a hidden sub soi in lower sukhumvit. I will take it over one of the neighboring condos any day.  last one of its kind on the block. There is a wild lot to one side of me and small garden with my koi pond out the front.

Edited September 8, 2023 by n00dle

[n00dle]

1 hour ago, save the frogs said:

we're not living in 1950. you can help your wife clean up in the kitchen.

 

have you read his posts? We may not be living in 1950, of others we cannot be so sure.

[save the frogs]

2 hours ago, NextG said:

My sauces are slow cooked/simmered for hours to develop the flavours,

I would like to suggest that this is overkill. 

Perhaps it can even be considerd Obessive Compulsive Disorder.

 

Some meats like lamb and tough cuts of beef may need to be slow cooked for hours to make the meat tender. But the sauces do not need to be simmered for hours. 

 

Sorry you didn't get that memo sooner. All those hours wasted in the kitchen. 

 

[Ralf001]

5 hours ago, NextG said:

Isn’t it interesting that chicken breast is one of the cheapest cuts in Thailand, but the most expensive in the U.K and beyond?

Conversely chicken wings being the cheapest in the U.K and the most expensive in Thailand. 
 
 

Chicken hands here are good value.

[connda]

Thanks, I'll give them a shot.  I ❤️ Indian food but it's more like a 75km drive for me to eat there. 
 

On 9/7/2023 at 12:05 PM, BritManToo said:

I buy the sauces (Patak or Sharwood) from Food Variety on Lazada.

That was my next question! 

[connda]

On 9/7/2023 at 12:47 PM, josephbloggs said:

But can I please make a request? Clean your cooker man - it's filthy!

Looks fine to me.  TIT farang.  ????

[sungod]

On 9/7/2023 at 12:59 PM, n00dle said:

Are you not in least concerend by the filth and hair on your cook top?

thats a cook top, thought he was cooking in his shed..

[Adumbration]

@BritManToo You must read this book:

 

https://www.google.co.th/books/edition/The_Bachelor_Home_Companion/R1diASABH0EC?hl=en&gbpv=0

[n00dle]

1 hour ago, connda said:

Looks fine to me.  TIT farang.  ????

What does that even mean?

 

[n00dle]

2 hours ago, save the frogs said:

Perhaps it can even be considerd Obessive Compulsive Disorder.

bit of a reach that. 

[n00dle]

1 hour ago, sungod said:

thats a cook top, thought he was cooking in his shed..

well, one man's shed is another mans hovel

[save the frogs]

44 minutes ago, n00dle said:

bit of a reach that. 

for dramatic effect

[josephbloggs]

2 hours ago, connda said:

Looks fine to me.  TIT farang.  ????

Not fine to me. Not sure what your Trinkism is supposed to mean - because we are in Thailand we have to cook in filth?

 

I can't abide a dirty kitchen, even as cooking I clean as I go so it as clean when I finish as it was when I started.

[chickenslegs]

7 hours ago, Fruit Trader said:

It all starts with the master time saving shortcut, a base gravy which can be frozen and used when required.

Recipe please.

 

When I'm visiting my mum in the UK I often have a takeaway from a nearby Indian (maybe Bangladeshi ?) open kitchen. I have watched the chefs preparing the food while I wait. 

They just grab a blackened wok from a rack, add a number of spices from a range of jars (no measurements - just a spoonful of this and that) toast the spices, add the base gravy from a tub. The meat, of course, is already part-cooked.

It seems that the base gravy is used in every curry.

I have tried (with varying success) to cook Indian curries from scratch, using ingredients from Zing Street and other sources. Some (most) have been quite okay, but I can't reproduce the precise taste of a British Indian curry.

 

I'm convinced that the base gravy is the missing link.

[bendejo]

On 9/7/2023 at 3:58 AM, NextG said:

It’s interesting that they state the curries are cooked by an Indian chef. Not too many Indians will use beef as an ingredient. Of course lamb, mutton and goat are a bit more rare and probably relatively expensive. 

India has no shortage of Muslims and Sikhs who have no issues with beef and other red meats.  Pakistan too, but not many Sikhs there. 

 

[Thailand J]

I only cook Malaysian curry with Baba's curry powder I bought  from Malaysia, lately available on Lazada or Shopee. My secret ingredient is the curry leaves from my own tree here in my yard in Pattaya.

Served with steamed rice or frozen roti from Makro. Also makes great   chiang mai style kao soi  curry egg noodle soup.

Follow the recipe in this video as close as possible.

 

Edited September 9, 2023 by Thailand J

[Madgee]

8 hours ago, chickenslegs said:

I'm convinced that the base gravy is the missing link.

This is the recipe I used to use when I was in the UK and could be faffed to do it. Quite easy and freezes well. Now I tend to cook more Thai curries Indian! 

[bignok]

On 9/7/2023 at 12:05 PM, BritManToo said:

I do like an Indian curry, but am too lazy to drive the 12km into Chiang Mai every time I want one.

Tried the packet mixes, but they're just nasty.

But the cook in sauces work well every time (dice and stir fry the chicken, add sauce and simmer/stir for 15 mins).They are all medium (no matter what it says on the jar), so if you like it hot you will need to add more red/cayenne pepper.

It's 100bht (ish) a jar for the sauces, and another 75bht for 750gm of chicken breast, takes around 20mins (mostly stirring).

I buy the sauces (Patak or Sharwood) from Food Variety on Lazada.

4-5 meals for 175bht so not too expensive.

 

Did Chicken Madras this morning,

 

Am I the only one using these sauces?

Those sauces are awful

[bignok]

9 hours ago, josephbloggs said:

Not fine to me. Not sure what your Trinkism is supposed to mean - because we are in Thailand we have to cook in filth?

 

I can't abide a dirty kitchen, even as cooking I clean as I go so it as clean when I finish as it was when I started.

Looks like slop in the pans too. I wouldnt eat it.

[NextG]

16 hours ago, save the frogs said:

I would like to suggest that this is overkill. 

Perhaps it can even be considerd Obessive Compulsive Disorder.

 

Some meats like lamb and tough cuts of beef may need to be slow cooked for hours to make the meat tender. But the sauces do not need to be simmered for hours. 

 

Sorry you didn't get that memo sooner. All those hours wasted in the kitchen. 

 

You should get yourself a slow cooker ???? They cook slowly ???? for hours. You don’t need to stay in the kitchen or even at home.
You don’t get melt in the mouth beef/lamb or ‘falling off the bone’ by simmering for fifteen minutes. 
Plus you get thicker sauces with more developed and flavours. You should try it. 
Sounds like you’ve been eating insipid food. Sorry you didn’t get the memo sooner. 

[NextG]

12 hours ago, chickenslegs said:

Recipe please.

 

When I'm visiting my mum in the UK I often have a takeaway from a nearby Indian (maybe Bangladeshi ?) open kitchen. I have watched the chefs preparing the food while I wait. 

They just grab a blackened wok from a rack, add a number of spices from a range of jars (no measurements - just a spoonful of this and that) toast the spices, add the base gravy from a tub. The meat, of course, is already part-cooked.

It seems that the base gravy is used in every curry.

I have tried (with varying success) to cook Indian curries from scratch, using ingredients from Zing Street and other sources. Some (most) have been quite okay, but I can't reproduce the precise taste of a British Indian curry.

 

I'm convinced that the base gravy is the missing link.

Correct. Restaurant chefs will reuse it over and over again. Though I make it fresh each time using a slow cooking process. 

[NextG]

12 hours ago, bendejo said:

India has no shortage of Muslims and Sikhs who have no issues with beef and other red meats.  Pakistan too, but not many Sikhs there. 

 

Actually I knew that ????

[xylophone]

I have tried many of the jars of "cook-in" curries from different producers, and have found nothing which matches either those from a reputable Indian restaurant, or those that I can make myself. In short....I don't like them.

My go to book for recipes is pictured below, and it has stood me in good stead for many years.

 

[Kinok Farang]

On 9/7/2023 at 2:42 PM, BritManToo said:

My plate was clean, as was the saucepan and utensils.

I don't eat off the cooker surface, so I don't care how my wife leaves it.

I always blame the wife too.Lazy bitch.

[NextG]

12 minutes ago, xylophone said:

I have tried many of the jars of "cook-in" curries from different producers, and have found nothing which matches either those from a reputable Indian restaurant, or those that I can make myself. In short....I don't like them.

My go to book for recipes is pictured below, and it has stood me in good stead for many years.

 

If you’ve been at it for years, you must have some pictures to share. 
There’s a lot of boasting about cooking from scratch here, but scant evidence of actual prepared meals. 
Personally I’m not a big fan of the jars, but I have no issue with some of the kits, as they contain, dried spices, a base sauce and a main sauce. 
It means that I don’t need to buy a plethora of ingredients for a ‘one off’ curry. I guarantee the result will be as good or better than anything you can produce from scratch. 
The jars are a bit less sophisticated but can still be utilised to make a decent meal, with a bit of improvisation. 

[richard_smith237]

20 hours ago, NextG said:

I know about online recipes. My sauces are slow cooked/simmered for hours to develop the flavours, depending on the kind of curry. 

Agreed... Slow cooking brings out the deepest flavours. 

 

20 hours ago, NextG said:

I have no interest in butter chicken, as it’s relatively bland and uninteresting to me.

That depends on the degree of detail and effort you go to make it. 

 

From choosing the best tomatoes, to fresh cashew nuts, to churning then sieving the final sauce so that what you are left with is a rich silky smooth sauce. 

 

20 hours ago, NextG said:

But I doubt any of the people here make it properly anyway.

Au contraire... 

 

20 hours ago, NextG said:

None have made mention of marinating the meat beforehand nor do they have even a single example of them doing so nor a picture of any result. 

All part of the process...  for many Indian recipe's there are two main processes, the meat and the Gravy.

 

For my butter chicken I make the paste (Ginger & Garlic paste, Red Chilli & some salt) and coat the chicken in the paste (leave it over night or at least a few hours) - then cook (fry) & seal in the flavours. 

Make the sauce in the same pan the meat has just been cooked in.

 

The result is an outrageously good 'Butter Chicken' that is a very far cry from anything that could be described as 'bland'.... 

 

Tikka Masala is a little different, char grilling the marinated chicken adds the charcoal flavour and an additional layer of depth and quality.

 

I don't make my own Naan bread - I just can't get that as good as the restaurants.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 9, 2023 by richard_smith237

[richard_smith237]

2 minutes ago, xylophone said:

You can't let it go can you.....and you accused me of having OCD; the irony!!!

 

Why would I want to take pictures of the meals I prepare???

 

I cook a different meal for myself many times a week and they range from Boeuf Bourguignon, to a pasta dish, to chilli con carne, to a Panang chicken curry, with the occasional beef tenderloin with a Stilton and cream sauce, homemade pizza– – – – and so it goes on.

 

I also dine out on occasion, and last night was at a friends restaurant here, where there was a wine tasting going to take place.

 

I really don't see the point in taking pictures of whatever I prepare, just to satisfy your unnatural inquisitive nature, but suffice it to say I've been cooking for decades in the UK, New Zealand and here, and have never had any complaints, and I'm certainly happy with what I produce.

 

And finally for your information, one of my hobbies for 50 years has been collecting wine from around the world, and at my dinner parties, I would match the wines to the meals I served, and these dinner parties became very popular not only for the quality of the food, but for the quality of the wines.

 

One of the favourites amongst friends was; lamb shanks, slow cooked in red wine, port and beef stock, with a complete bulb of garlic and rosemary, with the "sauce"/stock being further reduced before being served over the lamb shanks. Served with mashed potato and whatever vegetable was available at the time.

 

And no, there was no reason whatsoever to take a picture of the result.

 

Hopefully that will put an end to your nonsense.
 

Reading all of that makes me want to come round to your house for dinner...