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Glossary of Indian
Restaurant Curries |
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bhuna |
Bhuna
is first and foremost a cooking process where
spices are gently fried in plenty of oil to
bring out their flavour. The dish "bhuna" is an
extension of that process where meat is added to
the spices and then cooked in its own juices
which results in deep strong flavours but very
little sauce. The restaurant bhuna is a well
spiced curry with a thick sauce. It is often
garnished with fried green peppers ( bell
peppers) and shredded onions. Usually medium hot
although I have had some pretty hot ones in my
time. |
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biryani |
Biryani
is not a curry at all but the curry connection
comes from the mixed vegetable curry with which
it is served in most Indian restaurants.
Biryani originated in Persia and, at its
simplest, was rice and meat baked together in
the oven. The cooks to the Moghul emperors took
the biryani and transformed it into a courtly
delicacy by adding aromatic spices and other
exotic ingredients. Traditionally, biryanis are
baked in the oven for some time so the aromatic
spices and juices from the meat permeate the
rice. In the Indian restaurant, however, all the
dishes are made to order and the poor chef has
to find a way of preparing the biryani in double
quick time. So the restaurant biryani is often
just pilau rice stir fried with chicken or lamb
which has been cooked as an extra dry bhuna. The
restaurant biryani is usually garnished with
almonds and sultanas ( golden raisins) and is
accompanied by a mixed vegetable curry to add a
little juiciness to the rice. Mild. |
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dhansak |
A famous Parsee
dish. Interestingly the dhan part of the name
means rice and a dhansak is traditionally served
with a pulao of fried and spiced rice. An
authentic dhansak will made with lamb and
contain vegetables and many different types of
dhal (the sak in the name). The curry house
dhansak is often referred to as "hot, sweet and
sour with lentils". The "hot" is chilli powder,
the "sweet" is sugar and the "sour" is lemon
juice. Curry houses commonly use masoor dhal
(split red lentils) but some restaurants now use
chana dhal to good effect. If it is done well
the dhansak is an excellent curry with
contrasting flavours and textures. But if the
"sweet" in your restaurant dhansak is provided
by the addition of pineapple then, in my
opinion, you should order something else. |
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dopiaza |
The dopiaza is a
classic Indian dish dating back at least to
Moghul times. The name dopiaza broadly
translates as "2 onions" or "double onions".
Some traditional versions of the dopiaza use
twice the weight of onions compared to the
weight of meat but a classic Indian dopiaza is
more likely to use the onions in 2 different
ways, fried and boiled, at different stages of
the cooking. The restaurant version has small
fried pieces of onion in the sauce and then
larger chunks of lightly cooked onion are added
towards the end of the cooking. Medium hot. |
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jalfrezi |
Jalfrezi
is not a traditional Indian dish as such but,
like the bhuna, is actually a method of cooking.
It literally means "hot-fry" but is probably
better translated as "stir-fry". The term
jalfrezi entered the English language at the
time of the British Raj in India. Colonial
households employed Indian cooks who would use
the jalfrezi method of cooking to heat up cold
roasted meat and potatoes. But the restaurant
jalfrezi is not a version of the Anglo-Indian
dish. Oh no. The Indian restaurant chef uses the
jalfrezi method to stir-fry green peppers,
onions and plenty of green chillies as the basis
for a curry with just a little sauce. The
chillies make the jalfrezi taste very fresh but
also make it one of the hotter curries on the
restaurant menu. |
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korai |
Many Indian
restaurants had a balti-style curry on their
menu long before the rise in popularity of balti
cooking in the UK. They did not call the curry a
balti but rather a korai or karahi and many
restaurants still carry one on their menu. Both
the balti and korai contain stir fried meat and
vegetables and both take their name from the
utensil in which they are cooked. Because korai
is a style of cooking rather than a traditional
recipe the curry house versions can vary
considerably from restaurant to restaurant. It
can be medium or hot and will usually contain
green peppers, tomatoes and onions.
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korma |
A traditional korma
will have a long slow cooking. In fact, korma is
not one particular dish but rather a method of
cooking similar to braising. Because korma is a
cooking method there are a wide variety of
dishes that could be described as "korma". Many
kormas call for the meat to be marinated in
yoghurt and then the meat plus marinade are
braised on a very low heat until all the juices
condense down into a thick sauce. The restaurant
chef has to cook to order so doesn't have time
for long, slow cooking. The korma you find in
Indian restaurants usually contains ground
almonds, coconut and thick cream. It is often
described on restaurant menus as being "very
mild" but a good korma should not be bland.
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Madras |
The curry house
Madras is a restaurant invention which started
life as simply a hotted up version of the
standard restaurant curry. Because it is a
restaurant invention rather than a traditional
recipe the Madras can vary considerably from one
restaurant to another. The restaurant Madras can
be hot or very hot, red or brown, a hotter
version of a plain curry or quite rich in
tomatoes. Mostly though it comes with plenty of
sauce and is strongly spiced . It is the
standard restaurant hot curry. |
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Moghlai |
The Moghul dynasty
ruled much of the Asian sub-continent for 3
centuries and left behind a fabulous legacy not
just in art and architecture but also in
sumptuous cuisine. There is no one Moghul style
but the usual restaurant interpretation is rich
and creamy. The curry house Moghlai contains
plenty of ginger, ground almonds, yoghurt and
cream. Some restaurants offer a Shahi Moghul
dish which is garnished with a small omelette
flavoured with chopped coriander leaves. Mild to
medium. |
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pasanda |
Derived from a
court dish of the Moghul emperors the pasanda is
traditionally made with thinly sliced and
marinated lamb fillets. It is sometimes called
lamb badam pasanda because the dish contains
ground almonds, the "badam" of the title. The
restaurant pasanda is usually quite mild and
contains ground almonds, cardamon pods, puréed
tomatoes and cream. |
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patia |
Like it's more
famous cousin, dhansak, patia is a Parsee dish.
A traditional Parsee patia is made with fish
cooked in a dark vinegar sauce. The restaurant
patia is hot, sweet and sour in equal measure.
The restaurant patia grew popular as a starter
using prawns ( shrimps) as the main ingredient.
Many restaurants now offer the patia as a main
course as well and give you the choice of a
prawn, chicken or lamb version. It is usually
garnished with fried tomato pieces.
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rogan
josh |
Rogan josh is
another all time favourite on the curry house
menu. It was originally a Kashmiri dish but is
equally at home in the Punjab. An authentic
rogan josh will be made with lamb and may, at
its most elaborate, contain dozens of spices.
The Kashmiri and Punjabi versions do differ (the
Kashmiri does not traditionally contain onions
or garlic) but they are both highly spiced and
share a deep red colour derived from the liberal
use of dried red Kashmiri chillies. The curry
house rogan is also red but the colour comes
from red peppers and tomatoes rather than
Kashmiri chillies. The restaurant rogan is
characterised by its garnish of tomato pieces
and fresh coriander. It is usually medium hot.
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saag |
Saag
gosht is a classic curry traditionally made with
spinach and lamb. Saag is, strictly speaking, a
general term for tender green leaves such as
spinach, mustard greens and fresh fenugreek
leaves. If you were talking about spinach on its
own it would be called palak. Many restaurants
these days will offer a chicken or a prawn
alternative to lamb and so the dish will show on
the menu as just "saag" or "palak" omitting the
gosht (lamb) from the name altogether. The saag
is usually served medium hot and is made in the
bhuna style. |
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tikka
masala |
To my mind it is
fruitless to enter the debate on the origins of
the famous chicken tikka masala. If you want to
remind yourself of the contending arguments then
take a look at the essay on the subject
"Is it or isn't it? - the chicken tikka masala
story" by food historians Peter and Colleen
Grove. Chicken tikka masala is the all time most
popular dish on the Indian restaurant menu and
what the restaurant diner really needs to know
is whether the restaurant is providing a good
example of the dish. And what is a good example?
Well, the chicken tikka pieces should be
aromatic and slightly smoky from the tandoor.
The masala sauce should be well spiced but not
hot, rich and creamy and have a hint of coconut.
Tikka masala usually has a deep red colour,
gained from the use of artificial food
colourings. |
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vindaloo |
The vindaloo was
originally a Portuguese dish which took its name
from the 2 main ingredients which were "vinho",
wine/wine vinegar, and "alhos", garlic. Over
time it was spiced up, hotted up and otherwise
changed by the indigenous peoples of the
ex-Portuguese colony of Goa. Not many
restaurants produce an authentic Goan vindaloo
not least because the pork used by Christian
Goans in their recipe would not be acceptable to
Muslim chefs. In some restaurants the vindaloo
is just a pumped-up Madras i.e. the same recipe
but with lots more chilli powder. Other
restaurants have interpreted the "aloo" part of
the name as meaning potato and introduced diced
potato to a hot standard curry with added lemon
juice for tartness and black pepper for extra
pungency. Very hot. |
