Difficult to know where to start this one. Can I claim to have read the complete book? No! Can I claim to have tried every recipe? No! In fact, I've been experimenting with the base sauces the author recommends ... and starting to discriminate between the various spices and pastes on offer at local retailers and online. Want to start your curry feast meal off with a bang? How about fried shop bought poppadoms or if you’re feeling ambitious, make your own poppadoms from scratch and serve them with coriander chutney, red onion chutney, and/or tamarind chutney. Here are a few curry house style recipes you can use this sauce in now! Once your sauce is smooth, melt the ghee in a frying pan. Add the turmeric powder to the ghee. It will darken as it cooks. You want to brown it for about 30 seconds being careful not to burn the turmeric. Stay tuned for all the upcoming recipes. Together with this sauce you will be able to create curries better than you’ll find at most restaurants. I guarantee it! One you make your base curry sauce and prepare a curry, you might like to serve a few sides.

Although I do have smaller recipes for base curry sauce, I always recommend making this large batch, just like they do at most curry houses.

Yes! Taste them as you go. Feel free not only to use the main ingredient of your choice in them but also to vary the spices. Make your mild korma spicy with added fresh chillies. Cook up a not so spicy vindaloo by reducing the amount to chillies and/or chilli powder. Can I freeze these sauces? Just heat it up in a pan next to where you are cooking your curry and add as required. The amount of base sauce I used in your recipe was more/less than called for. Why is this? A good chef’s knife: Using a good, sharp chefs knife makes cooking a lot more enjoyable. I highly recommend purchasing one knife you enjoy using rather than a knife set of inadequate knives. If doing this, be sure to stir in plain natural yoghurt, one tablespoon at a time so that it doesn’t curdle. Useful kitchen equipment… On this blog you will find both authentic Indian recipes and BIR recipes which are like those you find at curry houses. If you want to make an Indian curry house style curry, you are most definitely in the right place.

What comes across in the book is enthusiasm and a sense of adventure - so any shortcomings in recipes should be seen as a challenge. This is not so much a follow-my-advice-to-the-letter instruction manual as a stimulus to enthusiasm. I can't see any need to buy another book on curries, I feel the author's energy is the key. This book is worth the price of admission based on the "precooked" meat instruction. The book introduces you to the concept of making sort of curry "mother sauces." Like the classic French mother sauces, Toombs helps you learn some of the basic sauces that can then be modified to create some of the classic restaurant curries. Very helpful. And that's why I'm impressed by this book. I had no idea who the author was - apparently he's been offering advice online and in newspapers for several years and is clearly well known, has clearly put in the mileage and the hours, talking to chefs and visiting restaurants around the UK (and beyond). A friend recommended I look at some of his stuff, I ended up buying the book. Heat the ghee or oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat. When visibly hot, stir in the chopped onions and fry for about 5 minutes or until soft and translucent. You could even fry them on a lower heat for longer which will bring out their natural sweetness but do not brown them. Fry for a further five minutes and then add the ginger and garlic purees and the all of the spices except for the turmeric.Raw paneer: You will get excellent results using raw paneer cubes too. If doing this, add it right before serving. Just heat it through and you will get deliciously soft pieces of paneer. Don’t over cook it though as raw paneer has a tendency to fall apart. The base sauce was developed over time. Chefs at inexpensive curry houses needed a way of cooking and serving their curries fast, while not losing out on flavour. If you decide not to make the base curry sauce, which really is so easy, you might like to opt for my new one pan, no base restaurant style curries but I do hope you give the base sauce versions a try first. How was the base curry sauce developed? The answer to this question is simple. It’s the only way you will achieve authentic and perfect curry house style curries at home. If you’d like to make naans, why not try one of these? Instant naans, Peshwari naans, stove top naans, keema naans, garlic naans, tandoor naans(if you have a tandoor oven), or if you’re cooking outdoors, karahi naans.

Fried paneer:To fry paneer, add a little oil to a pan and fry the cubed paneer all over so that it is nicely browned on all side. Fried paneer doesn’t fall apart as easily as raw paneer does. You could also marinate the paneer before frying as I did here. That is a recipe that is cooked over fire but you could use the same marinade and fry the cheese too. Cooking curries in a more authentic Indian style works but the end dish is different. Curry house style curriesare famous for their smooth texture which is achieved using the base curry sauce.

How do I substitute other main ingredients for the chicken?

If you are just going to be cooking for yourself or one other person, you could try them here. What sort of containers shall I use to freeze the sauce in?

By the way, if cooking a real balti with base sauceis of interest to you, you will f ind plenty of authentic balti recipes here. How to store the base curry sauce I've never reviewed a cookbook before - I am working on the principal that if I try every recipe before I review the book I'll go to my grave with the task half done. I'm reviewing this on the 'feel' I get for the book. Since writing ‘The Curry Guy’, however, it has become clear that many people wanted an easier version that could be prepared in one pan.

Make it natural or bright red. Your choice and both are easy to prepare. What is the difference between this ‘from scratch’ recipe and the base sauce method? Stir in the garlic and ginger paste and fry over medium high heat for about 30 seconds to cook out the rawness.