Currys - blackened onions??

[EmmaG]

Just interested to know if anybody does blackened (Well very brown) onions for their currys, I have been doing currys this way for the last couple of months and what a difference...

I saw this tip I think it was on a Saturday kitchen show. Before cooking your curry you fry for about 10-15 some very very fine onion slices until they are very brown almost black. Then drain these on kitchen paper and leave to cool.

When cooking your curry once you have added coconut milk, cream etc you add the blackened onions and let the curry cook for at least another 15 mins, the onions then melt into the curry thickening it up and making it very very rich.

I would recommend this to anybody who loves cooking currys.

[dinahsmum]

Thanks for the tip Emma! Sounds good

[Donna]

I have never cooked a curry from scratch Emma. I am gonna try tho, cos I have bought some Pataks curry paste. So I will do the chicken, do the onions, mix the paste into the cream and thats it???

[EmmaG]

Onions slices first Donna, then once they are cooked you can cook your chicken also larger pieces of onion if you want to, also other veg, mushrooms etc, add curry paste, mix, add coconut cream/milk, cream, cook for say another 15 mins. Serve with sour cream, cream, creme fraiche (sp) etc if you want to.

Don't forget you can also get away with having a couple of tablespoons of rice. :)

[Donna]

Will give that a go!! Sounds easy enough!!

[EmmaG]

DM I would be interested to see what somebody else makes of this...My other half thinks that the currys are far far nicer with the blackened onions.

I have tried these on a Korma and a Balti, worked for both :)

Donna which curry paste did you get??

[Donna]

DM I would be interested to see what somebody else makes of this...My other half thinks that the currys are far far nicer with the blackened onions.

I have tried these on a Korma and a Balti, worked for both :)

Donna which curry paste did you get??

Just said mild curry paste:lol:

[EmmaG]

Yes Donna very easy, however with the blackened onions best to cook them on a high heat until they start to colour and then turn down the heat to say medium, they do take quite a long time to turn dark brown, don't worry about any bits that look black :)

[EmmaG]

Just said mild curry paste:lol:

Good...you will be fine :) Don't forget you can make it milder by adding cream/coconut milk whilst cooking. Best to taste as you go along :)

[Donna]

Good...you will be fine :) Don't forget you can make it milder by adding cream/coconut milk whilst cooking. Best to taste as you go along :)

Well I got lots of chicken over the weekend, so can do a curry tomorrow and I have also bought some stiry fry stuff to add meat too so thats another easy meal cooked from scratch!!:-D

[EmmaG]

Good to see you having fun with cooking food from scratch....are you enjoying it ??

[Donna]

Good to see you having fun with cooking food from scratch....are you enjoying it ??

Will enjoy it better in my new kitchen Emma ;) :-D

But yes, tis fun - Emma and I did the beef stew tonight and Emma made the dumplings!!!:-D

[EmmaG]

Will enjoy it better in my new kitchen Emma ;) :-D



Oh yes I know what that is like, I love cooking in my new kitchen ;)

Once you have done a few recipes from scratch you soon realise that cooking isn't really that difficult don't you :) then you can relax and enjoy it more. Which I am glad you are now doing ;)

[Donna]

Definately - cant remember the last processed food I bought!! And I have realised that I can do more than I thought.

Always cooked spaghetti bol, sweet/sour chicken, beef stew etc. Only need a few more recipes to have enough for each day of the week!!!

[EmmaG]

Well that is excellent Donna, I have no doubt that you can do far far more than you realised, also think about the health benefits for you and your children not just over the next few months but years ahead :)

I think it is good cooking practice to prepare and cook one recipe every couple of weeks that you have never tried before, just pick one out of your cookbook and have a go :)

[Donna]

just pick one out of your cookbook and have a go :)


Whats that???? :roll:

Well I have got my first cook book and and getting ideas from it (although not actually done a whole recipe). Adapted some recipes and altered others, and I have also bought Emma my daughter a cookbook for her birthday in April - its a book on baking Muffins - she will LOVE that!!!

Also want to get some more "basic" books with traditional things in!:)

[EmmaG]

Sounds like the best way to me adapting the recipes to the ingredients you have got and your individual tastes.

I have found a few low carb magazines and I will pop them in the post to you tomorrow, is your work address ok to send them to??

[Donna]

Only if you dont mind Emma. You are an angel!!!

[EmmaG]

I would rather them go to a good home Donna they are only collecting dust here ;)

[Donna]

I would rather them go to a good home Donna they are only collecting dust here ;)

Thanks Emma. Will be going to bed now and dreaming of all those wonderful things I can cook in my new kitchen ;)

[EmmaG]

Thanks Emma. Will be going to bed now and dreaming of all those wonderful things I can cook in my new kitchen ;)

:-D :-D :-D :-D

There are some quite good recipes in them :)

[dandysmom]

Emma, interesting that you all refer to cooking with curry PASTE...I am not familiar with this; have always used Madras hot curry POWDER. Can you tell me a little more about it?? Thanks!

[EmmaG]

Dandysmom, the curry paste is herbs, spices, peppers mixed with oil, it is very similar if you were going to create your own curry paste. I would have thought that it would be a bit fresher than curry powder. I sometimes use a curry powder but I do prefer the freshness of the curry paste.
:)

[dandysmom]

I use curry powder A LOT, so my bottle never gets to be around long enough to go stale ..lol..:-D But thanks for the info; I'll look around the next time I'm in the Gourmet section.

[EmmaG]

Dandysmon I am sure you would love the paste over the powder. Do you find that you have to cook the powder out more to get rid of the "powder" texture??

If you have any problems finding a good paste, let me know and perhaps I can sort out sending you a couple of jars (Can't cost that much to send them to the US :) )

[Donna]

I am actually gonna try and make my first ever own curry tonight everyone!!! got the chicken, onions, curry paste, cream.

If I not around after tonight you know I have poisoned myself!!!!

[EmmaG]

lol @ Donna.

Trust me you will be fine :)

[yola]

Donna - you'll be fine, it's quite simple!!! It's just so satisfying to make a home-made curry that tastes good :-D

[deester]

When cooking your curry once you have added coconut milk, cream etc you add the blackened onions and let the curry cook for at least another 15 mins, the onions then melt into the curry thickening it up and making it very very rich.

I would recommend this to anybody who loves cooking currys.[/quote]

Emma, i make lots of currys and have never heard of this so i'm going to try it out tonight with my chickpea and sweet potato curry. Thanks for the tip and i'll post my results here.

[EmmaG]

Yes please post your results I would be interested to hear how you got on :)

[Donna]

When cooking your curry once you have added coconut milk, cream etc

Do I need coconut milk? Was just gonna use cream? :shock: Have looked for coconut milk three times now when I have gone to Tesco and never found it:roll:

[EmmaG]

Donna you don't need coconut milk :) you can use cream instead, coconut milk just makes it taste a bit different - a bit like coconuts :-D

Coconut milk is usually found near the curry pastes and jars of curry sauces.

[EmmaG]

ok, picture time

raw finely sliced onions

http://www.catforum.com/photos/data/500/3440curry_002.jpg

I fried these in oil for about 14 mins (heat setting 6)

http://www.catforum.com/photos/data/500/3440curry_003.jpg

then added these to the Korma, cooked for a further 10 mins

http://www.catforum.com/photos/data/500/3440curry_006.jpg

:-D :-D

[dinahsmum]

What time do you want us Emma?
Shall we bring wine or lager?

[EmmaG]

lol how about 6pm oh and some white wine please :)

[Fran]

Looks yummy Emma!!! Got my mouth watering now :-D

[EmmaG]

Well it smells fab Fran :) I will heat it up later tonight and enjoy it with a couple of spoonfuls of rice and half a kema naan (stuffed with lamb :) )

[Mags]

Mmmmm...that looks really good Emma!

[Donna]

Looks great Emma!!! I am gonna do my second ever curry tonight and will be a bit more daring with the "burnt" onions!!!!

[EmmaG]

lol Good luck Donna, if you are a bit unsure just make sure they are very very very brown. They will be ok. Let us know how you get on :)

[dinahsmum]

OK - I'll add a commendation for the blackened onions. They added colour and a 'richness' to the sauce, with no discernable onion flavour.

[EmmaG]

DM glad you liked them :)

[dandysmom]

Oh, Emma. I just TODAY saw your post of the 7th kindly offering to send me some curry paste, you must have thought I was SO rude not to have replied!:oops: I wouldn't want to put you to all that trouble, but thank you so much for the offer. I've been researching curry paste tonight on Google, & am confused at so many varieties: red, green, Thai, sour...one of the sites said green is hotter...I love very spicy...think that's what I would like. One of the brands listed here is Patek's...have you ever heard of it? I might just go ahead and order one at random & see what I think, they're not very expensive. And have been interested that the blackened onions tend to thicken & intensify the flavor...my recipe for shrimp curry used a bit of flour for thickening; think I migt try the onions...over the years I've gotten very good at cutting down a recipe to a single serving; have cooked for one since my Dad died in '64! Again, thsnks, Eileen

[EmmaG]

Hi Eileen,

No I didn't think that you were rude :) Yes I use the Pataks range which is very good.

[yola]

Patek's is one of the best - very authentic and it's actually an Indian company so bound to be good :-D

I did blackened onions in my curry again last night (was a bit braver this time and actually made them VERY dark), and both hubby and I thought it was one of the best home-made curries ever! I let him into the secret and got a very blank look in return. Bless ;)

[EmmaG]

Good to hear you liked them as well Yola, you cannot really taste them can you? I was very doubtfull when I first tried them but now I won't be making currys any other way :)

[dandysmom]

Patek's is one of the best - very authentic and it's actually an Indian company so bound to be good :-D

I did blackened onions in my curry again last night (was a bit braver this time and actually made them VERY dark), and both hubby and I thought it was one of the best home-made curries ever! I let him into the secret and got a very blank look in return. Bless ;)
Thanks, Yola; do you use the green or the red? I want the hottest...:roll: :-D

[EmmaG]

Dandysmom, this site might help you decide which one you would like

http://www.pataks.co.uk/

[dandysmom]

Thanks, Emma, that was an interesting link!! Am still shopping around on Google, but definitely think it will be Patek's:-D

[deester]

My sweet potato and chickpea curry worked well with the blackened onions and i will add them again. Thanks for the tip.

I'm making a king prawn chinese curry tonight, do you think the blackened onions would work with that?

[EmmaG]

I think I would leave them out for a chinese curry, but for an indian curry I would add them :)

[deester]

I think I would leave them out for a chinese curry, but for an indian curry I would add them :)

yeah think you maybe right on that one emma, thanks anyway.

[janey83]

I love well cooked onions, they are yum!