Made a lamb curry - but not flavour!

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Nimmi

Assistant Cook
Joined
Jun 8, 2010
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1
I'm new to cooking and have tried a couple of indian curries. I put in all the spices and right quantities as the recipies - only problem is the meat doesn't seem to absorb the flavour. What am I doing wrong?!?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!:neutral:
 
did you marinate the meat for some hours before cooking, that usually helps a lot. Also freshly ground spices (coriander, fenugreek, cardamom etc.) have much more flavour than the spices which bought already powdered. If you enjoy indian food, it may be worthwhile to invest in a pestle to ground the spices.;)
 
There is a certain technique to making curries if you want the meat to absorb the flavor and to make the entire thing come out more flavorful.

Marination as urmaniac indicated is one - so marinate the meat in some yogurt, freshly minced ginger and garlic for an hour or so before cooking

To me however the most important thing more than marination is the spices you use and how you layer the flavors.

So I never use pre-ground spices to make curries. It's easier to use whole cumin, whole corrainder, whole black pepper, cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom etc. and also dried red chillies, roast them in a dry skillet and dry grind them in a coffee grinder. You can buy small bottles of these spices and in the long run they last longer so you save money.

Another key ingredient is onions. So large onion finely chopped is a must to give good body to a curry. Finally freshly cut tomatoes (2-3 of them). Freshly grated ginger and garlic and fresh cilantro.

Lastly the technique to cooking a meat curry. Add oil to a pan and let it get hot. Add onions and let them get almost golden brown. Next add the freshly prepared spice mixture. I would add a good 2-3 tbsp (sounds like a lot but you need it) and then roast it with the onions. Add ginger and garlic and roast it a bit more, add the tomatoes and continue to cook it a bit more until the tomatoes almost disintegrate. Next add the meat and now use elbow grease to coat the meat with the thick pulpy gravy. Keep almost frying the meat with the spices and oil for atleast 10 to 15 minutes. Then add some water and let it cook until tender. You can also add some plain yogurt if you like at this point.

When you are done the gravy should be nice and thick not runny. The gravy should coat the meat nicely to give a good flavor.

Garnish with freshly chopped cilantro and I'd sometimes also garnish it with thinly slivered ginger and some finely chopped green chilies.
 
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