I disagree - every Indian restaurant I have visited from San Diego to Wisconsin has been owned or operated by former Indians who came through London or have strong connections there. My latest visit to a new restaurant about 4 weeks ago I was talking to the owner and he asked how spicy/strong I wanted the curry - when I said like London he laughed as he considered that fairly weak.

If we make it to STL this year there will be a Tandoor in my garden by spring, I'll make you a curry.......

After spending some serious time in India I'll agree that the British version of the curry is not particularly authentic indian in some cases.

That said some of the local places around here ask you how spicy/hot you want it - I've never been asked that before. One place offered a "mild vindaloo" - had me slightly perplexed.

What I'm finding over here (NJ) is that alot of the local places around me are actually run by Pakistanis rather than the Bangladeshi's I found running the places in the UK (Just ask them about cricket and you'll soon enough find out what the background of the place is).

What I am appreciating is that the places around me tend to be limited to the regional cuisine of the owner / chef and that is certainly highlighting some interesting options that I never saw in the UK Standard India (yes the one on Westbourne Grove).

What I would kill for is a Kingfisher.... but no such luck as yet.

Just wanted to say Hello All!!! Expat living in Portsmouth, VA....curry always catches my eye, lol.

We have a fantastic indian restaurant called Raj Put in the Ghent section of Norfolk, VA. Last time I checked they had Kingfisher too!!

Believe this or not, we have a wonderful curry house here in Killeen called "The Red Onion" the food is really good, almost like what i am used to, the only difference is the onion Bhaji's, they are flat, apart from that they always get a from us.

IMHO British curries are far from "authentic" - but I'm not sure authenticity is what most Expats (myself included) actually want. British-style Indian food is a cuisine in its own right and bloody gorgeous too (think of great Tex-Mex vs. real Mexican food - Tex-Mex can be great).

I've spent time in India and everything I ate was completely different to what I'd tried before - I enjoyed it, but it certainly didn't spoil British curries for me either when I got home.

To your vindaloo point: While it's been many years since I ordered a korma, people in my party here in the US have been asked whether they would like their korma mild, medium or hot.

I don't miss Kingfisher though. The US has such a great craft brewing scene that I find you have a much better chance of having decent beer in a restaurant here than in the UK. A gorgeous, strong hoppy American-style IPA with my curry - now that would be authentic!

Without reading the thread in much detail, I would say, make your own. Don't buy spices in bulk unless you're going to use them in bulk, as the fresher the spices the better.

You have the worlds largest recipe book right here.

I also grow my own coriander in the garden as well as dill for nice rice.

I don't miss anything if I can make it, and if it goes tits up, at least I've tried!!



(P.S If you're ever in Chicago try Devon Street (Pronounced DeVON) It's the largest Indian community in chicago, with many restaurants and indian grocery )

Wirelessly posted (LG-GR500/V10f Teleca/Q7.0 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 UP.Link/6.3.1.17.0)

one of the problems is time, i dont seem to have enough hours in the day to sit and play with spices etc to make my own curry.

Also i dont have a clue how.

The meijer stores arent in missouri. But we're going to the global foods market in kirkwood on friday to have a look around. Anyone been there?

What kind of curry would you WANT to make as I have an idea that might help you.

umm well korma, madras, tikka

the thing with the korma -cant taste like a lot of coconut as i hate the taste of it otherwise!

Trader Joe's makes a nice korma sauce in a jar. Costco sells a lovely tikka masala sauce locally, in the refer section.
Start there and 'improve' it at home, that's what DH likes to do.

O.K.

So discarding any store bought jars...


Korma isn't the easiest of curries to make in a rush but there's allot of nice non coconut recipes, and to be honest, when people whack a tin of coconut milk in a curry its an epic fail.

When you say Tika, do you mean Chicken Tikka Maasala? Or jist tikka chicken.

One is a curry as we know it in England and the other is grilled meat.

Now a Madras is a Madras, simple as, you can make it with whatever you have to hand, weather that be veg or meat.

Here's a recipe for a Madras Paste;




* 2 1/2 tablespoons coriander seeds, dry-roasted and ground or 2 Teaspoons of ground corainder powder
* 1 tablespoon cumin seed, dry roasted and ground
* 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
* 1/2 teaspoon cracked black peppercorns
* 1 teaspoon chili powder (such as cayenne)
* 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
* 2 crushed garlic cloves
* 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
* 3-4 tablespoons white vinegar

Mix everything well in a blender if possible and then add the vinegar a little at a time until it's a paste.

You can keep this in the fridge for up to a month or you could freeze it.

I would then fry a small onion in melted butter (Ghee) until translucent and then add chunks meat or mixed veg and then the paste a few teaspoons at a time untill everything is well covered, add a eighth of a cup of water let it simmer, covered so it doesn't dry out for 10 to 15 minutes or until meat or veg is cooked, reduce uncovered until it's where you want it to be... some people prefer a dryer curry, some folk are more saucy

If you check in the international aisle of your local supermarket you can find good pastes, but I would NOT recommend any jarred sauces.

Soooooooooooooooooooooo..........


..........when will you be over to cook this for me?

thanks for the reciepe i'll probably pass it to mil to try and make as i tend to kill everything i try to cook (even when its already dead!)

Try making your own. Try this recipe (it's really not that hot, but you control the spice, so make it how you want):

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/fo...indaloo-107088

Now that's a recipe that could use a few sprouts...