Us Geordies love a good curry and are blessed with many amazing Indian restaurants in Newcastle to dine out at.
Sometimes, however, you want to enjoy a curry in the comfort of your own home and we've all tried to replicated our favourite Indian dishes in our own kitchens with wildly variable results and the odd disaster too.
So, we caught up with Federico Khamaneh, restaurant manager of award-winning local Indian restaurant Dabbawal, to try and find out what we're doing wrong.
Image: Dabbawal
Dabbawal offers a distinctive take on the Mumbai street food delivered to office workers across the city by dabbawalas – essentially the West Indian take on Deliveroo – and has a reputation for really tasty and inventive food, with a lot of dishes you wouldn’t see on a regular Indian restaurant menu so Federico is the perfect person to ask about cooking curry.
To start off, we asked him about the sort of food Dabbawal serves and what region it’s from.
“India is a vast country. Every region is very distinct with its own culture, history and dialect.” Federico explains.
“Several factors influence how certain dishes are prepared across India - things like weather, culture and religion. Although our heroes the dabbawalas originated from Mumbai, here at Dabbawal we have been gathering tasty dishes from across the India since 2008, with some of the curries on our menu being from southern parts of India - places like Madras and Kerala - and some of the grill dishes with origins in Punjab and Rajasthan.”
Image: Dabbawal
And if somebody wanted to regularly cook authentic curries at home, what would their store cupboard always need – what are the basics of Indian cooking?
“Try to avoid going for supermarket curry paste jars; instead get out of your comfort zone and get hold of some cumin seeds, dry chillies, coriander seeds etc. It’s so much fun to roast and blend your spices at home and as a reward, you will get some amazing aromas in your homemade dishes.”
And what do you think the main problems are when people try and cook at home – where are they going wrong?
“Often they’re trying too hard! Rather than attempting to remake the curry you had last week at your favourite restaurant, try to make a classic comfort food style curry instead, this is more basic yet extremely tasty! At Dabbawal we call it the ‘Khala Curry’ (the ‘auntie curry’ )! It’s made every day by our lady in charge of the kitchen - it’s simple, tasty and doesn’t involve a lot of complicated preparations.”
Image: Dabbawal
And what is the key to getting the base sauce right?
“Roast your spices, use good quality juicy tomatoes, caramelise and sweat your onions. Don’t rush it, slow cook it!”
We asked Federico to recommend the simplest but tastiest curry recipe he could think of and give us the recipe, and happily he obliged.
“It’s got to be our Bengali Chicken Curry”, he explains. “It’s simple, vibrant, spicy yet full of flavours - the smoky mustard seeds and fresh coriander make it the ultimate comfort curry for a cold night!”
Read on for a step-by-step rundown of how to make Dabbawal's delicious Bengali Chicken Curry at home.
Image: Dabbawal's Bengali Chicken Curry
Ingredients (serves 4):
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 large onions, diced
- 1 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
- 2 large tomatoes, diced
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast fillets cut into bite-size pieces
- 8 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
- Holy basil leaves, to garnish
Method:
- Heat oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat.
- Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for approx 5 mins until translucent.
- Add garlic and ginger paste and cook for 5 mins.
- Reduce heat, add tomatoes and cook for 5-10 mins.
- Add spices and cook for 5 mins.
- Add the chicken, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 mins.
- Add coriander, simmer for another 10 mins.
- Serve garnished with holy basil.
That looks pretty simple and it’s bound to be very, very tasty. Finally, we asked Federico if he had any tips for adding a little extra something – a special twist – to our homemade curries?
“Adding a twist is simple but you need to get the basics right - cook authentic recipes first and do not compromise or cut corners. Use premium ingredients - grade A vegetables and the best cuts of meat. Cook with passion and then don’t be scared to add your own personal twist, but when you do, do it in small quantities. Remember - it’s easier to add than to reduce flavours!”
Image: Federico at Dabbawal
So there you have it, an expert but pleasingly simple guide to mastering curries in your own home. But if it all goes horribly wrong, or if you just want to get away from the kitchen for the night, you should definitely head to Dabbawal where their wonderful menu is bound to have exactly what you need – flavour, spice, freshness and invention galore... and talented chefs who'll do all the hard work for you, of course!
Dabbawal is tucked away on High Bridge and opens at midday every day. And they deliver!
