Bland-o-Riffic Chicken Curry!

[thoreau]

Okay - Chicken Curry.

I used this recipe - plus I added chunks of pineapple as it was simmering.

It looked delicious as I plated it up but past that? It was surprisingly bland-o-riffic! You could taste the basic ingredients - but it had no "THATS DAMN FINE CURRY" hotness or 'warmth.' I used a recipe I found on the internet and David suggests that it was perhaps "watered down" for western tastes and I need to find another recipe. What a delightful way of saying "Honey - thats the most bland curry-like chicken I have ever had. now what else is there to eat?"

LOL! Do any of you LJ cooks out there have tips on what I might do better?

He adored and has repeatedly complimented the crockpot jumbalaya I made yesterday for the dinner party - so I didn't strike completely out.

Comments

[chef2b.livejournal.com]

I have a book on Indian cuisine back at the apartment. Will check it tomorrow night and see what they say about curry.

Curry Journeys

[bootedintexas.livejournal.com]

well i see a couple of issues. Cooks.com - middle america tasteless food.

Would suggest A LOT more curry powder. and use ground cinnamon instead of a stick.
cayun pepper in small doses depending on hotness enjoyment level.

i actually prefer not to use a whole can of coconut milk it tends to reduce the other flavors. using 3 cups of liquid against your spices will make it bland.

just a friendly bear's point of view, who's next?

[geometrician.livejournal.com]

There are many different blends of curry powders. Depending your spice preferences, some may seem to have barely any flavor. If you have a Penzey's spice shop in SF, I recommend looking there, as they have several varieties of curry. They also sell online and have a mail catalog.

Another thing you might look at is curry pastes/sauces. There is a line called Patak's, which is available in most big groceries. It comes in jam-sized jars with a purple label, in many different styles and flavors. Once you have worked with curry paste, you probably will not want to ever use curry powder again.

[oscarlikesbugsy.livejournal.com]

I'm compelled to chime in to concur.

The only curry I've personally had meaningful success with is a Thai Curry, and I use paste (maybe paste preserves the essential oils better? who knows?).

I spent an entire free afternoon, one day, trying to 'dress up' and 'dress down' (add sweet touches) to a (yellow) curry powder I bought, and I finally gave up.

I'm not a big curry fan; but every now and then, I just have a _terrible_ hankering for some!

follow-up

[oscarlikesbugsy.livejournal.com]

Apparently, we are not alone, those with watery messes.

Found this, going looking for a Malaysian Chicken Recipe...

"I confess, I once did not cook Curry Chicken well. My Curry Chicken was always too watery, had too much curry powder, or was too loaded with coconut milk. Despite numerous attempts and countless trials and errors, it just never tasted right — frustrating me to no end.

Argh.

I eventually gave up trying…quietly accepting defeat and the brutal fact that ..."

It has a happy ending!

http://www.rasamalaysia.com/recipe-malaysian-curry-chicken/

[jhitchin.livejournal.com]

Consider my speed as far as curry goes is House's Vermont Curry Mild, I probably can't help you here.

[excessor.livejournal.com]

Manjula to Marge: And that chicken! Tandoori? More like bland-oori!

My experience is that the grocery store bottles of curry are nice, but not great. They might give a good spectrum of tastes, but if you're looking for hot too, you won't find it there. Could you just add some chinese chilis? There's always hot sauce, but I think it doesn't mix well with food other than to make it furnace hot.

There are tons of Indian groceries in the area—you could always go there. Also, there is a restaurant I think you'd like in Mountain View called Spice Islands. It's probably not even 15 minutes from David's house.

[sunbeam-bears.livejournal.com]

For one of our "off diet" dinners, I am still looking for a good Chicken Bombay recipe, the ones I've found were lacking. I am especially on the lookout for a recipe with lots of curry, chutney,chicken, in a mushroom cream sauce. I think I'll have to make one up on my own.

[septimuswarren.livejournal.com]

I cannot speak to the watery nature of the sauce. I'm curious, however, as to why you put pineapple into the recipe? You said it looked good when you put it on the plate. Did you taste it first for spices? Finally, I'd verity the authenticness of the recipe. My inclination would be to hit an Indian or a Thai web site or cookbook, but that might just be my own bias.

[low-fat-muffin.livejournal.com]

My mom always put pineapple in her curry. thats why... (wink) - - probably to get me to eat it. The sauce was perfect looking - and tasted lovely but the simmer took all the zest out rather than intensifying the flavor. The sauce wasn't watery - David's reference to "watered down" was the lack of heat or curryful taste. LOL! It was a perfectly good chicken with rice, tomatoes and pineapple. LOL! it just wasn't curry. :)

Talk to the grannies

[ursusarctos.livejournal.com]

Bob, I'm no expert but have been trying my hand at curries and south asian cooking for the last several years.
I quiz the ladies at the asian groceries for ideas and how to use ingredients. They're ALWAYS glad to help out fuzzy, curious, anglos. :D
Four ideas from the pictures.
1. Try using a bit more roux. I am now using "gram flour" (garbanzo bean flour) because it's lower carb and what several of the asian grannies swear by.
2. Instead of coconut milk, use coconut cream and cut back on the amount used. Another granny tip.
3. The tinned curry pastes have a much stronger flavor and are easier to sample for taste as you cook. Don't bother with the american brands. Go for what you can buy in the asian groceries. (side note - vegetables are also usually fresher and cheaper in asian markets). The "red curry" paste is usually hotter than the yellow. It's more work to balance the flavors until you know what combinations you like. The tinned paste makes finding your flavor preferences easier. Store bought powders are OK depending on the source. I make curries using home made masala when I'm feeling real chefy, but don't mind opening a can of paste for a quick satisfying meal.
4. Fresh ginger, fresh garlic, cumin and coriander seeds, and chilies (fresh, paste, powders) will be your new friends before long.

[balanceinchaos.livejournal.com]

Hmmm....

My first thought of the recipe is "only 2 tablespoons?!?" I put that much in my curry-coconut pumpkin bread!

My second thought is "get better cury"... though I generally use dried, grocery store curry I've also tried the better pastes and powdered from indian & tai food stores and if you're looking for hot, that's the place to get your stuff. (I bet you could probably get good curry from Fresh Market or Whole Foods as well).

As for that recipe... I'd triple all the spice loads, change the cinnamon to powder and put 1 tbs in the mix.

Add either black pepper or a limited tai pepper to heat it up!

[boise-arts.blogspot.com (from livejournal.com)]

I noticed three things: 1) There's no red pepper flakes in your recipe. They're an ingredient in a lot of curry recipes I have, and can be added to the other spices when you cook them in oil. 2) Your recipe doesn't have any fresh green chillies in it. Those are a MUST. Dice a couple of those mothers up and put them in and you've got heat. 3) Your curry looks awfully watery in the picture above; you say it wasn't, but it looks it. Using coconut milk is supposed to give you a nice, creamy texture, but you lose all that -- and probably a lot of the heat and flavor -- when you dump in 2 whole cups of chicken stock. I'd cut back on the chicken stock before the coconut milk just because I like that texture. But as some commenters have pointed out, coconut milk does have a tendency to cool dishes down. You may want to bump up some of the spices to compensate, although cutting back the liquid and adding the green chillies may be all it takes. Another suggestion: Keep some spicy chutney on hand. Chutney : Indian food :: Salsa : Mexican food. Maya Kaimal has some of the tastiest chutneys I've ever had, but they're kind of mild. So flavorful, though. As for other store-bought chutneys, I've had better luck with some than others. The cilantro one I bought is just nasty. But it's hard to go wrong with mango chutneys. Or you can make your own homemade chutney! I have a few recipes, but sadly they're in a book that's packed away where I can't get to it. I think one was an onion chutney where you just put a small onion and a few fresh green chillies in a food processor, and maybe a little curry powder or lime juice or something I can't really remember. Simple and awesome. There were some sweeter recipes, too -- I think one was coconut? Try looking for some chutney recipes; they're easy and flavorful, and it's much easier to customize their heat factor on the fly just by adding some more chillies than it would be to fix a curry. Then if your curry's not hot enough, just add a little chutney on top.

[low-fat-muffin.livejournal.com]

would you mind identifying yourself? your comment comes through from "blogspot" without your name. I just like to know is all. (no biggy!)

Yeah- it's apparent this wasn't the best recipe to start with --- but thats how you learn right? :)