Posts by The Editor
Phaal (Phall, Phal) Curry
Phaal or Phall is one of the hottest curries you will find on the menu. With the hottest chillies and often a large amount of chilli powder, this is not a curry for the feint hearted.
Phall is basically a thick, tomato based curry made with Habanero or Scotch Bonnet peppers (sometimes 10 to 12 of them). It originated in Indian Restaurants in the UK (Birmingham) so it’s not the most “authentic” dish and shouldn’t be mixed up with Phaal from Bangalore which is char-grilled without sauce and eaten as finger-food.
Read MoreCassia Bark
Cassia Bark is also referred to as Chinese cinnamon and even bastard cinnamon (!), this is one of several species of cinnamon used mainly for its aroma. The buds are also used as a spice in Indian cooking. Cassia is shown on the right on the photo, Ceylon cinnamon on the left. Background Cassia Bark…
Read MoreNutmeg
Ground or grated nutmeg has a warm and sweet smell but in its original form is a large hard oval seed, which is brown in colour. It is traditionally associated with cosy and warming winter food and drink but actually grows in much warmer climates. Background Nutmeg is the inner seed of the peach like…
Read MoreRed Chillies
Red chilli peppers are popular as a cooking ingredient and give a hot flavour to dishes. However, they also have several applications for health and wellbeing. The heat of your curry is generally determined by the amount and type of chilli peppers used in the recipe. There are many types of red chillies, all of…
Read MoreCurry Powder Mix
Curry powder is a mixture of spices based on South Asian cuisine. A similar spice blend exists in the north, called garam masala. Although you can buy ready made curry powder, it’s easy to make your own using everyday spices you will find at your local supermarket.
We have several different curry powder mix recipes on the site so once you’ve tried one, it is good to experiment.
Read MoreChicken Colombo
Colombo is a Creole curry from the French West Indies and is equivalent to Indian Curry. It originates from Sri Lanka and was brought to the French-Caribbean by Indian immigrants who came during the 19th and 20th century to work on the sugar plantations.
They brought curry powder along with them. Colombo is a thick curry which is seasoned with Poudre de Colombo and is like a stew made with chicken, goat, lamb or pork.
Read MoreAsian Chefs honoured at House of Commons
Scotland, Manchester and London Awards Launch Asian Catering Federation announces training and recruitment programme to tackle skills shortage Over 170 VIP guests attended a celebratory dinner at the House of Commons on Thursday 12th March, to honour the winners of the Asian & Oriental Chef Awards and to launch this year’s Asian Restaurant Awards and…
Read MoreHow Many Curry Houses are there in the UK?
17,000 (!) Indian restaurants will vanish from the highstreet in the upcoming decade according to Yawar Khan, chairman of the Asian Catering Federation (ACF). That seemed like an awful lot and started us thinking – how many curry restaurants are there in the UK? And are there really so many vanishing? The Growth of Curry…
Read MoreThe History of Curry
The History of Curry You probably know that curry comes from India and that there are many different curry dishes. But what were its origins? And how did it end up in the UK? In this blog we’ll be answering those questions. The History of Curry in India The story of curry goes all the…
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