Chicken Curry and Beyond - The CurryFocus Blog

In the last newsletter we told you that we were changing the way the recipe categories work so that you could find the perfect recipe more quickly.

We have now done this and have started to update the categories in the Curry Focus recipe database.

If you click on the “Recipes” link, you’ll see the first results of this change. We’ve made the categories appear in 2 columns and in alphabetic sequence. And there are now more categories (and more to follow).

So if you want to see all of the Vindaloo recipes, you just click on the “Vindaloo Dishes” link.

And we’ve made a couple of small changes to two more pages. If you click on a recipe that has been reviewed, you now see the taste and heating ratings near the top of the page (just check out the Pork Vindaloo recipe to show this). And if you click on the Print button the recipe page, you’ll also be shown the taste and heat ratings.

We are now looking to add more options to the search function. At present, the search works on the recipe name and the recipe ingredients. We’re looking at changing this so you can also search on the website blogs - there is a lot of information in the blogs that is currently a bit hard to find.

We hope you enjoy the upgraded functions.

If you think of any changes to the website you would like to see then just let us know.

Latest Articles

Review of the Thai Green Chicken Curry Recipe
Adjusting the Heat in a Curry
Making Thai Chicken Curry With Vegetables Again

Top 5 Recipes for last month

1 Easy Chicken Curry
2 Naan Bread
3 Chicken Curry
4 Beef Curry
5 Chicken Curry (Kodi Kura)

Why not tell us the recipes that you like? You can submit a new recipe here and a restaurant here.

Some good friends were coming around for dinner this weekend and asked me to make them a Thai curry.

I read through the great Curry Focus curries and found one that I had made, and reviewed, before but I had forgotten to note the heat rating. It was the Thai Chicken Curry with Vegetables recipe and I decided to make it again so that I could get the heat rating.

I’m know that not everybody likes spicy, hot, curries and it is important that people know what they are getting if they cook a curry.

The recipe was very easy to follow and the dinner guests arrived just as the rice went into the microwave.

Just like the first time, the curry was simply stunning. It was a typical Thai curry, being light and having a great coconut taste. And it was very spicy with a rating of medium to hot. It received a score of 8.5 out of 10, which was down slightly on the score of 9 that it received the first time that I made it.

What I found interesting was that I followed the recipe, but not exactly. I am definitely a lot more relaxed about cooking curries than I was a year ago. The chicken stock came in a packet of 375ml (12 fl oz) and I used it all. And I forgot to buy carrots so substituted courgettes (zuccini).

If you like Thai curries, you must try this recipe.

The principal ingredient that gives curry its “heat” is chilli.

And a curry becomes hotter when you use more chilli.

There are 3 main different ways how chilli gets into curries – as chopped fresh chilli, chilli powder or curry powder (all curry powders have chilli in them).

There are two great Curry Focus articles about what puts the heat into chillies and the Scoville scale of chilli heat that gives a good description of chillies and their heat.

You’ll see from these articles that the type of chilli also affects the heat level.

This is not an article that describes the merits of using fresh chilli, chilli powder or curry powder – that is entirely your choice.

The best plan is to choose one type of chilli, brand of chilli powder or curry powder (you often don’t know what quantities or types of chilli are in these powders but most producers will try to keep their product tastes and heat levels consistent).

If using fresh chillies, you have to choose whether to use the seeds as well as the flesh of the fresh chillies.

Once you’ve chosen your chilli (with or without seeds), chilli powder or curry powder then it’s all a matter of quantity.

If you make a particular curry using a single chilli and the curry is mild, then it’s a certainty that following the same recipe but using 2 chillies will result in a hotter curry – and using 3 chillies will be even hotter.

If you follow a curry recipe and the result is too hot for you, then using less chilli will make it milder.

In the end, it’s all a matter of personal taste and experimentation.

You do need to be sensible about the curry heat. If you like really hot curries but are cooking for somebody that only eats mild curries, you need to tone down the heat or cook 2 separate curries with different heat levels.

There’s a great article that you can read about how to cool down a curry that’s too hot.

If you’re throwing a curry dinner party, you can make several small curries with a variety of heat levels so that everyone can find something that they enjoy.

Here’s one last word of caution. If you’re guessing about how much chilli to put into a curry, then make sure that you err on the low side because nobody likes a curry that is too hot.

Enjoy your curries.