There’s no real guideline other than that. That’s why it’s so different from restaurant to restaurant. Kind of like balti in the UK.
Bhuna is the mystery curry
I think bhuna varies so much in restaurants because technically it’s not a dish. It’s a way of cooking. By definition spices are gently fried and then meat is added. The whole thing is left to stew in it’s own juices. At the end, you wind up really big flavours and not a lot of sauce. Super concentrated curry. I’ve looked at quite a few definitions of bhuna and it seems to come down to a curry with onions, garlic, tomatoes, chilies and spices. That’s what this Indian restaurant bhuna curry recipe is all about.
I hope the curry police don’t come and take me away for misleading people with this post. Or worse yet, take away my spices and condemn me to cooking curry with pre-fab curry powder for the rest of my life. This is a master Indian restaurant bhuna curry recipe. You can make it with pre-cooked chicken, lamb, beef or use paneer, pre-cooked potatoes or eggplant for vegetarian options.
Bloom the spices in oil
Enough oil to fry the spices. That is a fundamental rule to Indian restaurant style curries. You can’t get around it. Too little oil and your spices will stick. They will burn. Not good. It may seem like a lot of oil but it’s necessary. I’ve tried rolling back on it. It doesn’t work. Pretty much guaranteed to fail. And frying spices is what makes bhuna curry what it is. Any curry really. It’s worth the extra calories.
Prep is key for Indian restaurant style curry cooking
Do your prep. That’s important. Make your curry base and have some heated and ready to go. Pre-cook your meat. Measure out your ingredients. Have everything ready. Put on an apron – a bit of splatter is part of the fun. If you have not yet read the guide to Indian restaurant technique yet, do it now. It has pictures to help you understand the recipe. There’s a video there so you can see for yourself. And a guide to Indian ingredients in that post. Indian restaurant bhuna curry. It may not trace it’s roots back to a famous Indian dish but it delicious. And that’s really all that matters…
