What is Curry?

After reading this page you will understand the magic around the word “curry" and how using these spices in various combinations and proportions can carve out different exotic flavors of gourmet Indian dishes.

Myth:  Curry is the one "magical" spice that is used in all Indian dishes.

Not true.

Instead it is a combination of a multitude of dried and fresh spices cooked in an oil medium with a sauce made from pureed tomatoes, yogurt, cream, onions, garlic and ginger along with a variety of the commonest spices such as cloves, cinnamon, star anise, bay leaves, chili, cumin, coriander and turmeric to name a few.

Myth:  Indian food is hot and so curry is "hot".

Not true.

You can cook any Indian dish at any spice level.

Here is your guide to Bombay Kitchen's styles of curry sauces!

The Moghul dynasty ruled India for over three hundred years and left behind a fabulous legacy of sumptuous cuisines.

The Moghul style (Moghulai synonymous to Shahi) implies rich and creamy and plenty of ginger, garlic, ground almonds, yogurt and cream.

Dum biryani Biryani (origin Persian-Moghulai) is not a curry but the curry  connection comes from the mixed vegetable curry used during cooking this gourmet dish served with Raitha. Available in three unique styles of cooking at Bombay Kitchen. Checkout our menu "Wonders of Basmati rice"

Kasmiri style -garnished with saffron, mixed nuts, raisins, fruits and vegeatbles. Hyderabadi style -the nawabi styles of cooking with red chili sauce and cooked with meat stock. Lucknowi style -cooked with brown sauce in Moghulai style.dum- is a cooking process.

A steam pressure technique of cooking marinated meats and rice to enable the flavors of the spies to aromatize and permeate into the meats and rice.Available in Lamb, chicken, shrimps or vegetarian no meat biryanis.

Bhuna is first and foremost a roasting process where spices are gently roasted or at times also alternatively fried in plenty of oil to bring out their flavor. The dish "bhuna" is an extension of that process where meat is added to the spices and then cooked in its own juices which results in deep strong flavors left dry and with very little sauce.(Menu item#7 Chicken Bhuna) (Menu item#6 Shrimp Bhuna) and (Menu item#8 fish Bhuna)

Chicken tikka masala is the all time most popular dish on the Bombay Kitchen restaurant menu.The chicken tikka pieces are aromatic and slightly smoky from the tandoor. The masala sauce is well spiced but not hot, smooth and creamy.

Dopyaza- ( do meaning "2" and pyaza meaning onion) is a classic Indian dish with origins to Moghul times. Some traditional versions of the Dopyaza use twice the weight of onions compared to the weight of meat but a classic Indian Dopyaza is more likely to use the onions in 2 different ways, fried and boiled, at different stages of the cooking. The Bombay Kitchen chefs use a small portion of fried onion in the sauce and then larger chunks of lightly cooked onion are added towards the end of the cooking. Recommended to be eaten at Medium hot level.

(Menu item#8 Chicken Dopyaza under Chicken) (Menu item#7 Shrimp Dopyaza under Seafoods) and (Menu item#6 Lamb Dopyaza Under Lamb and goat)

Jalfrazie like the bhuna is also a method of cooking. It literally can be translated to mean "hot-fry". The term jalfrezi was used at the time of the British colonial times in India. The chefs at Bombay Kitchen use the Jalfrazie method to stir-fry green and red bell peppers, onions and green chillies to make the base for the sauce. The chillies make the Jalfrazie taste very fresh but also make it one of the hotter curries on the restaurant's menu item#10 Chicken Jalfrazie under Chicken.The Bomaby Kitchen chefs can cook the Jalfrazie with any of your choice of meats.

Kadai: A wok with 2 handles Used for stir-frying dishes over high heat and also used as a serving dish.(Menu item # 4 Lamb and Goat Kadai), (Menu item#6 Chicken Kadai) and ( Menutem#16 Paneer KadaiMeat and Paneer stir fried and cooked with green peppers, tomatoes and onions and derive their name from the kadai in which they are cooked. Best when eaten at spice level 6 and above (scale of 10).

Keema minced meat, usually lamb.Menu Item#2 Appetizers Meat samosa and Items #8-12 Lamb and goat keema curries.

Korma is not one particular dish but a method of cooking similar to braising. Because korma is a cooking method there are a wide variety of dishes that could be described as "korma". Many kormas call for the meat to be marinated in yogurt and then the meat plus the marinade are braised on a very low heat until all the juices condense down into a thick gravy sauce.

The korma ontains almond paste, coconut and thick cream.To enjoy a sumptuous korma dish at Bombay Kitchen from our menu please order at "medium to high spice level. A good korma should not taste bland. (Menu Item # 1- Lamb korma Lamb and Goat, menu item# 4 and 18 Navratna Korma and Paneer shahi Korma - Vegetarian, item#2 Chicken korma in Chicken) and menu item #2 Shrimp Korma under Seafood).

Lamb Saag s a classic curry traditionally made with spinach and lamb. Saag is, strictly speaking, a general term for tender green leaves such as spinach, mustard greens and fresh fenugreek leaves. If you were talking about spinach on its own it would be called palak. The saag is usually served medium hot and is made in the bhuna style (Menu Item # 2- Lamb Saag Lamb and Goat, menu item# 15 Palak Paneer- Vegetarian, item#4 Chicken Saag in Chicken).

"Madras"- a traditional recipe from the Madras restaurants and can be hot or very hot, Red or brown, a hotter version of a plain curry or quite rich in tomatoes. Served mostly with plenty of sauce and is strongly spiced. (Menu item# 14 Lamb Madras spicy- Lamb and Goat)

Pappadam roasted crispy wafers made with lentil flour. Served warm as an appetizer accompanied by tamarind-molasses chutney.

Paratha A flat, unleavened bread enriched with butter. Similar to a chapati but thicker and layered to give a flaky texture. Can be stuffed with a spicy filling of mashed vegetables or minced meat.

Pasanda- derived from a court dish of the Moghul emperors.

The pasanda is traditionally made with thinly sliced and marinated lamb fillets. It is sometimes called lamb badam (almond) pasanda because the dish contains ground almonds cardamon pods, puréed tomatoes and cream.  (Menu Items #17 Lamb Pasanda-Lamb and goat.)

Rogan josh is another all time favorite.It is originally a Kashmiri dish but is equally at home in the Punjab and Lucknow. Bombay Kitchen's authentic rogan josh is made with fresh boneless lamb and contains dozens of spices.

The Kashmiri and Punjabi styles do differ (the Kashmiri does not traditionally contain onions or garlic but nuts) but they are both highly spiced and share a deep reddish brown color derived from the liberal use of brown spices and dried red chilies.It is best eaten at a medium hot spice level.

Saag refers to spinach on our menu. Traditionally it would mean fresh mustard, fenugreek leaves, or spinach.

Samosa Deep fried triangular pastries filled with either spiced vegetables or minced lamb.

Seekh Kabobs A long sausage shaped kabob made with spiced minced lamb. Cooked in the tandoor.

Shashlik Chunks of marinated chicken or lamb threaded onto a skewer with pieces of onion, pepper and tomato and cooked either in the tandoor or over a char-grill. Shashlik is often served on extremely hot cast iron dishes which cause the juices to sizzle while the dish is being brought to the table. It is sometimes therefore known as "chicken sizzler".(Menu Item "Tikka" Treasures from the Clay Oven).

Vindaloo origins from Goa ( a Portuguese colony during colonial India) inheritted from the Portuguese dish which took its name from the 2 main ingredients which were "vinho" means vinegar, and "alhos", garlic.

Over time it has been improvished and spiced up. A common misconception and mis-interpretation of the "aloo" part of the name as meaning potato.( Menu item # 5 vegetable Vindaloo-Vegetarian), (Menu item#3 Lamb Vindaloo in Lamb and Goat) and ( Menutem#5 chicken Vindaloo in Chicken) garnished with fried green bell peppers and shredded onions. Usually eaten at a hot spicy level.

Tandoor- a barrel shaped clay oven. Traditionally fired with charcoal.The enclosed nature of the oven, the thick walls and the fierce heat source mean that wall temperatures can reach up to 250ºC. Nan breads are stuck onto the inner walls of the oven and cook in seconds. Tandoori chicken and kabobs are threaded onto skewers and let down into the oven for rapid cooking in the high heat. Chicken quarters can take as little as 5 minutes to cook.

Tandoori chicken - Chicken quarters which have been marinated in yogurt and spices and then cooked in the tandoor.

Tikka -means "little pieces". Tikkas are small chunks of chicken or lamb which have been marinated in yogurt and spices and then threaded onto

skewers and cooked in a tandoor or over a char-grill. Chicken tikka can be served dry or added to a rich creamy sauce to make the famous chicken tikka masala. As with tandoori chicken, the red color of tikka and the same color in tikka masala comes from red tangy sauce.