Everytime i make salan/hand im trying to achieve that thin soupy effect almost watery but full of flavour with a nice colour and oil floating on top but i can never get it right.
Mine turns out thick… if i add water to thin it out it doesn’t look right or weakens the taste…i thought maybe i should add less tomato but then i get a really powdery taste with stil no oil on top.
I try adding more oil even then it still does not work. Please help, what should i be doing?
Re: what am i doing wrong??
If only color is the problem, try 1 tsp paprika
and if texture is also a problem, how much onion are you using? perhaps u need to add more onion to make curry?
Re: what am i doing wrong??
OMG I face the same prb no mtter wot i do my gravy gets thick or watery. even if its salan type, by the time i swich off gas or eat the nxt day it gets thick
Re: what am i doing wrong??
colour isnt so much the problem but i wil try paprika anyway..try something new.
its more the appearance and texture. When i go to dawats at extended family’s etc they make things like chicken/ghosht or kofte handi the soup is thin and watery but isnt weak in taste nor powdery like mine.
Re: what am i doing wrong??
Shona , I had this problem , until I experimented and realized there were a few things going wrong … so here’s what I learnt:
1- Make sure you dont mash the onion into a paste when you start cooking … thinly slice the onions and then add them to really hot oil and start stirring them , then immediately lower the heat .. add a splash of water if you have to , to stop them getting brown quickly … after that let them cook on lowest heat setting … cover the pot and occasionally add splash of water ..
The logic behind it : Adding onions to really hot Oil , help onion release its full flavour … immediately splashing a bit of water , helps soften it and stop it from cooking a bit too quickly … and then lowering the heat and frying it with covered pot ,helps soften the onions and taste remains brilliant throughout …
Then add ginger garlic like normal … when its time for you to add the tomatoes , cut then into chunks but dont mash them .. and fry them along with the basic masala.
If the tomatoes are mashed or too soft they turn into a thick gravy … but if they are slightly hard and cubed , then they cook fine and release their flavour too … ensure all this cooking is done on low medium heat …
when the stage comes to add water in the end … if the khana hasnt already released enough oil , it means that the gravy wont have oil on top ! what it means is that your dish isnt yet ready, and you need to cook it more until it releases oil properly … either turn up the heat and cook it covered or stir it continuously on medium heat , without adding any water , so the khana will start releasing oil… once that happens, add the water . Ensure its not too much , otherwise khana will lose its taste …
Here’s the trick : if you add water but dont cook the dish enough , the water remains raw and doesnt gel well with the rest of the dish … and separates , eventually you feel the salan has lost its taste … So when you add water , cover the dish and let it cook on medium low heat for a good half hour. ( you have to time it correctly as to when you add water into the khana otherwise the rest of the contents in the handi will turn into a paste ! )
If you feel the oil hasnt come on the top , continue cooking it … until it releases oil.
What i noticed was that sometimes my dishes wouldnt release oil , but the minute i would heat then in the microwave , the oil would come on top ! thats when i realized that khana isnt getting cooked to that level ki oil release ho jaye bi .
So yeah , good luck and let me know if you have any questions ..
Re: what am i doing wrong??
maybe you need to cook more. to get thick gravy you should use more onions and if u want one cup gravy for example, add 2 or more cup water and cook it so well till its about one cup. this way it wont be weak in taste.
Re: what am i doing wrong??
Even though I haven’t done too much cooking myself, my mum does it & taught me exactly the same things CB has mentioned.
Re: what am i doing wrong??
thanks for your comments
@CB < I will definitely try out your method…i think im not allowing the oil and masala to separate long enough maybe thats an issue as well.
Re: what am i doing wrong??
shona , yes thats a core problem … coz if you dont let the oil separate nice enough , it wont separate later on and will only ruin the taste … so you gotta be patient as much as you can and let it be there for a bit before adding water to it …
You know when i make koftay , after adding water, I just lower the hit, cover the pot and forget about the salan for a good half hour. when i uncover the pot after half hour , the oil floats on the top and I get a nice thin curry