Curry Compendium: Misty Ricardo's Curry Kitchen

Product Information

Having tried unsucessfully to reproduce BIR (British Indian Restaurant style) curry many years ago, albeit with limited resources, I resigned myself to thinking the amazing flavour was out of reach for home cooks. How the (mainly Bangladeshi) chefs created their divine-tasting food was seemingly a closely-guarded secret and inaccessible to everyone else.

This is by far the best curry cookbook out there. Anyone who wants to master good curries at home will consider this a “must have” cookbook. It will be used over and over and will keep curry lovers happy with new curries for months on end.My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this cookbook in exchange for an honest review. The book is beautifully illustrated and the style of writing is engaging, taking the reader from the basics to more involved recipes in a no-nonsense practical style. I particularly enjoyed the hints and tips which the author shares with the reader throughout, gained from his many years mastering the cuisine. It contains chapters on starters, classic curries, special dishes, extra hot curries, vegeatable curries, side dishes, rice and breads and sundries, not to mention a selection of mouthwatering street food and specialities.

Next add 75ml of base gravy, stir once, then leave to fry until the sauce has reduced a little, the oil surfaces, and the small craters appear again. As a Kindle book, it was unreadable. I lost count of the number of times parts of two sections were juxtaposed within each other, so that neither made sense. Or that the font suddenly changed mid sentence so that the 8- or 10-point paragraph suddenly became a column of single words in 48 point. Or a 4-step recipe showed us only step 1 and step 4. World Cookbook award for best UK Self-Published Cookbook, 2019 and 2020 respectively, and have sold

British Indian Restaurant 

This beautiful cookbook will educate everyone – from beginners to seasoned cooks – on the basics of British Indian Restaurant Curry (BIR) including spices, pantry supplies, and most importantly, step by step photographs to making perfect curry every time. Sayce has included a chapter on making premixed spices at home so they can be at the ready whenever someone craves curry, and also how to precook the meats for curries. No need to use jarred sauces (which really aren’t very good anyway). Once a few recipes are followed in this book, having to go out for curry will be a thing of the past. There are also recipes for traditional accompaniments, such as Onion Bhaji, pakoras, and samosas. This cookbook also includes gorgeous photographs. Inspirational, no-nonsense and practical - A treasure trove of traditional and lesser known recipes I’ve been interested in cooking since an early age, and have always loved Indian food. My passion led me to learn all about how curry is cooked in restaurants and takeaways here in the UK, which was my first experience of Indian food. Curry in the UK is massive business, contributing billions of pounds to the British economy, with most British towns having at least one Indian restaurant (although curry dishes in the UK are generally Indian dishes modified for British tastes). Now you can create your own BIR (British Indian Restaurant) style curries in the comfort of your own home with Misty Richardo’s Curry Compendium by Richard Sayce (aka Misty Ricardo).

Richard Sayce, the man behind Misty Ricardo’s Curry Kitchen and the Indian Cookbooks Indian Restaurant Curry at Home Volumes 1 & 2, and Curry Compendium, has many years experience in the world of Indian food. A love of curry from an early age motivated him to master the art of BIR (British Indian Restaurant) cooking and to share his passion with others.

METHOD (Stage 2)

This book really opened my eyes as to how easy BIR (British Indian Restaurant) cooking can be and how to get good tasting curries right at home. Add the very finely chopped onions and cook for 60-90 seconds until the onions are translucent and showing signs of starting to brown. Add the ginger/garlic paste half way into that time. Stir frequently to stop the ginger/garlic paste burning. Overall, if you love a curry and would love to recreate the taste of a takeaway or restaurant meal then Richard Sayce’s (aka Misty Ricardo) Curry Compendium is definitely the recipe book to own. It is simple and straightforward to read and understand, without being pretentious, and explains all the steps in detail as well as the reasons why things need to be done a certain way. Fry for 20-30 seconds, stirring diligently. If the mixture dries out add a splash of base gravy (e.g. 30ml) to avoid burning the spices and give them enough time to cook properly. If you read this cookbook/guide carefully, you will be able to churn out Tikka Masala, Rogan Josh and a whole host of your favourite dishes. Be prepared for some high heat for your taste buds as well as in the kitchen as you serve up some of the delicious recipes in this very well written cookbook.