Bhoona - An Essential Technique
curry, indian
1 text file
Bhoonas are dry curries with a rich, creamy coconut sauce. Here is something from "The Bombay Palace Cookbook" by Stendhal which I thought may interest you.
To bhoona is an essential of authentic Indian cooking. It is a technique not found in other cuisines, but in Western terms bhoo na-ing resembles a combination of braising and sauteing. Reduc tion is a French technique that also comes close.
To "bhoona" a dish means to reduce the liquids to a "dry" state, to a kind of paste. A dry curry is one which has been bhoonad so that there is little or no gravy. Actually, one can make additional gravy simply be bhoona-ing first and then adding a small quantity of water. A good Indian chef always keeps a cup of water handy so that he can sprinkle a few drops of water into the pot if a bhoona mixture has neared the scorching point.
There are two reasons for using the bhoona technique. Since Indians eat without knife, fork or spoon, and use a bit of bread or a small mound of rice as a scoop, it is easier to manage a "dry" dish than one with lots of gravy. Bhoona-ing is also an important technique at the stove because drying the mixture by constant stirring over high heat encourages all of the spices and juices to enter the meat or vegetables to give them the fullest flavour.
The bhoona technique means that the meat is cooked over medium- high heat, with constant stirring, until all liquids are reduced and the spices coat the meat like a paste. About half a cup of water can then be added, the dish covered, and a gravy created as the dish becomes re liquified again.
A simple master recipe for the technique follows:
1) Heat the oil or butter. 2) Add the spices called for, and stir fry over medium high or high heat until a paste is formed. This often takes only half a minute. 3) Add the meat mixture and stir to coat the meat well with the paste. 4) Add the dry masala and - if the recipe does not call for a wet vegetable such as a tomato - add half a cup of water. 5) Bhoona again for 15 to 29 minutes. 6) If you wish more sauce, add quarter cup water, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
Note: When bhoona-ing, it may be necessary to sprinkle meat mixture with a few drops of water to keep it from scorching.
kishore.namjoshi@jwbbs.com
From: Kishore Namjoshi Date: 24 Feb 97 National Cooking Echo Ä
Yield: 1 servings