What pot to use when cooking Indian curries

[snax]

What kind of dish do you use when making an Indian curry dish such as green curry chicken, beef vindaloo, rogan josh and lamb madras?? The recipes that I am looking at cooking use about 1kg of meat and 2 or 3 cups of liquid.

The recipes also cook between 40 to 90 mins. So not a quick fix curry.

Is just a heavy base saucepan going to be fine? Or would a smallish dutch oven yeild a better and more even result? I'm not sure if a 4qt pot would be too small. Any ideas?

[paulj]

A Hawkins brand pressure cooker :)

[DiveFan]

Why Hawkins brand? It doesn't get mentioned too often.

BTW my newish Presto S/S cooker does a Great job, haven't stained it yet.

The simpler Indian style pressure cookers are popular there but I haven't tried to find them in the US: http://missvickie.com/library/whistli...
Pressure cookers will make almost anything in 30 minutes - no need to follow RayRay's recipes.

[Soop]

Hmmm, that's a good idea! Using my LC for a curry...

I think it needs to marinade for a while. Like 24 hours. I'm tired of eating curry that's nothing more than meat in curry sauce.

[pass]

There was a thread recently about turmeric staining LC - be careful!

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/615882

[Soop]

Oh yeah... hmm.

Well, I love my LC, and it looks beautiful, but I guess I bought it to cook in eh? :D
I should ask what curry they cooked. 5 hours slow cooked is what I'm looking for.

Wait, I remember I don't really like turmeric. Hmmm. Maybe I should do what I usually do and chuck in the spices that I like most. Let's see... Oh hang on, I'll do that in the curry thread I started.

[pass]

True, I picked up an 20+ year old set of LC pans from a charity shop and some look brand new and others are quite stained. You do come across some LC pans that are completely trashed though (even quite new ones) and its that state to avoid ;)

[alkapal]

5 hours on a stovetop, soop? thatsa long time.

re original post: i use le creuset dutch oven or a large chicken fryer with a glass lid.

i wouldn't use a wok for long-cooking curries.

[Paulustrious]

Just be aware that some spices weaken with cooking, which is why adding a garam massala just before serving can help with slow cooked food. And the meat need not be left in the whole time.

[pass]

A Karahi would be the way to go but I make do with a large saute pan.

[juv]

use a heavy wok. the south asian version is called a 'karhai' and is a staple for all roadside chefs.

[anakalia]

I second the heavy wok suggestion. That's what my husband (he's Indian) uses.

[Channa]

I use one like this:
http://www.spicesofindia.co.uk/cgi-bi...

It's brilliant for cooking curries quickly as they do in takeaways, but I'd be reluctant to use it for long-simmered dishes. For one thing, it doesn't have a cover. And I don't know if the iron would react unfavourably with acidic ingredients.

[acooknamedmike]

I use my Le Creuset Dutch. I have a large one and a small one so it depends on how much curry I'm doing. Good heat distribution and a thick bottom is important for all the browning, aromatizing, toasting, and simmering you'll be doing so don't use a cheap pot that has hot spots. Cheap pots burn ingredients and all valiant efforts.