UKH

A follow on from the classic thread of 2018 [1].

Browned onions are a key component of many curry bases. The more browned onions, the better IMO.  However, browning onions is a slow and tortuous process, easily messed up to burnt onions when the critical moment is suddenly but unexpectedly reached.

Last weekend, I cheated and sprinkled granulated sugar on the onions before browning them.  The process took about 1/3rd of the time and the curry (a lamb keema with a home roast/ground dhana-jeeru mix) tasted the same as normal.  Next time I’m going to double up the onion quantity now they’re easier to cook, and double the spices quantity, increase the ghee and add some thick pesata to the mix as well as the usual chopped tomatoes.

What tips do other posters have on browning onions or otherwise accelerating a from-scratch curry prep?

(Eating in at the Spice Venue in Consett is #1 on my post-Covid todo list...  I think about it far to much for my own good...)

[1] https://www.ukhillwalking.com/forums/off_belay/authentic_curry-677124

Not sure if adding sugar has sped up the browning of the onions or if you've just caramelised the sugar you've thrown in. That said, it might not be a negative thing.

We've been watching a youtube channel called 'Latifs inspired' who is a Bangladeshi curry house chef making vids for us mere mortals. He's a big advocate of browning his onions well, his word is law!

You can accelerate the process incredibly with a sprinkle of bicarb (be sparing) this encourages the Maillard reaction. There is something not quite the same about them though but worth a go in a pinch if the onions are not going to be the centre of the dish - I wouldn't use for French Onion soup for instance, but it can be useful to speed up a quick gravy.

You can't really beat the full process - the truth is all recipes lie about the time required (10 minutes my arse).

A big batch of onions done in the slow cooker can be a good standby if frozen - but the onion smell may permeate everything else in there!

Once last thing - slice thin and even.

I know a number of people swear by this method:

youtube.com/watch?v=LOn9wkjLpCc&

Makes a big batch of the base gravy for nearly any curry, which is how the restaurants knock up what you ordered so fast. Freeze it into blocks or pots or bags or whatever then just grab one and melt it when you need.

https://www.theregister.com/2018/12/31/the_great_british_curry/

Not really a cooking expert but someone assured me that the purpose of browning the onions in all cooking was the break down complex sugars in the onion to simpler sugars thus making them sweeter. I guess adding sugar could short cut this process and caramelising is not going to hurt the flavour!

I'd never actually thought about what the purpose of the browning process was - I try not to "science up" my kitchen time.  I'd not considered the Malliard processes so much as just caramelisation bit it seems both are important parts of the curry base.  Re: bicard: I tried that on the meat in a Chinese beef recipe and I've never produced something so insipid in the kitchen.  I'll have to get my nerve up and try it on the onions...

That's an idea that immediately went "clink" - yes, the big problem that makes it harder is different pieces turning at different points, almost certainly because of size issues.  Not-trivial to slice a complex set of nested 3 dimensional shape shapes in to even sizes.  Something to try! 

In reply to Longsufferingropeholder:

Great resources; freezing batches is definitely the way to go.  I've taken to freezing batches of my base chilli so I can thaw them out and add different things (± cocoa being a favourite choice, along with ± peppers).

Microwave the sliced onions for a couple of minutes first.

It gets the cooking process underway so the frying is much quicker.

Have you tried microwaving them for a spell before frying? I do about ten minutes all told, with a pause for mixing, for four good-sized onions when making onion soup. Adjust accordingly depending on your own quantity and microwave output.
It starts driving out the moisture and softening them. Still takes a long time to properly brown, but markedly quicker than from raw. Longer in the microwave would probably speed things up further still.

Bicarb breaks down the cell structure (not sure about the precise chemistry - some sort of monkeying with proteins maybe), so as well as speeding browning it also makes onions much more mushy. Fine for soup, I think, but maybe avoid if you want distinct onion slice shapes.

Sprinkling on some salt a while before cooking might help as well

Microwave them whole or sliced?

Sliced. 

In sometimes simmer them a bit first to soften yuckier, then brown them. 
Ad an aside, I wonder if simply softening the onions and adding some brown sugar for sweetness?

I quite enjoy the time taken to make these kind of dishes, like curries and stews, especially in lockdown with some nice music or a podcast in the background. If you want to see how the pros do it I'd really recommend this channel

youtube.com/watch?v=S44cTOPie-s&

"Sugar!! What about your diabetes?"

"I haven't got diabetes"

"You will have"

What a load of gobbledygook I typed !!!

On an induction hob, I find it slow but simple..... set to '2',  can of beer, radio on, stir occasionally.

You've just sent me to samosa heaven!

I don't think this will do anything about how long it takes but ...

Nadine Abensur (I think) argues that if you add sugar all you do really is caremelise the sugar and coat the onions with it. She recommends adding a small amount of water after they've been cooking a while.  I forget why ... but it does seem to produce good results and minimize chances of burning.

Do you put spices and salt in the oil for a bit before adding the onions? This might help, as one poster says above. Otherwise maybe just watch those onions like a hawk!

Interesting; we don’t have a microwave but once we can visit a relatives I will try it there - perhaps this could finally convince me to get one…

In reply to philipivan:

That is some serious cooking hardware.  Once again I find it galling that people with an open fire are getting better results than me in a well equipped kitchen...

In reply to Mike Stetford:

I have a portable one-ring induction hob I use for cooking chilli; I shall try it for the onions; perhaps the better control helps.

In reply to cathsullivan:

I often use a bit of water - I use a metal pan as it seems to work better (not non-stick; I haven’t tried a ceramic coated one yet) but some of the sugars that come out stick to the base of the pan and form a starting point for burning nastiness; a splash of water “deglazes” the pan and loosens them off enough that a wooden spoon returns them to circulation.

In reply to  seankenny

I don’t; I like the way the onions seem to shrivel up as they absorb the spices afterwards; I can try a bit of salt at the start.  Paying attention to the process is my definite weak point…

Water is the key

Put onions into a hot pan until they start to colour. Then cover with a tight fitting lid and turn down to medium. Add splashes of water every 10mins or so.

Adding water stops burning and speeds up the caramelisation (not sure why tbh).

I asked my Asian mother in law, who is an expert cook, about the onion issue. She was quite clear that you just fry them on a low heat and keep a really close eye on them! And she seems to always temper the oil with at least some of the spices first. 
 

Hats off for trying; after fifteen years of living with brown people I’ve come to the view that South Asian cooking is well hard. 
 

Out of interest, how many people here use a rice cooker? 

I sprinkle them with a little salt, then keep the pan covered with a lid for the first few minutes to uniformly slightly soften/moisten the onions first.   Then fry quite gently, with regular stirring to brown them.   This method works well, as long as you have the patience with the time it takes.

A slow caramelisation is what is required here, this will intensify the flavour of the onions . Start them off on a fast heat then turn the heat down and put a large knob of butter in the pan place a tight fitting lid on and sit back . Keep a close eye on the pan stirring occasionally. 
A thick bottom pan works best . Caramelised onions take time but worth the effort . 

I've noticed the base gravy has come up. This is how the take aways and resturants do it to keep the cooking time down but one issue can be the curries all taste very similar. A local takeaway round here sells the same curry under about 3 different names which we only realised when we ordered 2 different curries and they were virtually the same.

We got maybe 8 recipes we use, all from scratch that taste very different but when we wander round for more dishes we often find they are variants of each other. Rich Steins series where he travels India on a curry crawl is one of the best TV things we've seen.

It deglazes the pan when it goes in, and then spreads all the flavour and sugar in the glaze more evenly through the onions

There's a series on Amazon called Raja Rasoi.

An Indian film crew go around the various regions looking at the different styles of cooking. Its more of an anthropology, than a cookery show. Its interesting to learn just what influences came from the various invaders and settlers. For example the Portuguese bringing over chillis and potatoes. The Arabs coming over with their styles of cooking, on their way to fight the Afghans. Then introducing Afghan styles on their march back. Its in Hindi, with English subtitles.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Raja-Rasoi-Aur-Anya-Kahaniyaan/dp/B07VDBCJ2G

Yes to Rick Stein. He is very understanding and sympathetic - his version of Sri Lankan daal is almost exactly as we have it at home. He has a real knack of picking out the key dishes from a place.

Agree that Raja Rasoi is also a good watch, and Madhur Jaffrey's old TV series from the 80s or 90s is great too.

Something that's an important part of South Asian food is all the "bits" - pickles, chutneys, chillies, sambals, finger food, breads, etc, definitely worth a try.

My copy of McGee's "On Food and Cooking" states "The sugar and sugar-chain content of onions and garlic is largely responsible for their readiness to brown when fried, and contributes a caramel note to the cooked flavour", so the adding sugar shortcut is logical.

(This is an excellent book for anyone interested in the science of cooking)

A good pan, a good knife, a good chopping board, and good skills. I'll sizzle-pop whole spices first before dumping the onions in. I like my cooking time in the evening (I generally do it all, though I've taken a back seat to allow the kids to learn) - it's my peace and quiet time. So while the onions are doing - gently with a stir every minute or so, I'll be doing all the other prep. I like my chopping board close enough to the hob to not move my feet. So yeah, I'm with Sean's MIL on this one - don't take your eye off them - plenty of stuff to do while they get golden and unctuous. 

I’d second this book recommendation! It’s well worth it! I had 2 copies bought for me one Christmas!

Use plenty of oil and you should have no problem. Add your shredded ginger & garlic and dry spices as well. After 10-015 mins on medium heat (in a thick bottom sauce pan) wizz the lot with a stick blender before starting with the other ingredients. Makes for a nice creamy curry with the added greek yoghurt (NOT CREAM!).

This book I just bought has a fantastic curry base which I  now make in 3ltr batches in advance and freeze. No browning required at all.

A couple of follow-up points on microwaving which does accelerate the process.

1) The slice thinly still applies. I think suggestions to microwave whole onions will result in uneven drying (and thus cooking at the next stage) and also difficulty in slicing.

2) Use a ceramic container when microwaving. The onion smell permeates the polymer matrix very effectively and several cycles in the dishwasher may not fully remove it!