How to know if water has evaporated from curry/stew?
I am trying to get a curry to be thick and less watery. At the moment I am removing solids, boiling water off and then adding solids back in later. Unfortunately some green vegetables I put in are not practical to move and so as the water lessens they can sometimes burn without constant movement.
Is there a way to know if most water has evaporated and hence further cooking isn't neccesary? As an example I realise when there is more water there is more boiling so when boiling has turned into small bubbles maybe that means it's enough and one doesnt need to cook further? I can of course just take a spoon of liquid and test it seems oily rather than liquidy but just wondering if you have any other ideas?
Best Answer
Rather than making the whole dish then boiling off the water, you might have more success by changing the order of your steps. For example, you could:
- Add all of the meat and resilient vegetables
- Then reduce the sauce until you've achieved the desired consistency
- Add the leafy greens right at the end
As far as knowing when it's reached the right consistency, that can only really be achieved by stirring it and keeping an eye on it. You're also better reducing it at a simmer rather than a boil, as the higher heat can take it past the point you're looking for very quickly.
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How do you lose excess water in curry?
Yoghurt: Yoghurt is the best ingredient to get rid of excess water and can also be used as a cream substitute. This is another most common thickening agent used in India as well as Italy. Add little yoghurt at a time and keep stirring. You can use yoghurt and tomato puree depending on what is your sauce base.How does water evaporate when cooking?
Cooking a soup, stew, or sauce uncovered allows water to evaporate, so if your goal is to reduce a sauce or thicken a soup, skip the lid. The longer you cook your dish, the more water that will evaporate and the thicker the liquid becomes\u2014that means the flavors become more concentrated, too.How does water evaporate from curry?
Ways to fix it that involve very little cooking i.e. simmering for 5-10 mins at the endHow long does it take for water to be evaporated?
According to these web sites, the average time a water molecule spends in the atmosphere is 8-9 days. This is pretty fast! So on average, it takes just 8-9 days for a water molecule to evaporate, enter the atmosphere, and then leave it again as rain.CURRY CHICKEN STEW RECIPE
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Answer 2
It sounds like you just need more practice while paying more attention. Learning to do it without paying as much attention is something more instinctive that you're not likely to get right based on just reading answers here.
So I'd keep on doing what you're doing, but pay much closer attention, and stir.
- How does it look? Pay attention to the consistency of the liquid. When you free up open space in the pan, how does it flow into it? How does it stick to the solid vegetables/meat? How does it stick to the spoon/spatula, or flow off of it? All of this will change gradually as it reduces/thickens.
- How does it feel as you stir it? Be sure to scrape along the bottom of the pan some, especially toward the end. You can feel when things are starting to stick.
- How does it sound? There's a big difference between the sound of a large amount of mostly-water liquid boiling through the whole pan, and the sound of a small amount of thicker liquid boiling mostly just on the bottom.
- How does it smell? Especially if there's any sticking to the bottom, drying out, and cooking faster, it will smell different.
- How much steam is coming off the pan?
At some point, I would also definitely consider adding water incrementally as you cook, so that there's always a bit, but it also will only take a couple minutes to cook off. That also has the benefit of it always looking pretty similar to how you want it, so you get a lot of practice seeing what that looks like.
Finally, if you're trying to really dry it out, to the point where there's basically no water left, and you have a very thick sauce clinging to everything, then it's going to burn pretty easily. If you aim for that, you likely need to reduce the heat toward the end. If you have an electric stove, you may even want to just remove it from the heat.
If you do all of this enough, you should develop better instincts. You'll be able to glance quickly, or stir quickly, and gauge how far along it is. In some cases you might even be able to tell entirely by smell. (But don't rely on that! If you mess up and don't smell til it's already starting to burn, it's too late.)
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