Degchi
Bhunna
Also written: bhuno, bhuna
- Urduبھوننا
- Hindiभूनना
Bhunna means to fry down, and in a recipe it is the stage where onion, ginger-garlic, tomato and ground spices cook in fat, stirring, until the mixture thickens and the oil separates and shines around the edges. Recipes say bhuno as an instruction, and dishes such as bhuna gosht are named after it.
It is where a watery base turns into a curry with depth. Our Slow-Roasted Mutton Curry gives it ten minutes on medium heat after the tomato, yogurt and spices go in, and then asks you to dry-roast at the end for five more until the masala coats the meat. The signs are the same each time: the raw smell of the spice powders is gone, the paste has darkened a shade, and the oil floats instead of vanishing into the mass.
Keep the heat at medium rather than high, so the water leaves before the spices catch. Stir more often than you think you need to, because the paste catches on the base of the pot as the water leaves. If it sticks, add a spoonful of water, scrape, and carry on. If it has actually burnt, do not push on; the bitterness will carry through the whole pot.
The common mistake is hurrying. Pulling the pan off when the oil has not separated leaves a flat, slightly raw taste that more salt will not fix.
Recipes that use it
- Slow-Roasted Mutton Curry
- Chicken Karahi
- Mutton and Potato Curry
- Creamy Chicken Curry
- Spiced Okra
- Spiced Chickpeas
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