Topic: Madras/Vindalloo/Phall.

[DARTHPHALL]

I cooked a Phall using Pat Chapmans Recipe/Technique in his book Indian Restaurant Cookbook (ISBN 0-86188-378-0) & my Base.

I will try & keep this short as possible but this must be explained so all understand it.

Recently i have got a little lost in my curry making, they have been to dam good, they are just too tasty & unlike Bir fare.
Thats it though, making a great tasting Curry is now easy if you follow some of the best bases here on this site.
The real quest is capturing that Spicy/oily flavor we all love "The taste".
I have in the past mentioned this, cooking in the Oven is a very good way of recreating the Bir flavor, because it does work.
I cooked a Phall last night & it had "the taste" but was difficult to perceive because the curry was so tasty.
I have had this so many times now using the oven method that i will be incorporating it with many other attempts from now on.
I get a feeling it does have a lot to do with the Oil (the carrier of flavor in a Curry) & is not a missing Ingredient as i don't remember putting anything in it that taste like it does, in fact its very basic a recipe.
The prolonged cooking time & heat in the Oven must change the properties of the Oil & the Spices therein etc..
One thing noticed is because the Curry changes the next day so much, it makes it difficult to judge it's final flavor whilst in the cooking stage, you taste it as you cook & add more ingredients as it is quite mediocre initially (so we think), this may be why we have difficulty getting it right.
Following PC's recipe to the Book produces a very dam close Phall (even though it isn't that hot compared to a Bir Phall) .
Here is the recipe & method with my alterations, this will make one hell of a good Curry but is just way too tasty if you understand what i mean.

PHALL.

INGREDIENTS.
1 500ml bag of my Base gravy from here http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=674.0
675g Meat or poultry (i used Chicken).
1 large Onion.
1 whole Garlic bulb.
A Small 1 inch piece of Ginger.
10 Tablespoons Vegetable oil.(keep the bottle out when you are cooking, i will be using much more next time i do this) 
400g tin chopped Tomatoes.
1 Tablespoon Tomato Ketchup.
1 """""""""""" """""""" Puree.
Half Teaspoon Salt.

SPICES 

1 Teaspoon ground Cumin.
""""""""""""""""""""" Coriander.
3 Teaspoons Basaar mix (Cheers Ray) you may use Chilli powder instead (i will next time).
1 Teaspoon dry Fenugreek leaves.
1 teaspoon Garam Masala (i used Tesco's own brand, any will do).

GET THE INGREDIENTS READY.

1. Chop the meat.
2. finely Chop the Onion.
3. Puree the Garlic & Ginger (peel first).
4. Mix the SPICES & Salt with some warm water to make a paste.
5. Mix & blend till smooth the Tin of tomatoes (Take them out of the Tin first  ;D),Ketchup & tomato puree.
   
METHOD

Did the cooking on medium heat so the dishes did not spit everywere.

1. Fry Onion/Garlic & Ginger puree till Golden in 6 tablespoons of Oil. 
2. Add the Spices mixture & cook for 10 minutes.
3. Add blended Tomatoes/Puree & Ketchup, cook for further 10 minutes.
4 Meanwhile fry the meat in a separate pan until sealed (7-8 minutes will do) in 4 Tablespoons of Oil (use more if you need too or like too  ;D). 
5. Combine all the ingredients (including the juices/Oil from the cooked Chicken Pan) in a large dish with a lid & cook in a pre-heated Oven at 400f(200c) Gas 6 for 45-60 minutes (i cooked for 50 minutes).
6.Leave until next day.

CONCLUSION

The next time i cook this i will be doing the following.

I personally thought the curry tasted to good & would recommend the following to get it closer to a Bir style dish.
1. Don't bother with the Salt.
2. Replace the Basaar mix with Chilli powder.
3. Use much more Vegetable Oil (to your own preference & i feel that the Oil is very important, the dish ended quite Oil free the next day) i would suggest 20 Tablespoons (you can save the excess if it has too much for your taste).
4. Leave out the Ketchup.
5. After just having ate a Bowl of it i would recommend you put half of the amount of Base Gravy to make it as thin as Bir standards, but thats what we want, weird isn't it, we want to cook thin watery Curry instead of the lovely stuff we can allready cook.
6. You may want to add some water to the ingredients when you put them in the dish in the Oven.
All in all i believe it is very worthwhile experimenting with this dish to bring it closer to a lower quality Bir style dish, i may even follow PC's recipe for base Gravy, which Ive never done before.

I hope this is clear & understanding for all members, give it a go I'm sure you will be pleasantly surprised, either way, please do let me know how it turned out.

Regards,
.....DARTHPHALL.....

[DARTHPHALL]

I'm now eating it as i write this.
It tastes so good, you follow the recipe as i have cooked it & i guarantee you'll be very very happy with the results.
It is a little thick & too tasty compared to a Bir, if you are trying to capture it exactly, but it is better if you know what i mean.
It has turned out enough for 4 Bir sized portions approximately, although i will eat it all today because i want to cook some more & experiment.
The Chicken pieces are exactly like a Bir Firm & brittle but tender.
There is good Spicy Oil flavor in this dish but it is masked by the great taste.
I think the Oven method for home users is an ace idea, you just chuck it in for 50 Min's, leave it & its done.

[Chilli Prawn]

This is on my list of things to try next week; I am salivating already.  Your point about the oil is correct.  The type and quality of the oil(s) you use is very important, and I guess this is worth a new topic under hints and tips.

On topic, I might just post a recipe for Frithath curry from India (authentic IIR {Indian Iadian Restaurant]).  I never tried it but I have some friends who have and survived.

Happy Cooking
C P

[DARTHPHALL]

If its on the lines of the Phall i would like to try the recipe.
I actually like the chilli powder flavor of the Phall although there is a fine line were it just tastes Crap.
One thing i have forgot to mention months ago when pureeing my Garlic is that it is quite hot, IMHO, Garlic is more important for the likes of Vindalloo/Tindalloo & Phall than is given credit for & fresh Ginger has a little heat.
And one more thing last night while cooking the Phall i smelt the same aroma that you get from the Bombay alo served down here, it was when i was cooking the Onions, Garlic & Ginger, but i cant remember at which stage weather anything was added or not,sorry peeps), i will find out next time i do this dish.
Lol next weekend me thinks. ;D

[John]

And one more thing last night while cooking the Phall i smelt the same aroma that you get from the Bombay alo served down here, it was when i was cooking the Onions, Garlic & Ginger, but i cant remember at which stage weather anything was added or not,sorry peeps), i will find out next time i do this dish.
Lol next weekend me thinks. ;D

umm it's that absinthe again

[DARTHPHALL]

LOL ;D