Topic: Curryheads "Madras 2011"

[curryhell]

I enjoyed reading this thread and all the contributions from members.  The general concensus seemed to be that it produced a damn good curry and for some exactly what they had been looking for.
So i decided to give it a go.  Made Taz's base exactly to spec.  The only exception being the substitution of bottled ginger/garlic and ground spices.  If the results turn out good i will then go to the trouble of doing my own garlic/ginger puree (which i really should do anyway) and use the whole spices.  I wasn't overly concerned about the oil content as i remember making a base in the early days which relied on as much oil as the Taz base.  Anyway, here's the pics from start to finish

[solarsplace]

Hi curryhell

Looking good

Is the base as thick as it appears in the picture, or perhaps it is just throthed up a bit after the blend?

Are you planning to do a Madras or something later? don't forget to post some pics of your efforts

Regards

[curryhell]

Proceeded to cook the base until the oil rose to the top, another 20 mins or so and as already mentioned by some, what  a lot of oil
I left the base to mature for a day before making the madras.  Couldn't resist the temptation to taste it as i was curious to see if it tasted sickly sweet but this wasn't the case.  It tasted just like many other bases -  a thin soup with a subtle curry flavour.  So far so good
Then prepared the ingredients for the madras following Ray's suggestion of scaling down the mix powder and tom puree.  I had no pre cooked chicken so cooked the meat after the initial reduction with the final quantity of base and coriander.
The end result - BIR looking curry with correct texture.  I tasted it and agree that it's a damn tasty curry.  How close it is to a BIR madras, as always, depends on the individual's expectation and what they are used to from their own local BIR or TA.
Not being a madras eater (at least vindaloo, preferably TASTY phall), i cannot comment without having a BIR madras alongside mine to compare, although i will probably just find a guinea pig to try it out on.
I agree with one comment that the base has got "mess with me" written all over it and i will certainly be doing that.  Plan for this afternoon using the base is UB's garlic chili chicken (tikka) and the madras again but this time with a ramp up of chili powder and some fresh thrown in with Dips mushroom pilau and maybe brinjal bahji.

[solarsplace]

Woops! - posted to quickly back there!

Looks delicious

[curryhell]

Is the base as thick as it appears in the picture, or perhaps it is just throthed up a bit after the blend?

;D
Pics were too big to get everthing in the one post.  Still in the learning stages.  The appearance was caused by my using a jug blender rather than a stick blender. The gravy was of thin soup consistency with a total volume of just under 3ltrs

[Peripatetic Phil]

Ever since this project got underweigh, I have forsworn my beloved KD1 base and switched to the Taz base as recommended for this exercise.  The results that I have been achieving have been, at best, only average, and for all the additional effort involved (particularly in the long, slow, reduction before the dish really gets going), the results did not seem to me to justify the additional labour.  Before giving up, however, I decided to have one last attempt, this time using Ray's revised recipe for Madras 2011, and I am sorry to say that the results were just not what I was hoping for.  Before giving up entirely and reverting to KD1, I would like to check with my fellow curryholics that I have not misunderstood anything, so I would be grateful if the experts could confirm the following :

1) The mix powder to be used is the India Grill mix
2) The methi listed in the main recipe is ground methi seeds, not methi leaf.

** Phil.

[solarsplace]

Hi Phil

This may answer your question on the Methi: http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=5378.msg53317#msg53317

Also, have you tried the Taz base with the Taz Mix Powder with the ChewyTikka Madras / Zeera Madras ?

Not saying at all that there is anything at all wrong with Micks, it just that this is what I have been making for a while now, with superb results.

Cheers

[Peripatetic Phil]

This may answer your question on the Methi: http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=5378.msg53317#msg53317

Ah, thank you : overlooked (or forgot) that.  Much as I dislike many of the more recent developments of the web ([We]blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and all that social networking nonsense), I do wonder whether CR0 might not benefit from a parallel Wiki, where we could collectively ensure that there is one "perfect" reference copy for each key recipe, to which one could immediately go when in doubt without having to trawl through an entire thread ...

Also, have you tried the Taz base with the Taz Mix Powder with the ChewyTikka Madras / Zeera Madras ?

No, I confess I've not, although the two mixes look remarkably similar in content if not in proportion.  Maybe I will try that with the remains of the Taz base, although having just made a large jar of IG mix I am loath to now make a second similar one !

** Phil.

[Peripatetic Phil]

Spice	India Grill	Taz
Turmeric	8	8
Coriander	4	5
Curry powder	7	4
Cumin	4	4
Paprika	4	3

Notes

• IG specifies medium curry powder, Taz mild
• IG curry powder reads "1 heaped", which I have interpreted as 1 3/4
• Probably the only significant difference is in the quantity of curry powder

** Phil.

[Malc.]

Phil,

I'll have to check my notes when I get home but from memory the Indian Garden spice mix uses a Madras curry powder. It was explained as being medium. I use the following: Rajah Mild Madras

The measurements were taken directly from watching the chef use a chefs spoon to make the mix. All measurements are rounded unless otherwise stated. So a tablespoon is more likely 18ml rather than 15ml and a heaped spoon is likely 25-30ml.