Curry Recipes Online
Curry Chat => Lets Talk Curry => Topic started by: natterjak on October 29, 2011, 07:13 PM
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Hi all ;) ,
This thread is for me to report back on my experience of cooking Abdul's Madras recipe which is posted here: http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=6180.msg61863#top (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=6180.msg61863#top) and using his base sauce and pre-cooked chicken posted on the first page of this thread: http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=5958.0 (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=5958.0)
I'd like to say up front that I'm a beginner curry chef - I don't claim any expertise at all, so any problems I had can be attributed to my own incompetence if you like. Please don't assume Abdul's recipes are wrong, but I will take the chance to ask some questions and hopefully Abdul will comment.
So... how did it go? Not bad, but not perfect.
The base sauce recipe was easy to follow and with the exception of omitting the paprika from the 8 spice mix (because I didn't have any) I followed the base sauce recipe exactly. Image 1 below is the base sauce cooking in a 5litre stockpot.
(http://i40.tinypic.com/k8bye.jpg)
Blending the base was easy enough as even after only 30 mins cooking everything seemed quite tender and well cooked. The aroma was of mild curry and compared to other bases I've cooked before (KD1 and Ashoka) it smelled very tasty. At the blending stage I noted that it was very thick and I believe Solarspace has made a similar comment in another thread. Rather than water it down, I left it as is and proceeded to cook the pre-cooked chicken and Madras curry.
By the way, the taste of the base sauce once blended was of a fairly hot but otherwise bland curry. In place of 6 chillies called for in the recipe I used 3 large green chillies and was unsure whether to leave the seeds in or not. In the event the seeds went in - maybe that's why it was so hot. But no matter! I love a curry that makes you cry so it wasn't a problem.
Picture of blended base below. That pic is of a third of the total quantity and that's a big bowl by the way. The overall volume of the blended base was at least 4.25litres and if diluted to the consistency of an Ashoka base it would be at least 7 litres so check you have space in your freezer before you make a batch!
(http://i40.tinypic.com/nc1tvn.jpg)
The pre-cooked chicken recipe was easy enough to follow but it was unclear to me when the capsicum should be added (it appears in the ingredients list but isn't mentioned in the directions). Perhaps Abdul could clarify? I was concerned that cooking the chicken for 15 mins followed by cooking it again in the final recipe would lead to it being dry but in fact it was ok. I did find however that at the end of the pre-cooked chicken recipe there was still a lot of fluid in the pan. Maybe my cheap supermarket chicken breast was giving up water as it cooked.
Now, the Madras recipe. This was where I had some queries but with no time to check things with Abdul and a rumble in my belly I proceeded anyway.
First question, as with the pre-cooked chicken, is when the capsicum should be added. I put it in with the garlic/ginger and onion. Next, it was unclear to me how long the chilli powder, 8 spice, tomato puree and lemon juice should be cooked for before adding the first ladle of base sauce. In the event this resolved itself because with only 1 TBS of oil in the pan the spices, tomato and lemon juice were so dry in the pan as soon as they were added that a ladle of base sauce was immediately required.
However this means the spices are effectively being boiled in the base sauce rather than being fried. Doesn't seem right? The thickness of the base sauce also meant this stage of the cook was fairly brief before more base sauce was required.
And here's my biggest confusion over this recipe. The ingredients call for 16 pieces of pre-cooked chicken but nowhere is there a description of the size of the pieces. So I used the weights supplied (152 to 180g) and it turns out 175g was 1.5 chicken breast portions which was actually about 10 pieces of chicken the way I had cut it. In total the recipe asks for 1 pint of base sauce plus 1 extra ladle full and the effect was to leave me with far too much sauce and not enough meat in comparison. Boiling the sauce down to thicken it wasn't much of an option as the base sauce is already so thick when added, so I cooked it for the required 6 minutes.
A pic below of the final dish which came out thick and creamy in texture and very very hot for a Madras (more like a vindaloo). There was a lot of additional sauce which is not shown (I left it in the pan as it would have drowned the plate if served). Beneath the heat there wasn't a lot of depth of spice flavour, maybe because the spices don't seem to get a chance to fry in this recipe but rather boil down in the base sauce. This may be due to confusion over the thickness of the base or the oil content (1 TBS seems very little to start the dish with). At no stage did I see oil coming through to the top of the dish and apart from the initial tarka stage, there didn't seem to be a lot of frying going on, but rather bubbling and boiling of an already thick base sauce.
Having said that it was a satisfying hot curry which I enjoyed eating, but I think some tweaks will be needed and would be grateful if Abdul has any suggestions.
(http://i40.tinypic.com/wtgje9.jpg)
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Ok, finally I got the images in the above post working!
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Hi Natterjak,
I can't answer all your questions but a few things stand out for me. First thing is the amount of oil in your madras. When I cook a madras for 2 people (but quite modest portions) I use 4 tablespoons of oil, 500 ml of base (which is also oily) and 2-3 teaspoons of spice mix and about the same deggi mirch chili powder. I think you need more oil to get the spice flavours cooked and well absorbed or your dish might seem raw and powdery.
Secondly the base sauce should not be thick and it's best to add water until it seems right, which can take a bit of experience. But generally thinner is better than too thick as it gets reduced during cooking.
Hope this helps a bit.
Cheers,
Paul
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This was planned for tonight but will now take place tomorrow eve. I thinned the gravy after cooking as i too thought it was a little thick also but very flavoursome. I will provide feedback tomorrow along with pics. I'll probably up the oil in the tarka to ensure i have sufficient to fry the spices before adding the gravy as Paul suggests. That doesn't look to be a bad plate of grub there mate ;D. Practice does make perfect and you get fed along the way :P
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great post.well put together...plate of food looks good to me :)
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Final dish looks fine,
I use around 6-7 Tbs of Oil per portion and 3/4 Tbs of Spice Mix any less Oil and you will struggle with the frying of the Spices and you will have to add Base Sauce to early or you will burn the Spices,you can spoon off any excess Oil when the Curry is finished.
Base Sauce needs to be almost Milk like in consistency as it will thicken as you go through the frying process,having a thin Base gives you the time to complete the frying of the Chicken/Meat as pre frying is usually only 1/2 - 3/4 cooked through.
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Hi natterjack
Your experience with the base gravy mirrors mine exactly.....except that I did add some extra water to the base after blending it and it does produce a lot!! I found, like you, that the base had the look and smell both while cooking and when blended of an excellent start.
Again, I had the same experience with the Madras recipe. My finished article looked the same as your pics. With one ladle + 1 pint, it was a dish heavy on gravy, but no matter because I like it that way! Perhaps Abdul meant half a pint!! I had the same trouble as you when adding the 8Spice mix etc. There was no time to fry the spices, and as you did, I started putting in the gravy mix. Even though I'd added water earlier I was panicked into adding yet more water simply because I was afraid the dish would burn! This was done in such a slapdash way that I can't begin to estimate how much I used, as even when I started to add the pint I felt obliged to add even more water to stop things from sticking.
What was missing for me was not the heat - spot on for a Madras in my view - but the lack of that depth of distinctive 'spice' flavour. It was this that led me to conclude that I'd made a complete mess of proportions of spices as I mentioned on the main 'BIR Bandwagon' thread. However, as both you and Hotspice pointed out, my proportions were in fact correct. I'd have to add my suspicion to yours that the problem stems from the spices having no time to fry off in oil before base and water were added. I'm sure Abdul will be able to set us straight on this. Thanks for posting the photos. We both got the same 'look'......but what's clear is that the picture alone doesn't tell the full story! The proof of the pudding..........etc!!
That said, it was still enjoyable to eat. I used the same base last night with Cory Ander's Bhoona recipe and got very good results (although with the same excess of gravy!). I did add a tablespoon of 8 spice mix + an extra half tsp of chilli powder than is called for in his recipe and there was, not surprisingly, more of the spice flavour I was looking for.
Like you, I'm anxious to hear Abdul's tips and some idea of where I went wrong!!
Best
al.
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Oops........I meant to give the credit to Hotstuff09, not Hotspice! Apologies, Hotstuff.
al.
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alrmist10, It's OK to add water to a thick Base when in the pot but in the final Curry you have to be very carefull as adding water and not then cooking it out will leave a very weak flavoured Curry.I always taste the final Curry before serving as you can add a little Spice mix or a good pinch of Garam Masala to rescue a poor flavoured Curry,I was adamant that the Spices needed to be fried in Oil when starting a Curry but after making the ' Taz ' Curry using his method of adding Spice after the Base has gone in there was no noticeable difference to the finished Curry so the Jury is out on that one :-\
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Great effort natterjack. Really interesting read. I've not tried Abdul recipes yet, except the pre-cooked chicken.
However this means the spices are effectively being boiled in the base sauce rather than being fried. Doesn't seem right? The thickness of the base sauce also meant this stage of the cook was fairly brief before more base sauce was required.
Doesn't the recipe call for frying the spices in the oil for 2-3 minutes (with the onions) then adding the base?
5. Pre cooked chicken for curries (BIR style)
Ingredients
1.5kg of chicken breast cut into medium portions
Oil 2 ladle spoons
Onion 3 ladle spoons, chopped
Salt 1 tsp
Capsicum quarter, chopped
Garlic ginger mix 1 tbsp
8 spice 2 tsp (heaps)
Tomato puree 1 tbsp
Gravy half pint
Method
1. In a cooking pot add oil, salt and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Add the garlic ginger, onions and cook until golden.
3. Then add 8 spice, tomato puree and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Add the gravy and cook again for 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Finally add the chicken portions, stir well and cook for 10 minutes and then simmer for 5 minutes (at this point the chicken should be dry). Check to ensure that the chicken is cooked.
6. Take the pot off the cooker and allow it to cool down within 90 minutes.
7. Store the chicken in the fridge (0 to 5 Celsius preferably no more than two days).
8. If you are preparing your dish at the same time then you do not have to store or cool down.
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Oops........I meant to give the credit to Hotstuff09, not Hotspice! Apologies, Hotstuff.
al.
No worries mate. ;)
I was just reading through the posts about the base being too thick, and come to the obvious conclusion that it is the potatoes in the base that's doing it, Why not try leaving them out next time. this should give you a thinner base, (just my 2pence worth), Glad every thing went well. I too find Abduls Curry's a bit lacking of spice and flavour. (would not go as far to say bland).
HS
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Doesn't the recipe call for frying the spices in the oil for 2-3 minutes (with the onions) then adding the base?
Not in the Madras recipe Ramirez,
I suppose it could be a typo error ;)
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Great effort natterjack. Really interesting read. I've not tried Abdul recipes yet, except the pre-cooked chicken.
However this means the spices are effectively being boiled in the base sauce rather than being fried. Doesn't seem right? The thickness of the base sauce also meant this stage of the cook was fairly brief before more base sauce was required.
Doesn't the recipe call for frying the spices in the oil for 2-3 minutes (with the onions) then adding the base?
The recipe doesn't call for this (I've quoted the recipe in full below) but that misses the point a bit because it's impossible to do so anyway because the pan is so dry at the point the spices get added that there's nothing there to fry them in. The basic tarka is made with 1 TBS of oil and there's no extra oil called for in the recipe, so at the stage you add the spices the pan has some fairly dry fried onions in. The spices will form a dry paste with the onions and nothing's going to fry - it would burn if you didn't add the base sauce straight away.
The obvious answer is to add more oil at the start of the recipe. Others such as CA start with 5 or 6 TBS. I assume that Abdul cooks with more oil but has simply underestimated the measure in writing down the recipe.
Abdul Mohed's Madras Recipe:
Ingredients
Pre cooked chicken 16 portions (est. 152 to 180grams)
Basic tarka
Chilli powder 1 tbsp
8 spice 1 tbsp
Tomato puree paste 1 tbsp
Small lemon quarter cut
Gravy
Garnish
Coriander
Method
1. In a cooking pot make a basic tarka.
2. Add 8 spice, chilli powder, tomato puree and squeeze the juice from the lemon.
3. Then add 1 ladlespoon of gravy; stir well for 2 to 3 minutes to ensure the masala is well cooked.
4. Add the chicken portions, stir well and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Finally add 1 pint of gravy and cook for 5 to 6 minutes.
6. Garnish with coriander.?
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The obvious answer is to add more oil at the start of the recipe. Others such as CA start with 5 or 6 TBS. I assume that Abdul cooks with more oil but has simply underestimated the measure in writing down the recipe.
Hi NJ
I think your spot on there.
Abdul's recipe is quite close to mine.
Just to add my thoughts - as I've cooked this Thousands of times.
There's a knack to a Good Madras
Which is what I call singeing the Tarka.
In other words you need to slightly burn the spices "Singe"
and then once you add the gravy, that too has to be cooked on high heat.
This goes against your normal cooking methods (or logic) but I think it is an essential
method to produce restaurant style dishes like Madras at home.
Watch my Madras video recipe and you will get the idea.
Not dissing Abdul's base recipe in any way, as there are as many gravy recipes as there are cooks.
But like I've said before a good base gravy should be 90% Onion and the finished
consistency should pour off your ladle, leaving it almost clean.
Again watch the end of my video, 3 hr base recipe for this.
If any base is too thick. Just treat it as a concentrate and freeze it as normal, then when you come to use it, just add water to thin it down.
cheers Chewy :)
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Hi Natterjak,
Thank you for trying the recipe, it does look appetising, well done :). The gravy looks nice and thick as it should do and it does not look oily at all as when you prepare a dish afterwards you can adjust the oil in your tarka and also add a little water to make the sauce thinner according to the dish. So well done!
From reading your report, I understand that it was to do with the confusion over measurments e.g. onions, capsicums and chillis as they come in different sizes and I have not mentioned the exact measurments and in the future I will try to do so. I have also spotted a few printing errors such as cooking the spices and capsicums and I will address them also. I do apologise for the errors :(
Please post the exact questions as it would help me to answer them much more clearly to the best of my knowlegde.
Abdul
p.s Just to clarify, every dish has been tasted before posting onto Cr0; some are on my menu.
However, thank you for your report which has helped me to understand how to improve writing the recipes clearly :)
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Hi Abdul,
Thanks for your reply and I think the points you acknowledged probably cover most of my queries, ie. needing more oil at the start of the dish, thinning the base, quantity of chicken, etc. Probably the only remaining question then is whether the spoon measurements you call for in the recipes should be level or heaped?
I've achieved better results with your base than with any I've tried before and I think Razor, Solarspace and some other members have made similar comments (not wishing to misquote anyone!) so I hope you can draw satisfaction from that. Certainly I'm not aiming to critique your recipes, just learn how to adjust them to suit my preferred tastes so I will persevere with a few more dishes and see how I get on.
Having a BIR chef on the forum who is willing to answer questions should be a valuable resource for all of us I think.
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Hi Abdul,
Thanks for your reply and I think the points you acknowledged probably cover most of my queries, ie. needing more oil at the start of the dish, thinning the base, quantity of chicken, etc. Probably the only remaining question then is whether the spoon measurements you call for in the recipes should be level or heaped?
I've achieved better results with your base than with any I've tried before and I think Razor, Solarspace and some other members have made similar comments (not wishing to misquote anyone!) so I hope you can draw satisfaction from that. Certainly I'm not aiming to critique your recipes, just learn how to adjust them to suit my preferred tastes so I will persevere with a few more dishes and see how I get on.
Having a BIR chef on the forum who is willing to answer questions should be a valuable resource for all of us I think.
Hi Natterjak,
The spoon measurements are in heaps. All the recipes I post are in heaps also.
I have reviewed the madras recipe and what the printing error was: Add 8 spice, chilli powder, tomato puree and squeeze the juice from the lemon; stir well and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
&
precooked chicken 16 pieces not portions
If you feel the sauce is too thick, then add half a cup of water to the madras recipe.
Once again thank you very much for highlighting the errors and I hope it has not deterred you to attempt any of the other recipes I have posted. If you need any help then you can send a post with your questions. :)
Abdul
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Hi Abdul
Thanks for posting back to the thread again. Tonight I was hungry early and at home, so I cooked your Madras curry again, incorporating some of the changes we have been discussing. I used 4 TBS of oil in the tarka and thinned the base with water in a 1:1 ratio water to base sauce. It meant cooking the curry for longer but I was comfortable with this as I'm not under time pressure in the way you might be in a restaurant and it gave me a bit more control of the final consistency. I cooked it until oil started to show through at the top of the curry.
There's a pic below with pilau rice from forum user CurryHell's recipe (here: http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=6070.msg61971#top (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=6070.msg61971#top))
I used your base, your pre-cooked chicken and your Madras recipe. The result - really very good indeed. The only way I would fault it was I felt it was lacking a little sweetness. It was quite a sour flavour, but spicy and hot as I like it. I was wondering your opinion of including a little sugar in a recipe for a Madras? Forum user Cory Ander uses 2 tsp of sugar in his Madras recipe here: http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=3830.0 (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=3830.0)
I haven't yet tried adding sugar to a Madras but may give it a go next time. Meanwhile, thanks again for your recipes and your contribution to the forum.
(http://i41.tinypic.com/16iytsh.jpg)
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hi Abdul
As my experience with this recipe was identical to natterjack's, I'd also like to thank you for your clarification regarding quantities of oil, solving the quantities of spices question, and clarification of when & how long to fry the spices etc.
One more question, if I may. It still seems to me that 1 pint of gravy is a lot. Did you mean half a pint, by any chance??
Cheers
al
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hi Abdul
As my experience with this recipe was identical to natterjack's, I'd also like to thank you for your clarification regarding quantities of oil, solving the quantities of spices question, and clarification of when & how long to fry the spices etc.
One more question, if I may. It still seems to me that 1 pint of gravy is a lot. Did you mean half a pint, by any chance??
Cheers
al
Hi Alarmist10,
Nope, it is 1 pint if you use 16 medium cut pieces. However, if you wish you can use less gravy and add water for the consistency that you want. You should increase the cooking time for the sauce to become nice and thick.
My cooker has a high power so the cooking time between a restaurant and home cooker will vary so it is exactly what I do when I cook at home, I leave it for longer.
Abdul
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I used your base, your pre-cooked chicken and your Madras recipe. The result - really very good indeed. The only way I would fault it was I felt it was lacking a little sweetness. It was quite a sour flavour, but spicy and hot as I like it. I was wondering your opinion of including a little sugar in a recipe for a Madras? Forum user Cory Ander uses 2 tsp of sugar in his Madras recipe here: http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=3830.0 (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=3830.0)
I haven't yet tried adding sugar to a Madras but may give it a go next time. Meanwhile, thanks again for your recipes and your contribution to the forum.
Hi Natterjak,
Thank you for your question. Madras is a favourable dish as it is loved by many people. I would not add anything else because then it changes the Madras. But for personal taste of course you can add any kind of sweetness you prefer. :)
Abdul
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Alarmist, I think the recipe with 1 pint of base sauce is to feed 2 people, hence 16 pieces of chicken. Disregard the weight measures for the chicken as I think they are a bit of a red herring. ;)
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Abdul/Natterjak
Thanks for the clarification confirming the one pint of sauce. I appreciate that the recipe is for 2 people, but the way I made it left a sea of gravy on completion even though it looked exactly like the photos on p.1 of this thread! I'll certainly give your suggestion a go and allow more time for the sauce to reduce in future, Abdul. Thanks
al.
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That's a fine plate of food there Natterjak :P. I got round to cooking this on Monday but have not had the time to post the results. Fortunately, i was reading this thread and benefitted from your and everybody else's comments after your first attempt :D.
The madras was made using Abdul's base and spice mix (both containing not chilli) and his precooked chicken. The only addition i made was some fresh green chilli to the dish with half a fresh tomato. This is only the second time i've cooked madras for myself, the first being CA's and i've only once eaten the dish when i first tried BIR. I decided then that i needed more heat :o. So impossible for me to do a like for like comparison other than make some general comments and observations.
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For some reason i can post any pics here as the system is telling me the upload folder is full :-\. I'll try and post them in the pics section.
I increased the oil to begin with to 3 tbs as there was no way the spice was going to fry with the tarka as 1 tbs was going to get sucked up by the onions. Fried the tarka with fresh chillis till the onions started taking on colour then added the spices, tom puree and lemon juice and fried for 1 min, not allowing the puree to darken. Then added a ladle full of base and cooked for the 3 mins by which time it had reduced down. I repeated this with another ladle of gravy. Finally added the meat and the rest of the gravy, tomato and a couple of whole chillis and left it to simmer, stirring occasionally to make sure nothing was catching in the pan till it reached the consistancy i like.
I've got to say it turned out a fantastic curry :P :P. It had a very savoury taste with plenty of depth to it. It certainly was not bland. The tomato taste was only just in the background with the lemon barely detectable. Heat wise, i would say at the top end of the madras scale (as this varies from restaurant to restaurant) which suits my tastes.
Verdict - would i have paid money for this - most definitely. How does it compare to other madras dishes? I can only comment on the taste and quality of the finished dish which IMHO was great. But from the positive comments made by others that eat madras regularly and have cooked it successfully I'd say it's got to rank highly. The true test will be to compare it to one from a local BIR. I may do this next week and provide some further feedback. Thanks Abdul. Another winner in my opinion 8)
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Bit late in getting round to adding the pics having cooked the dish a week ago, but better late than never :)
Let's start with the ingredients. Forgot to include the chicken though :-\
(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/9d2866e9931bbe9884f4e0866d2f8f95.jpg) (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/#9d2866e9931bbe9884f4e0866d2f8f95.jpg)
The dish was cooked with Abdul's base, his 8 spice - 1 (no chilli powder used) and his precooked chicken. Exactly as per recipe with the learning from the previous posts.
(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/fd786e80a7ac9376ce55647776c68936.jpg) (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/#fd786e80a7ac9376ce55647776c68936.jpg)
Fried the tarka in plenty of oil so when the spices were added it could work its magic :D Added a couple of chef spoons of gravy and cooked it for 3 mins.
(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/b35c0a32f93e9b063fc2a1756aadaed5.jpg) (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/#b35c0a32f93e9b063fc2a1756aadaed5.jpg)
Added the remainder of the gravy having reduced down a further couple of chef's spoons..........
(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/b3b65d3f9480d7da9c40dad94762d0d6.jpg) (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/#b3b65d3f9480d7da9c40dad94762d0d6.jpg)
then reduced it down to the consistency i like........
(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/12a89f85139a66084ef7533581819835.jpg) (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/#12a89f85139a66084ef7533581819835.jpg)
And to do it proper justice, now ready to be served and eaten.........
(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/a560802cb9e9d464fdfc0a16adb2e4fb.jpg) (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/#a560802cb9e9d464fdfc0a16adb2e4fb.jpg)
For what it's worth IMO a very tasty savoury curry, tomato background with good heat and a hint of lemon and a good depth of flavour. Would pay money for this happily if served to me in a BIR and will definitely make again in spite of the fact i'm a vindaloo/phall man ;D ;D
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Hey CH,
That looks amazing fella. You describe the taste exactly how I expect a Madras to taste. It looks perfect in colour, and your method is exactly how I make my own. A proper BIR/TA style takeaway (in my very humble opinion of course)
Ray :)
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Hi CH,
That looks absolutely amazing my friend if maybe just a little to thick on consistency for me, but nevertheless very scrummy indeed!! :)
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Hi CH
Looks like you've done Abdul's Madras some justice there mate.
Not too sure about the random fresh tomato, but hey! :D
An honest TA recipe and an honest test, well done. ;)
Just imagine what you could do, if you had some flame...Sparky :o
Only joking ;D
cheers Chewy
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Hi CH
Looks absolutely delicious!! One quick question......did you use the full one pint of base sauce, and if so, how long did it take you to reduce it down to what we can see on the pics?
I could eat that one for breakfast!
Cheers
al.
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Hi CH
Looks absolutely delicious!! One quick question......did you use the full one pint of base sauce, and if so, how long did it take you to reduce it down to what we can see on the pics?
I could eat that one for breakfast!
Cheers
al.
I made it again last night but with chicken tikka just to check it wasn't a fluke and the results were just as good ;D. I always portion my gravy in 350ml quantities which is what i used. I add 2 chef spoons to the tarka and cook for 3 mins on medium high then add a further 2 chef spoon and reduce for 2 more mins. Then throw in the rest and turn hob down to low and cook for a max of 5 min or sooner when it reaches the consistency i like, which is always on the thicker rather than thin side :P.
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Hi CH
Thanks for the clarification. I have another 4 portions of Abdul's base left, so I'll repeat your technique....and, I hope, come up with the same superb result as you!
Cheers
al.
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Hi CH
Thanks for the clarification. I have another 4 portions of Abdul's base left, so I'll repeat your technique....and, I hope, come up with the same superb result as you!
Cheers
al.
Look forward to seeing the end results Al. I made it again last night but with double the chilli powder and a dozen birds eyes thrown in ;D. It's now maturing in the fridge for later :P.
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Hi CH
Thanks for the clarification. I have another 4 portions of Abdul's base left, so I'll repeat your technique....and, I hope, come up with the same superb result as you!
Cheers
al.
Look forward to seeing the end results Al. I made it again last night but with double the chilli powder and a dozen birds eyes thrown in ;D. It's now maturing in the fridge for later :P.
I'd stick a toilet roll in the fridge as well if I were you.... lol :)
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Hi CH......if you're still able to speak and read! "Double the chilli powder"......OMG!! Sounds like 'Curry Heaven' rather than 'Curry Hell'.....and you get to keep the same initials as well!
al.
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Still alive and kicking guys 8). It got to mature until last night as i was in no fit state to do it justice on Saturday when i eventually staggered home :-\ It was a good heat and the loo rolls are in the fridge as we speak :o. It turned out more saucey which was due to my reducing the onion / green pepper in the tarka. I could have reduced it further but that would have taken longer and from start to finish it had already taken me 15 mins.
And yes CT , oh for some flame. The whole process would have been quicker still. Maybe i'm due a kitchen upgrade ;D
Probably your kind of madras consistancey 976. It was good though :P.
On today's agenda is Razor's sheeks, having done more of Abdul's chicken, in preparation for Bambles Chef Special meat dupiaza, special fried rice and some bombay aloo or maybe saag. Haven't decided yet. Will post the results later on today :D
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That sounds like a good meal :)
Just a note on the raw keema in the dopiaza recipe, it is the keema as prepared before you make into the kebab not the lamb mince in a raw state. Sorry if this is obvious to everyone but just making sure!!!
Hope you enjoy curryhell :)
Barry
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That sounds like a good meal :)
Just a note on the raw keema in the dopiaza recipe, it is the keema as prepared before you make into the kebab not the lamb mince in a raw state. Sorry if this is obvious to everyone but just making sure!!!
Hope you enjoy curryhell :)
Barry
No worries Barry. I read it exactly as you intended :D. Looking forward to the contrasting flavours the dish promises. Sorry but i am going to add some whole fresh chillis just to give me the heat option when i bite into them. They shouldn't affect the intended flavour of the recipe in my opinion, unlike if i added chilli powder (as i do regularly ;D).
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I do exactly the same thing :) I love a birds eye chilli in a curry ;D
Barry
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Guys
Made the base, tarka and madras to spec yesterday and a very good curry it was! I wish I had found this thread before hand though as i had the same concerns - thick base - dry tarka.
So next time I will thin the base and use 3 or 4 tbsp of oil or the tarka/
Two questions is the tomato puree watered down or straight out of the tube/tin etc and do you guys use g and g paste or freshly sliced and crushed g and g. Mine could have done with more garlic so i may slice some extra for the tarka
Ed
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Hi Ed. Nice to see someone trying Abdul's base and recipes. To answer your questions, I always use tomato paste diluted 1 part paste to two parts water so i have to up the quantity a bit as Abdul does not dilute his and uses straight from the tin. This is captured somewhere in the BIR bandwagon thread I believe.
As for ginger / garlic, the recipe uses puree but making a paste of fresh would be fine IMO. It may give a slight difference to the outcome. Try both and see which you prefer :D
Are you using Abdul's basic gravy or is it his enhanced version. The basic recipe is good and more than comparable to most on here. His enhanced recipe is top line BIR though and worth the effort and very similar in technique to that shown in CBM's little india video.
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Hi CH thanks for the info! I am using his basic base so once that has gone will try his enhanced next.
Ed
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I have no idea what's occurred with that last image in the OP - it's certainly not the image I posted when making the original post!
I think the image hosting website I was using at the time have recycled the link, which makes me wonder what other images might show up in my older posts in the future?!