Tried a new base the other day. just messing about
350ml oil
8 large white onions
1 carrot chopped
half small medium cabbage chopped

fry in onil 10-15 mins

2 teaspoon garlic ginger paste

fry out

2 teaspoons of salt

1 and a half teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon madras hot curry powder
1 large pinch methi powder

add spices fry out

1 table spoon tomato puree mixed with 1 pint hot water

1 fresh tomato quartered , add to pan, stir through

add 3 more pints of hot water

1 inch square of cocoanut block

cook it all 30mins

1 large can of evaporated milk/

cook for another 30 mins

Blend.

Anyways it came out really well, I remember old school curry where the chicken breast had been cooked on the bone, it was always very soft.

Thoughts on above gravy and what about cooking a whole chicken in base. or evaporated milk/milk.

Cheers,

James



cook out 30 mins till oil rises

Quote from: jimmyja on September 03, 2019, 10:47 AMTried a new base the other day. just messing about [...] Anyways it came out really well, I remember old school curry where the chicken breast had been cooked on the bone, it was always very soft.  Thoughts on above gravy and what about cooking a whole chicken in base. or evaporated milk/milk.

I have to confess, James, I am more than a little confused.  Your post starts with a recipe for a base that included evaporated milk, but you then go on to talk about "old school curr[ies] where the chicken breast had been cooked on the bone".  So is there a connection between the two, or are they two different trains of thought that somehow became conflated when you decided to post ?  Some clarification as to exactly on which parts you are seeking feedback would help, I think.  In the meantime, here are my thoughts on the two (or three ?) separate themes that I think I have identified :

• Using evaporated milk in base

Ok lets start again.

I made a base as above. It worked out great for me. Made a balti, then a korma and was happy wth the way they turned out.

1. Cooking chicken in base. What I meant to say to say is, has anyone cooked a whole chicken in a pot of base? No need to reduce down, when the base is thinned out just wack a chicken in and slowly poach. I would take the chicken out when cooked. Then use the base as usual maybe top up with a little water to account for any evaporation..

2. Has one poached a whole chicken in a couple of cans of evaporated milk/milk to bulk it out.

Is basically what I meant.

Quote from: jimmyja on September 03, 2019, 12:22 PM0. I made a base as above. It worked out great for me. Made a balti, then a korma and was happy wth the way they turned out.

OK, I can see it working for a korma; less sure about a balti (are they normally creamy ?) but as I've never experienced a "real" balti (if there is such a thing), I am not really in a position to judge.

Quote1. Cooking chicken in base. What I meant to say to say is, has anyone cooked a whole chicken in a pot of base? No need to reduce down, when the base is thinned out just wack a chicken in and slowly poach. I would take the chicken out when cooked. Then use the base as usual maybe top up with a little water to account for any evaporation.

But is the idea to prepare the chicken in this way (and then eat it), to produce a more flavoursome base, or both ?

Quote2. Has one poached a whole chicken in a couple of cans of evaporated milk/milk to bulk it out.

Well, I for one have not.  I have never cooked anything in evaporated milk.  What is your thinking behind this question ?  What is poaching in evaporated milk intended to achieve ?

** Phil.

It was a method to pre cook chicken for final curry. Just asking, has anyone done this.

The base would probably have a more savoury note? I guess. Just curious, has anyone done this before

When I made the balti it didn't taste creamy, in fact it was one of the best ive made. in my opinon

2. Perhaps a softer texture? Lactic acid in milk, Yoghurts etc, makes chicken softer? Usually I just chop my chicken up poach in base for 3-4 mins then add to final curry and finish off in that.

I guess in a nutshell,

The base I made, very simple. Less is more, id never added evaporated milk before but to me, this base appears at this stage the best ive made.

When I cooked my balti, it didn't taste creamy.

Cooking whole chicken in base, to be used in the final curry. Different texture taste

Re cooking chicken in milk and evaporated milk. To create a softer more delicate pieces of chicken to be used in final curry fry off. Lactic acid in milk yoghurt etc

Just looing to see if anyone has tried any of this?

If you, or someone, has chance to cook two identical bases, one with evaporated milk and one without, then that would be the way to measure the difference in performance

Evaporated milk is not new to curry.  Some have claimed it to be essential.   I've tried it and can't say it was, better or worse than cream.  It is another form of dairy and concentrated if that's what a recipe requires. Very rich so good for Korma but not so good for savoury perhaps.  Putting it in a base gravy is sort of making a dedicated creamy base gravy. Nothing wrong with that but it may not suit all dishes.

Chicken in base is also something discussed here previously. As CT and others have pointed out, the early BIR base gravy certainly did contain chicken.  When I tried it, I liked it.  The vegan / vegetarian requirements of today may or may not have seen an end to this practice.     Who really knows?

Chicken in milk is not so unusual.  Many fried chicken recipes and tandoor start out with a marination in a dairy product.  Milk, butter milk or yogurt.  I've never poached chicken in milk but I've certainly done smoked fish that way.

Quote from: livo on September 04, 2019, 11:12 AMI've never poached chicken in milk but I've certainly done smoked fish that way.

Interesting.  I invariably poach smoked fish (cod, haddock, ...) in water but poach fresh fish (cod, flounder, plaice, sole, ...) in milk, although I cook on-the-bone cod by boiling in water.  The chunkier fresh fish I served with parsley sauce, the milder flat ones with just white sauce, and the smoked fish with just butter,

** Phil.

Actually Phil, I poach smoked cold smoked fish in a 50/50 or less concentrated mixture and you can add a know of buttering the poach. My father uses more milk than water. I don't usually poach fresh fish. To get back to the chicken though, there are plenty of examples out there of milk poached chicken so it clearly isn't something new.

Thanks for your thoughts ill report back results. Ill do a base without, im gonna try poach a chicken in evap and milk and see how I go. regarding the base, ill try it without evap next time, I really like the way the curries a I made came out with the evap milk. I did a galic chilli balti and the korma so far to date was the best ive made. Great forum