South Indian Garlic Chicken recipe with video

[Secret Santa]

Jerry I'm confused as to what you were trying to prove there. Were you trying to find out the effect of three different methods of cooking garlic, or were you trying three different versions of the curry?

Which came out best?

[JerryM]

Secret Santa,

i've confused myself to be honest. i was trying to find out which method of cooking garlic produced the best using the recipe as a control.

with hindsight i've been adopting to much of a scattergun approach thinking the result i'm after would be relatively easy to achieve given Chris's top notch info - i now realise it's not.

i know my local TA uses method 3 ie cold pre cooked slithers that look quite burnt and are added just before going into the carton. they (the TA) produce an exceptional garlic curry. i've never been able to cook them right though.

i also know they use a chilli sauce to make it (re our exploits to produce something similar). the chilli sauce is a method of adding in tamarind along with a balance of various chilli which together really set the dish off.

to confuse things further i've had 1 off really good result using the zaal method but for the most of the time can't reproduce it despite watching the video repeatedly and not really being able to spot where i'm going wrong. gut feeling is that i'm burning the oil off that the garlic is cooked in before it has time to get soaked up into the cooked sauce (why dish 1 has too strong a taste and dish 3 not enough).

i've tried adding the garlic at the start in the past (CBM recipe) and never achieved top notch result - the garlic taste is more braised/dissipated than fried/individual.

i initially thought the tin toms were the missing factor as in dish 1 they seemed to produce a less smooth sauce in comparison to what tom puree seems to produce. the finished curry being sort of lumpy (and separated from the oil) in appearance compared to smooth (dish 2 & 3).

having made dish 3 this suggests the lumpy appearance (which i associate with proper curry) is more to do with the cooking - i think at the evap stage after the base has gone in.

in short i've really got myself confused and intend to try again only changing 1 off variable at a time.

don't get me wrong all 3 off curries tasted good - just not spectacular like the TA version.

i don't really feel there are missing ingredients just the balance and cooking needs a bit of work on.

[h4ppy-chris]

h4ppy-chris is star man for me on this. had fun this week working around the posted recipe. really apprecite the effort made by Chris.

this recipe is all about the garlic and getting it right. i see 3 variations and have had repeated attempts over the years at all 3:

1) added at start ie as per recipe
2) Zaal method of separate frying
3) pre fried slithers and added cold

i still don't feel i've got the garlic as good as my fav TA does so more practice and trial and error is needed for myself.

the owner of the local asian store who i know well suggested not to blitz the tin toms ie just use chopped straight out the tin. i felt this worked well although i've not tried the blitz version. i feel the tin toms is the "tom" of choice for this type of "curry" dish c/w tom puree and intend to adopt going forward.

Dish 1 i over did the zaal effect although the dish was very close to what i'm after. on dish 2 i put the onion in 1st and did not use pre cooked (my norm) and ended up not cooking the garlic enough. Dish 3 was disappointing as i felt it was a step back yet i know the dish with the secret santa sauce and know it works a treat. All 3 dishes were very different in fact too different for me.

in short i'm back to the drawing board and feel i need to get more practice to better understand the effects of the various game changers.

i feel i will start by sticking exactly to the as spec recipe for a while and adjusting the cooking until i get the best outturn before then adding in a few subtleties - which in essence is what my needs are.

Dish 1 - recipe but using zaal garlic


Dish 2 - as spec but added in tom puree


Dish 3 - repeat of dish 1 but using modified secret santa sauce having the tom puree replaced with tin tom

First of all thanks Gerry for your kind words.
Can I just say this, if I was to order  a curry, south Indian garlic is the one I want.
This was my only quest in doing this post, anybody that reads it please feel free to add and remove any ingredient you wish.
I have to say Gerry, dish number two looks very close to what I order from the takeaway.

Up-to-date I have made this dish about six times and learnt from each experience.
This is where I am up to.
1. Cook the tomato's longer so that the oil separates.
2. Once you have cooked the tomato's out add 1 TSP G and G paste (this seems to add to the garlic flavour of the finished dish)

I did notice on the video from the takeaway there was a bit more mixed powder added later on in the dish, I have yet to try this.

[JerryM]

Chris,

am well pleased with the info you've delivered - it gives me a real good firm stick in the ground to work off.

a new burner will cut the cooking time well below half. the only issue for me would be to have somewhere else than the kitchen to use it.

dish 2 was exactly to spec but with 1 tsp tom puree (undiluted) added - i did not feel the puree worked well and would not add again. i did not get the dish as good as i could down to using raw chopped onion which i've not used for a long time. in knowing the chopped onion needs some cooking i added it 1st but failed to add the garlic early enough so that both could "burn" together. that bit in Az's video when he talks of getting the timing right - am sure you already know there's too much burn or not enough - i tend to stop on the1st smell of burning. i was surprised having seen the slithers at my local TA how dark they are yet still taste so good in the dish.

your item 1 i think relates to my dish 1. i can't be sure which stage of the cooking i made longer - i think it was stage 3 ie after the base not stage the spice frying. the oil for the dish plus the oil from separately frying the garlic ie zaal ended up producing too much oil and i think i cooked the dish longer as a result. i suspect that i passed a sort of point of now return as the more i cooked the more oil seemed to appear when normally it would burn off. i may also have not had the stove high enough having turned it down to cook the garlic. i too intend to work on this ie cook the tin toms longer (inc the base).

on your item 2 i felt all was good enough without any ginger. in fact i would not change the recipe in any way other than to get a better fried garlic taste in and to add in the chilli sauce that i use. i also added in some fresh tom quarters which work well in this dish. a squirt of lemon dressing is something i can't do without either.

i may also have to give in and buy some butter ghee as this is what i suspect my local TA uses to pre cook the garlic slithers. i've tried oil and v.ghee and never been able to get the taste good enough. i suspect they use the zaal method to cook and then drain. well worth a try.

i only used 0.5 tsp of mix powder (which is my norm) and felt this was enough. the one thing that i always remember about the TA version is how little spicing there is in the sauce which lets the rest of the ingredients shine through.

very much looking to any other exploits on this one - the more input the better chance we have of building on what is already a very good dish. going to have to make base sooner than later.

[curryhell]

Just out the kitchen having made this.  As Chris is cooking in his video, he says what a beautiful smell.  And he is absolutely right.  Throughout the cooking of this dish the smells in the kitchen are some of the best.  I've no time to post results now as i've mushroom bhaji to make and "naga" sauce.  Made exactly as per recipe in the precise order using Zaal base and mix powder.  The only thing i did was to reduce the pureed plumb tomatoes down to two good chef spoons.  Looking at the restaurant video, their ladel wasn't full so i thought 150ml was a bit over the top.
All i can say is that if anybody is thinking of making this dish, go and do it before cooking any other curry dish.  The flavours are wonderful, well balanced, loads of depth and the smell is divine.  Excellent work Chris.  Definitely one that will be repeated.  Full report and curry porn later  ;D

[Kashmiri Bob]

Made Chris' SIG chicken last night.  Very pleased with the result.  But I am in danger of curry/garlic overload.  Since my last post I have made and consumed 8 dry fry saag bhajis.  Also ordered from a new local TA tonight.  Methi Gosht (first time I have tried one; it is awesome!) and a chicken vinders, plus egg fried rice and garlic naan.  One of my kushi kebabs to start.  And I'm off out for more tomorrow!

Rob     

[h4ppy-chris]

Just out the kitchen having made this.  As Chris is cooking in his video, he says what a beautiful smell.  And he is absolutely right.  Throughout the cooking of this dish the smells in the kitchen are some of the best.  I've no time to post results now as i've mushroom bhaji to make and "naga" sauce.  Made exactly as per recipe in the precise order using Zaal base and mix powder.  The only thing i did was to reduce the pureed plumb tomatoes down to two good chef spoons.  Looking at the restaurant video, their ladel wasn't full so i thought 150ml was a bit over the top.
All i can say is that if anybody is thinking of making this dish, go and do it before cooking any other curry dish.  The flavours are wonderful, well balanced, loads of depth and the smell is divine.  Excellent work Chris.  Definitely one that will be repeated.  Full report and curry porn later  ;D

thanks CH, looking forward to Full report and curry porn later 

[h4ppy-chris]

Made Chris' SIG chicken last night. Very pleased with the result.

Rob 

glad you got to make it Rob.

[h4ppy-chris]

Well i nailed this last night. also got my base gravy bang on (some credit as to go to chewy on that) and got the curry cooking technique down to a T.
I got the lovely garlic taste by using bought frozen garlic, it,s the nuts. let me know if you want a pic of the garlic.
oh and only used 2 chefs spoons of tomato.

[JerryM]

h4ppy-chris,

when u say nailed i guess pretty much same as from TA. if so what would you say made the difference or was it all 4.

please post pic of the frozen garlic if it's something we should look out for.

ps i still intend to test out a few ideas on the garlic and will post if i get anywhere (had chat with manager at my local store who said to use lurpak not butter ghee). i did try the tin chopped and tin plumb and could did not really detect a difference - i guess depends on the brand with the plum having better options and the chopped being a generic quality. i can't see TA being that choosy.