Topic: Base based on curry (re-post)

[Peripatetic Phil]

Not sure what happened to the original posting, so trying again :

I made a Malabar Chicken Curry a few nights ago, but used only 1/3 of the whole chicken that the recipe specified; this turned out to be a good move, as the curry was nothing special at all.  I ate most of the 1/3 of the chicken, but left almost all of the sauce, and on Christmas Eve I cooked a base using this as the starting point.  The base is basically KD1/PC with the addition of two chicken carcasses (already used to make stock) and the left-overs from the Malabar curry, of which there was quite a bit.  Report to follow after Christmas when it has been used to make a final curry or two.

** Phil.

[Stephen Lindsay]

I'll re-post my previous question - how about posting the recipe Phil?

[Peripatetic Phil]

I'll re-post my previous question - how about posting the recipe Phil?

That was literally it, Stephen : nothing was measured other than the ingredients for KD1/PC, which are documented in the message linked from the first post.  If it is the recipe for the Malabar Chicken Curry in which you are interested, I have added a link, but given that I scaled the chicken by 1/3 but did not necessarily scale the other ingredients proportionately there will definitely be more than an element of hit-and-miss . . .   Oh, and I replaced the coconut milk by chicken stock because I had no coconut milk.

** Phil.

P.S. I placed this under "Curry Base Chat" and not under "Curry Base Recipes" because with the best will in the world there is no way I can post an exact recipe !

[Stephen Lindsay]

cheers Phil, I'm looking out to try something other than the tried and tested favourites for a change and I've made several curries this festive season, all of which are new to me, and this is next on my list!

[Secret Santa]

I've made several curries this festive season, all of which are new to me...

Were any of them keepers?

[emin-j]

I'll re-post my previous question - how about posting the recipe Phil?

That was literally it, Stephen : nothing was measured other than the ingredients for KD1/PC, which are documented in the message linked from the first post.  If it is the recipe for the Malabar Chicken Curry in which you are interested, I have added a link, but given that I scaled the chicken by 1/3 but did not necessarily scale the other ingredients proportionately there will definitely be more than an element of hit-and-miss . . .   

Oh, and I replaced the coconut milk by chicken stock because I had no coconut milk.

** Phil.

P.S. I placed this under "Curry Base Chat" and not under "Curry Base Recipes" because with the best will in the world there is no way I can post an exact recipe !

Not much difference in flavour between those two then Phil  :

[Stephen Lindsay]

I've made several curries this festive season, all of which are new to me...

Were any of them keepers?

Yes several were SS but I'm gonna repeat them before posting.

[Peripatetic Phil]

So tonight I finally made the first curry using this base.  I sieved the base thoroughly, getting a great deal of detritus out, and then made a 1-portion Chicken Madras :

9 pieces of pre-cooked chicken, marinaded as for the Malabar Chicken Curry that was the start of all this and then lightly pre-cooked in oil, a little base, Kashmiri Masala paste and g/g paste.  The chicken was most definitely /not/ fully cooked at the end of this stage.  After pre-cooking, the chicken remained in the 'fridge at around 4^oC for several days.  Tonight I gently fried some g/paste in oil, then added the spices (2 teaspoons Bolsts Hot Madras Curry Powder, 1 teaspoon Bassar Curry Masala, 1 teaspoon Kashmiri Mirch, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 2/3 teaspoon ground fenugreek, 1/3 teaspoon ground coriander -- all measures rounded), stirred well at about 1/3 power, quenched with 1 teaspoon tomato puree diluted with 2 teaspoons hot water, continued to fry then added one ladle base.  When everything had thickened I added the chicken, made sure it was thoroughly coated, then added a second ladle of base.  When that too had thickened I added the third and final ladle of base, waited for the oil to come out, then removed the chicken to rest under cling film while I reduced the base to my desired consistency.

The end result was excellent : the chicken was moist, juicy, tender and full of flavour, and the sauce was full-flavoured, rich and complex.  Definitely one of my better curries, though with so many variables it would be hard to identify the key factors.  Did marinading the raw chicken in lemon juice and spices contribute to the tenderness, or was this more to do with removing it to rest before the final reduction ? Certainly I would think that the more complex base added additional layers of flavour.

** Phil.