Topic: New Year Resolutions 2013

[Naga]

...i know 3 off versions of the dish...

Hi Jerry - I think many might have missed my post about another version of the dish while the tantrums were in full swing last month. This is the link to the recipe and I can say that it is very, very good and certainly worth trying out.

[JerryM]

Naga,

many thanks - i had missed your post. tantrums are real put off for me - its the food and our collective helping of each other that matters.

have had a quick flick through the recipe and will need to check it in detail. it does not jump out anything new for me. link to my previous efforts http://cr0.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=4333.0

your comment on jam is very interesting though - do you have more info. having thought more about what i'd tasted i felt although the restaurant is top notch and although i'd love to think they buy red peppers and chillies specifically to blend for use in this type of dish - part of me thinks they don't. in short i went and bought some chilli chutney and chilli pickle - yet to taste them. also remember something about same in the curry2go book and need to read up on it.

i also now realise that there is a massive selection of chutneys and pickle and need to do some more homework before revisiting the shop.

the jam sought of sounds right against my recollection of what i was tasting.

[Naga]

...your comment on jam is very interesting though - do you have more info....

The chilli jam recipe is taken from a thread on the site:

http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,7961.msg70136.html#msg70136

I don't separate my home-grown chillies, but just bung them into a freezer bag when they ripen. I made the jam with a couple of handfuls of frozen, mixed chillies instead, probably to excess of the recipe amounts! I also used Nishaan crushed garlic instead of the cloves.

The recipe certainly worked for me and it's a regular addition to my curries now.

[ELW]

Hi naga, I doubled the amount of ingredients for the chilli/garlic sauce from that recipe, adding chilli powder when i ran out of fresh. Thats where i lost control of it. It was way too hot, I ended up freezing it then throwing it away. I will have another go at it using cbm little india base, when i have time, as i think it has potential. The chilli jam idea sounds like a neat little shortcut, when looking for hot & sweet

Going forward I'm switching back to fresh GG, I've been using frozen blocks of each from asda. They are another great shortcut, but going back to fresh to see if i can notice a difference, as my curries have nosedived recently, for no good reason

ELW

[JerryM]

Naga,

many thanks for link (which i'd missed).

this really looks promising (except for the vinegar - always difficult to get help from BIR chefs but from a direct question vinegar was a clear No No).

puts the cat among the pigeons - i've opened the 2 off jars i bought. the chutney tastes delicious. the pickle is for the bin (quite surprised as it's the pickle that curry2go recommends which makes me hold back until i've cooked with it - it might be you just need a little - it also needs blending for use in curry and that may help the taste). never been  a fan of lime pickle and the chilli goes into the same boat

the chutney sounds very much like the jam; ingredients red pepper, garlic, sugar, syrup, cumin

i feel pretty sure it's the chutney that is being used in the restaurant dish i like.

LH chilli chutney - RH chilli pickle

[Naga]

Here's a couple of pics of my chilli jam - I took them with the old steam-driven moby, so they're not perfect by any means! The jam is actually a good bit more brighter red than the photo suggests - more like raspberry conserve than anything else.





Also, this is the garlic and garlic/ginger paste I've been using for a good while now - and I use it in everything in place of fresh.

http://www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/Details/?id=272620834

http://www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/Details/?id=272620898

It's not 100% pure (84%), but its very handy straight out of the fridge and tastes fine (and I always put a bit extra in anyway lol).

[JerryM]

Naga,

many thanks for pics - appreciated. i do like to make everything i use but have had to accept that it's not possible when it comes to curry (fridge is full of pasco/patak pastes, lemon dressing, green chilli paste).

will try the bought chutney before taking stock on what flavour it delivers and if i need to make my own ie jam (which looks pretty similar).

best wishes

ps i know fresh garlic / ginger is best but i too relent most of the time and buy same from home bargains

[George]

So much for a thread about New Year Resolutions - it seems to have turned into a thread about anything and everything!

I've started 2013 as I hope to continue, based on success I found upon starting to use my pressure cooker. I also hope to spend more time following my own hunches, rather than wasting too much time and money following Internet sourced recipes which aren't written up with sufficient care, for example regarding spoon measures. Or video footage where we don't even know if the resultant food tastes any good. Earlier suggestions of mine based on real-life taste testing did not seem to attract much interest - perhaps because it might be far too revealing.

[JerryM]

George,

there did not seem to be much interest in what members are going to do different this year.

i've not got much that i feel i like to do either - i'm essentially at peace with BIR. in fact pizza is now my no1 challenge.

i suppose a tad lazy on my part - i did not feel the extra comment was worth a new post.

i very much agree on your thought of following your own hunches - as you say a lot of wasted time often results following "blue sky" information.

[JerryM]

i've tried out both jars. the chilli chutney is brill. the red chilli pickle in the bin - awful

i've been using the "dipuraja" method in a deep saucepan on my domestic hob ie all in at the start to make a few half portion dishes - 9 off in total so far.

the ingredients being: oil, methi, garlic paste, ginger paste, mix, puree, chilli sauce, blended tin toms, base, mango chutney, yogurt, mint sauce, golden syrup, pineapple juice, pineapple blended, chilli chutney.

i'm aiming ultimately for a "garlic" curry based on h4appy-chris recipe for south indian garlic.

so far i've ruled out: ginger paste, syrup, pineapple and i think mint.

next i'm moving onto the garlic options feeling i've got the basic sauce good enough (essentially h4appy-chris plus mango chutney plus chilli chutney).