Topic: Consistent results - do you get it?

[gansant]

I'm finding slight variation in regular curry's I'm cooking. Last week I did a classic N Indian curry and the taste was totally off, I found out the corriander was a different type which made the dish smell and taste more like perfume. Sometimes powders can have variations to them if I'm moving on to a new batch.

[JerryM]

George,

it's a yes from me. i do have "test" weeks following my new year resolution but only cook for myself.

when cooking for others (mainly family) i get 100% consistency.

in fact i found it quite a suprise how much "variability" there is and still produce spot on result. i used to wonder how BIR chefs could produce without tasting.

it really is down to repetition - doing exactly the same.

pouring the base through a ladle to judge the thinness and using a chef spoon of base to cook the spices are the key QC measures for me. i still use measuring spoon for the spices at dish frying and weigh all ingredients when making base.

[JerryM]

had unexpected cooking night. made 2 off Zaal CTM one after the other and ended up with 2 off totally different dishes. so 0% consistency.

not perhaps that unexpected given i was off my normal beaten track.

dish 1 - this had smokey taste. quite ironic given in the past i had period when i just could not get. i put it down to the swish (in sam's video posted by h4ppy-chris) early on when cooking out the spices. i also added too much of the red masala. the recipe stating 1 chef which was what i aimed at yet think i probably ended up heaped (down to how thick the paste is). i was also taken aback by how slow the condensed milk pours (it really does not pour at all). i ran out of time on the heat and did not get enough in.

dish 2 - not bad at all. got the red masala right and started adding the condensed milk much earlier and throttled the tin.

practice is clearly a big factor.

[meggeth]

pouring the base through a ladle to judge the thinness and using a chef spoon of base to cook the spices are the key QC measures for me. i still use measuring spoon for the spices at dish frying and weigh all ingredients when making base.

Jerry, does that mean you don't fry spices, but "cook" them in the base? Do you feel that this gives you a better result?

[JerryM]

meggeth,

in short yes. similar can be achieved by adding water to the tom puree.

when i 1st joined the site i tried to master the "toffee" smell hot dry frying approach. despite something like 3 to 6 months practise i still got hit and miss results. i also got the odd burnt which is grim.

following the zaal input of singe and quench i revisited the hot dry fry approach. i cooked 5 off plain curry and felt 4 off were on par and 1 off slightly better than my norm. i still believe there is some improvement to be gained from hot dry frying but the difficulty is not worth the effort.

i cook the garlic or g/g in the oil till i get smell of the garlic then take pan off heat and add 1 chef of base along with tom puree and the spices, give it a good stir and back on the heat till the water has nearly gone. i've tried leaving it without stirring and also tried regular stirring - it does not seem to matter much. the main key is not to cook to far otherwise burnt. also the longer you cook at this stage the darker the curry becomes.

methi if using goes in with the garlic as i like to cook it out.

i feel i'm still frying the spices but protecting them with the free water which for me makes it easier to spot when the spices are reaching the cooked out point.

i think there are some posts to search for on the subject. i don't have link though.

note on last time dish 1 smokey taste - i tried again to repeat this but failed to get it again. the 2 off CTM cooked tonight despite the swishing in 1 off both turned out exactly the same.