Topic: The 3rd Secret Recipe Group Test

[goncalo]

I got paired up with unclefrank who kindly chose Stephen Lindsay's Chicken [Tikka] Punjabi Massala. A very good recommendation indeed, although I have never been served this curry before, so I don't know if what I tasted was exactly similar to what is served in restaurants, but taste-wise it felt right to me. I should also note that unclefrank picked up this recipe before bamble1976 posted the picture of his dinner, it's only coincidence

My thoughts: I will definitely give this one a try another time, I'm sure my girlfriend will love it as she loves ketchup, but she's not home today.

Without further ado:

Half-chicken Tikka roasting:


Base + red color


Spices + Toms + Salt (only added fenugreek a bit later)


I forgot to take a picture of the prep before starting curry/


The sauce has thickened and reduced considerably, although it's not too clear in the picture


First ladle of base goes in


Chicken Breast and Green peppers


Close-up


Coriander


Served.

[Unclefrank]

Goncalo chose Elaichi North Indian Special for me to cook
http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,8702.0.html

I have made this dish before to the letter but this time i used

CA Base http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,8702.0.html

CA Spice Mix http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,3765.msg34202.html#msg34202

Red Masala i used 5 tbsp of this recipe http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,1823.0.html

Tandoori Spice Mix  http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,8700.0.html

Chicken Tikka http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,874.0.html
I brushed the tikka while under the grill with mustard oil and used yellow food colouring instead of orange.

Chicken Tikka




Elaichi North Indian Special




I really do love cooking and eating this dish, i urge people to try it.

Again sorry about short review, busy again.

[DalPuri]

Thats the first two in. Another two excellent pictorial reports!
Thanks to Goncalo and UncleFrank.

I think perhaps an additional rule for the 4th test. (if there is one) ?

*No dish can be repeated from the previous round.  ;D

Cheers, Frank. 

[RubyDoo]

Nice recipes and write ups both. UF your pics give me a slight headache as they are a bit out of focus, or is it my computer. 

Mustard oil on the tikka?  Must try that next time.

[Unclefrank]

It might be your computer nothing wrong with pictures on my laptop.
I really don't have time to make sure it's picture perfect Rubydoo i do have other things to do, you are a picky little so and so at times 

[goncalo]

Thanks DP&RD. Great achievement UB and I'm glad you enjoyed what I picked up for you.

Your pictures have a little blurring to them on my screen too, have the feeling if we put on 3d glasses we may see them up and close :-P

[RubyDoo]

It might be your computer nothing wrong with pictures on my laptop.
I really don't have time to make sure it's picture perfect Rubydoo i do have other things to do, you are a picky little so and so at times 

Picky?  Me?   .... and what is the 'little' all about?   

Seems like Goncalo has been drinking the same hooch as me - similarly out of focus..   

[DalPuri]

if we put on 3d glasses we may see them up and close :-P

3D Curry, now there's a thought. . . . . . 

[DalPuri]

 only one more week to go 

[RubyDoo]

Its coming. Its coming. 

Edit - ok so here it is.

This task was set for me by the Curry Master himself, Monsieur Chewy Tikka of the northern territories.  I was invited to attempt his own take on a 2 pan Rogan Josh. Now this was absolutely ideal for me as I had been meaning to do a RJ for sometime but never got around to it. My first hurdle was that this recipe did not appear anywhere on CRO so CT was set the task of documenting this for our enjoyment. What did he do instead?  Made a full video and ate about a dozen portions himself in as many days to make sure it was right. Bless him ( and his stomach !! )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ms2dqvaNCRU   ( am I allowed to post the link CT? If not then let me know. )

Armed with information from aforementioned video I set about my task. I must apologise at this stage for the lack of 'porn' , well at least at the various stages. Daughter has purloined my camera and phones are a pain. You therefore only have a pic of the final dish and that, to be fair, is not great. Dark meat in a dark sauce does not lend itself to pic of the year!!

Onward, the dish itself was straight forward to make. I went with mutton having just acquired and pre-cooked a nice batch from Smithfield Market. I used C2G base ( tweaked to my liking ). Further, I had actually run out of white onion ( unusual in this house ) so red onion and green pepper were used as the veg. Other than that , all to spec I think.

I won't blather on about actually making it other than to comment on the use of the chilli and coriander mix which I have not used before and thought it added a depth of freshness to the final dish. Nice one, will use again.

So without further ado, to my verdict / comment. The first pan was gorgeous. Rich, with a bite and the freshness previously mentioned. The mutton added to the richness and the odd piece of veg also came through. Suitably dark in colour which, imho, a RJ should be. Now comes the 'crunch' and whilst I question, who am I to take on the big man,  I was really left puzzled about the purpose of the second pan part of this dish. I am not a massive lover of lumps of veg mixed in with my main course meat or chicken dish but found the veg in the first pan was spot on and blended really well with the flavours etc. The second dish left me cold and wondering , why go to the effort.  Ok. perhaps it is / was me so - I cooked the bl**dy thing again.  Nope, still cannot understand the reason for the second pan and I actually think it is detrimental to what was produced in the first pan. Sorry CT - really tried with this but it is the one pan jobbie for me in future and, very nice it is too. 

To conclude may I raise a question for those of you out there? What actually makes a Rogan Josh ( or however you want to spell it ) a Rogan Josh? What defines it? What separates it from the rest?  I am not actually sure as it is one of those dishes that varies so much from place to place, more so than some of the others.