Topic: Methi chicken vs Ex hot lamb vindaloo

[curryhell]

Fantastic dish there CH.  Does look remarkably similar to my effort.  I must be doing something right.

Rob 

Cheers Rob.  I just added to the porn gallery  ;D. The two vindi's definitely are from the same family alright   You certainly are getting some great tuition mate which is most definitely paying dividends.  Long may it continue.  I really must try the meethi dish.  How much dry fenugreek does the chef add to the dish, just in case i can't get the fresh?

[curryhell]

It certainly does look nice although 1.25 chefs spoons of extra hot chili powder would probably buckle me. . The rice looks great. Could we have or have you already posted a recipe for it?

Cheers Gav.  If cooked properly it's hot and tasty.  If cooked badly you can only taste raw chilli powder and you'll regret the next morning 
As for the rice, i'll post up my amended recipe which requires a couple of changes because of the addition of the milk.  This I must attribute to Natterjak's, jb's and my visit to Zaman's of Dachet.  For me now the pilau is perfect restaurant quality.

@ Rob, how do they cook the rice in the kitchen you work in mate??

[Kashmiri Bob]

@ Rob, how do they cook the rice in the kitchen you work in mate??

I always manage to miss seeing the rice made from scratch. Must ask the chef to take me through it.  What I have seen appears straightforward.  For plain rice, oil and salt are added before it is brought to the boil, and get a good stir in.  Once boiling the gas is turned down; it's still on a good rolling boil.  No more stirring as the rice absorbs the water.  Instead, chef grabs both handles of the (very large) pan and quite forcefully rotates it once one way, and then the other, I guess to just "shift" the contents.  He does this a few times throughout cooking.  When he's happy with the firmness of the grains the pan is transferred to the oven to dry off, and later taken to the back room to cool down.  The kitchen porter and tandoori chef then start filling plastic TA containers with the rice, and stack them in a fridge. Not seen the pilau rice made as yet; apparently there is a whole spice baghar stage for this.  For orders the rices are just microwaved as needed (except biryanis).  Always perfect and fragrant; they never mess it up, unlike me when I make it at home!

Rob 

Chef uses about 1 level cs of dried methi for the methi (mains). Perhaps a touch more when it's a lamb dish.       

[goncalo]

I am lately noticing that my rice isn't as good as it once was and I rarely ever get the rice right these days when I make it. I thought my whole spices were dated, so I replaced them. First attempt I think I over-saturated the flavors with fennel/staranus/green cards.

One question though, I never use black cumin which a lot of rice recipes on this site call for. Everytime I do, I get this weird taste, which I can't really relate to. The best I can seem to describe it is a cross between smoke and burnt plastic, not aromatic or fragrant at all, and I don't think I burn them as I've experimented with oil on high temperature and without, just to roast them on a low light and I can't seem to comprehend it - any thoughts?

[Peripatetic Phil]

No, can't help I'm afraid.  Black cumin, a.k.a., "kala jeera", is fundamental to my pulao, and I cook it in hot ghee for five minutes at 100% in the microwave oven with the other whole masala spices before adding the washed/rinsed/dried rice and cooking for a further two minutes before adding the boiling water.  Never had an unpleasant flavour as a result of this.

** Phil.

[Secret Santa]

I'm not averse to black cumin but I've never had it in a restaurant/takeaway pilao and I don't use it in mine. The predominant flavour has always been star anise. The thing I've never achieved is the wonderful aroma of plain Basmati rice that I get in the restaurants, despite using a variety of different Basmati rices.

[goncalo]

I'm not averse to black cumin but I've never had it in a restaurant/takeaway pilao and I don't use it in mine. The predominant flavour has always been star anise. The thing I've never achieved is the wonderful aroma of plain Basmati rice that I get in the restaurants, despite using a variety of different Basmati rices.

I do have the plain basmati rice flavour coming through on my rice. I think this may be down to the rice quality. I recommend Akash, most indian grocers sell 20kg bags.

[curryhell]

I'm not averse to black cumin but I've never had it in a restaurant/takeaway pilao and I don't use it in mine. The predominant flavour has always been star anise. The thing I've never achieved is the wonderful aroma of plain Basmati rice that I get in the restaurants, despite using a variety of different Basmati rices.

Well they've certainly been using in my neck of the woods since i've been eating BIR.  As for the aroma, is it lacking in your pilau rice or plain boiled rice?

[Salvador Dhali]

Thought i'd add to BB's thread as it contains some lovely looking dishes and one almost identical to that i cooked just before he posted the original thread.  The extrahot vindi (you could easily call it phall) recipe is simply a winner.  One and a quarter chef's spoon of extra hot chilli, tsp mix powder, g/g, diluted tomato paste, salt, fresh coriander, 10 roughly chopped chillis and a tsp of balti paste to see what it  would bring to the party.  Second time i've cooked this and enjoyed it both times as a nice change.  A really thick sauce, just thicker than thick with virtually all the liquid removed, not quite paste like but close.  Went down really well again tonight but not for the non chilli lover. 

Some SERIOUSLY good looking dishes from both BB and CH here. That is just the way I like my vindaloos to look.

I'm butting in here purely because I noted that CH mentioned that he added "a tsp of balti paste to see what it would bring to the party", and wanted to suggest an alternative to try.

As I've mentioned somewhere in another thread, I've been addicted to Laziza Karahi Fry paste for many years now, and find that a tablespoon or so added to the likes of a Madras / Vindaloo / Phal really racks up the intensity levels. (I also add a tablespoon or so to my bunjarra as well. Mind you, I also add it to my scrambled eggs, left over mashed potato to make spicy tattie cakes, and many other things...)

Anyway, if you fancy checking it out and can't find it in your local Asian store, I get mine from here: http://www.mullaco.com/Sauces-and-Pastes/Laziza-Paste-Karahi-Fry/W003739.html

(P.S. Their Tandoori paste is seriously good as well, by the way. No need to mess around with mixing three different Patak's pastes to achieve that BIR taste.)

[Naga]

I like your style, SD! I must see if I can pick up some of that paste - you've sold it to me!