Topic: Methi chicken vs Ex hot lamb vindaloo

[DalPuri]

Found a quote here that might be helpful.(or not  mixed opinions out there)

Two of NSM's loyal customers, Jity Naik and her friend Asha Adhvary, won't buy anything except basmati. "I eat rice every day, so it's very important to buy the right one," Naik says, nodding seriously. She buys both young and aged basmati, depending on what she is cooking. "The young rice has the best aroma, but aged rice is the better product - it's lighter and fluffier."

from here: http://www.theage.com.au/news/Epicure/Have-you-had-your-rice/2005/04/18/1113676683294.html

more info here: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/117601-fresh-rice-vs-aged-rice/

Or,
Could it be the flavour/aroma of the sack its stored in and that most brands sold here have been packaged in paper or nylon rather than the old cloth sacks?
I'm sure that can make a difference for aged varieties.

[Secret Santa]

Or,
Could it be the flavour/aroma of the sack its stored in and that most brands sold here have been packaged in paper or nylon rather than the old cloth sacks?

But then why would the restaurants' Basmati have the aroma and not my Basmati? They may buy in larger quantities but I doubt the packaging (in the UK) is any different.

The new/aged idea is interesting though, but again I'd expect the cheap varieties, which must be young, to have the best aroma and that's not what I'm finding at all.

A thought just struck me that perhaps what the restaurants were using when I used to get plain boiled 'Basmati' rice was, in fact, Patna rice. It may be that I just made the assumption (wrongly) that it was Basmati rice I was being served. I'm pretty sure I've never bought any Patna rice because it's supposd to be an inferior product, but I'm going to get some now to find out. It'd be great if what's considered to be an inferior product turns out to be my superior product.  ;D

[DalPuri]

A thought just struck me that perhaps what the restaurants were using when I used to get plain boiled 'Basmati' rice was, in fact, Patna rice. It may be that I just made the assumption (wrongly) that it was Basmati rice I was being served. I'm pretty sure I've never bought any Patna rice because it's supposd to be an inferior product, but I'm going to get some now to find out. It'd be great if what's considered to be an inferior product turns out to be my superior product.  ;D

Another thing i was going to suggest was to try some Poha (pressed rice) which can also be strong in flavour and aroma.
Maybe a handful of pre-soaked Poha mixed in with the boiled basmati could lift the flavour of your bland rice?

[natterjak]

I must confess I'm not sure exactly which aroma you mean.

Ah, maybe that's the point!

At home I don't ever achieve the wonderful aroma that restaurant plain boiled basmati rice has. Or, in fact, is it that the restaurant rice no longer has it either? I confess that it's years since I had plain boiled Basmati at a restaurant/takeaway and it may be that the wonderful fragrance I remember of old no longer exists in the restaurants either.

Would you say then natterjack that your own and the restaurant/takeaway plain, boiled basmati rice have no discernable aroma/fragrance - or, at least, no really alluring aroma?

Well I'm stymied by the fact I never order boiled rice in a restaurant and rarely eat it at home, as my regular habit is to prepare and freeze into portions large batches of pilau (to the CH method more or less). However in the spirit of experimentation I had plain boiled basmati last night (Veetee Supreme brand bought in 10kg plastic bag from Asda) and the aroma and flavour was delicious. I was surprised as I always considered pilau to be an essential part of the curry experience.

But whether this is "the" aroma you seek, dunno!

[Secret Santa]

Another thing i was going to suggest was to try some Poha (pressed rice) which can also be strong in flavour and aroma.

It's an interesting thought but I'm pretty sure there wasn't any in the rice I used to get - it would be detectable visually wouldn't it?

[DalPuri]

Another thing i was going to suggest was to try some Poha (pressed rice) which can also be strong in flavour and aroma.

It's an interesting thought but I'm pretty sure there wasn't any in the rice I used to get - it would be detectable visually wouldn't it?

I doubt you would ever see the odd grain of poha mixed in with plain basmati, and also doubt it has ever been done before.
But as an experiment to give you a temporary flavour fix until you find what youre after, isn't a bad idea. 

[Aussie Mick]

I was never a rice fan at all.

If I go to a restaurant, i'll order a few tandoori dishes to be shared amongst the table guests, but for mains, i will order my chosen curry, and a naan bread. I may pinch a tablespoon of rice from someone in exchange for some bread.......

However, i must say, since we opened our shop, i have become addicted to our basmati rice. I don't know if it's available in UK. it's an aged basmati Indian rice called "Aeroplane LA Taste". It is so fragrant, with ultra long grains. I can (and often do) eat a bowl of this stuff on it's own.

Seriously, if can source this in UK, give it a go, I guarantee you will not be disapointed.

[curryhell]

Having made a chicken vindaloo in pretty much the same way before i read this post,  I was very keen to try the meethi chicken.  Not only was i curious to see how a lot of meethi changed the flavour of a dish and i had never cooked with the fresh kind before, which is readily available from my local Asian store, but the look of the dish really appealed to me.
As Rob describes, I did a basic madras recipe (no lemon or Worcester), added a good handful of fresh meethi leaves followed later on by a tsp of coleman's mustard and a few chopped fresh chillis. I also chosed to add a half of a very small onion finely chopped before frying off the garlic/ginger puree.
Here's the ingredients, less the onion



Fried the onion till it went translucent and added the g/g.  Fried until water removed.  Added the tomato paste followed 30 seconds later by the spice mix. Cooked this for a bit and added a couple of chef spoons of curry gravy and cooked for about a minute.  Added half the gravy, precooked chicken and fresh meethi and started the first reduction.



Adding the meethi now should really get the flavour into the sauce and the meat.  I wasn't quite sure what to expect as the fresh leaves are no where near as pungent as fresh corainder   First reduction now well underway



I reduced this down further till bhoona consistancy, then added the remaining base, pinch of salt, mustard and fresh chillis and proceeded to start the second reduction adding two pieces of fresh tomato and a good pinch of fresh coriander towards the end.





I continued with the second reduction until the bhoona consistancy was reached again.



Here's a close up of the dish



And finally my supper



I enjoyed it that much that 2 days later i cooked the dish again reducing the salt only to a pinch and scaling the chilli down to just a tsp so i could enjoy the flavours more.  I also intend to reduce the coriander to a mere pinch for garnishing purposes as i think there's a potential for it to clash with the meethi.   I've got to say this dish is a winner.  It is an amalgam of flavours with that distinctive meethi smell which floods the kitchen when the dish is cooking.  I may try it with the dried meethi leaves but i think the results will fall short of my efforts last week.  I may even cut the second reduction time to provide a little more sauce for a chappati 

Zaal base and mix powder was used along with Ifindforu's precooked chicken.

[MethiGoshtFreak]

Curryhell,

That looks like a crackin' curry mate.

As you may deduce from my handle Methi Chicken or Lamb is my favourite dish.

I've witnessed many chefs cook it in front of me and all of them have done the following:

Id say a pretty basic curry to start with(choose your heat level by chilli level).Usual base sauce approach etc.However when doing Methi they always add a sprinkling of dried Kashuri methi leaves as the oil is heating before the GG paste/tom puree is added.Further they add a teapsoon or so of mustard seeds at GG/Puree stage.Between the first and second reduction they all have added a couple of level tablespoon of pureed spinach from a tin.Nearing readiness they then sprinkle a handful of dried Kashuri methi leaves into the dish,delibaretly rubbign them between their fingers in order to release their full flavour.This stage is done literally one minute before readiness.You're right about the coriander too.They hardly use any;maybe two teaspoon of fresh coriander a minute before the dish is complete.

Hope this helps..:.)

[MethiGoshtFreak]

Curryhell.

Sorry forgot to mention this too...

If the chef's out to impress or in especially benevolent mood they will add a small block of butter right at the very end of cooking.This then melts deliciously into the curry as its waiting to be dished out and adds a spectacular velvety dimension to the dish as it slowly blends with the pureed spinach.