Topic: Garlic chilli chicken achari vs Ex-hot chicken vindaloo

[Micky Tikka]

Forgot to mention the curries Bob
They do look like your setting the standards very high 

[Kashmiri Bob]

Thanks for the feedback/info guys.  Here's a couple of pics of the actual Achari I aimed to copy (from my local restaurant/TA).  It's on the Chef's Speciality menu and comes with a small portion of pilau rice (

[ligs]

Hi bob looks good but no better than yours, im going to rushholm tomorow and im going to buy the boxed spices,could you show the recipie for the achar gosht please, and how do you get that much oil seperation I never get that effect. Is it an oily base or a lot of oil to start with?

[Kashmiri Bob]

Hi bob looks good but no better than yours, im going to rushholm tomorow and im going to buy the boxed spices,could you show the recipie for the achar gosht please, and how do you get that much oil seperation I never get that effect. Is it an oily base or a lot of oil to start with?

Hi ligs. Yes, will put something together recipe-wise for the achari, if I can remember what went in.    It's was nothing too fancy.  The seasoning box was key I felt, plus the Ahmed pickle.  The oil separation I think is down to 3 things.  The oil ideally needs to separate out from the base, when it's made. For me the base needs to be quite thin to get this, at least at the start of the "rolling boil" (no thicker than semi-skimmed milk, for example).  Keep the base thin for making the curry (dilute it with water if needed).  I've watched a couple of chefs using thick(ish) gravy (the fastest way to make a curry) and they end up with negligible separation.  Finally, quite a bit of high heat is needed, whilst the dish is left to cook (without any stirring). Bit of a leap of faith to start with, but after a while it gets easier. The "flocked" effect (if wanted) is mainly achieved via a period of fast reduction towards the end of cooking.       

Rob 

[Vindaloo-crazy]

Was that a Haiku?