In anticipation of all the good food to come

[curryhell]

Curryhell, what's your secret for the orange coloured sauce (assuming that last pic is representative of the true colour)?

No secret SS.  Certainly no food colouring.  All i can simply put it down to is the colour of the base plus the mix powder.  I used ordinary chilli powder x 1 rounded dessert spoon, so it's colour impact would have been negated by base and mix powder.  When you look at the Zaal base and mix powder, the turmeric content is higher than many.

[curryhell]

I'm getting confused here.  Blade's tikka recipe.  Patak's tandoori curry paste (tamarind and ginger). Yes/No?

Yes but no  ;D . If you read the whole thread Rob you'll see that many others tried tikka paste, which also has the same predominant ingredients of tamarind and ginger as does tandoori paste.  Many found that there was even an improvement.  You will also see that balti paste was used too, again, this containing the two key ingredients but in lesser quantities.  I think the general concensus was that tikka paste worked even better, with balti being acceptable alternative and tandoori being the original.  Not sure what recipe you use for your tikka, but don't knock the balti paste until you try it.  As 976 bar said when he tried it, it wins hands down.  My preference would be for the tikka being subtle, then the balti, equally subtle but different and finally, the tandoori which tends to be slightly harsher or have  a more robust flavour than the others.

[curryhell]

Nice one, CH, like your style

[Stephen Lindsay]

great looking spread there CH and glad to see the NIS is still on the menu, cracking dish.

[Secret Santa]

Curryhell, what's your secret for the orange coloured sauce (assuming that last pic is representative of the true colour)?

No secret SS.  Certainly no food colouring.  All i can simply put it down to is the colour of the base plus the mix powder.  I used ordinary chilli powder x 1 rounded dessert spoon, so it's colour impact would have been negated by base and mix powder.  When you look at the Zaal base and mix powder, the turmeric content is higher than many.

Thanks curryhell. The solution seems obvious enough in theory but I really struggle to get an orange curry. If I, as is supposed to be the accepted technique, give the spices a good frying at the start they darken so much that it always darkens the curry to a brown colour. Clearly a yellow base with lots of red spice seems to be half the battle though. I'll persevere.

[Peripatetic Phil]

Thanks curryhell. The solution seems obvious enough in theory but I really struggle to get an orange curry. If I, as is supposed to be the accepted technique, give the spices a good frying at the start they darken so much that it always darkens the curry to a brown colour. Clearly a yellow base with lots of red spice seems to be half the battle though. I'll persevere.

This seems very odd to me, as all of my Madras attempts are orange to red. Only if I omit the chilli component completely (as in making a basic chicken curry) does it come out brown.  I wonder whether this is because these days I used exclusively Kashmiri mirch and Deggi mirch ?

** Phil.

[Secret Santa]

This seems very odd to me, as all of my Madras attempts are orange to red. Only if I omit the chilli component completely (as in making a basic chicken curry) does it come out brown.  I wonder whether this is because these days I used exclusively Kashmiri mirch and Deggi mirch ?

Certainly those two are redder than the average chilli powder, which is what I generally use. But I've never mastered a truly orange curry sauce like I've seen from some takeaways and some pics here.

It's sort of obvious that red from the chilli spices and yellow from a particular type of base will be a prerequisite to a truly orange colour. My bases tend to be a very light brown so I may have to change that a bit.

I've just watched a few videos on youtube to get ideas and I noticed that the more orange curries (vindaloo and madras) use some tandoori powder in the tomato puree which obviously has extra artificial red colouring in it. Clearly that must go some way to enhancing the oranginess.

[Peripatetic Phil]

It's sort of obvious that red from the chilli spices and yellow from a particular type of base will be a prerequisite to a truly orange colour. My bases tend to be a very light brown so I may have to change that a bit.

I've just watched a few videos on youtube to get ideas and I noticed that the more orange curries (vindaloo and madras) use some tandoori powder in the tomato puree which obviously has extra artificial red colouring in it. Clearly that must go some way to enhancing the oranginess.

Well, from our responses to Meggeth's questionnaire, we both use similar bases, so it must be in the spicing.  Here is one of mine :

** Phil.

[jb]

Nice one, CH, like your style

[Secret Santa]

Well, from our responses to Meggeth's questionnaire, we both use similar bases, so it must be in the spicing...

Indeed, so what would you say the colour of the base is? And, yes, there's no doubting that your pic reflects what I'm aiming for. I'd like it perhaps a bit more orangey but close enough.

Now, do you fry off the spices until they darken? And what type of tomato are you using, puree or blended?