Topic: Chicken tikka dhansak courtesy of CBM

[Peripatetic Phil]

Not certain it is here, John.  If it were, it would be under

    Curry Recipes Online

[john the man]

thanks    trying to work my way around this forum.................

[chewytikka]

Hi CH, good post
It is a shame, but all the genuine cooks who post their stuff on cr0, have to try and ignore the armchair fantasy cooks far too often.

Anyhoo... Recipe looks like Dhansak ingredients, apart from the complex Dhal.
BIR use plain Masoor Dhal, or in English, Red Split Lentils, cooked down to a paste with Tumeric and Salt.
Juicy Pineapple chunks compliment the Dhal element of the dish perfectly and clense your mouth of the thick lentil sauce.
I've watched both videos and the Fatima is more old school, with too much sugar. But both are accurate variations.
 
I've also put two versions up on vimeo. one old school (home) one modern (restaurant) and
like your example include the basic ingredients of the dish.

Tip: As soon as you add the lentils the sauce becomes thick and opaque and has a
tendency to want to stick to the pan and won't reduce down like a normal sauce.
So it's best to start off with a very thin base, to get the best finished texture.

Also the order of the ingredients, can have an effect on the final dish. I've had restaurant
Dhansaks, where the Pineapple has been dry and the lentils like wallpaper paste. buy hey...

Anyhoo, looks like a very good attempt at a new dish for you. Curry On... ;D

cheers Chewy

[George]

The recipe was taken from the second book.  I didn't look to see if there was a dhansak recipe in book one.  Look at my ingredients and look at the Little India video, they're even more similar  :  I watched the Fatima video which did nothing to encourage me to cook the dish unlike the aforementioned.

Is the Little India video available for free viewing? I thought videos linked to book 2 are all password protected on vimeo, but I could be wrong.

Thank you for your responses. I like good exchanges of opinions but I heard on the radio today that most people hate Prime Minister's question sessions in the House of Commons. I love it, but it seems many people don't. So perhaps that's why certain people don't like anything approaching a heated debate on this forum.

[Peripatetic Phil]

[offtopic]George, I hate PM's QT, the whole British Parliamentary system and its BBC spinoff, "Any Questions".  All three of them bring the whole concept of civilised debate into disrepute.  The sole object of the exercise is to score party political points off the opposition, and as far as I am concerned, anyone prepared to sink to that level is, by definition, unfit to have any say in how the country is run.  What this country needs is a parliamentary system akin to the Scottish judicial system -- a inquisitorial system, not an adversarial one.  The only place to hear civilised debate in the Palace of Westminster today is in the House of Lords, and that, of course, is the one part that all parties are united in their determination to destroy. [/offtopic]

** Phil.

[George]

The recipe was taken from the second book.  I didn't look to see if there was a dhansak recipe in book one.  Look at my ingredients and look at the Little India video, they're even more similar  :  I watched the Fatima video which did nothing to encourage me to cook the dish unlike the aforementioned.

Is the Little India video available for free viewing? I thought videos linked to book 2 are all password protected on vimeo, but I could be wrong.

I just found another CBM video for dhansak on youtube. Is this like the version you cooked?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qXwxHf9wl8

The video is excellent, the chef looks like he knows what he's doing and the ingredients seem interesting. I'll try making a dhansak like that one, next.

[George]

What this country needs is a parliamentary system akin to the Scottish judicial system -- a inquisitorial system, not an adversarial one. 

I wasn't aware of that, so thank you for pointing it out. Are Scottish sessions broadcast on the radio?

[Invisible Mike]

In attempt to "re-rail" the thread lol. What do you think of the inclusion of Worcester sauce CH? Does it show through? I know the use of this and soy sauce is common place in certain BIR dishes but I still have trouble getting my head around the concept. (Though I as yet have never tried using either.)

Mike

[curryhell]

Thanks Mushroom Mike for putting the train back on the tracks  ;D

The video is excellent, the chef looks like he knows what he's doing and the ingredients seem interesting. I'll try making a dhansak like that one, next.

This is the video from Little India that i mentioned.  I believe the dhansak recipe I cooked  is heavily based on its content. If anybody who says they have been working at this BIR game for a few years (excluding all newcomers to the game) and is reasonably proficient, cannot produce a good dish from watching this video, given a reliable base, mix powder and a good technique,  it's time to hang up your chef's spoon and pan and leave the kitchen.  Go find something else to do cos you ain't cut out to be a cook.

[curryhell]

I'm new to this forum

where will I find this recipe  Please

Confirming Phil's suspicions John, it is contained in CBM's 2nd book, to which a link has been posted if you wish to purchase.  For the price of a pint each, get them both.  Even if you know it all, they're a good read and good reference source.  Alternatively, look at the link provided by George.  What you see the chef doing is very close to the recipe which i used for this dish.  You just need to decide on what recipe to use to cook the dhall