Topic: JB'S takeaway massala paste

[jb]

Here is the masala paste I was taught on my recent takeaway lesson.

In a pan put...

1 onion finely chopped
1 chef spoon veg oil
1 chef spoon butter ghee
1 chef spoon veg ghee
half chef spoon ginger/garlic paste
small amount salt
half a tin of fruit cocktail blended with water

cook slowly in the pan making sure it doesn't catch until the onions have melted.

Then add 1/4 chef spoon each of kahmiri massala paste,tikka paste,and tandoori paste.Also add
tiny amount of coleman's english mustard,tiny amount of coleman's mint sauce.1 chef spoon yoghurt,175 ml lemon dressing,1/4 of coconut block,3 chef spoon of blended plum tomatoes,1/4 chef spoon garam massala.

Then add 1 kilo sugar,1 litre uht cream,some red colour and yellow colour,900 grams coconut powder and a small packet of almond powder.Then take a dry pan and add a table spoon of methi leaves and brown(but do not burn!!)...add this to the other pan.Make sure the whole mixture is stirred well and is not left to burn.Simmer until the paste thickens and turns 'gloopy',then blend.

The chef said that this is a scaled down version so you may have to adjust the lemon,sugar coconut levels when you taste.It seems an awful amount of sugar but believe me you taste this and it's just like a concentrated tikka massala sauce.To make a massala sauce put a chef's spoon of oil into a hot pan,add a couple of spoons of paste and cook through.Then add two ladles of base gravy and simmer.Splash of cream at the end when served and it's done,that simple.The flavour comes from the psate and nothing else is added when cooking so the paste has to be very strong in sweet/coconut flavour.

I asked the chef why he adds yellow colour and not just red.He explained that if it was just red when the gravy is added the dish would lose a lot of it's colour and not be that 'deep' red.However a touch of yellow keeps the colour vibrant and it does actually work.The roasted methi is just his way of doing things.

[jb]

Bit too much flash on this,the dish is actually quite red.



tikka massala together with a basic chicken curry

[Secret Santa]

I asked the chef why he adds yellow colour and not just red.He explained that if it was just red when the gravy is added the dish would lose a lot of it's colour and not be that 'deep' red.However a touch of yellow keeps the colour vibrant and it does actually work.The roasted methi is just his way of doing things.

I've not heard of those two tricks before jb, very interesting. Thanks for sharing. 

P.S. it's a pity the forum isn't capable of having all these posts in one place. I wonder if it'd be better if you posted everything in just one post assuming the post can stay open long enough to allow editing - saves having to search the forum? Just a thought, I'll be copy and pasting it all into a single document anyhow. Thanks again.

[littlechilie]

Great input and also these tips are new to me JB I will be putting them in to practice, SS I think if I am correct Abdul Mohed learn2cook was able to post many recipes under one ongoing topic?

[Zap]

Few questions.

Any idea what size/weight can of fruit cocktail?

Coleman's dry or prepared mustard?

Size of Almond Powder packet?

Thanks so much for your generous posting of these recipes!  Looking forward to giving them a try.

[mickdabass]

Thanks for sharing this JB

Finally -  a proper bir recipe

This thread is what this forum is all about!!

Best Regards

Mick

[jb]

I thought it might be better to post the recipes in the appropriate sections,that way any newcomer looking for a specific massala paste recipe can find it easily...but then again I hear what you're saying about a single thread.

The chef had a catering sized can of fruit cocktail,he only used half so I guess about a 400 gramme one will do.I can remember when the use of fruit cocktail  or fruit in general in massala paste was first mentioned on this forum and the uproar it caused,this chef uses it without a doubt.

It was Coleman's prepared mustard,not powder.Seen this used before,I think in the Kushi book.

He added very little almond powder,maybe 100 gramms.I've seen some videos where the chef adds more,again this is this chef's preference.I've also seen chefs add masala paste in a pan and then add more sugar/almond/coconut.However in this paste all of these are added sufficiently in the original paste so assembling the dish on a busy night is so much easier.He made a few tikka massalas while I was in the kitchen and it was made in exactly the same way has he showed me.

[Zap]

I can remember when the use of fruit cocktail or fruit in general in massala paste was first mentioned on this forum and the uproar it caused,this chef uses it without a doubt.

This right here says a lot - when I saw it come up again in your post, I thought "This is something I haven't tried, and my CTM isn't right yet.  It is definitely worth a go."  The biggest thing I've learned about ALL restaurant cooking is that there are some really unexpected things that are done, especially in ethnic foods, that ruin the magic of authenticity or rare ingredients, and explain why you never would have got the recipe right if you hadn't seen it firsthand, because it most definitely deviates from any traditional version of a recipe out there.  I think this honestly could be one of those things, and I am excited to see where it takes me and the resulting dishes.

[ELW]

Hi jb, did they add this to all the masala paste curries, ie, the non sweet ones or just the tikka masala?
Cheers
ELW

[Zap]

Gathering up the ingredients to make this, but as I'm in the states I need a few clarifications on things.

I have found and used coconut blocks before, but I'm not sure if the size is the same.  Any idea on an approximate weight of coconut block?

Also, I believe this has been beaten to death before, but regarding the coconut powder I find two things here in the states.  One is called just that and is finely shredded coconut (not a powder per se).  The other is Coconut Milk Powder (Maggi).  Do either of these items mesh with what was used to produce this paste?  If not, what is commonly used - any brand names or pictures available?

Finally, I'm not sure we have an equivalent to Lemon Dressing here.  I can find bottled lemon juice easily, but my understanding is the dressing differs because it has water and citric acid added, as well as flavoring.  Is there a difference in taste?  Should I be diluting lemon juice?

Sorry for all the questions, but I want to give this a fair shake and do it right!  Looking forward to trying it!