Topic: Madras v Madras

[SoberRat]

I made two chicken madras today using the same recipe but with different base gravies. They both came out of the freezer. One was a base that was similar to a curry2go base  that had been made in the pressure cooker and the other was the Jb takeaway base found on this site. The madras recipe I used was also JB's chicken madras and mix powder. I cooked both on quite a high heat and then full heat after adding the base gravy. The JB madras was slightly lighter in colour but there was a difference in flavour. I would say that the JB base madras was closer to my local TA but the other one had a stronger flavour, and it wasn't a small difference. I made a point of actually weighing all of the ingredients. I have been making an effort to cook at higher heats recently because it seems to make a difference to the final results. Top picture is the JB base madras and the bottom picture shows the two compared after testing. I did use chicken tikka instead of precooked chicken as that is all I had.

[Garp]

Interesting stuff, SR.

In your first two pics, the JB base Madras looks quite yellow (but we all know what photos can be like) - in the last pic, they look similar colours - not that colours have much to do with it.

You said that the JB one was closer to your local TA; which one did you prefer?

[SoberRat]

It does look very yellow, I agree. The true colour difference was somewhere between the first and last pictures. I have just changed my lighting in the kitchen to LED daylighters and it has had a strange effect on my photos even if I use a flash. As far as taste, I would be happy to eat them both from my locals I think but if it was a Madras then I guess it would be the JB one. I have been testing them as they cool today and the C2G base madras had a very slightly stronger garlic taste, which is strange as the JB base had the extra garlic tarka added.