Topic: massala sauce from the takeaway

[jb]

Managed to see how my chef makes his massala sauce last night.I actually went into the kitchen on Saturday and observed the usual hectic service,if I arrive early before the place opens on Sunday I get to see more of his preperation work.

I was actually quite satisfied with the massala sauce I was shown at the other takeaway here..

http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,13137.0.html

However,this was always a scaled down version of what the chef said he used in the takeaway,whereas this is a full sized recipe(which I guess is easy to scale down anyway) and once he made the sauce he began using it in customers' orders,so I know it's an authentic massala sauce he showed me with no other supposedly 'magic' or mysterious ingredients.

First,in an empty yoghurt pot he put in two ladles each of blended plum tomatoes and yoghurt together with one ladle of mango chutney.The ladle looked quite a big bigger than the normal one he uses for putting gravy into the curries.He then blended this with a hand blender.Then in a big pot he put in about five chef  spoons of butter ghee and added one of blended ginger and garlic.After this was cooked for a while he then added the contents of the first yoghurt pot.Then he added one and half chef spoons of white sugar,one kashmiri paste,one tikka,one and a half tandoori and 1 heaped spoon of red colour.This was boiled for a bit and then he put in one whole carton of uht cream.He had already pre soaked a whole tamarind block in hot water and the liquid from this was also added to the pot.He then measured out some coconut flour and almond powder.He used one full tin of coconut and two of almond.He actually measured both out in an old tomato puree tin shown here..



This was put into the pot along with a teaspoon of mint,and the sauce simmered for a bit.Whereas other massla pastes have onions in them they need blending,this doesn't contain onions so no blending is needed.To make a tikka massala is simple,into a pan he put two chefs spoons of the paste,some gravy,uht cream,pre cooked tikka and cooked on a high heat,without stirring for about five minutes.

[haldi]

thanks for the post JB
Always interesting stuff

[curryhell]

Wonderful account jb.  Obviously no secret or magical ingredients in this.  One question though.  The food colouring, was this a chef spoon, tablespoon or tsp?  I was quite gob smacked at the minimal amount of mint sauce added (1 tsp) versus the rest of the ingredients.  And did the chef give the tamarind block  a good squeeze out to exteract all the flavour, or simply pour off and use the liquid?  I think i'd really struggle to begin to scale this one down    All great stuff though.  Nice to see the naan balls resting and waiting for the evening service  ;D
This also begs the question re. the tomato puree tin.  What does he use this for as most if not all you've posted, he uses blended plumb tomatoes??  Keep up the good work Jason 

[Sverige]

Good info JB, thanks for posting.

I think the tomato puree tin is probably 800ml capacity - for anyone who's wondering.

[jb]

Wonderful account jb.  Obviously no secret or magical ingredients in this.  One question though.  The food colouring, was this a chef spoon, tablespoon or tsp?  I was quite gob smacked at the minimal amount of mint sauce added (1 tsp) versus the rest of the ingredients.  And did the chef give the tamarind block  a good squeeze out to exteract all the flavour, or simply pour off and use the liquid?  I think i'd really struggle to begin to scale this one down    All great stuff though.  Nice to see the naan balls resting and waiting for the evening service  ;D
This also begs the question re. the tomato puree tin.  What does he use this for as most if not all you've posted, he uses blended plumb tomatoes??  Keep up the good work Jason 

The red colour was definately a chef's spoon.It sounds a lot but you need a lot to keep that distinctive red massala colour.If I remember the other takeaway chef put in a bit of yellow in and not as much red,he said the yellow somehow brings out the red colour more.He didn't really squeeze the tamarind that much,I guess it was soaking for about an hour.After he tipped the liquid in he threw the rest away.

I'm not sure about the tomato puree,well spotted.It's definately just blended plum tomatoes he has on his worktop,I actually watched as he blended some and then started using them.

Almost forgot,I cooked this while the chef was busy with an order...chicken garam massala,one of the chef's special dishes.Some unusual ingredients but nontheless a very tasty curry,the guys tasted after I cooked it and said it was spot on.

[Unclefrank]

Again JB thanks for posting these recipes, one question though 
What size ladle does the chef use 100ml/150ml/200ml/250ml/300ml

[jonnymansell]

Just done this and it is lovely! Loads of control over the final dish too, can easily tailor it to your own taste!! Thanks!

[Bhajeegirl]

I really want to try this jb... Tikka masala really is the bane of my curry cooking, I  haven't been able to produce one decent one yet  ....  I Would be very grateful if you could be a bit more precise on how much of each of the ingredients are used...It's late, I'm tired and my brain isn't good at estimating