Cooking in small quantities

[KEROUAC1957]

Hi I've been tasked with cooking a mild/medium chicken curry tonight and I'm wondering if it is possible to find a recipe for cooking a one off small quantity - say for three people? I've been looking through the site and am really impressed with the depth of info but I'm a bit stuck on how to scale down the recipes which mainly seem to be for cooking large quantities.

I realise I'm not going to be able do great things over night but was trying to find something to ease me in gradually. PS I've got to go for something fairly mild as my daughter is not keen on anything too hot.

[Peripatetic Phil]

Most of the recipes here are for single portions (apart from the base, and the dedicated "mass catering" threads), so you should not have too much trouble finding some ideas.  I would recommend starting with Bob's Chicken Bhuna, but make sure you read the thread (indeed, all threads) to the end, just in case the author changed his ideas over time.  For something completely different, you might try my Gosht ki Biryani ("mutton biryani from scratch").

** Phil.

[KEROUAC1957]

I've been meaning to post about a little experiment I did based on my task. Thanks for the suggestions. I couldn't follow them though because they required making the base sauce first and I didn't have the time on this occasion (But I want to give it a go with base sauces later).  I ended up finding a recipe and adapting it (probably risky for a beginner I know).

Here's what I did:

1. Heat 2 tbsp of rape seed oil in a pan and add 1 medium diced onion, fry until soft.
2. Add garlic & ginger paste (= 1 tsp ginger & clove garlic mixed together), add spice mixture**.

cook for 1-2 minutes.  Add 50ml of water cook until the water has evaporated. Add 200g chopped tomatoes.
3. Add 500g diced chicken, cook until sealed. Add 1 can / 400ml coconut milk, 50ml double cream and 1 tsp sugar or pickle; simmer until the chicken is cooked (approx. 15 minutes).

Add 0.25 tsp garam masala

** For the spice mixture I used an approximation of those suggested on this site:
1 tsp turmeric powder
0.5 tsp madras curry powder

0.5 tsp cumin powder
0.75 tsp coriander powder

0.25 garam masala (add at last stage)

Total = 1 Tbsp

I have to admit although the result wasn't awful it was pretty bland. I wonder if I doubled the spice mix quantities it would have been much better.

Does any of this sound like I went wrong somewhere?

[George]

Does any of this sound like I went wrong somewhere?

Possibly, if you used spices from packs opened any more than 24 hours before you used them.

Also, personally, I don't subscribe to the concept of 'mix powder' given that Mild Madras curry powder is already a finely tuned mix. Why spoil their blend by diluting it with further quantities of some spices?

You should also have added some chilli powder and/or fresh chilli, even if you were aiming for a mild curry.

But the most likely reason for the curry tasting bland and rather more like gravy for a Sunday roast, than a good curry, would be cooking a huge quantity (500g) of raw poultry. It releases loads of chicken stock, rather than Indian curry flavours. This in turn means you'd need to add lots more curry powder, to compensate.

I never cook greater quantities of anything, than required for one or two dishes/servings. And that includes base sauce, where my starting quantity is based on just one or two onions.

[Garp]

Does any of this sound like I went wrong somewhere?

Depends what you are trying to achieve bud. If you are aiming for a BIR/TA style curry, it is wrong on almost every level.

I would bin that recipe, ignore what George says, make a good quantity of base sauce (freezing what you don't use immediately), pre-cook some meat, then try again with a recipe from here

[Sverige]

Kerouac, as garp said it's not BIR at all, but I trust that you knew that and were simply using this as a stop-gap method to get something on the table in time. Your receipe isn't clear on how long you fried the onion for prior to moving onto the next stages, but a traditional Indian curry will use a method similar to what you've posted, with the exception that the onion gets patiently fried for a long time until golden and disintegrating. It could well be that you could've yielded a better result with more cooking of that onion, and I would also have suggested more than 1 onion for the three portions you appear to have been trying to cook.  I think your spice levels were quite conservative for three people too, especially if the spoon measures you referred to were level ones.

Anyway, it's all a little bit moot here as it's nothing close to a BIR curry so I hope you find the time to experiment with a base sauce receipe soon and fill your freezer / get in trouble with the other half / stink the house out / etc... In other words, experience all the joys of BIR cooking that the rest of us on this site have become so attached to

Ps.. Take Garp's advice about George. You'll never regret that.

[KEROUAC1957]

Thanks for the replies. I've found them really useful and enlightening. I'm grateful for George for replying but I did find some of your comments odd regarding the spices etc. Also I don't think 500g chicken is a huge quantity for 3 people.

I fried the onions for about 15 mins Sverige so yes I understand it wasn't long enough. I will have to have a go at making a base sauce and then a recipe from on here as you all seem to have a lot of knowledge.  Just out of interest what is the average quantity when you make a base sauce? 1 litre? 2 litres?

[Garp]

I make a 2 litre base these days - based on 250 ml per serving, that gives me eight curries (it freezes well).

[George]

Thanks for the replies. I've found them really useful and enlightening. I'm grateful for George for replying but I did find some of your comments odd regarding the spices etc. Also I don't think 500g chicken is a huge quantity for 3 people.

Which comments of mine did you find 'odd' and why?

I didn't mean 500g of chicken is a huge quantity for 3 people to eat - I'm suggesting it leeches far too much chicken stock into the sauce, which is probably why most restaurants use pre-cooked chicken.

The freezing of base sauce will tend to degrade any fine flavours which is why I make small quantities, fresh every time. Why make more?

[KEROUAC1957]

George I'm sure you have a lot more knowledge on these things than me. I found your comment about the curry powder odd because I had asked on another thread "why add more spices when curry powder was already a mix of spices" and I was advised that it adds a lot more depth of flavour which seemed to be the general consensus.