Topic: Sweet Centre Video

[Secret Santa]

It certainly would pass muster as an unblended base-sauce. I suppose I could concede in that context the tomato powder would not be too unusual, although still unnecessary in my opinion. But then he goes and adds chicken and presents it as a finished curry.

[livo]

So it would seem Santa! He does add in a fresh green chilli after the "base chicken masala" has been completed and presented for what it is.  The halved cherry tomatoes in the completed dish are also obviously added after the initial base preparation plus a garnish of coriander leaves.  I would still be surprised if it was a fantastic curry on it's own.  I guess there's only one way to find out for myself.

Romain has already pointed out the time it would take to prepare this dish would be quite long, so it is unlikely to be a demonstration of how finished curry dishes are prepared for service in the restaurant.  If it is used as a preparatory base method and extended into actual dishes then it may well be another method.  Standard BIR Base Gravy methodology is not the only way of preparing restaurant or T/A dishes.

I would say it is possible to use this 'base chicken masala' to create dishes like  Dopiaza, Jalfrezi, definately Madras and Butter Chicken and even Chicken Rogan Josh. Not too sure about a Korma or Pasanda though. It will not be able to be used to create Britain's favourite dish, a Chicken Tikka Masala simply because it hasn't used Chicken Tikka, if that is a criteria.

Tomato powder is nothing more or less than a concentrated tomato flavour boost.  Depending upon where it's made, and out of which type of tomato, the flavour intensity may well vary. Triple concentrate paste would serve equally.  I think the main benefit of powder and the reason for it's use in the industry is for storage and longevity.  The same applies for the ginger powder. He could simply use additional fresh ginger.  When I first went out and stocked up on spices for my Curry adventure I bought every spice and powder imaginable, including dried ginger and ground ginger powder.  I've never used either really, along with many of the other less common spices taking up space in my cupboard. 

Have you ever tried to do anything with lumps of dried ginger?  Apart from taste it has similar physical properties to gravel.

[romain]

Romain has already pointed out the time it would take to prepare this dish would be quite long, so it is unlikely to be a demonstration of how finished curry dishes are prepared for service in the restaurant.  If it is used as a preparatory base method and extended into actual dishes then it may well be another method.  Standard BIR Base Gravy methodology is not the only way of preparing restaurant or T/A dishes.

I'm going to give this a go over the holidays. It could work. It's just a different type of base IMO. I may puree it to see what texture I get. It won't be as generic as base I don't expect but for specific masala style dishes it might be a nice change.

I have come up with (I think I'm the first - I can't find any evidence on the net to suggest otherwise) a nearly Indian restaurant technique that works quite well for larger batches of curry. Not true BIR mind you and I make no claim it is so please nobody start shooting at me...

[livo]

I'll be interested in giving it a go.  I've done the Aussie IR paste method a couple of times and it works but there is a lot of preparation in making the 3 different pastes required and unfortunately the source of the information (Masala Mark I think) sort of disappeared after only providing a small number of actual dish recipes.
The 3 pastes being Nut, Tomato and Onion are a real sensory treat in themselves but a lot of work. To be honest though, I'm not sure that many actual Aussie establishments use the method at all.

Romain, your "nearly method" looks interesting. I'll give that a go as well when we get more into curry mode.

Also note in the video of the actual dish at the end he has the green chilli whole added and then he says "pop some of that in" while he spoons something from an out of focus bowl of chopped green matter.  Any thoughts what that might be?

[romain]

Romain, your "nearly method" looks interesting. I'll give that a go as well when we get more into curry mode.

Also note in the video of the actual dish at the end he has the green chilli whole added and then he says "pop some of that in" while he spoons something from an out of focus bowl of chopped green matter.  Any thoughts what that might be?

Livo - it's not full blown BIR so set your expectations accordingly.

On the green matter - perhaps a coriander chili chutney? They sell that at all the Indian shops here and I think the flavour profile would fit.

[livo]

Yes. Well the green will remain an unknown because it is only a fleeting glimpse of an out of focus bowl and a nearly inaudible comment which gives nothing away.  It doesn't really matter as the video did not really set out to provide a "recipe" for a curry dish.  It is not a sequential presentation.  There is obviously a fair bit of editing, chopping and splicing going on.  Still, the concept is worthy of examination, analysis and experimentation.  One day perhaps.

The beauty of your "Nearly IR" method appears to be that it certainly lends itself to smaller quantities in quick time. If you can achieve a good dish from it then I'm in.  I enjoy all the different methods of cooking curry. The BIR method, which used to be the focus of this forum, and guidance from one particular member led me to one answer after a 20 plus year search and it is most likely the only way to achieve that result.  Your method may come a very close second or it may even surprise.  Along the way I've learnt a lot more than I'd ever hoped to.  I also stumbled across the 3 Pastes method here. I enjoy traditional Indian cooking as well and there are areas yet to be even considered.  Some I'll never get to.  Sometimes it's just the search that I enjoy more than the end result.

[Peripatetic Phil]

guidance from one particular member led me to one answer after a 20 plus year search and it is most likely the only way to achieve that result

Please tell us more, Livo.
** Phil.

[livo]

It's no secret Phil. The answer to my 20 year plus search for how to cook Mango Chicken came directly and solely from Chewytikka.  I'd be surprised if he offers much help to anybody here in the foreseeable future.  While I wasn't posting, I was reading "recent posts" almost every day.

Now back on thread. As anybody who knows anything about curry could have predicted, (and a few did) the video is a complete load of bovine manure.  The end product from following this expert chef's instructions is a chicken slop that is bitter from too much turmeric, has some slight benefit from Kashmiri chilli but is nowhere near anything you could put on a plate. Absolutely terrible as to be expected.

Fortunately for me I had assessed the situation and only embarked on the experiment knowing I had a cupboard full of different pastes that needed to be put to use to salvage 1.5 kg of chicken, a couple of onions and the tomatoes etc.  So I now have a Mild Balti Chicken Curry, a Chicken Rogan Josh and a large Butter Chicken.

Edit.
OK. Having just eaten, I can say that there is potential.  3 curries in fairly quick time and Mrs L quite liked all 3. The dishes will probably taste better tomorrow. 

However, there is no way that the video showed anything near what could be considered food.  If it were to be served to me I wouldn't pay.
Way too much Turmeric.  I only used half the Kashmiri anyway but it was sufficient.  I did not use tomato powder or ginger powder but my feelings on that are already known. I feel that instead of just Turmeric and Kashmiri chilli, the preparation would be significantly improved by using a small amount of mixed powder instead.

Don't go here unless you are aware that this is just a prep stage and not a recipe in it's own right. But that was pretty obvious really.

[Peripatetic Phil]

It's no secret Phil. The answer to my 20 year plus search for how to cook Mango Chicken came directly and solely from Chewytikka. 

Ah, right, thanks.  Not a dish that interested me, but good to know that you achieved success after 20 years of trying.

The end product from following this expert chef's instructions is a chicken slop

That was certainly the impression I received from the video.

Way too much Turmeric

Turmeric is a spice that intrigues me.  Raw (or only partially cooked), it is earthy and rather disgusting.  Yet to the best of my knowledge there is not one curry that does not include it.  I therefore regard it as the one essential spice, all others being a matter of taste and intent.

** Phil.

[romain]

Livo, can you share a link or a recipe for mango chicken? I've heard about it but I've never had it.

A link to those three pastes would be great as well.