Topic: Chef Abdul salam

[mickdabass]

Out of interest; what was Misty Ricardos name when he was on this forum?

Regards

Mick

[Peripatetic Phil]

rshome123, Mick.

** Phil.

[Peripatetic Phil]

My guess is that he has adapted his signature dish for home cooking in this video. I looked at the images in his gallery and I didn't see any chicken curry on the bones. Plus from what I gather, the dining public generally wouldn't go for it.

Not today, perhaps, but when I started eating Indian food in this country, "on the bone" was the norm, with a 50p surcharge for "off the bone" and a further 50p surcharge for breast rather than leg.  Somewhere on this forum there is a photograph of a menu from that era

[Peripatetic Phil]

when I started eating Indian food in this country, "on the bone" was the norm, with a 50p surcharge for "off the bone" and a further 50p surcharge for breast rather than leg. 

I recall the same choice but it was all pre-cooked so nothing like Abdul's recipe.

Are you sure, George ?  I think I have been eating BIR food for as long as most members of this forum (since 1963, to be precise), and in those days all I was interested in were the incredible flavours.  It was many many years before I started wondering what goes on behind the scenes in a BIR in order to create those flavours ...

** Phil.

[George]

Phil - I first tasted BIR food almost 20 years after you so the situation may have changed, plus the fact that I frequented only a few BIRs in the provinces and only tried London places some years after that. I never came across slow-cooked dishes on the bone but that's not to say they weren't available.  The choice seemed to be breast or other for classic dishes.

[Bob-A-Job]

when I started eating Indian food in this country, "on the bone" was the norm, with a 50p surcharge for "off the bone" and a further 50p surcharge for breast rather than leg. 

I can't remember the exact prices and tbh I am fairly certain, in Bradford back in the 1980's, it was probably not "Indian" (restaurants, eat in only) anymore but rather Bangladeshi or Pakistani (takeaways/delivery). I do remember the prices being as you say, more for off the bone though.

I remember my wife in the 90's getting an occasional Friday night Chicken tikka curry and peeling the meat from the bone to feed to our 1 year old, sauce and all.  He loves curry btw whereas my daughter, the qualified chef, does not (She is lvl 3 Pastry Chef, so more sweet and savoury than spicy).

[livo]

I made Chef Abdul's gravy and Chicken curry tonight. Flavour is not missing and I've learnt that you don't need to be timid with spice. I had to use boneless thigh fillets so it cooked faster but the end result was very pleasing. A delicious curry in quick time and easy to do.

George, I just blended the whole lot and it is fine. It makes the wizz stick clunk a bit at first with the bark and star anise.  I used a couple of thinner pieces of bark rather than the chunky stuff.

A word of warning. After already having cooked Chef's Bengali Beef I was aware of his preferred salt levels. I used about half of his specified amounts in both the gravy and the dish and it is plenty.  Salt sparingly and adjust to taste.

[George]

Livo - thanks very much for trying this out and reporting that the blending of whole spices is viable. I guess it produces curry powder later rather than sooner. Did the overall flavour of the finished dish remind you of any standard curry? Is it a recipe you'll repeat or is it not quite that good?

[livo]

It is well worth going through the procedure. I did the whole lot in about 2 hours but without chicken on bone. It produced a very nice curry. The intensity of chilli heat is easily controlled by individual preference.  Yes, I will be making it again and I hope to find other suitable uses for this base gravy. It is very good.

Try it out. 5 medium onions didn't produce that much and it is quite concentrated. My only words of warning are:
1. Reduce the salt.
2. Have a good stick blender.

2 hours was start to finish. Base gravy and curry cooked. From nothing on the bench to dinner cooked. I did rice simultaneously. I only used about 1/3 of the gravy and could have used less, so it is a very economically viable recipe as well. The fact that it can keep in the fridge is a big bonus as well.

To answer your question about if it reminded me of a particular dish, the short answer is no.  It is in its own league as a very nice flavoursome and enjoyable chicken curry.

[jmansion]

(I thought about bumping but it seems that there are two distinct base gravies from this guy and it might be easier to discuss in one place - both make thick gravy.)

So the original post has a gravy with no tomatoes, no chilli, and more onion.

The second recipe:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpqMBueLBtI

has quite generous tomato and some chilli - and a quite different technique.

I'm quite taken by it but my wife likes a korma and I'd guess that the first of them would be better for that.

Has anyone tried the second recipe as a base for spicy tomato-based curries?