Topic: Honest Cooks Kitchen "One-pot Indian chicken curry"

[Peripatetic Phil]

Tonight I made the Honest Cooks Kitchen "One-pot Indian chicken curry", and really surprised myself by picking up the bones with my fingers to ensure that no chicken remained uneaten.  The recipe is about as non-BIR as one might get, and the results are very interesting

[livo]

I did use a red onion but I've never found that the type of onion has any significance in a curry.   I would be just as happy to use a brown onion.

I used the first of my home grown Tiny Tom tomatoes (about 10) and I included about 1/2 cup of water in the blending process so I did already have some extra liquid. The resultant puree seemed a bit pale so I added a heaped tsp of concentrate tomato paste.  I would confidently replace the blended whole fresh tomato with a tinned product, passata, puree or diluted concentrate paste.  I don't think it would greatly change much.

Everything else you transcribed is the same as I did Phil.  I agree that it is not BIR but it is a really good traditional Chicken curry.

[Peripatetic Phil]

I used the first of my home grown Tiny Tom tomatoes (about 10)

Ah, I used 4 x "Aromatico", which I estimated was about the same as the "one medium tomato" specified in the recipe (the one in the video looked more like "one large tomato" to me).  I am planning to take the one remaining drumstick (I started with four) and all the remaining sauce into the hotel tomorrow, to see whether the recipe might make its way onto the menu in the fullness of time ...

[livo]

Small, medium and large are subjective and not exact quantities. I agree that the video appeared to have a larger quantity of tomato liquid than described.  I don't think it is critical as I used double the amount of chicken but nowhere near double the other ingredients and the curry is fine.

I'm also growing Mortgage Lifter tomatoes which can reach up to 4 lb per tomato.

[Gaspodia]

I watched the "One-pot Indian chicken curry" recipe with a great deal of interest - it is quite similar to the method I use (except the yoghurt bit).  I was bit startled at the spices being equal in qty at first, but then realised I start with the same premise when explaining how to make a good curry to friends who are unfamiliar with Indian cooking.  I have always had difficulty in defining exact quantities of ingredients in my Indian cooking, largely because the potency of nearly all the ingredients I use varies so much.

We once had a batch of chillies that we bought from our local Indian grocer that were significantly more potent than usual; virtually every visitor to the house over the next few weeks talked about how it impacted their cooking too and some (rather harshly I felt!) were quite disparaging of the shop owner for failing to buy chillies that were more consistent!

[Peripatetic Phil]

I watched the "One-pot Indian chicken curry" recipe with a great deal of interest - it is quite similar to the method I use (except the yoghurt bit).

Although I am not normally a fan of yoghurt in curries, I have to say that on this occasion it did everything claimed

[Gaspodia]

I'm going to give the yoghurt thing a go next time I cook a chicken curry too - it wasn't in my handed down family recipe, but it might be a change to my version if it works out well!

The only dish I currently use yoghurt for is Kadhi, which I've always made with plain potato slices that are cooked in the sauce but I see the internet disagrees with my recipe and most people seem to make it with pakora that are added at a late stage of cooking.

[Ghoulie]

I'm going to give the yoghurt thing a go next time I cook a chicken curry too - it wasn't in my handed down family recipe, but it might be a change to my version if it works out well!

The only dish I currently use yoghurt for is Kadhi, which I've always made with plain potato slices that are cooked in the sauce but I see the internet disagrees with my recipe and most people seem to make it with pakora that are added at a late stage of cooking.

I have mentioned on here before that Blumenthal did an mri scan to check the effect of spices in yoghurt marinade & found the penetration was much deeper
https://www.seriouseats.com/2010/08/spicy-marinade-for-infusing-chicken-spices-heston-blumenthal.html

[Peripatetic Phil]

Many thanks for remind us of that, Ghoulie.  Unfortunately the document to which you linked has understandably suffered from link-rot over time, but the key links are below :
** Phil.
--------

• In search of perfection: about the show
• In Search Of Perfection, S2E1: Chicken Tikka Masala

[Garp]

I have mentioned on here before that Blumenthal did an mri scan to check the effect of spices in yoghurt marinade & found the penetration was much deeper
https://www.seriouseats.com/2010/08/spicy-marinade-for-infusing-chicken-spices-heston-blumenthal.html

I recall that Gooly; and I recall that there was no comparison made between using yogurt and using lemon juice with regard to 'penetration'.