Topic: What's your 'yardstick' curry?

[adriandavidb]

The dish I tend to order in a new place first is always Chicken Madras. To some extent I judge them on that, notwithstanding the fact that different BIRs do different dishes well, It's my favorite test of a BIR

Irrespective of how hot (chilie) it is, a poor establishment will invariably make a  boring madras that lacks 'supporting' flavours.

What do you think??  Would your choice be Madras, bhuna, CTM?

[Bobby Bhuna]

The dish I tend to order in a new place first is always Chicken Madras.

Chicken Madras is my benchmark. If they can't get that right they're useless IMHO. Although recently I've been benchmarking with Lamb Madras, which is of course pretty similar. There's no point getting something obscure because it will never give you a good idea of their average curry.

[parker21]

hi guys
my benchmark is a chicken vindaloo /chicken tikka (as starter)/onion bhajis(as starter)/pilau rice and bombay aloo as a meal. the vindaloo must have heat and flavour and the taste, and the aroma of well vindaloo :

regards
gary

[JerryM]

this yard stick is crucial to me. i give any place one chance and that's it - either pass or fail

the yardstick has to be madras curry sauce and a keema naan.

i don't believe u can mask these basic ingredients: sauce, keema and naan.

I order it always as a starter. None of them disc?y things for me.

[haldi]

I go for a vegetable vindaloo
If a place can produce the "taste", then it shines through on this one
Yum..........I could do with one now!

[Derek Dansak]

ordering the chicken madras as benchmark actually makes logical sense. since this is the first curry a new bir chef is taught. rogan josh, bhuna and vindaloo are just derivatives of the same recipe, and same ingredients (almost). i always plump for the chicken madras, and a dansak if i am feeling gready 

[Curry King]

Has to be a Vindaloo or Madras for me, funny enough a new takeaway opened up a few days ago near me and I tried the Madras and I couldn't believe how similar it was to mine. 

[Bobby Bhuna]

I tried the Madras and I couldn't believe how similar it was to mine. 

Funny you should say that! Remeber this?

[Curry King]

Yeah I do BB, I even said to the other half I wonder if they have pinched the recipe from here.  I will have to go back for another at some point to see if it was a one off, funny though it had something about it that made it seem "homemade", not the smell but the taste definitely seemed familiar.

[Cory Ander]

I'm not sure if I correctly understand the question ADB.

Presumably people will generallly assess a new BIR with the curry they usually eat and like best (I know I do)?

BUT!..if you want a good assessment of their true capabilities (wrt taste, aroma, appearance) you would be better off assessing it with a curry which is as close to their curry base as possible (ie. a mild, non-creamy one such as a straight curry, bhoona or mushroom bhajee). 

I say this because I believe the taste and smell is primarily derived from the curry base and other curries (e.g. madras, vindaloo, korma, CTM, etc) can only mask this with their additional spicing (chilli, cream, coconut, sugar, etc).

I know that a true test of my own capabilities is not with making madrases and vindaloos, etc (which I like best) but with the "simpler" (i.e. milder and less spiced) curries).  If you can get the "taste" and the "smell" (i.e. rich, deep, savoury, smokey) with a simple curry (like a straight curry, bhoona or a mushroom bhajee) you know that you have truly cracked it!