Topic: who has had a very garlicy lemony madras from a bir ?

[Derek Dansak]

i recently tried a few new local bir ta's. it occured to me that some bir madras dont have that much of the missing 5 percent taste. they are a new breed of madras for me. a garlic lemon taste predominates. very nice though. anyone else had this type. ?  because they dont have the missing taste we all crave, they should be easier to emulate.

[JerryM]

i find that it's very hard to find a top notch BIR TA. consequently once found i stick to it like glue. i also stick to my fav dishes.

there is as u say DD a massive range of "quality" across the BIR's with a good few well short of even the worst as a begininner on the site.

for madras - lemon is a big no no - only in vindaloo. love the garlic though.

[Derek Dansak]

Yes i know what you mean Jerry. I only visit new TA,s when out of town. It always suprises me how many good quality madras are out there. some without the 5 percent taste but still very nice. for me it confirms we are all on the right track on this site. I am experimenting at the moment with re creating a basic garlicy madras. i think i will drop the lemon and increase the paprika next time

[JerryM]

I am experimenting at the moment with re creating a basic garlicy madras. i  increase the paprika next time

DD,

will very much look fwd to the result.

have u tried CK's -http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=3489.0
- it really gelled for me (albeit i add paprika 1/4 tsp despite my wife feeling it does not need it so i'd say marginal). i didn't really get chance to compare it with my norm madras using a simple spice based (i made it with rajver) so verdict to some extent is still out.

on my norm i now add a little tandoori masala 1/4 tsp - i know it's strange but i feel it better (towards BIR) with than without.

[Derek Dansak]

will try those suggestions. never had much luck with tandorri powders. although they do add a nice tangyness. i might ask the guys at my local if they use tandorri powders. its the one thing i cant recall seeing in their kitchen.

[chinois]

I find the lemon is important. My friends dont know it's in there because it's not added at the end but i find the slight tang important.

[Cory Ander]

I find that adding too much lemon juice to a very garlicky curry can make it very sickly.

for madras - lemon is a big no no - only in vindaloo

I'm sorry Jerry, but I'm at a total loss to know where you get many of your conclusions from? 

[JerryM]

CA,

my conclusions solely come from bringing together the eating of BIR food and trying to emulate it in cooking it my yourself. this has caused me to be very inquisitive of what tastes "ingredients" are in BIR dishes.

i use lemon and lime in none curry cooking a lot and know what they bring to a recipe. in the main i actually favour lime.

i feel (am pretty sure) the madras from my local TA has no lemon in it. it tastes for me just how a BIR madras should taste. i cook madras curry sauce a lot at home and have tried many of the recipes on the site. in doing so i've tried madras with lemon and without. in adding lemon for me it takes the taste away from BIR as opposed to getting it closer.

i've not made vindaloo at home but i have eaten it a lot in BIR. whilst i appreciate madras and vindaloo are miles different the 2 key differences are the extra mouth burning heat and sharpness (vinegar) that are fond in the vindaloo c/w madras. in fact i'd even say madras should have a slight sweetness.

hence my feeling that lemon in madras is a no no.

[Secret Santa]

I find that adding too much lemon juice to a very garlicky curry can make it very sickly.

for madras - lemon is a big no no - only in vindaloo

I'm sorry Jerry, but I'm at a total loss to know where you get many of your conclusions from? 

I absolutely agree with Jerry on this one CA. I had never, until fairly recently, had a madras with lemon in it and, as it was my favourite curry for many years, I've had a fair few from many different places. Lemon does not belong in a BIR madras.  In fact I can barely stomach its addition to a vindaloo, although there is at least a passing argument for its inclusion based on the addition of red wine vinegar in authentic vindaloo.

In my opinion the addition of lemon to curries is becoming far too common and is ruining them.

[Cory Ander]

There seem to be many people here saying that lemon juice IS used in their BIR madras SS (hence the purpose of this thread).  Therefore, I think it's safe to assume that it DOES belong in a BIR madras from THOSE BIRs (whether you and I like lemon juice in our madras or not!) .  I'm sure THOSE BIRs (that use lemon juice on their madras) don't consider it to be a "no no"!

In my opinion, for what it's worth, a madras may or may not have lemon juice in it.  A vindaloo may or may not have lemon juice in it.  It all depends on which BIR you go to and what takes their fancy.  I'm not sure there are any sacrosanct "rights" or "wrongs" in this regard.