Topic: My Madras Lesson

[chriswg]

I have just got back from Zaffron after a very interesting and enlightening Madras cooking lesson. I was only there for an hour so didn't get a chance to cover anywhere near as much as I would have liked, but I did get to cook a Madras from scratch including the base in about 30 mins. I'm going back in a couple of weeks for a longer stint so hopefully I can cover more areas then.

Interestingly, there was no Garam Masala or Restaurant Spice Mix. He had 5 big tubs containing Turmeric, Salt, Hot Chilli Powder, Ground Cumin and ground Coriander.

As the main restaurant batch of base was already made, the chef made up a small individual batch to show me how to do it. This was priceless as far as cooking from home goes, and the finished result was simply sublime.

So for the base he got a metal frying pan and added a lot of vegetable oil. I'm guessing 6 to 7 tablespoons worth. To thins he added two chefs spoons of finely chopped onion and green pepper (about an 80/20 split). After a couple of minutes he added in two green finger chillies which had been split lengthways. When this was was just starting to think about browning, he added in about 2 tablespoons of finely chopped carrot and continued to fry. He added a couple of teaspoons of ginger garlic paste (60% garlic 40% ginger) which they make themselves by blending the chopped ingredients with water. Next was a ladle of blended tinned plum tomatoes which were cooked for 2 - 3 minutes. then he added 1 tsp chilli powder, 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1.5 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp turmeric and 1 tsp salt. Once this had cooked for about 5 minutes he added about 2 tablespoons of plain yoghurt. He added water (half a metal serving bowl) and simmered for a few minutes. He then poured it into a blender to be finely blended. this whole process only took about 20 minutes. The finished base sauce didn't taste that nice. it was quite spicy and very salty but this was apparently normal as it gets thinned out with water at the curry cooking stage.

[chriswg]

Using the same dirty pan he used to cook the base in, he added a couple of tbsp of veg oil and added a desert spoon of hot chilli powder, a big squirt of lemon juice, a dessert spoon of tomato puree (was quite runny, not like from a tube), a ladle of base sauce and a pinch of methi leaves. He heated this on high for a few minutes then added water to thin the base. He added in the cooked chicken (cooked in pots, not boiled) and cooked it on high until the oil started to separate. this probably took 6 - 7 minutes. Once it was ready he added a big pinch of fresh coriander and served.

I ate it with a fresh naan bread and it was absolutely delicious. One of the best BIR curries I have had (and I have had a lot).

[chriswg]

One thing I will note about this is that the measurement he gave me for the spices (tsp of turmeric, salt etc) didn't match up with what my eyes told me when he added them. He was using a big chefs spoon to get the spices out and I thought he was adding closer to 2 - 3 tsp of each. The chefs spoon was about a quarter full of each. I couldn't believe how much salt he added!

I'm going to have a go at cooking this soon so I will report back.

JerryM, I'm sure you wont be able to resist giving this one a go either. I'm looking forward to hearing your feedback!

[chriswg]

I couldn't resist, I had to make a batch up straight away and it was EXCELLENT. The base once blended tasted very similar to the restaurant one. It is very yellow and salty. It actually tastes pretty gross on its own, you certainly couldn't eat it like that. Most of the bases I have tried from here taste more like lightly spiced onion and tomato soup, but this stuff is something completely different.

I doubled all the spice amounts so they looked more like they did on his chef spoon. The final taste was brilliant. I didn't have any chicken so I just ate a bowl of sauce on its own, dreaming of how nice it would have been with some naan and bhajis.

The base should be enough for 3 - 4 curries. I'll be freezing the remainder for next time I want an even quicker curry. This one was only 30 mins from start to finish and the base is used for most of their main curries (CTM, Rogan Josh, Jalfrezi, Vindaloo etc). He was cooking up a different base when I was there which he uses for the chefs specials. He said there was more spices in it.

[haldi]

Thanks for the report Chriswg
Do you know how they precook their chicken/veg ?
Curry Bases are all different
The idea that they only "vary slightly from place to place" was a statement from one of PC's cooking books
It isn't true, and you need the correct curry recipe to go with each base you learn.
I hope you can get a few from this place
Thanks again

[Cory Ander]

Yes, thanks for the report Chris.

Does this small scale base reflect what they do with their full scale base?  I'd be surprised if they stand there and fry everything like that!  I'd also be surprised if they spice it like that (with that much chili powder and chilies).

It sounds to me like this base was made specifically for your madras (with the extra chili and spicing to compliment it).

Other than that, the ingredients in the base look pretty much standard to me, apart from the yoghurt.

I'd tend to agree with whomever said that curry bases only differ slightly from place to place.  They do seem to, with regard to the main ingredients.  It's the peculiar things (such as yoghurt, margarine, celery, carrots, white radish, cabbage, potatoes, etc), which I can't really see you can adjust for in the curry recipe, that seems to be where the difference primarily lies.

I don't think you need the "correct curry recipes" to compliment a specific base.  You just need to exercise a little prudence!

[chriswg]

He said that the base he made was exactly the same as he makes on a large scale. I commented on it being a bit spicy for say a Tikka Massala but apparently when its watered down it loses most of the chilli kick but retains the flavours. He tried the blended base and was happy with it.

I have his email address so I will drop him a quick email asking him what he would add to the base to make it into a Tikka Massala. I'll give it a go and pass it on.

I'd be very keen to hear some other members thoughts once they have tried it. It really had that 'cant stop eating until I have licked the bowl clean' taste to it that my other curries have lacked.

When I made it, I swapped tomato puree for a thick tomato passata which I think was closer to what they were using.

[JerryM]

chriswg,

it's compelling stuff. i will certainly give the madras a try.

i'm currently under strict instructions from the family to stick to what i know for a while. they don't see a need to change anything.

i've not made a base exactly like your spec but feel i've covered similar ground pretty much already. the use of the lemon juice in the madras is a feature i'm particularly interested in as well as the fact there is no mix powder or curry power or garam used.

a couple of general observations. i too don't wash my pan between curries (observed at my local TA). i've also just started to not fully thin the base after cooking and then use a jug of water to adjust at cooking stage. some dishes need thinner than others depending upon the ingredients.

ps, i'll email u a welcome pack for the footie though.

[chriswg]

I have uploaded some pics:

http://picasaweb.google.com/chriswg/Madras#

I think the difference with this recipe is the fact most of the ingredients are effectively deep fried rather than boiled. The water doesn't go in until the end and only really to thin out the sauce. I think this maintains a lot more flavour as well as speeding up cooking times.

I may be alone with this, but for me I'd rather cook a 30 min curry at home including the base than having to either make a fresh batch of base for 2 - 3 hours, or use frozen. As Emin also recently experienced, making up a fresh base specifically for a curry can produce an amazing taste plus it saves freezer space and I don't think takes up any additional time. By the time I have got a block of base out of the freezer, microwaved it for 10 mins to defrost, then put it in a saucepan, heated it up, blended it again, and brought it up to simmering point, I'd be just as quick to make fresh with a better result.

The big decisive factor will be how versatile it is, does it just work well with a Madras or can I use it for anything? I'm hoping to find out soon.

Regarding the chicken cooking, I'm not sure but it wasn't boiled. It was cooked in saucepans along with lots of spices. All I got to see was a big tray of cooked chicken in a light covering of yellow coloured sauce. I tried a piece on its own and there weren't any stand out flavours. I'll get a better idea next time I am there and write down the recipe and method.

[emin-j]

Great post chriswg,your so right on everything you have said ( well I think so  )You cant beat fresh base ,whether it's mashed up in a blender or worked into a paste as I was shown last Saturday ,a base that has been frozen never tastes as good. A takeaway uses sooo much base theirs is constantly being made and I wonder if their base goes a little ' flat ' by the time they get to the bottom perhaps this is why you sometimes get a T/A that is not as good as the last one 
I can see a pattern coming on here what with our visits to the kitchens  fresh,fresh,fresh is the way forward not stuff that's been in the freezer 6 month's. :