Topic: Coconut milk in a Madras!

[Secret Santa]

the trouble is for me is that it's quite expensive and i can't see BIR's using it so librally as they do in the malik video. i initially thought it was cream and then milk (i've only seen it being dispensed from 1 litre carton not a tin).

Jerry, Maliks don't use canned coconut milk, that 1L carton is UHT cream, you can tell because it is used liberally in the kormas and not quite so liberally in the CTMs. The East takeaway on the other hand do use canned coconut milk in their CTM and korma, straight from the can, and UHT cream straight from the carton.

[Secret Santa]

I've always used this. It's not like Jif Lemon, it's thinner, weaker and sweeter.

And that's something that most if not all people on this forum, apart from me apparently, seem to be unaware of.

The lemon dressing is definitely not lemon juice, and when people say they see BIRs using lemon juice what they are actually using is lemon dressing. This is why I groan every time I see lemon juice in a BIR recipe.

Now I can understand this being used in a vindaloo, or even a madras, but definitely not pure lemon juice.

[joshallen2k]

There is nothing where I live remotely called "lemon dressing". I took a look at the bottle I use, and its concentrated lemon juice: lemon juice, water, sulphites, lemon oil.

If I took this, watered it down even more, and added some sugar, would that suffice?

[Secret Santa]

If I took this, watered it down even more, and added some sugar, would that suffice?

You'd also need citric acid (5%) and 'flavourings' which could be anything!

[Cory Ander]

You'd also need citric acid (5%)

Errrrr...isn't lemon juice 5% citric acid? 

A N Y W A Y....isn't this thread about coconut milk?  :-X

[Secret Santa]

A N Y W A Y....isn't this thread about coconut milk?  :-X

Wellll, one thing leads to another! Wasn't it ever thus?

[Cory Ander]

I should maybe elaborate in that I rarely add coconut milk (i.e. the liquid stuff in a tin) to any BIR curry (I generally use coconut milk powder or, sometimes, extra fine desiccated coconut for texture).  As Mikka points out, adding coconut milk tends to make the curries more akin to Thai curries, in my opinion.

[JerryM]

Secret Santa,

many thanks for clarification on the white liquid. i will need to look again for UHT cream - i am now thinking this will be better than carnation (which i use)(looked at the milk rack yesterday but no luck).

ps on the citric acid - i think the stuff in the dressing is man made and makes the difference. u can buy the citric acid in stores as white crystal. with this i think u could make dressing from lemon juice, sugar, water, citric acid. at the cheap price in the UK u'd only buy it of course.

[Mikka1]

I put that in my curry sometimes because I like it too (Coconut Milk). I don't do it too often though because I feel it takes the whole dish towards an asian feel and that's not really what I'm trying to accomplish.

Interesting that a lot of folks do however.

[JerryM]

Secret Santa,

i tried asda for the UHT cream. they have it in plastic containers - not the 1 lt cardboard. i'll try my Asian store when i next get a chance. i'm thinking though of trying the UHT full cream milk (malik's use such a lot of this white liquid unless it's just down to the dishes being ordered).