Topic: Mick's/Taz's Dopiaza (Madras Hot)

[Cory Ander]

This was original posted here (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=4149.0) by Achmal and moved to the Main Dish Recipes section by CA

Mick's/Taz's Curry Base Gravy can be found here:  http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=4163.0

Mick's/Taz's Mix Powder can be found here:  http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=4164.0

Now to tell you about a curry Taz cooked for us in the curry shed,
I asked him to do a Chicken Tikka Dopiaza (Madras hot)
Taz always cooks in small woks, just his preference,

As previously stated this method is very different to what I have seen in kitchens and what I have read on here,

1./ Firstly over a medium heat, add pre-fried onion chunks, just seconds in a deep fryer,
2./ Add base gravy about 200 ml
3./ While it boils add chopped raw onions and chopped raw garlic
4./ Then add about a tablespoon of mix powder
5./ Add half a  teaspoon of salt

Now here is the crux for me, you now reduce the sauce, keep reducing until there is hardly any sauce left, the water will have gone and the oil in the base has come through, (hence the high level of oil in the base),
Whats left is frying well but not burning, some residue of the sauce will be browning on the side of the wok, this must be scraped down back into the mix,
Do this scraping down for a minute or so, You need to take the reducing further than you would think,

6./ Turn the heat down, This method proving you don't need huge burners Add more base, about another 200 ml, add the precooked meat then add the chilli powder to your taste
7./ Add coriander
8./ Add methi

Now reduce again over the lower heat, stirring occasionally until you reach your desired consistency,
Many of you would have thought as Graham and I did at the time that this method would have left a uncooked flour/spices texture in the curry , it certainly did when we tried to cook the same way but we realised we weren't letting the curry cook long enough, once we let the curry cook for longer, adding a little more base as required we cracked it,
It left us both standing there tasting the curry having one of those EUREKA moments, (without bathtubs)(and clothed) before anyone says anything..


I did say this was very different and I believe its not so much the recipes as the method he uses so I can't see why this would not work with other curry recipes ..

I have since asked Taz whether or not there is a point to adding the chilli powder with the second lot of gravy, he said it doesn't matter if the chilli goes in with the first reduction, it just shows the flexibility, as long as the curry is cooked out long enough,

This may not be the answer that many are looking for but if done correctly it does produce a cracking curry,

For information, for the amount of onion used,, Taz took 1 average sized onion and quartered it, 3 of the quarters were used for the deep fried onion chunks, the other quarter was finely chopped to go in with the first lot of gravy,

For this particular curry Taz did not add tomato paste, if you are using other curry recipes that use tomato paste then add it with the first lot of gravy,
Cheers

Mick

[Cory Ander]

Reply by Josh:

Thanks for posting AchMal.

After playing with this for a while, I did have a few questions you might have already experimented with...

- why the chilli powder (and possibly the methi) isn't added with the original spice mix in the reduction stage
- why the tomato puree isn't added as part of the reduction, or added before the second base stage starts
- how the method could be applied to sweeter curries, like CTM and korma

Cheers,
Josh

Reply by Mikka:

Methi?
Did he grind it up into a powder please? I usually do.

(Other readers might want to grind up some Fenugreek seeds to acquire the toffee taste? Boy is that pungent).

Great post, thanks for sharing and you are one lucky person.
Did it equate in taste to what you get from the TA please?

Reply by Achmal:

Mikka,

Taz is a chef in a Takeaway, he says on average each curry would take about 10 minutes( a little longer than the method we all know)

He doesn't grind the methi,

What he produced at my home was the same that I get from his takeaway, I will admit this is not the taste of curries 30 years ago but up against some of the curries locally it is a winner,

Cheers,

Mick

Reply by Achmal:

Hi Josh,
I was aware of some of your questions,

I have since asked Taz whether or not there is a point to adding the chilli powder with the second lot of gravy, he said it doesn't matter if the chilli goes in with the first reduction, it just shows the flexibility, as long as the curry is cooked out long enough,


For this particular curry Taz did not add tomato paste, if you are using other curry recipes that use tomato paste then add it with the first lot of gravy,

Taz's CTM and korma are similar to other recipes in that its cream, sugar, coconut and almond powder and gravy with the meat and the whole lot is reduced down to the consistency required, the method of the first reduction doesn't come into play,

I hope I've made that clear enough ...

Cheers,
Mick

Reply by Josh:

Thanks Mick.

Very helpful.

-- Josh

[976bar]

Hi Mick,

My only concern with the Dopiaza recipe and probably any other recipes cooked like this, is the addition of the pre-cooked meat, then cooking the curry out for such a long time after. You don't mention the time taken to cook the curry out but my guess is it's got to be 5 minutes plus to cook it out properly.

Doesn't this make the meat/chicken which is pre-cooked go tough?

[PaulP]

Hi 976bar,

The pre-cooked chicken will probably be stone cold (well it should be!) so it is just warming up for 5-7 minutes in the final reduction.

I often add raw chicken at this stage when making the Taz recipes and simmer the finished curry until the chicken is cooked.

Paul.

[joshallen2k]

I often add raw chicken at this stage when making the Taz recipes and simmer the finished curry until the chicken is cooked.

Hmmm. Good point. Obviously the TA's precook for efficiency reasons. When we do it at home, I've wondered if we are actually detracting from the taste/texture of the chicken when doing this. i.e. Do we really need to be copying this specific BIR practice?

CA's recent recipes got me into using fresh chicken.

But I'm not 100% sure if this would work well with the Taz method, as the second reduction is only 4-5 minutes long. I suppose you could reduce the heat even further and extend that out to ensure the chicken is cooked...

[PaulP]

That's just what I do Josh. Often I'm faffing around doing other stuff so the finished curry has time to sit for a while before I serve it up.

I know we're trying to do BIR stuff but I'm not in as much of a hurry as a TA chef.

[976bar]

I have to say that I do like the look of that base, it looks more like the base that is used in my BIR, a sort of greenish colour rather than browny/orange.

I'm gonna give this base a go next week as I am nearly out of base

[Derek Dansak]

This looks like a very interesting new line of enquiry ! however i am so dam close with the methods i already know, i feel it may be a step side ways to start with a whole new technique. i would love to hear how other members get on with this new technique. specifically how the taste differs to other techniques. good luck to anyone trying it out.

[PaulP]

Hi DD, I would recommend you try this base and method as it does give good results and is easy to prepare. I just made a korma with the base and it was spot on so it is very flexible. Can't say I like kormas but it tasted like I remember from tasting other people's kormas in restaurants, and the wife loved it.

I was skeptical at first as I though the base was too simple, there was too much cumin and too much turmeric but how wrong I was!

[Derek Dansak]

Hi PaulP, easy to prepare hey, thats always nice to hear! whats the basic madras or dopiaiza like? does it really taste like a real TA? If not , whats missing? Korma is not a good way to assess a base in my opinion. did you make a madras or dopiaza?  was it top notch?