Topic: MDB’s Birmingham Balti Gravy 100% Clone Al Frash Balti Restaurant MKII

[mickdabass]

MDB’s Birmingham Balti Gravy 100% Clone Al Frash Balti Restaurant and simple Balti Recipie Mk II Simplified Method

This is the same recipe as the MKI recipe but a different methodology.

I have simplified it to a 2 pot affair

For the Gravy you will need:
•   Stick Blender
•   A fine sieve
•   Weighing Scales
•   1 Large Pan with lid for onions approx. 5 litres
•   1 Small/Medium pan with lid for Akhni Stock approx. 1 litre


Ingredients:
100g vegetable oil – not olive oil
1 kg onion, roughly chopped
1 tsp salt
small pinch Ajwain seeds
1/2 green and 1/2 red pepper, chopped
125g fresh carrot, roughly chopped

Whole Spices:
Weigh 55g pieces of cassia bark broken up into 1 inch pieces
5 cloves
10 green cardamom pods cracked
3 star anise
5 tej patta (Indian bay leaves) dried DON’T use normal bay leaves – omit instead

Spice Mix: (rounded teaspoons)
2 tsp Kashmiri Mirch chilli powder (optional)
2.5 tsp coriander powder
1.5 tsp cumin powder
3 tsp turmeric powder
2.5 tsp curry powder
a good pinch kasoori methi (dried Fenugreek Leaves)
2 tsp garam masala powder
Large handful fresh coriander roughly chopped
30g peeled fresh garlic
30g peeled fresh ginger
250g of chopped tomatoes

Method:
Take the large pan and add:
100g vegetable oil
1 kg onion, roughly chopped
1 tsp salt
1pint cold water
1/2 green and 1/2 red pepper, chopped
125g fresh carrot, roughly chopped

Take 30g peeled fresh garlic
30g peeled fresh ginger
Using a stick blender, blitz 30g garlic and 30g ginger with a small amount of water into an emulsion and
add to the onions along with a small pinch Ajwain seeds (optional)
 
Bring to the boil.  Cover and simmer for 1 hr stirring frequently

While the onions are cooking:

Take:
whole spices,
Drop these into the second pan, along with 1 pint of water and simmer with lid on for an hour stirring occasionally to make an Akhni Stock
After an hour strain the Akhni Stock from the second pan through the fine sieve directly into the large pan of onions
discard the whole spices.
stir well
Add the fresh coriander, the chopped tomato and the powdered spices into the large pan of onions and allow to simmer for five minutes
Blend Well
Add additional water to desired gravy consistency.
The Gravy is now ready to use.
Once cooled, it can be stored in the refrigerator for 4-5 days without any problem



To make simple balti:
 
No need for additional ground spices or extra salt!

Ingredients:
Cooking Oil - any will do except olive oil
¼ medium onion Finely chopped
¼ medium tomato Finely chopped
Garlic Paste
Roughly chopped fresh coriander (to taste) I use quite a lot
Method:

In a frying pan on medium heat add 1 chef spoon oil
add onion
When just starting to go brown around the edges
add 1/2 tsp minced garlic

Once the spitting has stopped

Add 1/2 large raw chicken breast diced into 1inch cubes (pre-cooked chicken can be used but add after 3rd reduction to avoid overcooking)

Turn up heat

Add 1st ladle gravy

Reduce well until oil starts to separate

Add 2nd ladle gravy

add the chopped tomato
Reduce well until oil starts to separate

Add 3rd ladle gravy, stir in chopped fresh coriander and reduce to desired consistency

finish on low heat until chicken is cooked

Leave to stand for a few minutes and serve with hot naan.

[martinvic]

Think you've missed the blending of the gravy bit out of this recipe Mick

[livo]

It really doesn't matter mv.  It's the same recipe and whether you choose to do it as per original, Rev 1 or Rev 2, or vary it to use a pressure cooker, it's the same base gravy, and a good one at that.  Good of you to point it out though.

[mickdabass]

Thanks guys. Think I need a proof reader

[Kashmiri Bob]

Whilst sorting though books to recycle I came across the Lasan restaurant's Simple Home Cooking, by Aktar Islam (F Word winner).  It's a booklet.  I got it free when the Lasan were doing a cooking demonstration in Birmingham city centre many years ago.  A quick peruse and the obligatory "essential spices" section looked interesting.  The usual suspects for the powdered spices, but including Madras curry powder.  I thought this is quite refreshing from a chef of his reputation.  But the whole spices list got me thinking (about Mick's recipe and the Birmingham Balti in general):

Cassia bark, Cassia leaves, Green Cardamom, Black Cardamon, Sun Dried Chillies,  Black Peppercorns, Cloves, Star Anise, Coriander seed, Cumin seed.

Can't say I have seen Cassia Bark and Cassia Leaves (Tej Patta?) at the top of this kind of list before.  Just a thought.   I do now have another superlative for Mick's recipes though: 

Michelin star Balti!

Rob

[Robbo141]

I made 2 curries using Mick’s balti base last night.
One following the recipe to the letter for the missis that she described as delicious.  I thought it very tasty too, with a slight background sweetness.


Served with frozen naan’s from our local Trader Joe’s.  I noticed on the packaging they’re actually imported from India. Who’da thought?  Sprinkle with a little water and heat them up in cast iron skillet, adding butter and flipping a couple of times.

The 2nd curry for myself was a variation, adding:
10g fresh ginger, minced
1clove garlic, minced
Good pinch kasuri methi
5 Thai chillies
1/2tsp extra hot chilli powder
1/2tsp coriander powder
2 green cardamom pods, split
1 black cardamom

Last night I thought it was a decent dish, but this morning at 9:30 (my elevenses get earlier and earlier), WOW!  Absolutely spot on BIR for me. I don’t say that very much about my curries, but Mick’s base is bringing some great results.

@LahoreBob, I know you love the standard dish as is, but give it a bash, using the base as a base. You won’t be disappointed.

Robbo

[Kashmiri Bob]

@LahoreBob, I know you love the standard dish as is, but give it a bash, using the base as a base. You won’t be disappointed.

Robbo

I was also tinkering with Mick's benchmark recipe last night Robbo.  Had a go at a Balti Garlic Chicken, of sorts.  Think I made one change too many.  Did a taste test and popped it the fridge to have tonight.  First impression was it looks the part, as a takeaway, I guess.  The pan additions for cooking were 1 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder (very mild), 1 sliced green finger chilli,  1 and a bit tsp hot garlic chutney and about a tbsp of julienned ginger. I fried the latter in a separate pan with some of the oil spooned off the curry and added it late on.  Rotisserie chicken.  I just cut some strips and pushed them into the finished dish, with a fork.

First impression was it tasted a bit too hot for me.  However, importantly, it retained the immense depth of flavour, with a nice deeply roasted garlic edge.  So it's lush.  Reckon it's overly sweet though, due to the chutney. My first choice here would have been Janu's hot garlic pickle, but not been able to get any for a long time.  Noticed this morning that the chutney is 45 % sugar.  So fairly certain I will have botched this one.  I might heat it up in a balti dish with a squeeze of fresh lemon. It won't be up to Mick's Balti Chicken standard, cooked to spec.  All good fun though.     

Rob
                 

[Secret Santa]

I was just contemplating Misty Ricardo's balti base where he adds whole garam masala and then blends it at the end so it's left in the sauce. I wondered what the difference would be, if any, in grinding garam masala powder from the same whole spices and adding that in instead of the whole masala. I think it would be better to do it that way if it made no difference to the flavour and I can't really think of why it would.

[livo]

I won't blend the whole spices in again.  Give it a try Santa.

[Kashmiri Bob]

Bought the bag on the right today.  I use this in my Abdul's Manchester Shami kebab recipe.



The bag on the left is what I use for MDB Balti base (and Misty's).

Opened both.  The aroma of each is quite obviously different, hugely, in terms of intensity.  They are not the same thing.  The bag on left has a very delicate aroma, so faint it is difficult (for me anyway) to say what it smells like.  The other bag is pungent by comparison and smells of cinnamon, mulled wine.

Rob