Topic: Aussie IR Lesson - Chicken Tikka Masala

[Masala Mark]

Hi,

Chicken Tikka is the next one on the list that we went through. It seems to be quite a bit different to the BIR versions on the site.

Essentially, more onions from the addition of the Onion Gravy paste, less sugar and less cream make it a more savory dish then the Butter Chicken but very similar.

Again, very little in terms of spicing.

I'll be making a few dishes this coming Thursday evening and will take pictures of the Gravies/Pastes to give a better idea of what they look like. The menu so far will be...

• Paneer Makhani (Butter Paneer)
• Beef Vindaloo
• Palak Paneer
• Veg Korma (Savory version)
• ...and some rice of course

Cheers,
Mark

Chicken Tikka Masala

Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp oil
- 0.25 Green Capsicum diced one inch cubes
- 0.25 Onion, diced one inch cubes
- 2 tsp Ginger/Garlic puree (50:50)
- 3 heaped tbsp Onion Gravy http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=4923.0
- 3.5 heaped tbsp Tomato Gravy http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=4922.0
- 1 tsp Kasoori Methi
- 125ml-250ml water
- 1 tsp White Sugar
- pinch Ground Black Pepper
- Pre-cooked chicken tikka, approx half a chicken breast worth of pieces
- 50ml cream
- 0.25 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Coriander Leaves

Prep Work:
- Cut Chicken Tikka into bite sized pieces
- Ginger/Garlic puree is made 50/50 rough ratio with a little water to aid processing

Method:
1. Heat pan, when oil warm, add onion and saute a few mins, till just softened
2. Add capsicum and cook as above
3. Add ginger/garlic paste and cook till just brown, stirring constantly using the back of the spoon to spread/mash/move it around
2. Add the Onion Gravy paste and mix/stir through, followed by the Tomato Gravy paste
3. Add Kasoori Methi and mix through
4. Pour in 125ml of water, mix well and bring to a simmer
5. Add the Sugar, Black Pepper and Tikka pieces, simmer for 5 min or so to heat the chicken
6. Add in the cream and mix through, returning to a simmer
7. Add salt and mix through
8. Remove from heat and add coriander leaves

Notes:
- Depending upon what consistency you prefer, add more water if needed.
- There is quite a bit of salt in the Base Gravies so very little is added, adjust to your taste though.

[moezus]

how did you go making the following last night?

Paneer Makhani (Butter Paneer)
Beef Vindaloo
Palak Paneer
Veg Korma (Savory version)

[Masala Mark]

Hi Moezus, kind of went ok, details are below.

Instead of Paneer Makhani, I did Malai Kofta, which are deep fried balls of grated paneer & potato & carrots with some spices, stuffed with cashews and raisons, in the Makhani sauce. The sauce was a bit thicker then I would have liked and that was due to me having a bit of the paste left over from the unfreezing and not wanting to waste it.

Beef vindaloo was great, was my fave of the dishes, and my wifes least favourite, I guess if you don't like tang and heat then you probably won't like vindaloos.

Veg Korma went very well, Palak Paneer needs a bit of work though. Like most on the forum, if it's not the same as what we've had in the restaurant then usually not happy with it although my wife quite liked it. This wasn't a dish that we did in the lesson, just me trying to make one like I've had.

On top of that the three children were pretty crazy that night and that kind of detracted from the sit down and enjoy side of things.

I did have some for lunch yesterday in peace and quite and it was very nice.

Cheers,
Mark

[livo]

First dish prepared with my recently cooked gravies and it worked out really well.  Personal taste, and that of my family, now gives me a good indication of how I need to adjust things a bit in the next and future batches but I am finally getting to where I've wanted to be for years.

[livo]

After nearly 5 years, I again made this dish yesterday.  I now feel that the same curry can be achieved in different ways.  I made it using MM's 2 pastes (3 paste method) and water.  While there is no base gravy in the dish, the end result really isn't very different to the CTM I made last week using Latif's base gravy and BIR method adaptation of his traditional style video recipe.  I believe that I could reproduce the same curry 3 different ways.

While I've never actually seen this paste method used in any commercial kitchen, I can't say it isn't done and the OP, Mark, had been in one where it was. It works.  After the preparation of the pastes, you still get that commercially required ability to produce a variety of curries quickly, as with base gravy method.  The real beauty of this method comes from the significant reduction in storage space required for the pastes compared to big pots of gravy.  There is enough paste for 20 curries in 2 breakfast bowls compared to a 10 litre pot of gravy.  Another benefit is that the potency of a curry is very easily adjusted as these pastes are highly concentrated.

Anyway, after a few more dishes today I have tonight's dinner sorted.