Topic: Mridula Baljekar's Restaurant Base Sauce Review

[raygraham]

Hello All,

I have just made the "Restaurant Style" base sauce from Mridula Baljekars "Real Balti Cookbook" and a recipe for Chicken with Potatoes which is one of about 12 recipes she gives for restaurant style curries.

Here is the base sauce:-

Makes 1.2 litres (2 Pints)

Ingredients:-

450 g ( 1 lb )Onions, rough chopped
40 g ( 1 1/2 ozs ) Garlic Cloves, peeled
40 g? ( 1 1/2 ozs ) Fresh Ginger, chopped
2 tsp Coriander Seeds
1 tsp Ground Turmeric
1 1/2 tsp Salt
425 g ( 15 ozs ) Can Tomatoes with the juice
1 TBSP Paprika
2 TBSPS Methi Leaves
1 TBSP Sunflower or Corn Oil
600 mls (1 pint ) Water

Method.

Put all ingredients in a large saucepan with the water
Bring to Boil
Reduce heat, cover pan and simmer 35-40 mins
Remove from heat and cool
Blend in a processor

This sauce is very fast to make.
Minimal preparation before hand makes it an easy and relaxing sauce to make.

The base makes a medium brown and quite thick sauce about the consistency of condensed soup. (see pics ).
My only comment would be the taste of Methi seems to dominate and I would next time reduce this a little. However, it didn?t spoil the taste. You live and learn!
It reminded me straight away of one of the the sauces made using the ?100 Best Balti Curry? book and that isn?t surprising as Mridula?s base is a recipe from a Birmingham Chef!

She say?s the Chicken and Potato recipe is fast to make and it is???.very!

From start to finish the recipe took just 15 minutes so was truly a good one for after work provided you have the base to hand and some pre-cooked potatoes.

In the recipe you need ?Royal Jeera? or ?Black Cumin? seeds.
I think this is worth talking about for a minute or two as it doesn't turn up in many recipes that often.

For those not familiar ?Black Cumin? is a thin dark, nearly black ( surprise! ), slightly curved seed about ?? long. It is supposed to be the highest quality Cumin therefore it?s ?Royal? title.
It does have a different look to ordinary Cumin and a different taste which is more intense nutty.
It is not widely available ( near me ) except in some of the larger Asian stores.

Smelling and tasting it makes me wonder if this has something to do with the ?Missing Taste? we all talk about as it is unusual and does have a very ?curry-like? flavour if that's the right description??
I wonder what might happen to the taste of our curries if this seed was substituted for the more usual cumin!??
Maybe worth some experiment and future discussion.

The Chicken and Potato recipe was simple and I used some pre-cooked chicken made from the Balti Kitchen method and the Potato pre-cooked as in the Bruce Edwards method with a teaspoon of? Panch Phoran added to the water. I don?t think either of these methods are necessary in this recipe but I personally like the extra Oooomph and tenderness it adds to Chicken and added taste to the Potato.

The final dish being a ?Balti Dish? is not the same taste as you would expect in a basic restaurant Madras / Vindaloo but for me it was excellent. The taste of the Black Cumin was a little over dominant as was the Methi but I will reduce both these a little next time.
However, taking account of this small gripe the smell, texture and taste were superb.
All elements of the dish made it a memorable meal and one I shall certainly be making again.

For me the base sauce was a good starting point and tasted like it was going to produce a result straight away. It struck me it has a potential and would perhaps interest many of us on this site for a bit of further experimentation.
I will definately try this sauce again and try adapting it with a standard Madras / Vindaloo recipe to see how it fairs.
I have a feeling it will be favourable.

The Base Sauce, Pre-Cooked Chicken and finished dish are shown. Sorry it?s from a phone camera so colours may not be accurate.

If anyone wants the recipe in full let me know and I can type it out.

Regards

Ray

[DARTHPHALL]

Thanks Ray looks very nice mate, I'm up for a go as an alternative my own, ive also got some Black Cumin seeds ( suprise,suprise  ;D).
Please can you post the recipes.
Thanks DARTHPHALL   .

[raygraham]

Roger Darth,

Got me typing head on as we speak. Will post soon.

The Black Cumin really does add a little something

Ray

[DARTHPHALL]

OK i`l put some in my own Madras recipe, in the second stage & i`ll post my results here .
Cheers .....DARTH.........& out  ;D

[DARTHPHALL]

Ray....Shall i grind them or leave them whole What ya think ?

[raygraham]

Leave em whole I reckon. They are pretty powerful as they are!

Next post is the full recipe.

Ray

[raygraham]

Hi All,

Here is the entire Mridula Baljekar?s recipe for Chicken and Potato Balti.


I added pre-cooked Chicken from the Balti Kitchen DVD ( but don?t see why Darth?s simple method can?t be used! ) and pre-cooked Potato using Bruce Edward?s pre-cooking method with Panch Phoran in the cooking water ( Panch who?? ). This isn?t  essential, just my personal choice so follow the recipe below for an excellent curry. This may look like a large list but is quick and easy to put together.

Makes 1.2 litres (2 Pints)

Ingredients:-

450 g ( 1 lb )Onions, rough chopped
40 g ( 1 1/2 ozs ) Garlic Cloves, peeled
40 g  ( 1 1/2 ozs ) Fresh Ginger, chopped
2 tsp Coriander Seeds
1 tsp Ground Turmeric
1 1/2 tsp Salt
425 g ( 15 ozs ) Can Tomatoes with the juice
1 TBSP Paprika
2 TBSPS Methi Leaves
1 TBSP Sunflower or Corn Oil
600 mls (1 pint ) Water

Method.

Put all ingredients in a large saucepan with the water
Bring to Boil
Reduce heat, cover pan and simmer 35-40 mins
Remove from heat and cool
Blend in a processor

Chicken with Potatoes

Ingredients

1 oz Ghee
1 tsp Shahi Jeera ( Royal Cumin ) or ( Black Cumin )
2 ? Piece Cassia Bark, halved
1 Fresh green Chilli, chopped
1 tsp Ginger Paste
1 tsp Garlic Paste
1 tsp Ground Coriander
1 tsp ground Cumin
10 ozs Chicken Thighs or Breasts cut into 2 ? cubes
2 ozs Natural Yoghurt
? tsp Chilli Powder, or to taste
15 fl ozs ( 450 mls ) Kadhai Gravy
8 ozs pre-cooked Potatoes
1 tspSalt, or to taste
? tsp Garam Masala
3 TBSPS  Fresh Coriander, Chopped

Pre-heat Balti Pan over medium heat, add the Ghee.
Add Shahi Jeera, Cassia and Green Chili, sizzle 15 seconds. Add Ginger and Garlic Pastes, stir fry 30 seconds. Add Ground Coriander and Cumin, stir-fry 30 seconds.
( I found the mixture started to become dry and could possibly burn so added a spoonful of water ).
Stir in Chicken and Yoghurt and increase heat to high. Stir fry for 4-5 mins and add Chilli Powder. Stir for another 1-2 mins.
Add Gravy, bring to the boil. Reduce heat and cover and cook for 15-20 minutes.
Add cooked Potatoes and Salt, simmer uncovered for 4-5 minutes then add Garam Masala and Coriander Leaves.

Stir for 1 Minute and Serve.

And hopefully???.enjoy


Ray

[Mark J]

Looks good, black cumin is very aromatic, I use whole when making pilau rice

[raygraham]

Looks good, black cumin is very aromatic, I use whole when making pilau rice

Yes, that would certainly add to the flavour.
She also uses it on her Naan breads and in her "Balti Garam Masala" which is far superior to shop bought brands. Try it!

Here's the recipe.

Balti Garam Masala

15 g Brown Cardamon Seeds
15 g Whole Green Cardamom Pods
25 g Cassia Bark or Cinnamon Sticks
15 g Cloves
15 g Shahi Jeera ( Black Cumin )
7 g Black Peppercorns
2 Whole Nutmegs, lightly crushed

Method

Pre-heat heavy based frying pan, add all spices and dry-fry whilst stirring until the spices release their aroma. Do not allow to change colour, just heat through. Spread on a plate to cool , then grind in a coffee grinder until fine. The smell in your kitchen will be fantastic!

Ray

[DARTHPHALL]

Excellent stuff as usuall Ray .
Thanks for recipe & all the effort you`ve put in on this forum it is very much appreciated. ;D

            DARTHPHALL..... .....