Topic: my latest attempts

[jb]

Had some friends round last night so I cooked them an Indian.On the menu chicken tikka,pilau rice,sag aloo,bombay potato and aloo massala.

bombay potato...



sag aloo....



Aloo massala...



sag aloo bombay potato served



I used my own base sauce with a spoonful of asofoetida,it gave  it a more onion sort of smell but did not change the flavour really,maybe next time I will use a bit more(as well as using spiced onion bhaji oil).My guests were very impressed with the whole thing.I forgot to take pictures of my rice and tikka but they said they were better than a takeaway.I used a pinch of panch poran in the bombay potato which gives a lovely flavour.The aloo massala was a bit of an afterthought really,I had some potatoes left so I had a go at Dipuraja's recipe.I have to say I was a bit sceptical but it was spot on-easily as good as my local.I didn't have kebab paste so i used a touch of kashmiri massala paste instead.Also used a tablespoon of Rajah brand tandoori massala powder as well.Anyone who's into tikka massala should give this one a go-very impressed.

[Vindaloo-crazy]

That Bombay potato looks spot on.

[chriswg]

Man I'm hungry looking at those pics!

Which Bombay Aloo recipe did you use? Did you follow Dip's Chicken Tikka Massala recipe but add par boiled potatoes instead of chicken?

Keep up the good work. I can see a Bombay potato group test coming up soon!

[jb]

I followed Dipuraja's recipe for massala but added par boiled potatoes insted of chicken....It was spot on.I kind of used his bombay aloo method(with my own base sauce and spice mix).I added a pinch of panch poran when I added the spice mix.

[Secret Santa]

My guests were very impressed with the whole thing.

I'm not surprised jb. If those dishes taste even half as good as they look they had a special treat indeed.

[Malc.]

Well done indeed, they look very appetizing.

Panch Puran is not something I have got hold of yet, but I do know the IG use it extensively, particularly for precooking veg.

I quite like the Rajah products, the tandoori masala is good. I can higly recommend the Tandoori Paste as well.

[jb]

Had another cook up tonight for the wife and me....Chicken tikka massala,pilau rice,Chicken tikka balti,sag aloo and bombay potato.All went well(allthough the kitchen was like a sauna hence some steamed-up pictures!!) Have to say it got pretty hectic everything seemed to happen at once...I take my hat of the guys in my local take-away they make it look so easy!!!!

Pilau rice....


Was well chuffed with this.I've always been a disaster cooking rice but this was as good as my local.The wife said it was nicely spiced and fluffy in texture.The last lot I made went into a rice cooker...what a disaster...I followed the instructions but when it came out it was blooming horrible.Mind you I used too many spices for the portion and too much colour.

Chicken tikka massala....


Cooked as my alloo massala but obviously with chicken tikka.Also added a swirl of cream at the end together with some flaked almonds and sultanas(Exactly how my local used to serve it but unfortunately their one is now full of coconut and a bit plain for my liking)

Sag alloo.....



The only disappointment really.Instead of using fresh spinach I decided to use frozen(I know my local takeaway uses either frozen or tinned).The only problem was the water content..maybe is should have drained it first.I did spot some spinach puree in my local Asdas(KTC brand),I wasn't sure whether this was the stuff that most people use.


Chicken tikka balti...


Very nice but still not as good as my local.Theirs has a real savoury.sweet flavour...I just wish I could find out that missing taste.Maybee it's in their oil I don't know.

All systems go!!!!


Ready to eat.....

[solarsplace]

Hi

Very, very impressive cooking 4 things all at once much better than I could do.

The food looks perfect - congratulations!

Interesting that you make the comment, that you believe it is still missing that certain something - and question whether it is in the oil.

Well, I'm with you on the oil theory. Although I suspect that most BIR's won't make a discrete spiced oil, theirs will likely be a bi product of the base oil and various dishes.

Anyway, your results looks fantastic.

Regards

Russell

[PaulP]

Hi Jb, your food looks great. I'll be making some tandoori chicken tonight using your excellent recipe.

I totally agree about the oil taste. It was the big difference between my cooking and my fave local TA/Restaurant (The Saffron, Waterloo, Liverpool). If you dip your finger into the left over oil from this TA there is a wonderful moorish sweet spicy flavour.

I also agree with Russell that most BIRs probably don't prepare spiced oil specifically but it is a by product of cooking either large pots of base sauce or even the onion bhaji oil theory or both.

The spiced oil recipe we have discussed in another thread has taken my curries to a new level although there is still some fine tuning to do. I intend to buy a thermometer for oil and a spice ball to progress this further.

Cheers,

Paul

[Stephen Lindsay]

great post jb, putting those lessons to good use!