Been to my local takeaway

[chillihead]

Hi all,

Before I start i am no where near as experienced as some of you guys with this but I am trying to make some effort in helping to find out how to make a perfect curry from home. Usually I order my takeaways over the phone and get them delivered from the same takeaway in my area and believe me they are absolutely gorgeous! The past few times however I have made the effort to walk to my takeaway (its only half a mile away) to order myself. The good thing is that behind the counter is the actual kitchen so you can see your curry being made when you are there but not close up to identify each ingrediant.
It amazes me how simple they actually make your curry. I ordered a Chicken tikka madras as usual and this is what i witnesed. Im sorry this is vague but I can improve on this the more times I go to get a curry.

The chef took a frying pan and put in maybe half a ladle of oil into the pan. He then added what looks like "white powder", im guessing it was garlic powder and not fenugreek. He then added the pre-cooked chicken tikka. He left this for a few seconds and then added 3-4 different spices using his ladle unfortunately I could not tell what these were but I will ask the question next time. He then left the pan for a couple of minutes before adding 1.5 to 2 ladles of curry gravy. He again left this cooking on high heat for 2-3 minutes. At the very end he added another ingrediant which looked to me like solid gee (it couldnt of been garlic or ginger but it certainly looked buttery). As soon as this was added he stired the curry, added fresh coriander and then served it up in a takeaway plastic tub). The curry was gorgeous as always.

The chef hardly spent any time at all making this curry and this is what I want to acheive. I believe the main effort in making a curry is preparing the gravy, the curry itself can be made in no time at all (with pre-cooked meat).

I will be ordering another curry this weekend so I will try to find out the spices. Im tempted sneaking a camcorder into the resteraunt to film it

Has anyone added a small lump of gee to their curry at the end, maybe this is something worth trying?

[George]

I ordered a Chicken tikka madras as usual and this is what i witnesed. Im sorry this is vague but I can improve on this the more times I go to get a curry.

chillihead

This is great stuff. Keep up the good work. Many thanks. The more observations we get, the more confidence we'll have as to what goes on.

I'm disappointed that a few places around here which used to have open kitchens, appear to have done away with them. I must search for others.

Regards
George

PS I'm no detective, but perhaps the best policy is to watch without questions for a few more times, ideally with a hidden camcorder if you really dare chance it. If you ask questions too early, they may get suspicious and somehow cover up. The white powder at the start and buttery stuff at the end sound particularly interesting.

[pete]

He then added what looks like "white powder", im guessing it was garlic powder and not fenugreek

The 100 best balti recipes do a chicken tikka
That  uses garlic powder and goes in near the start of the recipe

[Yellow Fingers]

Has anyone added a small lump of gee to their curry at the end, maybe this is something worth trying?

I wouldn't have thought ghee, if that was what it was, would be put in at the end, but who knows?? It could have been chicken jelly, that is solidified chicken stock, that would make sense in a chicken curry. Pete has tried this but I don't think he adds it at the end.

As for the white powder, there are five candidates, salt, MSG, garlic powder, coconut powder and asafoetida. I think you would tell even from a distance if it was salt so probably not that. Coconut powder would burn if fried, so not that. It could be either MSG or garlic powder and I hope it's the latter! It could also be asafoetida as this is used as an alternative to onion and garlic in some cooking. I think perhaps this is something most of us haven't tried, that is using powdered garlic and ginger instead of fresh, that's another avenue for exploration.

I love these first hand reports, but they always seem to open up a bigger can of worms.

[George]

I love these first hand reports, but they always seem to open up a bigger can of worms.

I agree, but we can't deny that's what was used for chillihead's curry, so it must be worth pursuing.

Another possible element might be onion powder. Perhaps the powder is a blend of various white powders, like the ones you've suggested. It doesn't sound like this chef added any pre-fried onions, on this occasion.

Regards
George

[Curry King]

Nice one, this sounds very interesting and different to what ive seen before.

It would be great if you could find out what the white powder and "substance" at the end is!

[Yellow Fingers]

It doesn't sound like this chef added any pre-fried onions

Infact no onions at all, nor any ginger or tomatoes or paste! Very strange.

Actually now I think about it, well cooked down onions, perhaps pureed would have the look of ghee, and they would be added at the end so perhaps that's what the 'ghee' is?

[Robert]

I love these first hand reports, but they always seem to open up a bigger can of worms.

Could the can of worms be the secret ingredient that they're reluctant to tell us about?

(err, I'll get me coat)

[raygraham]

Hi Chilliehead,

I think you can see by the enthusiasm of all the posts above how interested we all are in your investigation.
Strikes me you are just gonna have to go in again and at the crucial points simply ask what he just added to the pan!!

Just say things like " I didn't know you used Garlic Powder"?? " So what does that extra Ghee do to the dish"?? You, know the kind of thing!

Not too many questions at first, just sound "curious" !

Don't use the camcorder bit yet as they might think your a little "strange", throw you out and bar you for life!!

My guess is Garlic Powder at the start and possibly Butter Ghee or more likely Vegetable Ghee to add enrichment at the end.

Keep the detective work going! It's like being in the S.A.S. !

Good stuff.

Ray

[chillihead]

Yup I personally think it was garlic power at the beginning as it was not coconut as i could see their tub of coconut and you dont get that in a madras (it certainly didnt taste of coconut). It wouldnt have been salt as you dont tend to add salt in oil when you begin cooking a curry. It would make sense to me that they used garlic powder as its easy & also cheap. I will definetly ask the next time I go to get a curry from them.
I also think it was ghee or butter at the end as they usually add ghee or butter to naan's at the end of cooking too to give them shine and a small boost in taste, but I will have to observe more closely next time to make sure.
I will probably going again tomorrow night if i can resist going again tonight so I will try to make more observations.

When I was there, the takeaway was empty so the chef's were cooking chicken. I can only assume they were making chicken tikka but I thought chicken tikka was just marinaded and then squewered and then cooked in the tandoor. They had a smaller pot on the heat next to the curry base pot in which he put some spices and tomatos and then added fresh chicken. I didnt get to see much of what happened next as my curry was made and I left but i was left wondering what the hell were they doing with that chicken because all of the chicken tikka I have had has been cooked on the tandoor on skewers. Maybe they semi cook it first with marinade before putting it on the skewers to finish in the tandoor. Any ideas anyone?