Topic: Takeaway/Restaurant Madras - That special something

[Peripatetic Phil]

Wouldn't it be far less stressful just to have your stomach stapled, Domi ?!
** Phil.

[daveeb]

An update on the oil question!

It seems from a lot of your posts that oil is a big factor in "moorishness", I think I knew it but wanted to cheat the unhealthy truth...

976 bar is spot on with - "The trouble is, when we make it at home, we try to be health conscious, only a tablespoon or 2 of oil here and there.
The Indian restaurants don't care how much oil you eat, it's good for their business.... "

Also, Peterandjen with "when i start frying the spices for a curry, i still get that little voice in the back of my mind saying" don't do it, use less oil!".

Thats been me (my wife runs her own slimming company and gives me dirty looks when I make a curry!)

I use the Undercover curry base but I use 300ml oil instead of the 500ml I should.
That in conjunction with that I only use 2 teaspoons of oil in the finished curry means that my madras doesnt have that moorishness as described earlier (but is suprisingly still very good!)

SO, I made a curry using a full ladle of oil yesterday and it was the D`s B`s
Bear in mind that was using the 300ml oiled base so if i use the full oiled base it will be perfect.

I will make some more full oil base soon and report back (I can never get the oil back out at the end very well, it doesnt separate enough - hence why i stared putting less in)

Has anybody got any tips on separating oil from the base or final dish to make scooping off easier??
Davee B

[Peripatetic Phil]

Anybody got any tips on separating oil from the base or final dish to make scooping off easier??

It needs to cook for long enough to separate out (10 to 15 minutes, provided that the base itself was cooked for long enough), and of course stirring will keep setting things back, so whilst you want to stir fairly vigorously if you start (as I do / KD recommends) at a highish heat, you need to back off the stirring as you back off the heat.  And don't be embarrassed to take it away in the middle of the meal and pour some more off if it continues to rise to the surface (as it usually does).  And have your cholesterol level checked at least once every fifty years :-)

** Phil.

[PaulP]

The sheer amount of calories in oil or fat is very high - about 125 calories for 1 single 15 ml tablespoon.

Quite shocking really!

Paul

[PaulP]

I've just worked out my curries probably contain about 4.75 tablespoons of oil from what I add and what is in the base. That is about 600 calories without the meat or rice.

They do taste good though!

Paul

[JerryM]

daveeb,

might help on separating oil from base http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=2684.0

[mikeyp]

Maybe its just that food always tastes better if someone else  cooks it for you, if you have a fry up breakfast in a cafe or hotel it alaways seems to taste better that when you cook it yourself and then eat it.But its still the same ingredients in it.

[daveeb]

Hi
I started this post a while ago at the beginning of my quest and now feel I should answer my own question as I feel I have the answer! (after 8 months of learning) this was for my favourite, Madras

Basically there is more than one answer to this question and the more of these you apply to your curry the more "moorish" it will be.

In making order

Boil Onions in turmeric first for base 1st stage
Coconut cream in the base 2nd stage
Salt in everything
2 chefs spoons oil in final curry then skim off
Onion/green pepper tarka
Decent ratio mix powder (Balanced)
Burn/singe spices
Tspn Red massala paste in final curry
High heat on base at end until thick

Everything else is just padding or for colour, these are what makes it rich, however the biggest thing ive learned is not to make the base and final curry in the same day - not only does the base flavour get richer but just mainly that being immersed in curry smells for 3 hours just dampens your taste buds.


Any others please let me know what you think
Davee b

[Peripatetic Phil]

All makes good sense to me up to this point, Dave :

High heat on base at end until thick

I wonder how thick you are aiming for ?  For me, "moreish" requires the finished sauce to still be runny; if it clings to the chicken and won't drip off, I tend to leave it, having extracted and eaten the chicken.  But if the sauce remains behind when I lift out the chicken (some adhering, of course, but at least twice as much falling back), then I will usually mop it all up with my chapatti.  So, how thick are you aiming for during your final stage, in terms of my "what ratio falls back" test ?

** Phil.

[daveeb]

Its a close one, too thin and its a bit boring but too thick and it turns sickly.

I look for the "lava" style craters which bubble away when it gets to the right consistancy

when you put it on the rice it coats the rice really well but doesnt kind of disapear into the rice so you have dry looking rice if that makes any sense