Curryheads "Madras 2011"

[peterandjen]

Well, the missus and i have just finished the meal (Can still taste it as i type). Its perhaps the easiest start to finish curry i've made, and i've made a  few.
Whats it like as a madras? bloody good, as good as most takeaways and the taste is almost there too. Its better than a lot of takeaway madras's i've eaten, but not the best.

I made the base sauce, and skimmed off a good 200ml of oil. And still got seperation when stir-frying. Very good. Be carefull with the salt.
Now the missus don't go for heat so i followed the recipe for Jen yet left out the Deggi Mirch, and to be honest, it was naff, to use this recipe for a standard curry you would have to use some other flavouring to replace the chilli, perhaps more Methi added in the fry stage with the corriander, maybe something else but not much.
Like i said, as a madras its good.
The best thing about this dish is i think its perfect for aspiring curry chef's who come here. Its simple and had a very close to bir end result without any tinkering whatsoever.
Secondly it wouldn't take a lot of tinkering to achieve a truly excellent madras, there's very little  needed is the feeling i get, and a fresh naan, that always helps .
I have enough sauce left to freeze and will definately be using it soon.
I am glad i never tried this recipe before, as now i can really see the simplicity of it as a whole.
Thanks Taz/Achmal i really enjoyed your recipe

[Razor]

Hi Paul,

I used used 2 tsp of deggi mirch and the heat level was identical to my local TA.

Their madras is quite mild in comparison to some I've eaten elsewhere but their vindaloo's are outrageously hot!

Ray

[George]

Be carefull with the salt.

Why do you say that? You have me worried. The Taz base sauce is 20 mins into the 1hr boil, as I write this. I've scaled back the quantities by half but I put in the full quantity of salt by mistake. I was able to scoop out most of the excess and hope the slight over-seasoning of the base doesn't harm the Madras which will follow. If the Madras specifies any salt, I can probably leave it out.

[madstwatter]

Job done! I made Mick's Madras (with Razors tweeks) using Taz's base and what a fantastic result. Best BIR curry I have ever made (3 years of trying). I purchased a madras from a TA just around the corner from where I live, got home and cooked my curry.

Visually they looked almost the same, mine was a bit smoother and had better texture but more importantly tasted much better. They were evenly spiced and both had the same depth of flavour but mine was less sweet and had a bit more of a tomato taste to it.

There is no way I will consider buying another Madras from this TA as mine was tastier - first time I can say that!

I have a few pics and will try to work out how to post.

Mine on the Left - Sorry picture is a bit naff

[PaulP]

Be carefull with the salt.

Why do you say that? You have me worried. The Taz base sauce is 20 mins into the 1hr boil, as I write this. I've scaled back the quantities by half but I put in the full quantity of salt by mistake. I was able to scoop out most of the excess and hope the slight over-seasoning of the base doesn't harm the Madras which will follow. If the Madras specifies any salt, I can probably leave it out.

You might be ok if you don't add any salt to to the final curry sauce before tasting it first. By my reckoning there should be about 12 grams of salt. If you can squeeze 4 curries out of the half size you're cooking that is 3 grams per go, typical of a some supermarket curries and a bit higher than I would usually use.

Paul

[George]

I made both the Taz base and the Taz/Mick Chicken Madras, using half quantities which included half of 450ml oil for the base. I used full quantities for the final curry. I took some photos but I still haven't found the adapter I need to transfer pictures to my computer. The end result was much darker than madstwatter's images, above. It tasted rich and quite good but, as I've never had a Madras from a BIR (!) I don't have much to go on.

[George]

I used used 2 tsp of deggi mirch and the heat level was identical to my local TA.

I used 1.5 tsp Deggi Mirch (as per the recipe) and the heat level was 'cool.'

[solarsplace]

Job done! I made Mick's Madras (with Razors tweeks) using Taz's base and what a fantastic result. Best BIR curry I have ever made (3 years of trying). I purchased a madras from a TA just around the corner from where I live, got home and cooked my curry.

Visually they looked almost the same, mine was a bit smoother and had better texture but more importantly tasted much better. They were evenly spiced and both had the same depth of flavour but mine was less sweet and had a bit more of a tomato taste to it.

There is no way I will consider buying another Madras from this TA as mine was tastier - first time I can say that!

I have a few pics and will try to work out how to post.

Mine on the Left - Sorry picture is a bit naff

Great work! - I have formed the same opinion about Madras from the local TA too! - will only go there for a Madras again in desperation

Cheers

[Les]

Looks really good,
BUT is this base suitable for all other curry styles, or just the madras, (which seems a shame if it is)
Les (Trainee)

[Cory Ander]

I don't really understand why members are so surprised that you add some of the base and reduce it to cook the spices before adding more base?  This is definitely nothing new.

The only significant difference in the "Taz" method seems to be in the main dish cooking, in my opinion.  The spices are added after the base is added (hence why there is extra oil in the base).  Sure, this will prevent the burning of spices (as will adding water, to make a paste of the spices) but the base, and main dish recipe, are otherwise the same (or certainly similar to) most other bases and main dish recipes (and techniques) on the forum.

Back to the subject of developing a "cr0 curry base" and a "cr0 madras"....I would have thought it more appropriate to start at the beginning (ie. what are/should be the essential ingredients and method for making a BIR curry base and/or madras) rather than evaluating an existing curry base and/or madras? (which is what this exercise appears to be to me..which is, of course, fine in itself)