Topic: CTM - Chicken Tikka Masala

[adriandavidb]

Thank's JerryM!

I'll look out for that make, I don't think I've seen it in my local Asian shop, but that's probably because I havn't been looking for it!

I might also give your chicken pizza topping a go!

[JerryM]

No prob's adriandavid,

if u try out on the pizza don't forget to fry it off "the dry coated chicken" in a little oil in a hot frying pan before using on the pizza (ie part cook it).

[adriandavidb]

Will do!  Do you use (sorry moderators, at little 'off-topic') ready made pizza bases, and if so what make?

We used to make our own pizzas, using pre-bought bases all the time, but havn't done it now for a few years!

[Curry King]

Curry King, the link to the Tandoori Masala you use comes back 'not found', what make do you use?  I recall you mentioned that Rajah was OK but not the best?

It is the Rajah brand that I use, I did try and different brand before but to be honest I can't remember which one and it never made a great deal of difference.

[JerryM]

adrian,

i make my own base. it's our family's take on the sunday lunch.

i can post the recipe if needed.

[adriandavidb]

Curry King - Thanks!

JerryM - I'd like to know more about your pizza recipies, perhaps a thread could be started for Italian stuff, in a similar vein to the chienese and Thai recepies on here, even more 'off-topic', I know, but are all 'foodies' after all! 

[JerryM]

i made CTM again last night and being conscious that Josh is not 100% sorted i kept a conscious note of how things go when i cook it and realised there's a few observations i could add. these are sort of very fine tuning and probably down more to the volume that i make than would be the case when sticking to the recipe portion (3 ladles).

i made a 12 ladle portion (this now being my norm) ie 1800ml of base going in. it serves 6 easily. it's x4 the standard recipe. i changed the spice mix slightly and it did not work as well. the attached pic shows the latest less red result c/w my norm
which is here http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=539.msg23106#msg23106

observations:
1) the cooking time is much longer than i would have said/thought - 40 mins until the sauce taste was right and the chicken could go in for re heat
2) i used 12 tbsp of the tikka marinade this time c/w with 4 normally. this was down to the marinade being very runny which is not the norm (usually quite thick creamy)
3) i add chopped frozen coriander after the coconut cream has melted (about a handful). so it cooks in the dish as opposed to being a garnish.
4) the coconut block needs quite a lot of cooking after it's melted to get it tasting it's best (it tastes too oily otherwise)
5) i split the mix powder to include 50% rajah curry powder. this did change the taste more than i would have expected. the spice mix is therefore more of a determining factor in the finished taste that i would have thought (given the higher proportion of tandoori masala being added). any low paprika spice mix would reduce the amount of redness in the finished dish and for me not be as good. i won't use curry powder again in this dish - for me it did not work as well as without it

don't get me wrong on last night's result - it was very very good but not the 100% BIR norm i've got used to. this i put down to adding curry powder (which i normally rave about) when i normally don't.


Adrian,
link to pizza recipe http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=3130.0

[joshallen2k]

I made a CTM as well yesterday utilizing some of the feedback from CA, Jerry and others to get me closer to 100% BIR.

Changes from CK's spec recipe were as follows:

- Added a tablespoon of tikka marinade (I use Blade's)
- Replaced the coconut block with 4 tablespoons of coconut powder

It was a definite improvement to get me closer to the BIR CTMs I'm accustomed to. A few observations that I will tweak next time around:

- The combination of adding the runny marinade, plus that coconut block seems to thicken a sauce much more than the powder does, meant the sauce was much runnier than usual. I think Jerry noticed this as well. Next time I will use CA's suggestion of adding a little almond powder. This should thicken it up to where I want it to be.
- The "zesty" flavour I was looking for, I found. The tikka marinade added this, probably down to the tamarind in the paste, as someone noted. Could it be, that the missing taste for me was... Pataks! 

BTW, I use Pataks "Tikka" in my variation of Blade's marinade. Find its more Tikka than their "Tandoori" as spec'ed by Blade. Guess that sort of makes sense.

-- Josh

[Bobby Bhuna]

Who thinks that Blades CT tastes anything like their local BIR? I love it, but it's not like anything I've had from a BIR. It screams out Pataks, mint sauce and lemon juice. BIR CT is far more subtle IMHO. What are your thoughts?

[joshallen2k]

I guess that's why it was named "better than BIR", because you're right its different and not very authentic. That said it tastes great, and better than any other tikka recipe that I've tried at least.

The missing yogurt is the difference-maker, that coupled with the robust spicing etc in Blade's recipe. I've tinkered with reducing the spices and lemon juice in this to make it a bit more subtle.

-- Josh