Topic: Kris Dhillon Curry Gravy

[JerryM]

Adrianavidb, thanks for following up on the ingredients.

i was particularly interested in your view

and it certainly did not incorporate cumin and garam massala

i find that at the cooking stage these add spice "depth" but create an imbalance where one spice overpowers the rest. i found parker21 base very interesting as it adds garam to the base. i am having very good success with this base making madras & CTM (i also having made KD base for yrs but not used the recipes).

[Secret Santa]

For me cumin is the real bugbear. It seems to easily overpower a curry if too much is used and consequently I tend to use very little (probably half a teaspoon at most). On the other hand while I used to hold the opinion that others seem to have that garam masala is too overpowering to use at all, I now use about 1/4 to half a teaspoon in my madras and I really think it helps.

[adriandavidb]

The received wisdom (various weighty books), seems to be that garam masalla is added near the end of the cooking process to retain its subtle flavours as far as possibe, coriander leaf is often treated in a similar manner.

I read the 'Parker21' recipe with interest for this reason, superficaily it struck me as odd that garam M was added this early in the cooking process. I have previously mentioned that the chef of the Gatwick Tandoori did not add Garam masalla to his final dishes; but I have absolutely no idea if he added it to the base!  He may well have done!

Interestingly, I once found the a piece of star anise in one of his madras's!  This is interesting because this spice is often used in garam masalla (albeit usually ground up).  this seems to suggest that he was including 'garamy' type ingredients in his base sauce!! Or he may have slipped them into the madras he demonstrated to me when I was not looking (unlikely I watched him like a hawk!), or possibly he usually put it in his finished dishes, but did not the day I watched him!

Interesting business this curry thing!

[SnS]

Interestingly, I once found the a piece of star anise in one of his madras's!  This is interesting because this spice is often used in garam masalla (albeit usually ground up). 

Star Anise may be used in some commercial blends of Garam Masala, as are other less traditional Garam Masala spices. As far as I'm aware it is not used in any of the authentic Garam Masala's.

SnS  ;D

[JerryM]

star anise & garam masala

i've just started using star anise in the garam i make and believe it?s a major improvement. (for info based on KD's but: 1/2 cumin to coriander, no black cardamom, casia instead of cinnamon, addition of mint).

i also tried secret santa's suggestion to add just a little garam almost at the end of cooking and i felt it was worthwhile and now adopted a "pinch" as standard.

i also tried a splash of worcester sauce after adding the bulk of the base sauce. this too has now been adopted as standard.

[livo]

While very old, this thread is appropriate to revisit for several reasons.  I couldn't recall ever having made KD Base Gravy and as it's close to 40'C outside I used the day to test a few things out. Reduced quantity cooking and recycled oil.  Also, the OP is pete and we've been discussing these things elsewhere. 

This is a single serve, 1 onion, reduced quantity of the OP recipe with the only exception being the inclusion of old oil (deep fryer oil).  It is not bhaji, samosa or poppadom oil and it didn't come from a commercial business, but it is certainly not fresh new oil. Hopefully I'll be able to source a sample of some commercial used oil soon to test further.  This sampler is cooked in the smallest pot I have in the cupboard.

I'd say that base gravy can be cooked quite successfully on a small scale without any difficulty or variation from the larger amount.  It smells and tastes fine so old oil didn't spoil it.  I'll be making a mild chicken curry later this evening with very basic pre-cooked chicken so I'll see how it goes.

[pete]

it looks very good
very interested to see what happens

[livo]

The dish that led me here to the forum and BIR, Mango Chicken, is almost a dessert curry and requires the most neutral of bases, minimal spice and creamy sweetness. This base gravy is exactly as I suspected it would be, and perfect for the dish.  The small scaled down amount was perfectly fine. The use of fryer oil was unnoticeable in all ways.

The gravy pictured had reduced quite a bit in the cooking so I thinned it out with some water. By the time I added cream and mango puree in the dish cooking I had enough mango curry sauce for 3 servings. I'd prepared 3 single breast cut into 9 pieces each and very mildly pre-cooked in some weak Indian stock.

Possibly the closest I've come to what my daughter would call the good Mango Chicken. She now tells me that mine is better than the shop versions.  This base gravy will now be my go to base, made in small amounts, specifically for Mango chicken.

[Secret Santa]

Mango Chicken, is almost a dessert curry

I seem to recall that being my exact judgement on it when you were first trying to recreate it. In truth it's not a curry at all is it; even by BIR - or AIR - standards?

Having said that it has reminded me that I have a tin of Alphonso puree sitting at the back of a cupboard just begging to be used and it seems like this is the only dish I could use it in in any quantity. I'll need to whip up a batch of chicken tikka first though as I think that'll marry well with this sauce.

I just hope it doesn't turn my stomach the way korma does!   ;D

[livo]

SS,  I'm now pretty much following Chewy's Makhoni video on the Mango Chicken thread, with the addition of the Mango pulp and I also add 1 tsp of Jaggery per serve. I only use the barest minimum of mixed powder (CT forgets it in the video and adds it a bit late which doesn't matter.)

You are correct in it not being a standard curry but it is an extremely popular dish out here.  While I have had it made with Tikka, most places just use plain pre-cooked chicken. I like it done with Tikka, but my kids prefer plain.  Prepare yourself for a curry you can eat for dessert.  ;D

Here's what I made yesterday.