Topic: North Indian Special (vindaloo strength)

[curryhell]

Hi Curryhell

Made this last wkd.  I have never had a north indian special so nothing to go on.

First thoughts........bloody hot   I am usually a madras/mild vindaloo man but i thought I would try exactly to spec.  Next time I will half the chilli powder.

Secondly the taste.  A lovely sweet curry with no hint of the tamarind or mango chutney on its on with the flavours blending well.  Also a more subtle sweetness than just adding sugar if that makes sense!

Finally, the tandoori masala was possibly a tad overpowering the dish?  I am not sure if this should be one of the forefront flavours?  It could also be my T.M (Rajahs)?

I will definitly be making again with my only changes being the chilli powder halved and T.M down to 0.75 tsp.

Cheers for a very nice recipe

regards

Barry

p.s. will post pics next time!

Glad you enjoyed it Barry.  Don't make it again just yet .  I'm gonna post the final cut of the recipe in the next day or so with a couple of revisions which I think give me exactly what i'm looking for.  Re the chilli powder, the level is for my own personal taste.  The dish is a medium hot dish normally so probably 1 to 1.5 tsp of chilli would be the norm.  And agree that the the dish has a savoury sweetness but not the sickly sweet taste associated with the addition of sugar.  I use my own TM mixture rather than a bought one and i think i've read before that Rajah TM can be a  bit overpowering so cutting it by 50% would be  a good starting point.  The tandoori taste should only be  in the background and not "in your face".  Thanks for trying the dish and the feedback.  Shame there was no pics .  Watch this space for the update

[curryhell]

Ok, so here is the long awaited update.  Later than I

[jb]

Well Done!!! I know you've put a lot of hard work in cracking that one.It looks wonderful.I actually polished off the remnants of an Elachi North Indian last night.I agree I can now see where 'that' taste comes from that I was trying to describe,I was sure I could detect small flecks of mint whilst eating it.I always make the pakora sauce when I serve papadams,I think it's very addictive;Gazman's recipe is identical to the dip served in Spices,many thanks for completing the puzzle.It's funny such a tasty dish is achieved by something so simple.Must try this asap

[curryhell]

Well Done!!! I know you've put a lot of hard work in cracking that one.It looks wonderful.I actually polished off the remnants of an Elachi North Indian last night.I agree I can now see where 'that' taste comes from that I was trying to describe,I was sure I could detect small flecks of mint whilst eating it.I always make the pakora sauce when I serve papadams,I think it's very addictive;Gazman's recipe is identical to the dip served in Spices,many thanks for completing the puzzle.It's funny such a tasty dish is achieved by something so simple.Must try this asap

Cheers JB.  Wasn't sure how you got on with Gaz's recipe as i didn't see any further comments.  But the recipe does for sure contain all the right ingredients to make it just the same as Spice - another one nailed ;D. And when i see that bit of coloured onion peeking out from under the sauce I almost lept off the chair and new i just had to try it as soon as poss.  It then made me think of bamble's recipe with the optional inclusion of it .   And again last week when i was in there i was rooting through the dish and found loads of evidence .  Last night was the first opportuity i have had to give it a go and i am suitably impressed, which is very unusal.  I will be doing a sober side by side comparison next week and will provide some sort of report.
Off topic, the week before last i tried the Dhesi and their Bollywood Burner with chicken tikka, mushroom rice (put off the special by the inclusion of chic peas ) and brinjal bhaji.  Main dish was tasty but not hot by my standards.  The nearest thing it had come to a naga was a mention of it on the menu . The rice was almost devoid of mushrooms, the occasional miniscule fungi here and there, and i mean very very small and in very short supply .  But at least the brinjal was comparable.  Would i go back, yes but my first preference will always be for Spice.
Look forward to your feedback when you get chance to cook my version of the NIS.  Merry Xmas and all the best for the New Year.

[jb]

Well Done!!! I know you've put a lot of hard work in cracking that one.It looks wonderful.I actually polished off the remnants of an Elachi North Indian last night.I agree I can now see where 'that' taste comes from that I was trying to describe,I was sure I could detect small flecks of mint whilst eating it.I always make the pakora sauce when I serve papadams,I think it's very addictive;Gazman's recipe is identical to the dip served in Spices,many thanks for completing the puzzle.It's funny such a tasty dish is achieved by something so simple.Must try this asap

Cheers JB.  Wasn't sure how you got on with Gaz's recipe as i didn't see any further comments.  But the recipe does for sure contain all the right ingredients to make it just the same as Spice - another one nailed ;D. And when i see that bit of coloured onion peeking out from under the sauce I almost lept off the chair and new i just had to try it as soon as poss.  It then made me think of bamble's recipe with the optional inclusion of it .   And again last week when i was in there i was rooting through the dish and found loads of evidence .  Last night was the first opportuity i have had to give it a go and i am suitably impressed, which is very unusal.  I will be doing a sober side by side comparison next week and will provide some sort of report.
Off topic, the week before last i tried the Dhesi and their Bollywood Burner with chicken tikka, mushroom rice (put off the special by the inclusion of chic peas ) and brinjal bhaji.  Main dish was tasty but not hot by my standards.  The nearest thing it had come to a naga was a mention of it on the menu . The rice was almost devoid of mushrooms, the occasional miniscule fungi here and there, and i mean very very small and in very short supply .  But at least the brinjal was comparable.  Would i go back, yes but my first preference will always be for Spice.
Look forward to your feedback when you get chance to cook my version of the NIS.  Merry Xmas and all the best for the New Year.

Yep can't beat Spices for a sit-in.Must admit I wasn't that impressed with the Dhesi...it was just ok.I see the curry house at the Orsett Cock is now open that's next on my list.That NIS sure does look good!!!!  All the best

[abdulmohed2002]

That looks absolutely delicious!! 

Well done on hitting the flavour which you sought!

Abdul

[curryhell]

That looks absolutely delicious!! 

Well done on hitting the flavour which you sought!

Abdul

Indeed it was very tasty and not overly hot.Take some of the credit Abdul. Your base and spice mix ;D

[PaulP]

Yes it does look delicious and I've also cooked some tasty curries with Abdul's base.

Cheers,

Paul

[bamble1976]

Hi curryhell.

That looks the business!!! will be trying again soon with your tweaks!  i love how such a simple single ingredient addition can get a dish to what you are looking for.  will report back when tried.

Cheers

barry

[curryhell]

Hi curryhell.

That looks the business!!! will be trying again soon with your tweaks!  i love how such a simple single ingredient addition can get a dish to what you are looking for.  will report back when tried.

Cheers

barry

Cheers Barry.  I was happy with it having made a few adjustments, but when i discovered the spicey onions in it i knew i had to tweak it some more.  It simply means i'll be adding them to your chef's special next time round to see what sort of difference they make to an already damn tasty dish ;D.  I'll be doing a side by side test next week with the dish from my local to see how close or not i really am.  Look forward to hearing what you think of it second time round with the "special" ingredient.  All the best for Xmas and the New Year.