Topic: Hi - Newbie here!!

[natterjak]

By the way BIRs clearly precook the meat for the sake of speed in the final prep. At home I see no reason not to spend the extra 2 or 3 mins cooking from raw to achieve a better end result.

[Peripatetic Phil]

I marinade 1 kg of chicken at a time and keep it in the fridge, it's enough for several days and won't go off in that time. The marinade mix is below, I think it's either the same or closely related to the Ashoka marinade. Marinade for 24hrs +

4tsp garlic and ginger paste
1tsp salt
1 tsp haldi
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp mix powder
1 tbs tomato puree.

This recipe is via CR0 user chinois chef. In this method you would add the chicken directly after you add spices and tomato puree at the start of the final curry prep. It's probably less convenient than using pre cooked chicken because you have to then cook the dish for long enough to cook the chicken through but the results are far superior to using pre cooked meat IMHO.

By the way BIRs clearly precook the meat for the sake of speed in the final prep. At home I see no reason not to spend the extra 2 or 3 mins cooking from raw to achieve a better end result.

Right, I shall marinade the next chicken as you recommend and report back my results.  I certainly don't have a problem with the idea of cooking for longer, but I wonder how best to do this using the KD approach, where the chilli, salt & chicken go in first, and are cooked for five minutes, then the cumin, fenugreek, etc. added and cooked for a further three.  In other words, I wonder whether I should extend both cooking times, and if so, why Kris recommends cooking the cumin & fenugreek for only three minutes while cooking the chilli for eight ?

** Phil.

[natterjak]

I would always adopt the play it by ear approach of just cooking for as long as the chicken needs and no longer. In other words towards the end of cooking test the chicken (as you would test a steak by seeing how much bounce there is when pressed) and if not cooked then just wait longer. Immediately before serving you can cut into the chicken if you want to be double sure that it's not at all pink inside.

[Peripatetic Phil]

I would always adopt the play it by ear approach of just cooking for as long as the chicken needs and no longer. In other words towards the end of cooking test the chicken (as you would test a steak by seeing how much bounce there is when pressed) and if not cooked then just wait longer. Immediately before serving you can cut into the chicken if you want to be double sure that it's not at all pink inside.

Ah, sorry, I obviously didn't explain myself very well. It is not knowing when the chicken is done, it is knowing whether all spices benefit from longer cooking or whether some are better cooked for a shorter period.  Kris Dhillon recommends cooking the ground chillies for eight minutes, and the cumin & fenugreek for only three; if, using marinaded-but-uncooked chicken extends the total cooking time from eight to (say) fifteen minutes, would it be better to cook the chicken, chilli & salt for the full fifteen, adding the cumin & fenugreek for only the last three, or to cook all for longer so that the chilli & chicken get fifteen minutes and the cumin & fenugreek ten , or even to cook the chicken in just the base for the first seven minutes, then add the chilli & salt and cook for a further five, and finally add the cumin & fenugreek for only the last three ?

I suspect this is very much a "try it and find out" question, but someone may already know the answer !

** Phil.

[artistpaul]

I've found marinading but not pre-cooking, just cooking from raw within the final curry gives a much better texture, tender and juicy chicken instead of dry and overcooked as per standard BIR fare.

Ps welcome to the forum! 

i couldnt agree more

regards

paul

[LouiseR]

Well I did it! I made the Taz Base Mix, Joshallen's Madras recipe and used Razor's 
It was bang on! Really really enjoyed, best curry I've ever made  ;D

I've made gallons of base mix so am keen to try out and few different recipes with it, might go for a madras next time. Thanks for all the hints and tips guys, very much appreciated.

[curryhell]

Well I did it! I made the Taz Base Mix, Joshallen's Madras recipe and used Razor's 
It was bang on! Really really enjoyed, best curry I've ever made  ;D

I've made gallons of base mix so am keen to try out and few different recipes with it, might go for a madras next time. Thanks for all the hints and tips guys, very much appreciated.

And probably the best curry you've tasted in over three years no doubt ;D ;D ;D.  Glad your first outing was a sucess, not that there was any doubt when using recipes from this forum .   Will be good to hear how your madras goes.  A pic or two is always appreciated :

[Razor]

Hi Louise,

Loving the site and Razor your posts and pictures are very very helpful so thank you. Also my husband's nickname is Razor and he's a Man Utd fan too... weird!  ;D

He sounds like a GREAT guy, is he also tall, dark and handsome? :

Well done, really glad that it has worked out well.  So, you originate from the UK? whereabouts if you don't mind me asking?  Is your hubby from the UK too.  If he is an Australian, I'd be really interested to know of his reaction to your dish.

Great first effort Louise, you're well on you way to curry nirvana, just watch the waistline though ;D

Ray

[LouiseR]

And probably the best curry you've tasted in over three years no doubt ;D ;D ;D.  Glad your first outing was a sucess, not that there was any doubt when using recipes from this forum .   Will be good to hear how your madras goes.  A pic or two is always appreciated :

Yes it was the best one in 3 years, not  best I've ever had sadly but I'm working on it!

I did take a few pics so will upload them soon. Will hopefully try the madras one this weekend  ;D

[LouiseR]

Hi Louise,
He sounds like a GREAT guy, is he also tall, dark and handsome? :

Well done, really glad that it has worked out well.  So, you originate from the UK? whereabouts if you don't mind me asking?  Is your hubby from the UK too.  If he is an Australian, I'd be really interested to know of his reaction to your dish.

Great first effort Louise, you're well on you way to curry nirvana, just watch the waistline though ;D
Ray

No I don't mind questions at all  , he's not an Aussie, he's a Pom like me! He's orginally from Cheltenham and I'm from ahem... Liverpool  ;D The Australians just don't get BIR. The curries we've had here are absolutely awful. I'd all but given up on Indian food  until I started cooking them myself. We're going  back to the UK next year for a wedding, The waist line will take a battering then for sure!!