Topic: Chef's Special Mixed Meat Dopiaza

[curryhell]

Well i have to say that is how a dish should be critiqued!  Great help with the pics of all the stages.

Did you chop your onion/pepper mix finely enough as it looks quite large from the pics??  The pieces should be just a few mm by a few mm thus only need a few minutes to cook.  They should have a bite to them whilst not being overpowering.  I Do not get an over riding taste of the peppers as they cook out quite quickly due to the size.

The large bits you see in the pic was the tail end of the onion which were a couple of slices.  The rest were quite finely chopped along with the pepper.   The onions and peppers definitely had bite to them which I personally don't like, especially in peppers.  I like only a background taste. 

I have looked over my recipe wondering if my instructions have led you down the wrong route.  I have came up with:

1. I probably reduce more of the gravy at the start on a higher heat, more towards 200ml

I deliberately left 150ml of gravy so i could do final reduction for longer to counteract late addition of raw onion and peppers

2. Onion/pepper is more finely chopped

I'll see if i can chop them finer next time but i will definitely be adding them right at the start which should resolve my issue with the peppers having bite and dominating the dish too much for my liking.

3. cooking time.  Usually only 4-5 mins for second reduction stage.  10 mins seems a long time to reduce down 150ml gravy???  Is your gas high enough?

10 mins on a low temp should have done the job.  Had i done it on high i would have risked reducing the gravy without giving the cruchy stuff time to soften

4. The half onion should not really have a bite to it as can be raw tasting.  Needs to be just wilting.

I think leaving the half onions possibly until the start of the second reduction will give you the results BUT for curries I am used to from local TA, the onion pepper must be very finely chopped and only cooked out for 5 mins on a highish heat.

Only you can know and compare your dish to your TA.  If you are happy with the results and believe them to be close to your local, that is really all that matters.  Never having had a dupiazza before, it is most likely down to personal taste and perhaps the dish simply  isn't for me.  Such is the danger of trying new dishes that end up not appealing to ones pallet.

Having read Uncle Franks report he is more than happy with the results so therefore your recipe obviously works for him too. I will do it again with my proposed changes just to see if it improves it in my opion and is more in line with my tastes.  Obviously, i now have to try another dupiazza recipe to see whether i simply have to take the dish of my menu

[curryhell]

Curryhell those kebabs look like shop brought ones i cant get mine to be so round.

It's all in the skewers

I like sheek kebabs and Razor's original recipe was tasty but his slightly refined recipe will be even tastier in my opinion as it's not dissimilar from the one i normally use.

As for the shape, i think a lot of it is to do with having the right heavy duty skewers for the job.  Makes the whole process so much easier and the results so much more appealing to look at.  There's a lot of squeezing goes on to spread the meat down the skewers so that they are not too thick but boy is it worth it 

[curryhell]

I couldn't help but  give the other nights efforts some more thought.  It was intriguing me why with such good ingredients this dish didn't realise its full potential.  Then suddenly it came to me why i had such an almost raw peppery flavour to the dish.  A flaw in my technique . 
When i cooked it the other night i used cold base instead of hot.  I've always been of the opinion that it does'nt really matter but with this dish it certainly does.   Doing this meant that half the final cooking time was spent warming the gravy which obviously was not cooking the chopped peppers and onions.
So this evening, having already made my North Indian Special for later i decided to revisit this Chef's Special.  Not prepared to have the same result as the other night i did swap the order around.  Peppers and onions, very very finely chopped went in straight after the ginger / garlic and keema mince with the pre-cooked chunks going in at the end with the tomatoes, methi and rest of the HOT base ;D.
WOW .  What a difference.  The dish just oozed flavours.  So much going on in there.  An immediate hit from the tandoori taste of the keema, followed by the sweetness  from the onions.  A nice peppery background taste but not overpowering, followed by the hit of a fresh chilli giving way to a tiny  twang of the tomato paste.  The sauce had loads of  body and great depth of flavour and all the different textures of the ingredients just added to the eating experience.  I'd only had one mouthfull having let it rest for five minutes ;D ;D ;D.
This is going to be  a delight to eat for dinner tomorrow.
Well done bamble.  An excellent dish.   I can now see why you and Unclefrank liked it so much.  It will definitely be on the menu next time i do a curry party.  So flavoursome

[Unclefrank]

Looks like getting some big skewers and get started on making some kebabs.
I have a soft spot for a Dopiaza i love the sweet onion taste(plus i love onions).

Has for the Chicken Tikka in this dish i personally didnt think it was to much but i only put 3/4 of a cup of the keema meat into the dish because the keema will absorb some of the sauce making it swell a little so you get a bite of the keema and its soft (well mine was anyway), i also forgot to add that i sliced my onions, one very thinly and the other half a little thicker placing the thicker onions into my bhaji oil just to get them started (if you know what i mean) just starting to get brown on the edges, as for the thinner sliced onions they go in at the stage when oil and ginger/garlic go in and i fry this until the onions have caramelized then carry on with the rest of the recipe.
I really do like this recipe its TASTY.
Will be making this again this Wednesday for a few friends and will report back on their opinions, i dont usually post my opinions on making a dish until i have made it a few times but i was very pleased with this recipe on my first attempt but will see if it was a fluke when i make it Wednesday.

[curryhell]

Looks like getting some big skewers and get started on making some kebabs.
I have a soft spot for a Dopiaza i love the sweet onion taste(plus i love onions).

Has for the Chicken Tikka in this dish i personally didnt think it was to much but i only put 3/4 of a cup of the keema meat into the dish because the keema will absorb some of the sauce making it swell a little so you get a bite of the keema and its soft (well mine was anyway), i also forgot to add that i sliced my onions, one very thinly and the other half a little thicker placing the thicker onions into my bhaji oil just to get them started (if you know what i mean) just starting to get brown on the edges, as for the thinner sliced onions they go in at the stage when oil and ginger/garlic go in and i fry this until the onions have caramelized then carry on with the rest of the recipe.
I really do like this recipe its TASTY.
Will be making this again this Wednesday for a few friends and will report back on their opinions, i dont usually post my opinions on making a dish until i have made it a few times but i was very pleased with this recipe on my first attempt but will see if it was a fluke when i make it Wednesday.

The right skewers are definitely the way to go Unclefrank.  They have the advantage of cooking the inside of the kebab at the same time as the grill cooks the outside.  Cooking time with these less than 6 minutes and perfectly done . I used Razor's original sheek kebab recipe for this.  It's good but i would recommend using it with his revisions which make it even better.  I left out the breadcrumbs though.  You can see the skewers we are using in his thread:

http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=4393.70

Like you at my second attempt the finely chopped onions and peppers went it at the start.  I would imagine that cooking the onion chunks in your bahji oil would add more flavour.  I simply prepare mine the same way as for my North Indian Special; with a little garlic/ginger and some mix powder on a medium heat.  Because the slivers are of varying sizes some end up blackend, some brown and the rest just cooked through.
The combination of keema mince in the sauce and pieces of cooked kebab enhances the flavour of this dish i think.  You get the subtle tandoori masalla taste throughout which really intesifies when you bite into a chunk of kebab.  Really pleased i managed to cook this correctly the second time.  I will probably try it with lamb tikka at some stage, which i have never made before.  Always worried it'll be a bit chewy .
Look forward to feedback from your guests on Wednesday.  I doubt very much that you fluked the dish the first time

[bamble1976]

Hi Curryhell

Thank god you finally got the result you expected   I think the beauty of this dish is the flavour the keema gives off, complementing the onions!

Regards

Barry

[curryhell]

Hi Curryhell

Thank god you finally got the result you expected   I think the beauty of this dish is the flavour the keema gives off, complementing the onions!

Regards

Barry

Totally agree.  I definitely got a result bamble. Shame I didn't get it right first time.  Never mind I've cracked it now and that's all that matters

[curryhell]

And here's the end result which i forgot to post .  I ate this last night and i've got to say i was blown away by the taste and all the flavours :.  Not being a mild dish eater i enjoyed this and satisfied my desire for heat by eating the whole chillies i added, which would have only a marginal, if any affect on the taste or heat of the dish IMHO.   I will be making this again most definitely for myself and i think anybody i serve it to will be very impressed ;D. 



PS.  Just had a flyer through the door for a local TA and guess what's in their chef's specials!!   ;D not that i'll be eating it when i can cook this one

[bamble1976]

That looks the business, a nice oily sheen to it which I am sure really held the flavours!!!  I agree about the whole chillis. I am also a big fan of jalfrezis because of the lovely hit you get biting into a birds eye chilli!

Bring on the curry weekend!!!!

Regards

Barry

[curryhell]

That looks the business, a nice oily sheen to it which I am sure really held the flavours!!!  I agree about the whole chillis. I am also a big fan of jalfrezis because of the lovely hit you get biting into a birds eye chilli!

Bring on the curry weekend!!!!

Regards

Barry

It certainly did.  This was definitely spot on for me in taste and texture.  976's bhuna is next on the list for this curry weekend ;D