Topic: PRE COOKED CHICKEN THE BENGAL T/A AND BIR WAY

[JerryM]

Curryhell,

love the report. always good to see how others do. for info i used a very low gas flame which allows me to keep the liquid very low - sort of condensed with the steam doing the cooking. i top up small amounts ~ 3 tbsp of the turmeric liquid frequently to stop any catching.

i am now pretty sure that the taste advantage comes from the whole spice. i need to repeat the ashoka with the spice in to be sure. it's the time to make that i'd like to cut as i make fresh each time.

had the same moment by the sink. i have a few small keepers ~100ml ea in the freezer - i'm going to add to base on the next go.

[curryhell]

Cheers Jerry.  The whole spice definitely add to the aroma and i'm sure they contribute to the underlying flavour.  Am definitely going to try some whole spice in the base next time round.  As for a small flame  , electric hob so there are limitations here.  Even with a diffuser i'm not sure i achieve the same reduction as you can with gas.  The upside, so easy to clear up the mess ;D

[JerryM]

curryhell,

well worth giving the whole spice a try in base. i started using 4 off bay, 4 off green cardamom, 1 anis. also had electric hob and tried a diffuser too. best wishes

[emin-j]

Cheers Jerry. 

The whole spice definitely add to the aroma and i'm sure they contribute to the underlying flavour.

[/b]  Am definitely going to try some whole spice in the base next time round.  As for a small flame  , electric hob so there are limitations here.  Even with a diffuser i'm not sure i achieve the same reduction as you can with gas.  The upside, so easy to clear up the mess ;D

Really CH !  ;D

[ifindforu]

Had to replenish freezer with pre-cooked chicken last weekend so i decided to give this recipe a go.  Started off by cooking the chicken in the turmeric water.



In went the onions, garlic / ginger paste (not 1/2 ratio though.  Cant bring myself to do that yet) and whole spices. Very good smell now filling the kitchen



Added the remaining ingredients which improved the kitchen aroma even more



Finally in went the chicken just sealed in the turmeric water



Gave it all a good stir and left it on a gentle simmer for 25 minutes as  i was using fresh from the halal butchers rather than frozen. EDIT - during this time i added about half pint of water, a little at a time to stop the ingredients catching on the bottom of the pan.  At this stage the pot needs to be stirred regularly or something will burn and end result will definitely not be as good



End result, nice juicy chunks of tasty chicken to be added to my dishes during the month



I froze this on Monday and took a few pieces out tonight to add to the left overs from my takeaway. Still lovely and tender with no adverse effects from the freezing or the reheating.  Definitely one of the better recipes and now on file ;D.  Many thanks Terry. By the way made up your mix powder especially for this
But what happens to the tasty stock that is left after the cooking.  I cried as i tipped it away

When i was in work the other night i noticed him taking some of the stock in a biriani dish just about half a chef spoonfull he put it in the rice when frying.Wuold be good to freeze a little and snap some off if doing a biriani

[JerryM]

ifindforu,

biryani is probably my most fav dish. going to try out your's and Chewy's bengali recipes next and given what you say will have to finish off with some rice frying.

going to have to get some of those black cardamom too.

best wishes,

[CardiffCurrylad]

Hi ifindforu, my mouth is watering looking at CH's pictures definitely giving this method a go 

[curryhell]

Hi ifindforu, my mouth is watering looking at CH's pictures definitely giving this method a go 

You won't be disappointed mate  ;D. I certainly wasn't  :

[gary]

There's a definite ring of authernticity to this method.

Boiling the meat in turmeric first is designed to kill off any surface bacteria before the meat is cooked on.

The water would aways be discarded as tainted, it definately wouldn't be used as stock in further cooking.

I've read that it's common practice on the Sub-Continent, where meat perhaps isn't processed and handled as hygenically as in the UK

Gary

[curryhell]

Gary, the meat at Zaal's was also boiled for a bit, then washed before the actual cooking process was started.