Topic: Base Sauce through to Chicken Tikka Jalfrezi

[Terramamba]

Base sauce through to Chicken Tikka Jalfrezi!

The base recipe I followed (mostly) is from the link below.

http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=7621.0

I really like cabbage so was inspired to try this base gravy. Also I like the idea of leaving it to stand overnight, something I always do with dishes like Cottage Pie, Stews even Lasagne, seems to improve the flavours.

The onions I deliberately left whole, being told that they?re often sweeter this way.



Too many ingredients for one big pan, although when cooked and reduced it did all fit into one.



I did not follow the recipe faithfully though ? as follows
I omitted the coconut as I like to cook Jalfrezi's & Vindaloo's, personally I don't like coconut in those dishes.
?1/2 CHEF SPOON OF COCONUT MILK POWDER OR 1/4  BLOCK OF COCONUT CREAM / COCONUT MILK POWDER PREFERED?



All cooked and now left overnight, with a lid on!



I now fully understand why chef's have long sleeves, it hurts when the oil splashes onto skin. Also it made a hell of a mess around the cooker, on the floor and up the walls. Lol!
?FRY FOR ABOUT 5 MINS NOW ADD GINGER /GARLIC PASTE HALF CHEF SPOON/ RATIO 2 TIMES GINGER TO 1 GARLIC?



A hand liquidiser is on my shopping list, currently using a food processor's liquidiser attachment. Not sure if this makes a difference to the final result.
?USE A HAND LIQIDIZER AND BLEND ?



Certainly after 30 minutes the oil had risen.Looking a very promising colour.
?REDUCE HEAT FOR ABOUT HALF HOUR AND THE OIL SHOULD RAISE TO THE SURFACE NOW YOU GOT YOUR GURAVY?
 


I added a little salt and some goor to taste.
ADD A LITTLE SALT/COCONUT MILK POWDER  SUGAR OR PREFERABLE GOOR TO YOUR TASTE.



The halogen cooker is, I find, easier to use than the grill, being on the counter top, it's plain to see when I've burnt the chicken!

Didn't have any cream, also for my favourite dishes, personally I don't believe cream is necessary. Also the colour looked fine to me!
ALSO ADD SOME SINGLE CREAM FOR YOUR RIGHT COLOUR AND TASTE



It certainly was quite thick, so I did add some water.
IF YOU FEEL IT IS TO THICK  MAKE IT THIN BY ADDING WATER SO THAT IT CAN BE FRIED DOWN IN THE FINAL DISH ( I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE SOME CREDIT TO CHEWY TIKKA AFTER SEEING HIS BASE,OF THE ADDING CABBAGE/GOOD ON YOU/ IVE TASTED THE GURAVY EHERE I WORK AND NEW THERE WAS SOMTHING MISSING  IT WAS WHITE CABBAGE ALL THE TIME  .
The cabbage flavour really worked for me, I could have eaten bowlfuls as soup!



The mixed powder I used is:
8 tbsp Tumeric
6 tbsp Curry Powder
4 tbsp Coriander
4 tbsp Cumin
2 tbsp Garlic Powder
1 tbsp Ginger
2 tbsp Garam Masala
The recipe is on the forum somewhere, had a quick look but it seemed quicker to type it out.

The Chicken Tikka Jalfrezi recipe is from  ChewyTikka?s video recipe.

http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=5699.0



Chewy Tikka?s excellent Jalfrezi video. Clear, precise and it made me want to try it. Unfortunately my curry tasted creamy. Odd I thought as I added no cream. I did try frying the hell out of my curry to get the spice flavour going through, that made it thicker so I added more water.  I really wanted my dish to be like the Jalfrezi I order from my local curry house, it fell short by quite a long way. It was ok, but lacked the savoury taste and the colour was not a deep rich red.

Never mind I?ll try again tomorrow!



Despite managing to cook enough for two I managed to clear my plate, lol!

All the best!

[chewytikka]

Hi Terramamba

Really good post, looks like you had a lot of fun there

Thanks for trying my Jhal Frezi recipe. Just a couple of tips if I may.

Jhal Frezi is basically a fry up! If you look at the Video again the first 4 minutes are all about combining the ingredients in succession, stir frying and working the mass in the oil.
Because its a old 'sticky' Alu pan, everything is sticking to it, singeing and caramelising plus creating the flavour.

Then I add the gravy, which is thin and watery and has the effect of deglazing and washing the pan clean again, infusing all that burnt goodness into the gravy.
Further cooking just ensures the meat is heated through and gravy is reduced and thickened.

As an experiment, next time you try this, thin your portion of curry base right down with water before you start.

cheers Chewy

[curryhell]

That's a proper little production line you got going there Terramambe ;D.  End result looks good.  And plenty more gravy left to perfect the jalfrezi   As we all know, you don't always get it spot on with the first attempt, well at least i don't .  Love all the pics that go with your account. Kind of brings it all alive

[Terramamba]

Thanks for your comments Chewytikka & Curryhell. They're much appreciated!  ;D

I will follow your tips Chewytikka, I plan to play the video whilst cooking, at a safe distance though! I think I've got enough base gravy to last for weeks as you say I need to thin it down loads. Thanks for your suggestions, I shall follow them and hope to have a tea tonight that I'm more pleased with. Saying that though, the base gravy was delicious by itself!

 

Thanks for your encouragement Curryhell, I'm going to keep at it, follow Chewys recipe and try to perfect it. Glad you like the pics!

 

By the way, I omitted the coconut in the base gravy, would that have made a difference?

All the best.

 ;D

[natterjak]

Very nice looking curry there terramamba and I'm also intrigued by your halogen cooker. I've started a new thread to discuss these devices here http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=7780.0 (to avoid taking this one off topic, which has been known to occur from time to time around these 'ere parts  )

[Terramamba]

Thank you Natterjak 

[curryhell]

By the way, I omitted the coconut in the base gravy, would that have made a difference?

Some would say that's its presence, although not noticeable, adds something.  Other would say they could taste it and that it overpowered the gravy.  I think erring on the side of caution when using this in a base is the best  idea.  I personally have used an entire block of the stuff and didn't notice much more than a very slight hint of a coconut presence.  IMHO it's not a key ingredient to the base sauce and can be left out, although it will be said that this will affect the taste of finished dished.  Obviously, if you leave something out there will be a difference.  Whether that difference is for better or worse is down to the individual.

[Terramamba]

  Thank you Curry Hell!

[curryhell]

Thank you Curry Hell!

Pleasure mate.  Looking forward to feedback from your second attempt with the base. Let us know what you do differently this time and what how you think it has impacted on the dish, for better or for worse.  All these experiments .  Just occasionally you get the desired result.  That's when it all seems worthwhile.  Then all we have to do is work on the consistancy and knowing how we got them ;D.  Not so easy

[Terramamba]

 

Chicken Tikka Jalfrezi Take Two

Improved? Yes. Lesson learnt? Oh yes!

What was done differently? Listening to Chewy Tikka and cooking along to the video.

Proper prep, whilst listening to the video http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=5699.0 on a loop.

Setting up each component in line, ready to go.



From left to right, Red Masala Marinade, Dilute Tomato Puree, Minced Green Chillies, Mix Powder, Pre Cooked Onion and Pepper, GG paste. Can you spot what's missing?

Heated up base gravy, high simmer for about 10 minutes, added loads of water, and more at the end of the cooking time as it had reduced.

I started the video same time as cooking, got the oil hot first, I noticed Chewy took the pan off the heat for the GG paste, I did the same, as it looked like it nearly burnt. Added everything in the right sequence with plenty of stirring.

All going along well, good colour and smell. Add the chicken, it was sitting in the halogen oven still! Cooked. But not sliced and ready to go, doh! Pan off the heat, quickly put that right. Trying to keep the sauce up the sides of the pan to enable carmelisation and singeing, most of it slipped down again being an anodised alu pan.

The video says, something like, and there you go! Wow! The oil had risen to the top of the sauce, looked like it was ready, yippee! At that point I discover I hadn't cooked any rice. Scramble bloody quickly and get some on. Luckily the pan is still warm from heating up the base gravy, on goes the rice, luckily Basmati cooks very quickly. The curry is cooked so heat off, leave it all in the pan.



Plate it up, all looks good, again I managed to cook a mammoth amount and left some in the pan.



Returning to the pan, after eating, to scrape out the contents into a bowl, I notice that will being left on the hob, heat off, there was lovely carmelisation all around, this was absolutely delicious, I just wish I'd incorporated it into my dish, doh!!!!

Points for me to remember for next time are
More dilute tomato puree, I thought it was going to burn, would 1 tablespoon be enough?
Remember to slice the chicken so it's ready to add.
Remember to cook the damn rice, although if I hadn't maybe that carmelisation wouldn't have been such a good amount?
I also added some red food colouring, although Chewys final dish looked nice and red, mine could have been redder.

Thanks everyone for your comments so far, it's a bit nerve wracking for a newbie like me to post, but thank you I value your comments enormously.  ;D