Topic: Az student takes his first steps into the unknown

[curryhell]

I think i'm the first person to have a go at putting into practice what we learned from Sunday past.  How i wish the master had been at my side.  Like learning to drive, it's so easy when the teacher is there to tell you what to do just at the right time
In all the years i have been cooking curries i have never felt so bloody nervous.  It was like my first day at school.
Got all the ingredients together and measured them.  Very little prep to do.  Turned up the hob to high and let it be for 15 mins.  It was pumping heat alright .  Scarey
Anyway, in went the chef's spoon of veg ghee and left it for a bit.  It started smoking so moved it off the heat for a minute.  Back on the heat.  I was using pre-cooked chicken and lamb so it was in with the garlic puree to start.
In it went (freshly made as i didn't want any of that spitting lark from the shop bought stuff) and it proceeded to foam.  Gave it a stir and all went quiet.  So far so good .  Went for the mix powder and chilli and in it went.  A good stir round the pan followed by a lot of coughing and choking, just like Sunday. Quickly quenched it with a ladel of gravy which errupted as soon as it hit the pan.  Shite, quickly added another ladle to give me some breathing space. and time for thought.  I wish Az was here now . Looked at the pan and things didn't look too bad so added the final ladle of gravy, gave it a stir and added two tsps of Mr Naga. 
Has anybody noticed something yet???
Then came the realisation .  You numpty, you forgot to add the tomato paste :  ********* a few expletives followed as i added a chef's spoon of the stuff and stirred it in.  Maybe i'll get away with this .  No you won't Feeling a little p****d off i added the meat and continued to cook. Then added a cup of water.  Left it to bubble away and once it had reached my desired consistancy i added the coriander, gave it a stir and tipped it into the container.  Mmm, time for reflection
Not beaten, i had another curry to cook.  A simple medium curry with no complications thankfully.  So we started again. 
Turned the hob down a couple of notches. On went the pan with the veg ghee for minute.  Added the garlic puree and swirled round the pan.  All good so far.  Removed from heat, in went the mix powder and half tsp of chilli and a dsp of tomato paste . Didn't forget it this time .   Back on the heat, couple of stirs round the pan and straight in with a ladle of gravy.  Phew, no choking or coughing.  Down with the heat.  Added the meat at this stage, stirred and added the remainder of the gravy and left to bubble away for a bit.  Good consistancy reached so chopped coriander added stirred and  tipped into container.
Glad that is now over
Time to sample the results.
The phall, as you can guess was not up to the standard i'd cooked on Sunday.  I don't think i need to explain why   However, it was certainly edible, not burnt and better than some of the s***e i've had dished up in some restaurants.  I definitely need to practice this a lot more.  Having done it on Sunday, i know i can achieve an excellent result.  Doesn't help not following the recipe though, does it?
Then came the sampling of the medium curry.   ;D ;D :  Now this is a different animal.  Went exactly according to plan and tasted exactly how i would expect a medium curry to taste vs sampling i'd done on others in the past.  Not very exciting, boring by my standards, very little heat but no different to any medium curry i have sampled in a restaurant.  Success ;D ;D.
Some pics



The "phall"


Ready to eat


The boring but successful curry


I got back home tonight and i thought i'd walked into an Indian restaurant .  The aroma is often present in this happy house .  Two hours later and i can still smell it  :.  Now that is unusual.  I've normally become conditioned / acclimatised to it by now .  But no, the smell is still there, as strong as ever.  I wonder why :

[jb]

Well done for being the first to try.It all looked so simple with Az looking over you shoulder didn't it??  They both certainly look the part.A couple of points,Which spice mix did you use and did you use 60/40 ginger garlic??

[Whandsy]

Well done CH, please keep us posted on any tips or tricks you make to achieve sundays phall results, I'm following you guys' lead tonight and making me and the missus a curry so will be cranking the hob up, fingers crossed for great results, however am using C2G's base as i have a freezer drawer full

Did you make all your ingredients to zaal spec?

W

[solarsplace]

Hi CurryHell

Great report there! the curry in the pictures really looks the real deal!

Sorry if I missed it - I know you were doing a lot of prep yesterday - did you use / make up some Zaal base and spice mix for these experiments?

Thanks

[curryhell]

Well done for being the first to try.It all looked so simple with Az looking over you shoulder didn't it??  They both certainly look the part.A couple of points,Which spice mix did you use and did you use 60/40 ginger garlic??

I used Abdul's enhanced base and ifindforu's spice mix.  At this point i am more interested in getting the technique right.  Other than subtle differences of flavour that the base and mix powder will add, i think the biggest impact will be from the technique or lack of it .  As soon as i get this right i will recognise the taste for sure ;D.  This can then be tweaked then via the base / mix powder if felt necessary.
It was just garlc paste in the phall from the little pot.  Thankfully someone queried this yesterday.  When i backtracked through the video i was able to find the answer.  Had i not done this i'd have added the ginger / garlic paste .

[curryhell]

Well done CH, please keep us posted on any tips or tricks you make to achieve sundays phall results, I'm following you guys' lead tonight and making me and the missus a curry so will be cranking the hob up, fingers crossed for great results, however am using C2G's base as i have a freezer drawer full

Did you make all your ingredients to zaal spec?

W

I think any good base and spice mix will do Wayne.  Not had chance to do Az's base or spice mix yet.  More interested in perfecting the technique.  Watch the phall video a few times and look at the timings to get an idea of how quick it all happens.  That first minute is vital to the success of the dish.  It does help also if you add things in  the correct sequence too :

[ELW]

Well done CH, please keep us posted on any tips or tricks you make to achieve sundays phall results, I'm following you guys' lead tonight and making me and the missus a curry so will be cranking the hob up, fingers crossed for great results, however am using C2G's base as i have a freezer drawer full

Did you make all your ingredients to zaal spec?

W

I think any good base and spice mix will do Wayne.  Not had chance to do Az's base or spice mix yet.  More interested in perfecting the technique.  Watch the phall video a few times and look at the timings to get an idea of how quick it all happens.  That first minute is vital to the success of the dish.  It does help also if you add things in  the correct sequence too :

Me too
Great report CH, what would the difference in Az's Bhuna, & your basic curry up until to the 1st gravy?
ELW

[curryhell]

Great report CH, what would the difference in Az's Bhuna, & your basic curry up until to the 1st gravy?
ELW

Sorry ELW, i'm no help on this one.  JB is the bhuna man.  I wasn't in the vacinity at time.  SP may even have a vid of it unless he was "singeing" his vindaloo at the time ;D

[curryhell]

The house has that smell again ;D
Couldn't resist the tempation to try it yet again.  This time ifindforu's tikka in the phall made with kashmiri chilli, hence the red colour.  Needed to singe a bit more, maybe another 4 to 6 seconds to just burn that chilli a tad . Not enough choking going on . But it is good and with loads of practice it can only get better . But the lips are tingling rather than the mouth burning.  Always a good sign for a phall lover

Chicken tikka phall for supper later, if there's any left that is :



Come on lads, get singeing.  I'm dying to hear other's results

[gazman1976]

Hi CH so do u thInk u can replicate at home then 100%???