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 :
Topic: Az student takes his first steps into the unknown (Read 13384 times)
