Topic: Chicken Madras -- Curry powder as nucleus.

[Peripatetic Phil]

Following the discussions under "Curry powder", Les kindly asked me if I would publish the recipe for my "Curry powder based Chicken Madras".  I explained that I don't have a recipe, but what follows is an exact transcript of this evening's meal :

Ingredients (all measures are rounded, not flat !) :

• 200gm chicken, in curry-sized pieces
• 3 tablespoons recycled oil
• 1 tsp Ground Turmeric
• 1 tsp G/G paste (50:50)
• 1 ladle warm base

• 1 tsp Rajah Hot Madras Curry Powder
• 1 tsp Degghi Mirch
• 1 tsp Kashmiri Mirch
• 1 tsp Ground Cumin
• 1/2 tsp Ground Fenugreek
• 1 tablespoon tomato puree, double concentrate, plus 2 tablespoons hot water
• 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt (I use 1 tsp, others may find this too much)
• 2 tsp G/G paste (50:50)
• 3 ladles warm base
• 1 tablespoon chopped coriander stalks
• 1 tsp chopped coriander leaves
• 2 wedges lime (1/4 lime)

Method :

• Place 3 tablespoons recycled oil (reclaimed from previous curries) in a wok
• Add 1 tsp ground turmeric
• Add 1 tsp G/G paste
• Heat, stirring continuously, until air bubbles are clearly being driven off from the spices and G/G (the turmeric will have changed colour from yellow to brown, but this may be masked by the colour of the recycled oil), then add the chicken and reduce the heat.  Continue to stir until the chicken changes from pink to white on all sides, then decant into suitable container to rest and relax
• Reclaim the oil from the chicken and pour it back in the wok
• Add the mixed spices and G/G paste, then repeat as above
• When the spices are adequately singed (your judgement), quench them with the diluted tomato pureee, and stir vigorously
• Add the pre-cooked chicken, 1 ladle of warm base, stir well, then cook at a fairly high heat until the sauce starts to thicken
• Add a second ladle of base and the salt
• Repeat as above
• Add the third ladle of sauce
• Continue to cook until the chicken is almost ready (i.e., very lightly cooked, as if you were preparing a Chinese stir-fry), then back off the heat to maybe 15%
• Continue to cook at a low heat until about two minutes before you want to serve, then pour off all excess oil, stir in the chopped coriander stalks, add the lime wedges
• Placed in a serving dish, garnish with chopped coriander and serve.

Serve with whatever you choose.  Tonight I had mine with an egg paratha, chopped red onion with coriander, Chinthe Burmese Lime Pickle and a Clausthaler Extra Herb.  Your mileage might vary !  Good straight from the wok, significantly better if gently re-heated 24 hours later.

N.B.  I cook on a halogen hob; the method may well need adjustment if your heat source is significantly different.
To shift the balance of the flavour, you could double the cumin & the fenugreek, but this may make the sauce a little too thick unless you add extra base to compensate.

** Phil.

[Les]

As I said on the other thread Thank's Phil,
Looks good to me, Going to print the recipe out now, and get stuck into it when I can

Les

[Peripatetic Phil]

Looks good to me, Going to print the recipe out now, and get stuck into it when I can

Good luck, Les, and don't forget to let us all know how you get on.  If you can, force yourself to save some for the next day and see if you agree that it is even better after a good long rest and relax.

** Phil.

[martinvic]

Hi Phil

Excuse me asking, but isn't Deggi Mirch and Kashmiri Mirch pretty much the same thing, so why use both?

Martin

[Peripatetic Phil]

Excuse me asking, but isn't Deggi Mirch and Kashmiri Mirch pretty much the same thing, so why use both?

Well, they are both ground chillies, Martin, but they are definitely not the same; the Kashmiri contributes mainly colour (a beautiful red), the Degghi contributes heat (its colour is good, but not as intense as the Kashmiri).

** Phil.

[Salvador Dhali]

Thanks for that recipe, Phil. It looks mouthwateringly tasty!

I shall be trying that out tomorrow evening, and will report back.

Cheers

Gary

[martinvic]

Ok Phil We'll have to agree to disagree on that, as I believe both are mildish in heat and give colour.
Not saying the two are always exactly the same, as MDH do both, but I'd say they were interchangeable.


'Deggi Mirch is a unique, age old blend, processed from special varieties of colourful Indian red chillies. It is mild-hot and imparts a glowing natural red colour to curried dishes making them attractive and more palatable.'

'Exotic Kashmiri mirch is a special blend of medium hot quality red pepper that is used for tandoori (clay oven) preparations.  When used in curry sauces it imparts bright red colour'

'Deggi mirch is a unique Indian spice made from a traditional blend of red capsicums and Kashmiri red chillies. They are dried, then ground up to produce a spice with a deep orange-red colour that adds a mild heat to dishes and imparts a distinctive strong red colour to them. It is also known as deghi mirch, degi mirch, Kasmiri mirch and Kashmiri chilli powder.'

  Martin

[Peripatetic Phil]

Oh dear, I can see I shall have to photograph them side-by-side, so you can see the colour difference for yourself !  Now if only I had access to a device for measuring Scoville Heat Units (SHUs), I coiuld show the readings as well

** Phil.

[PaulP]

Lol, IMHO Deggi is a bit hotter than Kashmiri and Deggi is slightly more orange compared to the pure red of Kashmiri.

I use about 2.5 tsp of Deggi in my madras curries. They are both nice products though. 

Paul

[Peripatetic Phil]

IMHO Deggi is a bit hotter than Kashmiri and Deggi is slightly more orange compared to the pure red of Kashmiri.

Exactly my feelings, Paul : Deggi, orange; Kashmiri red; Deggi hotter than Kashmiri.  But if you were to run out of one, you could substitute the other without a major shift in the colour or heat.

** Phil.