Chicken Madras -- Curry powder as nucleus.

[976bar]

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.

Hi Phil,

That looks really nice

Just one question, Madras normally calls for Lemon Juice and I am a big fan of that citrus flavour in the Madras. What makes you use Lime instead of lemon? Is it your oriental side of life or do you just prefer lime to lemon?

I would be interested in cooking this trying the lime as a change

[Peripatetic Phil]

That looks really nice

Thank you   Unfortunately it was so good that I have none left for tomorrow

Just one question, Madras normally calls for Lemon Juice and I am a big fan of that citrus flavour in the Madras. What makes you use Lime instead of lemon? Is it your oriental side of life or do you just prefer lime to lemon?

Just following the example of the Taj of Kent, really; they use lime wedges, so I now do the same !
** Phil.

[976bar]

That looks really nice

Thank you   Unfortunately it was so good that I have none left for tomorrow

Just one question, Madras normally calls for Lemon Juice and I am a big fan of that citrus flavour in the Madras. What makes you use Lime instead of lemon? Is it your oriental side of life or do you just prefer lime to lemon?

Just following the example of the Taj of Kent, really; they use lime wedges, so I now do the same !
** Phil.

Thanks Phil,

As a Madras lover, I will give this a go

[Salvador Dhali]

Thanks for this recipe, Phil. I knocked it up last night and it was gorgeous. Well balanced, and full of that moreish  Madras 'tang' we lovers of the dish crave.

Apologies in advance for the crap (flash) pic, but I was in a hurry to get stuck in.

The only slight changes to the recipe were the addition of extra deggi mirch and, as suggested by your goodself, a little extra cumin (hence the darker colour).... Oh, and I didn't have a lime, so used a lemon quarter.

[Peripatetic Phil]

Very many thanks for the positive feedback, SD : much appreciated.  I can see you are a man after my own heart, with extra Deggi mirch & cumin !  Did you also increase the salt content, or did you find 1/2 teaspoon about right ?  And good to see that lovely ring of red oil around the edge of the dish !

** Phil.

[Salvador Dhali]

Very many thanks for the positive feedback, SD : much appreciated.  I can see you are a man after my own heart, with extra Deggi mirch & cumin !  Did you also increase the salt content, or did you find 1/2 teaspoon about right ?  And good to see that lovely ring of red oil around the edge of the dish !

** Phil.

The base I was using (Zaal) isn't particularly salty, Phil, so I added a little extra just before serving. ('To taste', as they say.)

I'm happy to report that I've got some left in the fridge for my lunch, and when I had a sniff this morning there was 'that' smell. Fantastic.

[timeless]

Did this for tea tonight was enjoyable probably put a bit more chilli in next time would post a pic but it is basically like the pic's in the thread 

[Peripatetic Phil]

Did this for tea tonight was enjoyable probably put a bit more chilli in next time would post a pic but it is basically like the pic's in the thread 

Don't they all ?!  But regarding the heat, maybe try singeing the chillies a little more, as others have reported elsewhere that the degree of singeing makes a marked difference to the heat ... My (one Deggi, one Kashmiri) is a compromise for Khanh & I : she would prefer less, I would prefer more.

** Phil.

[Les]

Morning Phil,
Made your Madras last night for 4 of us, And the verdict by all, Excellent, the best one I have made yet, and definitely beats our local T/A, (which tastes like Pot noodle most of the time ;D)
I used Admins Base as always, The only thing I left out of the recipe was the fresh coriander (hate the stuff) and Kashmir Chili, couldn't find any in the shops, But I don't think that I singed the spices enough, (First time trying the singe, Chickened out at the last moment,) but will take it further next time, Oh yes, there will be a next time, This had more of the old school taste to me using the curry powder than the special mix powders on here,(not that there is anything wrong with them) So going to stick with it and try to get better, onwards and upwards.
Again Thanks for the recipe Phil,
Sorry no pic's mate, I don't have a digi camera,

Les

[Peripatetic Phil]

Excellent, many thanks for the very positive feedback, Les.  Don't worry about the lack of pictures, we all know what a chicken Madras looks like by now :-)  It is interesting that you refer to the "old-school taste", because this was the idea that led my to trying curry powder again after all these years of abstention : whilst it might now be the norm for each BIR restaurant and T/A to blend its own spice mix, I am far less certain that that was the case in the late 60s/early 70s, and my hypothesis is that restaurants would simply use their preferred curry powder as the nucleus and then augment it with individual spices as in this recipe.  Also worth noting from that period is that Indian grocers would then sell curry powder in bulk (by weight), and there was normally a choice of several, quite possibly ground and blended on the premises.

Re. the coriander : it is a shame that you don't like the flavour, because the crispness of the chopped stalks definitely adds to the experience (athough I have no recollection of such content from the 60s/70s), and I wonder whether you might get a similar effect by using (say) chopped stem of flat-leaf parsley or similar ...

** Phil.