Topic: Chicken Madras -- Curry powder as nucleus.

[Madrasandy]

Well i made it last night, i ended up with an acceptable curry, my wife enjoyed but i wasn't overly keen. But you have to take in to account the fact i was seriously hungover, to the point of still feeling sick at 7.00pm.
 I think i over 'singed' the turmeric in the first stage as i was completely knackered at this point after making the rice and marinating and grilling the chicken tikka, so with feeling so ill i dont think my cooking skills were up to scratch. I will definately have another go at this recipe as i want to learn how to fry the spices properly as i think it is key to achieving the 'taste' we crave.
 The curry cetainly had enough heat even though i normally use at least tablespoon of chilli and dirgi mirch which i havent been frying but just adding to the sauce and hard boiling , similar to Dipuraja style of cooking.
 I shall report back when ive retried the recipe next weekend.
 Also worth pointing out that im not sure if my base was upto scratch, bruce edwards one, which is normally very good but i dont think this batch was up to the mark.
 PS I have some sauce left, no chicken, so i will have a taste later tonight to see how the flavours have mingled together and if it any better hungover free

[Salvador Dhali]

Well i made it last night, i ended up with an acceptable curry, my wife enjoyed but i wasn't overly keen. But you have to take in to account the fact i was seriously hungover, to the point of still feeling sick at 7.00pm.
 I think i over 'singed' the turmeric in the first stage as i was completely knackered at this point after making the rice and marinating and grilling the chicken tikka, so with feeling so ill i dont think my cooking skills were up to scratch. I will definately have another go at this recipe as i want to learn how to fry the spices properly as i think it is key to achieving the 'taste' we crave.
 The curry cetainly had enough heat even though i normally use at least tablespoon of chilli and dirgi mirch which i havent been frying but just adding to the sauce and hard boiling , similar to Dipuraja style of cooking.
 I shall report back when ive retried the recipe next weekend.
 Also worth pointing out that im not sure if my base was upto scratch, bruce edwards one, which is normally very good but i dont think this batch was up to the mark.
 PS I have some sauce left, no chicken, so i will have a taste later tonight to see how the flavours have mingled together and if it any better hungover free

Some may call me partially, or even completely insane (and indeed many who know me do), but on the occasions when things don't go to plan and I've produced a curry that refuses to sing to me (i.e. is a little bland and not 'quite there', I have a rescue remedy that works pretty well.

What I do is to produce a 'micro fuse' by decanting the oil from the recalcitrant curry of the night before into a small pan, heating it up, and going through the initial fusing/singeing process with small quantities of garlic/ginger paste, diluted tomato paste, chilli powder and curry (or mix) powder. (We're talking a quarter teaspoon of garlic/ginger, a teaspoon or so of diluted tomato paste, and a quarter teaspoon or so each of curry/mix powder and chilli, though of course you can vary the amounts to taste, and also depending on how much curry you have left over. If you've got a fair bit then up the quantities, but if it's only a few mouthfuls then it's not worth bothering.)

Once you've got the fuse/singe stage done, simply add the remains of last night's curry to the pan, bring up to heat and cook for four or five minutes. Voila - one revitalised curry.

As I said, some may think me crazy, but it works for me.

P.S. Don't forget to check your salt level and adjust if necessary. A pinch can transform the bland to the sublime...

[Madrasandy]

Nice idea Salvador, but only have a small amount left so dont think it will be worth trying. I shall warm the sauce and see how it tastes and try to fathom what went wrong the previous hungover night, it prob tastes so much better now ive recovered anyway!!!!!!!!

[Salvador Dhali]

Nice idea Salvador, but only have a small amount left so dont think it will be worth trying. I shall warm the sauce and see how it tastes and try to fathom what went wrong the previous hungover night, it prob tastes so much better now ive recovered anyway!!!!!!!!

You sound like a man after my own heart, Andy. What is it about curry lovers and alcohol, eh? ;-)

As you may have noticed earlier in this thread I enjoyed great success with this recipe, but despite banging away at this lark for 30-odd years my results, like so many here, aren't as consistent as I'd like, and I've produce plenty of unspectacular curries in my time. (But then none of the BIRs I frequent are 100% consistent, either. to err is human, etc).

Anyway, hope it tastes better post hangover. And if not, no worries. Just put it down to experience and crack on with the next one.

Cheers

Gary

[Madrasandy]

 Cheers Salvador, im actually tempted to defrost some base and experiment with a couple of different styles using all the same ingredients, maybe fry spices first on one and just add them to the base and reduce down on the other, see what different flavour you get. Just need to get shut of wife and kids lol.

 Have you tried , when your curry is a little off,bland,over cooked etc, adding teaspoon of sugar, it really improves the flavour, seems to balance them out if you know what i mean, actually does when youve made a good curry actually but with less sugar

[Salvador Dhali]

Cheers Salvador, im actually tempted to defrost some base and experiment with a couple of different styles using all the same ingredients, maybe fry spices first on one and just add them to the base and reduce down on the other, see what different flavour you get. Just need to get shut of wife and kids lol.

 Have you tried , when your curry is a little off,bland,over cooked etc, adding teaspoon of sugar, it really improves the flavour, seems to balance them out if you know what i mean, actually does when youve made a good curry actually but with less sugar

I don't like sweet things so tend not to use sugar, but I can see how it will act as a flavour enhancer, Andy. The ladies of the house like it sweet though, bless 'em, so for that extra hint of sweetness I'll use a little mango chutney (or even a dash of tomato ketchup Heston Blumenthal style).

As you say, experimentation is where it's at, though I know what you mean about getting shot of the wife and kids. Mind you, if the wife saw what I get up to as soon as she's out of the door I think it would be me getting shot...



I just hope she never discovers this forum!

[chewytikka]

Dedication ;D ;D ;D

[solarsplace]

I hate to use the word, but in this case it is justified:

  Awesome