Topic: Curry2Go - Chicken Tikka Masala..

[976bar]

I'm not sure where to start with this really, and I know I'm going to get a lot of feedback with the usual coments, "Don't knock it until you have tried the complete recipe in it's entirity" etc etc.... But!

I made the bassar spice mix to the book

I made the tomato puree to the book

I made the "Magic Sauce" to the book except I reduced everything by half as I did not want to make such a large quantity first time round.

I made the Chicken Tikka Masala today out of the Curry2go recipe and I have to admit that it did not taste anything like a BIR CTM that I have ever tried before...

I do have to admit that I used Taz's base, but apart from that everything else was the same....

I have been using Taz's base for quite some time now cooking lots of different dishes and I am more than happy with the results, it's a good base sauce and I really don't think it would have been any different using CA's base, or the SMS base or even Chewy's base, they are all really good base sauces. So the rest of the ingredients should have produced in my mind an outstanding BIR quality CTM....

It tasted bland, and with no real depth of flavour in my opinion... I had to introduce quite a number of additional spices and more coconut powder and almond powder even to get that taste in the background....

I did find that the mint from the "Magic Sauce" stood out quite a lot even though it's only a tiny amount.....

I have to say, that CA's CTM, even the shorter version is a lot more towards a BIR CTM than that of the C2Go version...

However one thing else I did make today was my Garlic Chilli Chicken Masala and when I was at my local Asian store today I bought a jar of "Ahmed Foods" Chilli Pickle in Oil, containing......

Chilli 60-64%, Soyabean Oil, Salt, Acetic Acid, Red Chilli, Fenugreek, Anisseed, Fennel, Cumin Seed, Turmeric & Onion Seed.

I added 1 tsp of this to my Garlic, Chilli Chicken Masala and as mentioned in the C2Go book about special ingredients, this lifted the dish to a totally different level altogether...

So, I am not knocking his book as I have have both good and bad results today.....

Has Anyone else tried any dishes from this book yet?

Don't get me wrong, I will try the spiced oil from the Onion Bhajis and his base sauce, but I really don't think they will make THAT much difference from the bases I have already tried from here.....

[Micky Tikka]

I can not compare the CTM's on this site to Julians and there are lots of variations of this dish but I found his CTM really good 
But I should try the others 

[976bar]

I can not compare the CTM's on this site to Julians and there are lots of variations of this dish but I found his CTM really good 
But I should try the others 

Thanks for your feedback Michael, I appreciate it. Maybe I did something wrong somewhere, I dunno....

[JerryM]

976bar,

you're right that the bhajis oil and the base won't make a huge difference. i would try the parker21 infusion before the bahjis oil.

i've only used the bassar as a replacement for mix ie have never made it into a mix powder and i do prefer it in quite a few dishes for example kashmiri and vindaloo. for these dishes i would not want to dilute it's taste.

the masala sauce has me perplexed too. am pretty sure i made it for the pathia.

the trouble is i think we already have a very good handle on dishes - me personally i don't plan to make any out of this 1st book.

like you it's those tips that i'd like to try out and generally confirm what i think i already know so to speak and refine where needed.

[976bar]

976bar,

you're right that the bhajis oil and the base won't make a huge difference. i would try the parker21 infusion before the bahjis oil.

i've only used the bassar as a replacement for mix ie have never made it into a mix powder and i do prefer it in quite a few dishes for example kashmiri and vindaloo. for these dishes i would not want to dilute it's taste.

the masala sauce has me perplexed too. am pretty sure i made it for the pathia.

the trouble is i think we already have a very good handle on dishes - me personally i don't plan to make any out of this 1st book.

like you it's those tips that i'd like to try out and generally confirm what i think i already know so to speak and refine where needed.

Hi Jerry,

We've had spiced oils on here before, and indeed I managed to find the "Chalice Oil" which I find makes a difference in some of the dishes but not all... I think this and much the same as other dishes, this will always be a personal preference and again it will always come down to different regions and what one has grown up with in terms of what someone has eaten in their local restaurant....

I will have to experiment more with the Bassar masala on it's own and also now as a spice mix now I've made it with other dishes and see what it brings.... It's a good excercise as although I am extremely happy with what I am producing at the moment, I don't want to become complacent.

I currently have mixed thoughts on the "Magic Sauce", but one thing for sure, I would never add  mint again as I find it (even though in such a small quantity) too overpowering. I think if a dish needs mint, and I am not sure what dish comes to mind that I have ever tasted in a BIR has mint, apart from mint yogurt sauce,  I would Add it seperatley.

I will take a closer look at this book and it's recipes/tips, but I really don't think it's going to add much more to what we already know from this forum...

[loveitspicy]

Hi 976bar
to pick up on this thread -
Julians CTM is ok - lots of flavour - nearly or the same as a bir T/A - did you use all the pastes and all the ingredients he uses in the videos?
As far as bhaji oil goes we use it - but as ive said before - its used just to use up the oil - it doesnt make hardly if any difference at all.
Many birs just use fresh oil for curries and have great results

We make a lot of CTM here nearly an identical recipe to Julians and sell all - demand is high - as i type we have 45 kilos of chicken marinating now to be cooked in the tandoor tomorrow - we marinate for 48 hours

best, Rich

[emin-j]

976bar,You say the base you used was Taz's rather than the Curry2Go and you don't think it should have made much of a difference,you also say you had to add more spicing to the curry to bring out an acceptable flavour.
If you compare the spicing in the two base's you will see the Curry2Go has a lot more spice than the Taz and I am a firm believer that you have to match the curry to the base ie heavily spiced base lightly spiced curry and vice versa 

here's the two bases showing the amount of spicing 

 Taz's Base Gravy

6 tennis ball sized English Onions
5 Garlic Cloves
2 inch x 1 inch piece of Ginger (chopped)
1 Average sized Green Pepper
400 ml of Veg Oil
2/3 of a tablespoon of Salt
1+1/2 tablespoons of Turmeric
1+1/2 tablespoons of Coriander Seeds
1+1/2 tablespoons of Cumin Seeds2 litres of Water
200 grams of Tinned Tomatoes
...

Curry2Go

Then add 1 Chef spoon of :
Cumin
Coriander
Turmeric
Curry powder
Paprika
Methi ( ground Fenugreek seeds )
Salt.

I really think you would have had better results with the Curry2Go base, just my opinion 

[joshallen2k]

976bar - I've made the Curry2Go CTM, and thought it was as close to BIR as I've ever made that dish. CTM is one dish I've tried literally dozens of different recipes. Was very pleased with this one.

I actually used the original public Curry2Go base, and I think I overspiced it, using standard chefs spoons instead of the 30ml one he uses. Rather than bin the base once I figured out my error, I've been using the frozen base ziplock bags in my freezer, as the curries I've made with it have been excellent. Up next is the C2G base from the eBook.

- Josh

[976bar]

Hi Rich/Emin/Josh,

I'm not sure where it went wrong really, I did use all the pastes and did everything to the book.

Having made CA's CTM, I've used about 3 or 4 different bases including CA's, SMS, Chewy's and Taz's, and there wasn't a lot of difference between them, howver making C2Go's CTM using Taz's base didn't work at all for me, hence the additional spices to bring it up to scratch.

I will get round to making this dish again both with Taz's base and I will try C2Go's base as well as I am now intrigued as to why it went so drastically wrong.

Again, it could just be down to personal taste, and if it works for you then that's all that matters

45Kg of Chicken Tikka huh? Sounds like a feast!!!  ;D

[edwinacurry]

I'm not sure where to start with this really, and I know I'm going to get a lot of feedback with the usual coments, "Don't knock it until you have tried the complete recipe in it's entirity" etc etc.... But!

I made the bassar spice mix to the book

I made the tomato puree to the book

I made the "Magic Sauce" to the book except I reduced everything by half as I did not want to make such a large quantity first time round.

I made the Chicken Tikka Masala today out of the Curry2go recipe and I have to admit that it did not taste anything like a BIR CTM that I have ever tried before...

I do have to admit that I used Taz's base, but apart from that everything else was the same....

I have been using Taz's base for quite some time now cooking lots of different dishes and I am more than happy with the results, it's a good base sauce and I really don't think it would have been any different using CA's base, or the SMS base or even Chewy's base, they are all really good base sauces. So the rest of the ingredients should have produced in my mind an outstanding BIR quality CTM....

It tasted bland, and with no real depth of flavour in my opinion... I had to introduce quite a number of additional spices and more coconut powder and almond powder even to get that taste in the background....

I did find that the mint from the "Magic Sauce" stood out quite a lot even though it's only a tiny amount.....

I have to say, that CA's CTM, even the shorter version is a lot more towards a BIR CTM than that of the C2Go version...

However one thing else I did make today was my Garlic Chilli Chicken Masala and when I was at my local Asian store today I bought a jar of "Ahmed Foods" Chilli Pickle in Oil, containing......

Chilli 60-64%, Soyabean Oil, Salt, Acetic Acid, Red Chilli, Fenugreek, Anisseed, Fennel, Cumin Seed, Turmeric & Onion Seed.

I added 1 tsp of this to my Garlic, Chilli Chicken Masala and as mentioned in the C2Go book about special ingredients, this lifted the dish to a totally different level altogether...

So, I am not knocking his book as I have have both good and bad results today.....

Has Anyone else tried any dishes from this book yet?

Don't get me wrong, I will try the spiced oil from the Onion Bhajis and his base sauce, but I really don't think they will make THAT much difference from the bases I have already tried from here.....

PEOPLE HAVE FORGOTTEN WHAT TIKKA MASALA REALLY IS , ITS TOO SWEET TOO COCONUTTY NOWADAYS