Topic: Curry by iteration, cooking chapatti on a halogen hob

[Peripatetic Phil]

Well, I set out to make a simple, quick, chicken curry today : two free-range chicken breasts, pre-cooked in oil, Kashmiri masala, turmeric, and Nishaan minced garlic & minced ginger (the latter two for speed : I had run out of home-made g/g paste).  Pre-cooked until just firm, then set aside under clingfilm until needed.  Curry was oil, Nishaan minced garlic & minced ginger, 3 teaspoons Bolsts hot curry powder, 1 teaspoon Kashmiri mirch, 1 teaspoon Deggi mirch, 1 teaspoon sea salt, 3/4 pint my (inadvertently tomato-free) base diluted 3:1 with boiling water as it was too thick without the liquidised peeled plum tomatoes, 2 desertspoons tomato puree diluted 1:2.  Cooked as per normal, but when I tested it it was sadly lacking in flavour.  Not wanting to over-cook the chicken I removed it from the sauce (back under clingfilm), then brought the sauce to the boil and added 1 teaspoon Bassar curry masala, 2 more teaspoons Kashmiri mirch and about 1/2 teaspoon more sea salt.  Much better, but now too thick, so in with the remaining 1/4 pint diluted tomato-free base.  Consistency right, flavour good, but could still be improved.  Back in with the chicken, then added 1 fistfull methi leaves rubbed very fine between the palms of the hand, then a good helping of chopped coriander root.  Almost perfect.  Finally a small dribble of lime juice, and YEE-HA !  Finally nailed it   Pulao rice was re-heated in microwave with a little added water (about two teaspoons), but I wanted chapatti as well, and when I had last been in Poundland  I had picked up a Cookamesh^(R).  Sheer genius !  Lays flat on the halogen hob, completely stops the chapatti from sticking thereto but is so thin that the chapatti puffs up in no time.  Served with red onion and tomato salad and a little Burmese lime pickle, then washed down with 500ml Clausthaler Extra Herb. Delicious !

Incidentally, I could taste no trace of the preservatives in the Nishaan minced ginger (acetic acid) / garlic (citric acid, sodium ascorbate); I shall use these products again with far less compunction than previously !

** Phil.

[solarsplace]

Hi Phil

Glad it worked out - and it does sound delicious right now!

That beer you drink is pretty tricky to get hold of round these parts - internet order job probably.

Need some pictures of that feast though to really appreciate your efforts!

Cheers

[Peripatetic Phil]

Thanks for the comments, SP.  I'm afraid I had no time for photographs last night, and the rice is really not appealing : the green grains are not a nice bright green at all; but I will have a go at photographing the re-heat tonight, assuming nothing intervenes.

Clausthaler Extra Herb I get (by the case) from Beers of Europe; carriage charge is fixed, so the more cases you buy at a time, the less you pay per bottle.   I sell it to my local club at

[Peripatetic Phil]

Need some pictures of that feast though to really appreciate your efforts!

As requested (and the Clausthaler Extra Herb is back in stock !).
** Phil.
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[solarsplace]

Hi Phil

That sauce has a lovely deep colour to it, and those plump juicy chicken pieces look very appealing too.

Must try some of that beer! - been looking for something tasty and relatively alcohol free like that for the occasions where one has work or driving to do.

Very nice 

Cheers

[Peripatetic Phil]

Thank you, SP.  But I really must place more attention on the fine art of "plating up"; no chef worth his salt would allow that plate out of the kitchen without (at the very least) the onions being carefully wiped clear of the edge of the plate !

** Phil.