Topic: Viceroy Brasserie Abbots Langley: Chef Imram

[chewytikka]

Looks a Good Madras, the garlic and naga sauce make it his own.

Interesting that they make their own Naga Sauce and spiced Tomato Puree.

cheers

[Kashmiri Bob]

Nice looking menu at the Viceroy Brasserie. The prawn/tamarind sauce dish (youtube video) I think is the Jhinga Suka.  They also do a chicken one.  Murgh Suka.  Not heard of these before.

http://www.viceroybrasserie.co.uk/

Rob 

[madstwatter]

Base gravy now added.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=IeUAU9bD04w

[curryhell]

Interesting.  Nothing new for us really.  Minimal use of tomatoes which is probably compensated for with their own tomato paste during the finished dish cooking.  Surprised at the volume of Carnation added  and the thickness of the finished gravy .  Looking at the texture I'd imagaine a considerable amount of diluting took place to get it to the ideal thickness 

[Salvador Dhali]

Base gravy now added.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=IeUAU9bD04w

Thanks for the heads-up. Just watched all SIX parts - three of which, for some reason, are just footage of the veg bubbling away.

Regular visitors to this site will recognise the method/ingredients, so while there's nothing new, again, there are some interesting points (at least to me, anyway). It's all about slight variations from chef to chef, establishment to establishment, to achieve essentially the same end.

Variation 1. Some chefs go for a slow tickover when cooking the onions/veg, others go for a vigorous boil, as here.
Variation 2. Some chefs add some or all of the spicing early on, some much later in the process, as here.
Variation 3. Cooking time. Some chefs cook the whole base in an hour before blending, some cook the veg for 45 minutes or so, add the spices, cook for a further hour, then blend, as here.

It would seem that there is plenty of room for individual interpretation of base basics. As long as you achieve a mildly spiced, well cooked and blended fusion of onions and veg at the end, that's the main thing. Precisely how you get there is all down to personal preference, and what you feel works best for you, based on your own experience.

A word of caution regarding spoon measures if you're going to replicate any of Chef Imram's recipes. To my eyes that looks suspiciously like a chef's spoon he's using to measure ingredients - not a tablespoon.

[Salvador Dhali]

Looks a Good Madras, the garlic and naga sauce make it his own.

Interesting that they make their own Naga Sauce and spiced Tomato Puree.

cheers

Ali has just posted a video showing how they make their naga sauce: How to make naga chilli sauce-scotch bonnet-indian restaurant cooking-viceroy abbots langley part 1

I made it last night, and it really is rather good!

I asked why they used Scotch bonnets from Africa (which Ali refers to as 'Ugandan naga') rather than naga morisch (bhut jolikia), suspecting that it would be down to a cost issue, and received this reply:

"Hi, thank you so much for watching my? videos, the reasons that we use Ugandan naga, rather than Indian or Bangladeshi purely due to cost.

I absolutely agree with you that the naga from the sub-continent are far superior in taste and flavour, but the traditional naga from Bangladesh or India costs about 20p to 30p each, where as the African naga costs around

[Naga]

Good effort! And well done to Ali for offering you some of his produce. Just checked his videos on YouTube to follow the process right through. Interesting that he doesn't blend the chillies once cooked, but keeps them whole in a jar and only blends them as and when needed. I wouldn't have thought it would make much of a difference, but I dare say he'll know his own business best.

[curryhell]

I made it last night, and it really is rather good!

How does it compare to Mr Naga SD in terms of flavour and heat.  This is definitely on the to do list as soon as i get some scotch bonnets

[Salvador Dhali]

Good effort! And well done to Ali for offering you some of his produce. Just checked his videos on YouTube to follow the process right through. Interesting that he doesn't blend the chillies once cooked, but keeps them whole in a jar and only blends them as and when needed. I wouldn't have thought it would make much of a difference, but I dare say he'll know his own business best.

I'm not sure about that either. Maybe after it's blended the flavour changes a little?

I blended mine immediately, and now have it in a jar in the fridge, where I'm looking forward to it maturing nicely.

[DalPuri]

I love Mr. Naga and i also love and prefer the flavour of scotch bonnets, (in fact, next time i go to london, the guy down the trinidadian place is going to sell me a large coke bottles worth of his hot sauce for a tenner  ;D Pure SB flavour!)
but to sell dishes as "Naga" when theyre actually scotch bonnets. ...hmmmm, i would feel duped.

A bit like passing off Pollack as Cod?
or supermarkets selling 2" long chillies and calling them birds eye chillies