Whatever works for the individual is what is best.  If you don't like tomatoes, then fair enough.  Personally, I find this base the most versatile one that gives the best results.  Like I have said before, removing the hot spices or replacing them with milder ones adapts the base just nicely for a CTM.  I certainly have no intention of trying any other bases from here as I hit the jackpot with this one first time.  And I find that although the base is indeed a tomatoey base, it only adds to the overall results for the curries I enjoy making.  Obviously I cannot speak for all the curries, but it certainly works well for the Madras/Vindaloo, CTM (minus chili powder and replacing hot madras powder with mild curry powder) and the Dhansak (although I'm not happy with this curry, it isn't a problem with the base, just the recipe.)

Each to their own eh lads!

I made this madras again Saturday and by golly it IS the best madras I've ever eaten.  Whatever people above say, I'm not having it, this IS as good/better than any restaurant madras I've had (and believe me I've had plenty!!)  ;D

Made this twice now and although it IS a reasonably ok curry, it's certainly not BIR standard Dhansak.  That's not to say it's not nice, it is okay and still better than any jarred version, but it just isn't anything like a restaurant Dhansak.

It has something about it that doesn't sit right with me.  Perhaps the amount of lentils is a factor (too many) and perhaps the pineapple juice could be substituted with a sweet juice I actually like (I hate pineapple!!!) so I haven't given up on this completely, but it certainly needs alterations (In my opinion.)

Quote from: Cory Ander on July 19, 2009, 03:26 PM
Otherwise, it produces nice curries (but nowhere near up there with a decent BIR).  Others may disagree, of course 

And I am one of them who do. 

I guess it's all down to opinion, but I am certainly of the opinion that this is the base of choice.  Remove the chilli powder and it even works a superb CA CTM! 

I suppose another angle could be the BIRs I visit around my parts (Thetford, Norfolk) may not be of as good a standard as where you are from.  There are some pretty dire BIRs around here, but there are at least two I go to that I consider VERY good.  The problem around here is the BIRs are excellent one week, and shite the next.  :

Well, I've given this it's maiden trial in the Robbo household and it's not bad.  I wouldn't say at this stage that it's as good as my local BIR, but it's a nice dish and easy to make.  I've made it but there's little things I feel I could do to improve my technique when making it.

I used the SnS-June2008 base and I also took on board a few things throughout this thread rather than stick to the already basic original recipe (a sin really since I usually like to go straight in with the original recipe word for word but this time I felt the feedback this received warranted trying the extras straight away.)

I'm a fan of straight forward measurements for ingredients and some of the original recipe was fairly "a bit of this and a smidgen of that" so here is what I did in proper measurements.

Into a large bowl I added 500g Natural yoghurt and 1.5 tbsp Rajah Tandoori Masala.  I mixed this into a red paste and then added 425g chicken and covered the chicken.  This was marinaded overnight (in this case 24hrs) and then the chicken was removed from the marinade and cooked as per instructions (you need to check your own times for this stage as I got the missus to cook the chicken... yes I was busy so got her to do that bit!)  The chicken was set to the side.

I added 285g Red Lentils, 5g crushed garlic (2 cloves), 2 tbsp Lemon Juice & 1 tbsp Sugar into a pot of boiling water on the hob.  Water about an inch below the rim of the pan before adding ingredients.  After about 10 minutes I removed the contents of the pan into a seive and drained on the side whilst continuing with the recipe.

I chopped one large onion (amount of onion for my preference) and one 3 inch long deseeded Green Chili.

Paste 1.  Into a bowl I added 1 tsp Rajah hot madras Curry Powder, 1 tsp Deggi Mirch (chili powder), a pinch of Asafoetida and 1 tsp Bruce Edwards Spice Mix.  I mixed this into a stiff paste using Lemon Juice.

I put 5 tbsp veg oil into a wok.  Heated on the hob.  Added one large pinch of dried Methi (crumbled between finger and thumb as spinkling into the wok) and then added the chopped onion and green chili.  I fried the onion and chili until the onions were golden brown.

To the wok I then added Paste 1 and mixed in, stirring for 30 seconds.

I then added 225ml SnS-June2008 base and mixed.

Then into the wok went the now drained lentils, 1 heaped tbsp Mango Chutney, 145ml Pineapple juice and about 3 heaped tbsp of fresh chopped Coriander leaf.  This was left to simmer for 10 minutes with the occasional stirring to prevent burning.

In went 1 tsp Garam Masala, mixed in, a small drop of red colouring for colour (in my local BIR this dish is a light red colour) then finally in went the pre-cooked Chicken.  The dish was heated through to my preferred consistency (not too runny.)


For me, I think I should have in hindsight blended the lentils a bit but at the time I thought they looked okay.  This would definitely improve the texture and it's my own fault since I overlooked this part from the original recipe.

So anyway, it was a nice dish, but I've got a long way to go if it is to rival the local BIR version.

Quote from: Cory Ander on July 13, 2009, 03:44 PM
I also made a chiken madras from it (but from my own recipe rather than SnS's).  It was very pleasant and enjoyable but nothing out of this world.  It does not compare with a decent BIR madras in terms of depth of flavour and aroma.  Probably I'm doing something wrong though 

Maybe you should try making the SnS Madras with the SnS base?  I found that it worked a treat and I made that more or less to the letter of the recipe here, except I used Deggi Mirch instead of Chili Powder (to make it spicier.)

I know I went to a VERY GOOD BIR near me recently and tried their Chicken Madras... I have to say I actually preferred SnS's Madras!!!  And the BIR I went to aren't a bunch of Indian cowboys either!

gonna try it tomorrow then will report in!  ;D

Well I'll be using the SnS-2008 base for sure.  I have got all the ingredients in this recipe and the Asafoetida and Methi mentioned by currytester, but haven't got Ghee, mustard seeds or Moong Dahl.

I'll have to muddle through this with what I've got but I will report back my findings and hopefully in future attempts I will be able to introduce your further suggestions.

May have to give this a try and guess on a few things since I just noticed this thread hasn't been posted in since last year!  I REALLY want to master this awesome dish since it's one of my faves in the curry house.  I'll try it once and pray it works!

How much Lemon juice would you say that a whole Lemon has?  I would like to make this using juice from a bottle as opposed to getting a whole lemon.

Also, when you use 'Cup' as a measurement, am I right to assume you are working on the UK measurement of one cup = 285ml/g? (as opposed to the US 236ml per 'cup')