The first time I made this Mark, I used the regular yellow cooking onion.  Yesterday, I used red onions as they were on sale and I can use them in more dishes than the other ones.  I dont really notice a difference - except in sweetness maybe.  I didnt add the sugar with the red onions as I know they have more natural sugars.
I threw in a bunch of leaves - maybe 10-15 of them....i love them and since that is the main flavoring, i think more is better!
I wil post a recipe from the book tonite or tomorrow in which this is used as the base...i made it today and it came out very good again.

payal

This recipe is from "Real Fast Indian Food" by Mridula Baljekar (2002).  I cannot say how close it to a BIR curry as I havnt tried a real BIR curry.  It is very tasty and forms a lovely sauce with few ingredients..maybe it is worth a try.

Makes 1.2 Liters (2 pints)

5 Tablespoons sunflower oil or vegetable oil
55g (2oz) fresh root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
16 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
8-10 shallots, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons fresh curry leaves or 3 tablespoons dried curry leaves
1.5 tablespoons ground cumin
2-3 teaspoons chilli powder
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
85g (3oz) tomato puree
1.2 liters (2 pints) lukewarm water
2.5 teaspoons salt or to taste
1.5 teaspoons sugar
15g (.5oz) fresh coriander leaves and stalks, chopped
3 tablespoons lemon juice

- Heat the oil over medium heat and fry the ginger, garlic and shallots for 3-4 minutes, stirring continuously. Add the curry leaves, cumin, chilli powder and turmeric.  Fry gently for 2-3 minutes, then stir in the tomato puree.  Cook for 1 minute before pouring in the water.  Stir in the salt and sugar.  bring to the boil, reduce the heat to low and cover the pan.  Simmer for 20 minutes.

- Add the coriander leaves and lemon juice.  Simmer for 1 minute and remove from the heat, then leave to cool.  process the sauce until smooth in a blender.  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer.

That was the recipe and I will post a recipe soon in which this is used as a base with some coconut from the same book.  I do believe that only fresh curry leaves will work for this - I used the frozen ones today with great flavor.  Dried ones wont give the real flavor.

Payal

I was most surprised that after mixing it with the gravy for few minutes, it didnt taste like boiled chicken.  perhaps soft, moist chicken absorbs spices easier!!  I have to admit, i never made chicken so moist before in my life.  I was so tempted to add onions or spices to flavor it but didnt......I do need to post the madras sauce recipe that I have been using this week....it is very simple and makes a great base when used in a coconut based "curry".  Hopefully will post that tonite.  I am having company tomorrow and wasnt sure if I wanted to attempt a chicken dish in case the shoe leather version showed up!!  Now I can make the chicken dish and not be afraid of that - thats why I did the experiment a day in advance.  Again, thank you Darthphall.

Payal

That does look very good!!  That is actually what I am attempting to make next time and have printed out 3-4 different recipes from online last night....where's your recipe??!!  I would love a true and tried one!!

Quote from: DARTHPHALL on September 04, 2005, 10:26 AM
This is how i cook my Chicken.
Chop 7-8 chicken breasts into as even pieces as you can ( i cut to the size of a ?2 pound coin = width height). I hope this helps. ;D
Boil a kettle.
Put chicken in pan.
Pour boiled water over chicken to just cover it.
Bring water to boil turn down immediately & slowly cook on simmer for about 8-10 minutes.
Look for one of the biggest pieces take out & cut in half to make sure its cooked through.
Take out immediately & put into your pot of Curry.
This may sound simple but like all of our recipes there is a knack.
I keep checking to see if cooked after about 5 minutes .
My Chicken is tender beyond words due to the lower heat & the small size.
DARTHPHALL..........

Hey, I followed this method today and cant believe how the chicken can be so moist!!!? I actually did an experiment - had my base sauce made and the way I made the chicken last time was to cook it in the sauce for 15 minutes and then followed the rest of the recipe.? The chicken was ok but I did this again today in a pan while in another pan, I followed Darthphall's method.? The chicken didnt look very pretty since it was white and I was very skeptical.? it took 7 minutes to cook as I cut the chicken in thin strips today.? Then I took the chicken and added it to the sauce for a a little bit.? So here I am with 2 bowls of this chicken in coconut gravy and Darthphall's one is far better ? It even took in the masalas while I assumed it would taste like boiled chicken.? I am very impressed and surprised at the simplicity this involves!!? Thanks Darthphall!!!!!

Payal

I dont know of any cosmetic purposes or medicinal purposes for mustard oil but I am sure there are some in India.  We never used mustard oil in cooking, just in some pickles that we make.  The smell is so pungent, it would be apparent in any dish in any restaurant and I have never smelled it anywhere.  I will ask my cousin to see what are the real everyday uses in India.

How about washing and drying them and freezing them whole?  This is what I do when I have too many. To use, I just rinse the frozen chilli quickly in water and it becomes pliable just enough to chop up.  of course, I dont know how much the heat is affected - not too much from my experience and the fresh taste of green chili is completely retained.

Payal

I am sorry I havent posted the madras curry sauce recipe yet - got very busy but will do it either sunday or monday for sure.  It really was very tasty - not really restaurant style but tasty.

Payal

I will try your method next week - I had a few spoons of the madras sauce left over from yesterday so i decided to finish it up and cook the little bit of chicken I had left.  I hope that not boiling the chicken continuously solves all the problems!!!  I will let you know when I try it.
Thanks.

Payal

I have never even heard of fried dried onion!!