Quote from: Secret Santa on November 12, 2009, 09:11 AM
About the only problem I now have with curries is avoiding them getting too thick, adding an extra thickener is the last thing I would do!

Just add a splash of warm water when it's getting thick. Helps it cook properly too.
I put the kettle on before i make curries so it's there when i need it.

Panpot, do you know what type of vinegar they use?

Yes i've seen the bottled lemon/dressing being added to madras, pathia and dansak.
I suppose if it's used by places we're trying to replicate i shouldnt be so dismissive, fair point.
I'm a lemon purest, it's my favourite ingredient and it makes me sad when people dont bother to buy the real fruit when it's so easily available :-(
I find it hard not to come to these conclusions when people are wondering why their curries dont taste 100% and i see some people (not everyone) are using such crazy ideas as frozen garlic, bottled ginger, frozen coriander, bottled lemon, frozen base etc. The more of these shortcuts are made, the worse the dish will taste, is the conclusion i cant help but draw.

BIR meat cooking is a good example of bad practice/laziness. The taste of the curry lies in the sauce (which is vegetarian) and cubes of cooked boneless chicken or lamb are added near the end of the whole process. A practical decision but hardly one that optimizes flavour or texture. BIRs ruin lamb so often i dont bother ordering it any more. The chicken's sometimes overcooked too. The meat for tikka main courses is routinely precooked and is noticeably worse than when cooked to order.
It's like a vegetarian offering to cook meat for you: thanks but no thanks. I can do it myself.

BIRs leave precooked chicken at room temperature for hours, overcook lamb, buy low quality ingredients and sometimes overcrowd the pan when cooking multiple portions of one dish. I know we think we should be able to replicate their dishes using the same ingredients & techniques if we're skilled enough at cooking, i just think we shouldnt necessarily think that copying their bad practices with improve our dishes. I guess it's hard to decipher/agree on which ones they are.

Quote from: CurryOnRegardless on September 20, 2009, 05:27 PM
I've never had a southern curry (if the beer's anything to go by I don't think I'm missing much;D),

***** you went there! I cant even begin to reply to that. That's just such a naughty comment!

Back to the thread...
When i cook chicken breast chunks in a sauce they take about 5 minutes to cook. 30 mins seems crazy! How come they dont overcook?

As for using bottled lemon, Achmal, the door's over there. Show yourself out.

Looks good dude, i do love a dansak!
The method looks normal enough, the only difference being keeping the chicken in the pan when doing the important stages.
The amounts of lemon and sugar look fine to me. I put about 6 times that amount of sugar in a korma so i dont think it's going to be too strong.
I've not come across pineapple in this dish before. I've recently noticed mango chutney (in north london).

p.s. I've been on this site for a couple of years and have only just noticed that Cory Ander's not your real name! I thought it was an american name. Phew, please forgive me for being this slow!

Cheers for including the pathia, chasni and jaipuri dishes dude 
I'm still using (my slight variation) of these ashoka recipes as i get 100% quality every time. I'm so comfortable with them i dont even measure most of the ingredients any more. Changing from hot chilli powder to kashmiri (deggi mirch) has also been a winner as you get the flavour without being choking hot.

I figured out the pathia technique and use almost the same ingredients as you mention (just not the mint sauce). I have found sugary sauces like chutney and ketchup help so much with the depth of flavour ('the missing 5%'). It's tempting to use them in all curries!
The fryed onion paste is one of these sauces of course. I tend to add sugar to the onions when cooking to make sure they caramelize properly. I suppose using onion chutney would work just as well as it is very similar.
I've just made some cassia-spiced apple chutney from the apple tree in my garden and it tastes beautiful. I'm looking forward to trying it in my next curry  ;D

Since trying mango chutney in my pathias and dansaks i am convinced a lot of places use it, and not necessarily just in those two curries. Of the two best takeaways near me i know they both use it because i can taste it. The dishes with chutney in taste better and are the ones my friends agree 'are the real deal'. It's not necessarily a secret as i have seen it listed as an ingredient on menu items.
I use TRS sweet mango chutney which contains mango, sugar, salt and acetic acid as it is the type used by BIRs. ?4 for 3kg.

This is an old thread but i hope people arent still freezing everything. I just read CA's post and was shocked at the freezing of ginger, garlic, coriander and tomato puree! Poor veg, what have they ever done to you?

Im sure habits have now changed but i wanted to add a comment for any newbies:
Freezing alters ingredients, it doesnt suspend them in the same state. Anything other than industrial freezers arent freezing the ingredients fully. Apparantly you need to get to about -80c to do that. This is why frozen goods have a shelf life.
Just compare a frozen base sauce to a fresh one - there you have the evidence.
Can people really not get hold of ginger, garlic and tomato puree easily??
Restaurants dont freeze them in portions do they?
You dont need a specific brand of tomato puree, that's crazy talk! A sign of curry-forum-madness. White tower is probably chosen because of the quantity and price. It's the same as supermarket stuff.
Restaurants dont exactly buy good quality ingredients do they? Veg out the boot of a car, preground spices in enormous quantities, precooked atlantic prawns, long life cream, frozen meat, lemon juice in a bottle...
Think about it! That's why a main course can cost under ?4

Anyway, i know telling you to not freeze your base sauce will give you a headache. So if you're happy with your results ignore everything i've said. However if you still think some magic is missing from your curries my tip is to make a big batch of curries at a time, or cook some more the next day or two, as the base can be kept on the stove or in the fridge.
You can then freeze the finished curries (once cooled and then chilled in the fridge) and they will behave themselves better. Frozen base sauce always dissapointed me.

Quote from: Secret Santa on August 24, 2009, 02:36 AM
I really don't think so George. Given a decent base the korma is the easiest curry to make.

Add a ladle of sugar, two ladles of coconut flour, mix around in the pan for a minute. Add a few ladles of base, precooked meat or veg, and simmer/boil for 5 mins. At the end add a couple of ladles of uht cream and possibly some kewra water. Job done. Easiest curry ever!

Agreed. If you follow this technique it's hard to mess up and is the easiest curry. You can do it in a saucepan on the back of your stove while you use your good frying pan to cook another curry.
I dont even think most places add ground almonds. I add a tiny squeeze of lemon to help balance most curries and stop it being just savoury and sweet (or cloying with a korma) but i havent seen it done in a BIR.

i bought some TRS mango chutney in taj stores in brick lane (who supply catering size ingredients for restaurants) and it's the same one they use in most restaurants. The look and taste are the same.
I bought 3KG for ?4 so i have more than enough!
I've been using it in curries to make dansak/pathia as our local takeaway uses it. A tablespoon gives a really good result in a sweet and sour dish.
I have to say though that i dont rate BIR chutney that highly, it's a bit too sweet and not sour enough. It is ridiculously cheap though.
They also had 20KG tubs of mixed pickle "fit for human consumption" hmmm, tasty!

Quote from: haldi on August 05, 2009, 09:12 PM
I really believe that you need at leasttwo hours cooking with a base
You simply won't get the right flavour with less time

The idea of using old oil in the base may not be common practice at all places
But it's not a theory of mine
I have seen it done

I agree with you haldi on the long cooking of the base. I always found i had to cook them for longer than suggested in the recipes.
I found using the oil from the Ashoka fried onion paste had a good effect and a reserve stash i made from my deep fryer oil and excess oil from my own and takeaway curries (and even other cuisines) worked pretty well too.
I am satisfied that cooking a lot of the ingredients (inc oil) of a curry multiple times and in different ways is the 'secret technique' home cooks generally miss. The Ashoka recipes made me aware of this regarding onion and garlic (cooking the former in 4 ways i believe). It is also a technique that Heston Blumenthal uses a lot. See his 'perfection' TV series. It seems pretty common sense after that.