Hi Russ,

I only just saw this post, sorry I missed it the first time round. That does look more oily than usual but maybe it was in transit longer than normal. Im glad you liked it, it is full of flavour and makes a Madras or Vindaloo look very 2D in comparison. I'll try the Mahaan version soon.

Chris

I've come to the realization that the base has little bearing on the final dish. It is mainly there to add bulk to the final dish rather than taste. Apparently adding potato to the base is a good idea as it is an excellent thickening ingredient. As long as you have lots of onions with some carrot, green pepper, potato and spices then you have a blank canvas with which to create your masterpieces with.

Hi CA

It's good to see you still have some fire in your belly (must be all those Vindaloos!).

It's a shame you don't post much any more apart from to reply to posts people make about your recipes. Your arguments are usually well considered and backed up, rather than moaning for the sake of it as some trolls do.

Anyway, sorry to pick on your recipes but my point was that ease to make is as important as taste for me (assuming the result is still very tasty). I'd happily do 20 minutes less prep for a result that is 95% as good as a long recipe.

The reason why yours are longer is (I assume) in part down to the lack of availability of pastes in Oz. For example, to make your Tikka to spec from scratch (which I grudgingly did) you need:

About 1kg skinless, boneless chicken breasts (diced into about 1? inch cubes)
150g Greek (or plain) yoghurt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
3 cloves garlic (chopped)
2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves (chopped)
1 tbsp tomato paste (double concentrated)
1 tsp mint jelly (NOT mint sauce in vinegar)
1 tsp mild curry powder (any decent one will do)
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp garam masala (any decent one will do)
1/2 tsp salt
2 chopped red chillies (optional)
Approximately 120ml milk
40g (about 8 teaspoons) coriander powder
30g (about 6 teaspoons) cumin powder
40g (about 8 teaspoons) garlic powder (not garlic salt!)
40g (about 8 teaspoons) ground paprika
20g (about 5 teaspoons) ginger powder
20g (about 5 teaspoons) mango powder
20g (about 5 teaspoons) dried mint leaves (finely ground)
10g (about 2 teaspoons) chilli powder (optional)
10g (about 2 teaspoons) powdered red food colouring (optional)
5g   (about 1 teaspoon) powdered yellow food colouring (optional)

Compared to dips that uses paste:

- 1kg chicken pieces (on the bone)
- 1 tbsp garlic/ginger paste
- 1.5 tbsp mix powder
- 1 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves
- 1 tbsp kashmiri masala paste (Patak)
- 2 tbsp tandoori paste (Pasco)
- 2.5 tbsp tikka paste (Patak)
- 4 tbsp natural yoghurt
- 1 tbsp red powdered food colouring
- 2 tsp lemon dressing
- 1 tbsp fresh coriander leaves

If you can get those three pastes over there I suggest you give his recipe a go and compare it to yours. I imagine yours is similar to how a good BIR chef would have cooked 10 years ago when the pastes weren't available, but times have moved on. Pastes are faster, cheaper and I think tastier.

I see your points, it was hard coming up with a framework that everyone was happy with. I think the taste category is basically the same as an authenticity field. I assume you are talking about an authentic taste?

For me, I look at the best taste scores first but then compare the ease to make. For chicken tikka, Dips wasn't my favourite taste wise, but it is so damn easy to make I have adopted it as my standard now.

I'm happy to highlight the taste result in each column but it is down to people to analyse the results. CA's are notoriously complex and expensive to make, even if they were the best tasting I probably wouldn't bother making them often.

Thanks guys, and thanks Axe for sorting the spreadsheet.

Onto the main dishes!

I probably wont have time for a couple of weeks. My step mum passed away yesterday so I'm having to rush to Gsy tomorrow for a few days. Below are his results, if anyone can input them and the figures from the ones above and post them it would be much appreciated.


            Taste   Texture   Cheap   Ease   Total
976           7           5           8           8   7.0
ABC           3           6           9           7   6.3
UC           4           7           9           9   7.3
SOLAR   9.5           9           7           9   8.6
CHEWY   9.5           9           9           9   9.1
DPR           8           9           9           9   8.8

Im not sure stuffing a hot cross bun with Veg Ghee would be very nice.

Hopefully we'll find a mix of Pataks and non-Pataks recipes to compare. It will be interesting to see the comparisons.

I wouldn't recommend drinking Vegetable Ghee, but a bit in a curry once a weeks isn't going to do any harm. I think most burger / kebab places cook their chips in trans fats. Like anything, it is okay in moderation.

After some fantastic success with the starters group tests it is time to move onto the main event. I suggest we start with CTM, then do Madras followed by a chefs specials where anyone can nominate their all time favourite recipes.

Rather than having the usual big debate about which base to use and spice mix and brand of cream I suggest we decide on 4 or 5 recipes as a forum and then the judges can formulate a plan as to how best test them.

I have a fabulous recipe that will be making it's debut in this group test.

Please let me know if you are able to take part in this. Russ - I'm happy to host again if you are up for it!

Please can everyone also nominate their favourite CTM recipes to be in the test.

Thanks
Chris