Razor, I made this precooked Balti chicken, and quite liked it.

I made a korma and a Madras, and used this chicken in both.

I was concerned at first, as once I drained the chicken, it was still well-caked with tomato. I thought that would kill the korma, for one.

Both dishes turned out great. I used the CA korma recipe for the first time, and liked the results a lot. Not sure about the garlic though.

My conclusion - did it produce a tasty precooked chicken? Yes for sure.

Did it improve upon the tenderness factor that BIRs seem to have? Not really. I hoped the tomato juice addition might have a tenderizing effect on the meat, but if there was one, it was negligible.

Great post nonetheless.

-- Josh

Quote"A Balti curry is cooked quickly over a high heat and is served, sizzling hot, in the Balti dish. Knives and forks are not usually used to eat the curry. Instead, naan bread or chapattis are used to scoop up the curry" (http://www.curryfocus.co.uk/Blog/2007/12/15/balti-curry-what-is-it/)

Ha! That probably explains why I remember it being the only dish that automatically came with naan. And also why I remember it being no more than an overspiced Bhuna.

Whenever I've made this base, I've used whole spices as directed, and blended in a blender vs the hand unit.

I remember when I made the Ashoka base (which called for whole cumin) I used the hand blender, and a lot of cumin remained whole. I did notice that after blending, the remaining cumin was white in colour and noticeably smaller.

Dry roasting is a good idea. I find it really helps when I use roasted ground cumin/coriander. Much more fragrant.

I will stick to whole (roasted) seeds in this base.

Hmm. I always assumed that fried rice in BIR terms was in fact pilau.

Didn't know they did a more Chinese style with egg.

Never had it, but I too will try this.

Good post, Mick.

Interesting. I don't own a slow cooker. I doubt very highly that BIRs use it, even posh ones, but if it help get the meat more tender then good on ya!

Lamb is a meat I can get BIR tender, through long cooking, as you note. Chicken not so much...

Is there a benefit of making your own onion powder vs buying from the supermarket?

Its pretty cheap...

I too have no problems using my oven for both pizza or naan. I've measured temps (with an IR gun) of 720 fahrenheit (about 400 celsius?). I can actually get much higher temps than that by tricking the cleaning cycle, but at that point it becomes ridiculously hot. I cook a pizza in about 4.5 minutes and naan in about 90 seconds.

For me the stone is far superior to a tray of any sort. I like a very thin crispy layer on the bottom of my naan, like you would get off the clay wall of a tandoor.

I do mean to post a video one of these days....

-- Josh

UB - my sincerest condolences. Sorry about your loss.

Lookin forward to V2!

I'm late in on this thread, and its been an amusing read.

I actually agree with the notion of "nail Chicken Curry and move on from there". I get what CA is driving at.

Like a few others have noted, I personally have never tried a Chicken Curry. I understand what it is (basically a Madras minus tom puree, less chilli, etc).

And where I live, I can't just go out and get one. If I could, I wouldn't be here  ;D

Madras, Vindaloo, CTM - I remember those well!

davidr - how long are you simmering the curry for?

The oil separation tends to occur as the base is reduced down to its finished consistency.

SnS directions for the Madras is very well detailed. Did you follow exactly?