Great effort ECF; looking good! 

Personally, I would probably add more base (and/or other liquid), to both, to make them a little more saucy.  Or less meat! 

Quote from: Tommy Timebomb on May 17, 2012, 05:59 PM
I have found out recently how to marinate with yogurt etc and pre cook.

Does CA do this, and for that matter does nearly everyone do this or is it sometimes looked over as the time and effort maybe not worth the while?
Do people do this religiously so to speak?

Hi TTB,

I sometimes do.  But mostly I don't (generally because of the time, extra ingredients, and inconvenience of marinating and precooking it).  You will see that I present both options in my recipes accordingly.

If using boneless chicken breasts, I don't really find it makes a whole heap of difference to the tenderness.  I would go so far as to say that, in my experience, it can actually be detrimental (i.e. makes it drier and tougher). 

However, marinating and precooking will/can certainly taste and/or look very different.  But that's not necessarily always a good thing.  My wife much prefers it unmarinated.

I know and accept that BIRs invariably marinate and precook their chicken.  One believable argument, for me, is what Secret Santa said about them (maybe) precooking it to minimise potential health issues with handling raw chicken.

So, short answer - sometimes; but not religiously.

Quote from: Aussie Mick on May 16, 2012, 12:52 PM
I know what you mean. I haven't even tried cooking a lamb curry yet. For decent lamb steaks here in Perth it's at least $40/kilo 

Not easy to find mutton either. In fact I've asked 3 different butchers to see if they could source some, and not one of them have got back to me yet.

Hi AM,

I agree that lamb steaks may maker a more tender tikka, but you should be able to find perfectly acceptable lamb a lot cheaper than that?  Even Woolies and Coles do boneless joints (of shoulder or leg) at around $17 a kilo.  I have even seen it at $10 a kilo at the "Spud Shed" (don't know if there is one by you?).  This lamb is perfectly acceptable for curries (and tikka), in my opinion.

I did find mutton, at a local butcher, at $8 a kilo.  But he then shoved the price up to $16 a kilo so I stopped buying it.  The other alternative is goat.  Many butchers sell this frozen (on the bone) at around $12 a kilo.  Not sure how this would fair for tikka though?

PS:  Sorry, Bar, way off topic, I know! 

I agree with Natterjak.  Same goes for all individual spices, in my opinion.  I generally grind coriander and cumin seeds when making my masala.  And I generally make only enough to last a month or so (using tablespoon measures in my recipe).

Having said that, I know Pat Chapman says that his tandoori masala "matures" with age.  I'm not quite sure why he says that (maybe he means that the flavours will homogenise/mellow in time)?  I admit I store this for a lot longer (i.e. months) and it doesn't seem to lose much of it's "potency".

Hi MM,

Thanks for sharing your video 

Butter Chicken is one AIR dish that I really like and would like to replicate.  The thing I like most about them is their delicate, creamy, flavour and, in particular, their "smokey" taste. 

Is this restaurant's Butter Chicken also "smokey" tasting?  If so, how does this particular restaurant achieve this?  I am led to believe (by the restaurants that I've asked) that the "smokiness" is purely from the chicken tikka (i.e. cooked in a tandoor) that they add.  Was the "precooked chicken" added here actually chicken tikka?

I have tried adding a hot coal, to a vessel of oil, centred in the dish, and covered for a while...but the resulting taste made me feel sick!  I probably overdid it!  I have also tried adding a hot coal whist I'm grilling the chicken tikka.  This worked better (regarding giving a smokey flavour to the chicken tikka) but, again, I probably overdid it.  Neither were subtle!

Also, is the "butter gravy" anything like the "onion sauce", "tomato sauce" or "nut sauce" (or a combination of them?) that you previously posted?

Yet another great video Mick and, yet again, thanks for sharing 

Apples, pineapple, lychees, mango chutney....!  What, no cherries!?    

Once again, a few questions, if I may:

a)  How is this "masala sauce" used to make a curry (e.g. a Tikka Masala)?  Is a quantity added to a the curry base, or is it used as a base in it's own right?

b)  Is this the same chef that made the curry base?  I find it curious that he fries the onions, when making this "masala sauce", but boils them when making the curry base?  Is there a rationale for this that you know of?

c)  I suggest this is "new school" rather than "old school" BIR since commercial curry pastes (e.g. Patak) would not have been available prior to around 1990.  Does he (or you, or anyone else) know what BIRs before these commercial pastes were available?

Hi Mick,

Glad to hear you found what you were looking for 

Regarding tawas, I recommend you buy the version that isn't "nonstick" (I notice they sell "nonstick" versions too).  However, I've bought several of these (i.e. the ones that aren't "nonstick") and, unfortunately, the handles fall off quite quickly!    It doesn't really matter much; they are still usable (i.e. for cooking naans, chapattis, etc).  I'll probably fit a broom handle (or similar) to them eventually...maybe....or just buy new ones.

They also (usually) sell decent (and cheap...around $12 each) aluminium frying pans.  The ones in the photo are 28cm (rear) and 26 cm (front) diameters.  The smaller one is perfect for making single portion curries and the larger one is perfect for making double portion curries.  The slight annoyance with them, though, is that the long handles unbalance them (when they have little in them).  Which is the last thing that you need when they have hot oil in them! 

Regarding stock pots, I suggest you try (in future) a "Red Dot" store.  They sell stainless steel stock pots really cheap.  The ones below are 20 litres (rear) and 10 litres (front) and cost me around $12 and $8 each (at the time...a few years ago now) respectively.  The larger one is a bit thin, but it does the job (i.e. for making larger batches of curry bases) if you're careful with the heat.

Quote from: Madrasass on May 05, 2012, 10:06 AM
with absolutely no hint of bitterness at all

Bizarre.  I wonder what we did differently then (besides the scale)? 

(A belated) welcome to the forum Slick 

Your introduction might be just in time....to avoid your deletion as "dead weight"! 

Hi Mick,

Thanks for your reply.

I don't doubt that he knows what he's doing.  It's just that, so far, I'm a bit  disappointed with the result I've obtained. 

It is interesting to note how little he uses of the Akhni stock, evaporated milk and creamed coconut.  I reckon each will/should introduce a nice subtlety to the base.

I use tinned, whole, Italian, plum tomatoes (of whichever make is cheapest at the time).

I tasted the oil/garlic/ginger/tomato/spice mix fry, before adding it to the onion base, and it didn't taste bitter.  Otherwise, I would have suspected that I burnt the garlic/ginger and/or spice mix.

I think the underlying bitterness is in the onion base.  I suspect it is due to the tinned tomatoes in that (which is what I've often found and is why I use tomato paste instead).  Otherwise, I cooked the base for 2 to 3 hours in total.

It is quite possible that I am doing something wrong (it would be pretty arrogant of me to exclude this possibility!  ), but I can't think what, if I am 

But, as I said, the vindaloo I made from it was very tasty and moorish. 

I need to reserve my final judgement until I have made several more, and a range of, curries from it.

Look forward to seeing (and trying) the chefs masala sauce 

Once again, thanks for sharing Mick, I appreciate it