Quote from: Achille17 on January 14, 2013, 01:43 PM
Very nice pictures indeed!

Which recipe did you use to produce your CTM?

Since the gravy is a lot thicker, do you use a smaller a quantity or the exactly the same quantity? Did you get this consistency with the base gravy or the cream?

I have to say that I can't wait that BB1 posts Chicken Tikka Masala and Chicken Korma recipes!

Hi I used Zaal massala paste and then added coconut,almond and sugar to taste.I actually used two ladles of base gravy,the same amount I use when using a regular ghrabi type gravy.The thing is this is much thicker but when it hits the pan it does thin down.

Quote from: Salvador Dhali on January 14, 2013, 12:21 PM
Nice work, JB - those dishes look superb, and your feedback is much appreciated. I'm looking forward to trying this method out too (using the full 7kg of onions for the base).

On the subject of the base, did you find that the whole spices blended okay? Were there a few gritty bits left, or wasn't it an issue?

I ask becaue I use a Bamix stick blender, which is a good quality bit of kit but may not be up to the job of blitzing whole spices. But then they're going to be pretty soft after an hour or two of cooking.

Sod it. Only one way to find out!

That was one of my concerns but actually the whole spices blended perfectly,I think this may be due to the length of time the base is cooked.Mind you I used a proper blender,not a stick one and did give it a good blitz.

I used a bit of red in my massala paste,a tiny bit of this went into my jalfrezi as well as some naga pickle.No colour in the madras.

The madras recipe was just a bog standard one... into the cold pan went G/G paste,methi,small star anise,chili powder,tomato puree,pinch of coriander,finely chopped onion and a spoonful of base sauce.Add chicken,cook for a couple of minutes  and then finish with more coriander and a splash of lemon dressing.

Well I had some spare time this morning so I had a go at making some curries using Bigboaby1's base sauce.I made a chicken tikka massala,chicken madras and a balti garlic jaflrezi....

Massala.....



balti garlic jalfrezi......



chicken madras....





I have to say I was very,very impressed.If I was served this in a restaurant I would be more than happy.The cooking technique felt a bit strange,ie putting everything in a cold pan with no oil etc but it certainly gave me the result I was looking for.The gravy does thin out itself when it goes in the pan.Considering the amount of oil that went into the base I was ready for an overly oily curry,but as you can see from my pictures this wasn't the case.Was it better than my usual curries using my prefered Little India Base sauce? No I don't think so.That's not a criticism,it's just that I'm more than happy with the curries I produce,this gives me more or less the same result albeit in a slightly different method.It's certainly easier to cook the curries,everything goes in the pan at once.

Many thanks for your input Bigboaby,a great success(for me at least).Whether this will work with a scaled down gravy I really don't know.I see you've already encountered a bit of banter on another thread,however I urge you not desert us and keep posting my friend.

Quote from: haldi on January 13, 2013, 06:23 PM
we're talking about scaling down, but at the top of his recipe he says

"Don't be put of by the amount of onions...It wont work otherwise"

I have to agree on that,seemed like an awful lot of onions to use but they're quite cheap to buy in bulk,it's really worth it.I believe the recipe itself is a scaled down one to what is used his place(heaven knows how many onions they use there),but to do this justice I really think you should follow his recipe.

I used the full 7kg of onions.The pot was the biggest one I have,about 10 inches in diameter and 9 inches deep.I just didn't fancy chopping them all up,I know the original recipe did say to do that but I think that's just a time issue.As long as the onions are cooked properly,that's the thing.

I had another taste this morning,very nice indeed(and very thick).I guess the proof will be in the cooking!

Well I tried this base today,actually it seemed to take all day,simmering,blending then simmering again.





I couldn't believe the amount of onions I went through!

I was really impressed with this,I couldn't stop stop having a quick taste every now and again once it was finished,it definitely had something addictive about it. The amount of oil was a bit frightening,but after I blended it the texture was very good.I was surprised that the oil didn't separate more,I guess the inclusion of the whole coconut block was a factor in this.Incidentally the finished sauce didn't taste of coconut at all.it just had a nice sweet,curry flavour.I'm going to keep this in the fridge for a day and then cook a couple of dishes.I have to say it's totally different to what I'm used to using,I feel like I need to thin it out but that's not the idea.Hopefully there will be a few new recipes posted to go with this base sauce. 

Quote from: Martinwhynot on January 12, 2013, 08:49 AM
This is getting made this afternoon... watch this space!

Same here never seen so many bloomin' onions!!

Quote from: getonthegarabi on January 09, 2013, 06:31 PM

Quote from: jb on January 09, 2013, 06:09 PM
I got the book today,it's ok but not the best one I've got.There's certainly some unusual dishes in the book,not the sort you would see in your average BIR(spicy pasta anyone?).No madras,no balti,no pathia etc.I was really looking forward to the rezalla recipe but I'm afraid it resembles nothing like I'm used to.Indeed from what I've seen a lot of the dishes don't involve base gravy,they seem to be adapted for home use and designed for four people.A couple of things caught my eye though.He uses vegetable margarine in the gravy,first time I've seen this since the Ashoka method.Also he uses two different garam massalas,one roasted and ground whereas the other is just ground and not roasted at all.

What are your thoughts on the chicken tikka recipe jb?  Mixing in mustard oil after cooking.  Not something I have seen before. I have I read that right?

Rob 

Very strange,cooking chicken tikka and then 'mixing in' mustard oil.Never come across that before.

I got the book today,it's ok but not the best one I've got.There's certainly some unusual dishes in the book,not the sort you would see in your average BIR(spicy pasta anyone?).No madras,no balti,no pathia etc.I was really looking forward to the rezalla recipe but I'm afraid it resembles nothing like I'm used to.Indeed from what I've seen a lot of the dishes don't involve base gravy,they seem to be adapted for home use and designed for four people.A couple of things caught my eye though.He uses vegetable margarine in the gravy,first time I've seen this since the Ashoka method.Also he uses two different garam massalas,one roasted and ground whereas the other is just ground and not roasted at all.