Quote from: Phil (Chaa006) on May 07, 2011, 10:26 AM

Quote from: missy on May 07, 2011, 10:08 AM
I am opening a small indian and thai takeaway in about a week or so. My question for you guys is do you think it's a good idea to cook without any chicken, prawns, etc, fairly large batches of curries (for example jalfrezi) and put them in the freezer, and take out a box at a time with about 10 portions and allow it to naturally defrost when required, and add the chicken, chicken tikka or prawns to it when someone orders and simply warm it up in a frying pan?

I don't think this will be the best way to establish the reputation of your business.  By all means freeze batches of base, and defrost as required, but when it comes to infusing the meat with the flavour of the curry, I really don't think this can be successfully achieved by simply dumping a portion of meat in a defrosted portion of curry sauce and warming it up in a frying pan.  It takes about ten minutes to cook a curry using base sauce, raw spices and part pre-cooked meat, and I think that most of your customers would prefer to wait that ten minutes for a really good curry rather than wait five and get something that has plenty of flavour in the sauce but almost none in the meat.  My two bahts-worth !

QuoteAnd do you think it's ok if we dont sell all the curry in a day to re freeze it (again without the meat in it)?

I think you're based in Thailand, are you not ?  In that case, you need to be extra careful about defrosting and refreezing because of the high ambient temperature, which will most definitely encourage the growth of bacteria.  You might get away with it, but if you don't and a few of your customers get food poisoning as a result, then your reputation may be destroyed forever.  Better to think in terms of defrost-on-demand, using a microwave oven.

** Phil.

Hi Phil

Thanks for your reply.

I know that it's much better to cook the curries fresh when someone orders but making larger batches in advance really would make our lives a lot easier at first, and then when we have more experience we can then begin to cook fresh. So, I'm not sure yet what we're going to do.

How many ml of curry base usually goes in a madras, CTM, etc for one portion? and do you think it's best if we put the base in one portion plastic bags and freeze and defrost when required?
We can also prepare the spice mixes in advance in separate plastic bags ready to add to the curries easily when someone orders.

Hi everyone

Sorry, this is my second post on freezing curries.

I am opening a small indian and thai takeaway in about a week or so. My question for you guys is do you think it's a good idea to cook without any chicken, prawns, etc, fairly large batches of curries (for example jalfrezi) and put them in the freezer, and take out a box at a time with about 10 portions and allow it to naturally defrost when required, and add the chicken, chicken tikka or prawns to it when someone orders and simply warm it up in a frying pan? And do you think it's ok if we dont sell all the curry in a day to re freeze it (again without the meat in it)?

Really appreciate your responses

Regards

Phil

Hi everyone

Anyone have a decent recipe to marinade chicken tikka/ tandoori without using pataks tandoori paste? It's so expensive to buy a jar of it in Thailand and most of the recipes on here have very complicated ingredients and I need to keep it fairly simple.

Thanks

Appreciate your comments

Phil

Quote from: Razor on May 02, 2011, 11:01 AM
Hi Phil,

You could try simmering the base for longer but I would try simmering the final dish for longer, really reducing it down.

As for chicken Makhani, it's not a dish that I tend to make if I'm being honest, as I'm not a "creamy Curry" fan plus the ones posted on here don't seem to use a base sauce. Just taking a quick glance though, this one of Stephen Lyndsay's looks quite simple and interesting.  He has also provided a picture too, which gives you an indication of what you should be aiming for!

Here's the recipe  https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=3003.0

Hope that helps Phil,

Ray

Cheers Ray

We have decided to just use the remaining base to make curries for ourselves and not send the restaurant. We'll just make another base in a couple of days and not add as much water, and I think i'll go with frying the onions, ginger and garlic next time and simmer it for a little longer than an hour.
As for the chicken makhan, we've decided to take that off our menu until later on. We don't wan't to complicate our dishes to much, but I know it can be a delicious dish but slightly more complicated to make than the others.

Quote from: chewytikka on May 01, 2011, 06:38 PM

Quote from: missy on May 01, 2011, 10:54 AM
Cheers for that Ray

Maybe making big pots of the curries could work, but then refrigerating them at the end of the day would completely fill my already usually full fridge, and we dont have much more money to invest in another.

I think freezing them is out of the question really, some people are picky about microwaving food and I don't want that reputation.

Hi Phil
Just a thought, you may want to explore the Rice and 3 curries approach to this venture.
I remember years ago, in the midlands, there were corner shop Halal Cafes with very basic decor and a limited menu for that day.
They would only have 3 pots of curry, say Chicken, Lamb and Dhal and you would be served a big plate of boiled rice and your choice of curry, or all three plus a roti or Naan.
This was Incredibly cheap at the time and it was the first time I tasted the Balti flavour, mind you, I didn't know it was Balti till years later.

Reading the restrictions you face, I think this no frills approach, with a simple menu, would be the easiest and could probably work for you.
Anyway just an Idea, cheers Chewy

Hi Chewy

Thanks for your message.

I think we will try making large batches and keeping them in lunchbox/ containers and when someone orders we'll add the chicken/ chicken tikka or tandoori prawn and re-heat it on the stove.

Quote from: Razor on April 29, 2011, 09:42 AM
Hi Phil,

It's a tricky one this.  I guess it all depends on your turnover rate.  If you are busy, say for example, 5/6 curries an hour, then I don't see the need to freeze any curries and to be honest, you are giving yourself more work to do by freezing them, not to mention adding more expense!

The standard TA format would be;

Big 40 ltr pot of base, slowly simmering, all the supplementary ingredients set out in tubs such as , garlic and ginger paste, tom puree, mix powder, methi chili powder, veg oil/ghee, precooked onion/peppers, then in the fridge, precooked chicken and lamb, and marinating pieces of lamb and chicken for your tikka recipes and so on.

It seems that you have space constraints? so it's easy for me to suggest a layout but it may not be practical for you.

I guess your success will determine whether or not you need to freeze, I hope you don't have to. 

How about make big pots of each type of curry, then when an order comes in, you could just add a few ladles into a hot wok and reheat?

Ray

Cheers for that Ray

Maybe making big pots of the curries could work, but then refrigerating them at the end of the day would completely fill my already usually full fridge, and we dont have much more money to invest in another.

I think freezing them is out of the question really, some people are picky about microwaving food and I don't want that reputation.

[/quote]Hi Ray

I made your curry base on Friday and tripled the ingredients and blended it with my new hand blender  which made the process a lot easier. This time I kept the onions whole when I cooked it. The only thing is that it's a lot thinner than I'd like and I put a litre less of water than you recommended in your recipe. How can I thicken it up again, by leaving it simmering on the stove?
Also, I made a load of chicken tikka makhan using your base and spice mix and KD's recipe and it didn't turn out as creamy and tasty as i'd like. Do you have or know of a good recipe for the dish?

Cheers

Phil

Hi everyone,

My name's Phil and I'm currently in Thailand and am about to open a small indian and Thai takeaway and delivery.

At the moment I am suppyling an international restaurant with ready made Indian main course dishes and the owner of the restaurant is then freezing them, and when someone orders he defrosts it and re-heats it in the microwave. Things were going really well and he's been selling on average about 10 a day. Then, yesterday a Korean guy complained a little when he found out that it wasn't cooked fresh.
Things were going so well with freezing the curries that when I open my shop in about 2 weeks me and my wife were also going to freeze them and re-heat them in the same way because our shop is very small and it will be a lot easier for my wife, as I'm not allowed by law to work in a kitchen. And, I think they actually taste better than eating them straight away after cooking. And can make a lot of them in one or two days so we have a lot of stock ready whenever someone orders.

What do you think?

Do you think it would be better if we separate the curry base in 500 ml bags and then when someone orders we cook individual curries fresh, or is freezing them ok?

I appreciate your comments

Kind regards

Philip

Quote from: Razor on April 28, 2011, 05:56 PM
Hi Phil,

If  I was to double, triple, or quadruple the base, I would increase all the ingredients to the same ratio personally but if you wish to cut down on the turmeric, I can't see a problem as it is in there mainly for colour.

Ray

Cheers Ray,

I will let you know how it goes

Quote from: Razor on April 27, 2011, 05:03 PM
Hi Missy,

QuoteBut the end result in the main dishes was lovely so I wish to say thank you for your help.

No problem whatsoever Phil, just glad your enjoying yourself.  Hopefully, with what you have gained from this forum, will provide you with a very prosperous living.

Don't forget us when your a millionaire  ;D

Ray

Hi Ray

I'm gonna make another large batch of your base tomorrow. Do you think that if I triple or quadruple the ingredients should I put less of the spices in it? like the turmeric is really only for colour and it did look like a very bright yellow last time I made it and I only doubled up that time. Also, does it matter what tinned tomatoes I use? I have been using reasonably expensive tinned Italian tomatoes because in Thailand the only other ones they seem to sell are ones in ketchup, but much cheaper.

Cheers

Phil