Quote from: solarsplace on March 05, 2011, 10:50 AM
Is the base as thick as it appears in the picture, or perhaps it is just throthed up a bit after the blend?

;D
Pics were too big to get everthing in the one post.  Still in the learning stages.  The appearance was caused by my using a jug blender rather than a stick blender. The gravy was of thin soup consistency with a total volume of just under 3ltrs

Proceeded to cook the base until the oil rose to the top, another 20 mins or so and as already mentioned by some, what  a lot of oil
I left the base to mature for a day before making the madras.  Couldn't resist the temptation to taste it as i was curious to see if it tasted sickly sweet but this wasn't the case.  It tasted just like many other bases -  a thin soup with a subtle curry flavour.  So far so good
Then prepared the ingredients for the madras following Ray's suggestion of scaling down the mix powder and tom puree.  I had no pre cooked chicken so cooked the meat after the initial reduction with the final quantity of base and coriander.
The end result - BIR looking curry with correct texture.  I tasted it and agree that it's a damn tasty curry.  How close it is to a BIR madras, as always, depends on the individual's expectation and what they are used to from their own local BIR or TA.
Not being a madras eater (at least vindaloo, preferably TASTY phall), i cannot comment without having a BIR madras alongside mine to compare, although i will probably just find a guinea pig to try it out on.
I agree with one comment that the base has got "mess with me" written all over it and i will certainly be doing that.  Plan for this afternoon using the base is UB's garlic chili chicken (tikka) and the madras again but this time with a ramp up of chili powder and some fresh thrown in with Dips mushroom pilau and maybe brinjal bahji.

I enjoyed reading this thread and all the contributions from members.  The general concensus seemed to be that it produced a damn good curry and for some exactly what they had been looking for.
So i decided to give it a go.  Made Taz's base exactly to spec.  The only exception being the substitution of bottled ginger/garlic and ground spices.  If the results turn out good i will then go to the trouble of doing my own garlic/ginger puree (which i really should do anyway) and use the whole spices.  I wasn't overly concerned about the oil content as i remember making a base in the early days which relied on as much oil as the Taz base.  Anyway, here's the pics from start to finish

WOW.    First time I've used this recipe.  Have used many others in the past but this one in IMHO the best i have come across.  Followed the recipe exactly with  the exception of the paste.  I had Pataks balti paste in the cupboard.  And i substituted red for orange food colouring which i prefer.  I believe somewhere in the post somebody substituted this as it too contain the essential tamarind.
Normally i can take or leave tikka but the end result was juicy moist chunks of melt in the mouth succulent subtly tikka flavoured chicken .  No hint of tartness that can be experienced with many recipes.  I think a lot of my curries will now have tikka chicken in stead of plain chicken as it is so delicious. ;D

Sterling effort Moonster.   I would love to blind taste that lot. May just have to have a go myself at this.  Looking forward to the results coming in and the comments from all.

And i though political correctness was confined to Westminster and local town halls.  How wrong i was.  As for people being struck off, if this forum carries on behaving in this way, there will nobody left to strike off.  They will have all left and gone over to the dark side, having been sickened to death by the petty bickering that seems to pervade many threads which end up going off topic and result in a squabble.  We are all here because of one thing - our love and desire to cook BIR food.  Can we just focus on that, or is that not what this site is about?
i have actually frequented this site for just over two years now, and can say that it is probably as good an authority on BIR cooking as you can get(short of having several restaurant chefs contributing regularly to steer us in the right direction).  However, it does nothing for the site's reputation to see such bickering and infighting, especially when viewed by new members.  There is nothing worse than seeing something good hit the self destruct button and then watching it begin to tear itself apart. Lets all focus on the reasons why we are all here.
Now I've got that off my chest, can we please get back on topic?

Quote from: Razor on February 20, 2011, 05:38 PM
Hi Phil,

If it helps, I usually fry two at a time by sliding them into the oil in a wide frying pan, holding them under with a metal fish slice on the middle of the top pop.  They usually curl around the fish slice then instantly flattern out.



Ray

Exactly how i do it Ray but i use two fish/egg slices so i can easily control the little blighters once they start to curl.  Currently i have the ordinary Rajah madras popps measuring 6" in diameter (thickness varies from one to another).  I have only ever come across 8" ones that contain chili seeds or are flavoured with garlic etc.  Normally, wouldn't these would be served as a masalla poppadum and cooked in the tandoor (which i really detest as they seem to stick to the teeth)?  I have never tried deep frying them.  Can you imagine how big they would become
All i can say is that i have been using this method ever since i started attempting to cook BIR and there's no difference between what i put on the table and what is served by any of the restaurants or takeaways i use.  I wish i could master cooking the dishes as easily as i have mastered the poppadum cooking Thanks for the heads up on the TRS tasting  better.  Only 3 packs of Rajah to get through, then TRS it is. ;D

Not sure how my local BIR does theirs Phil but one obvious advantage i see is that it takes less time to fry more poppadums :.  The more subtle advantage IMO is that the poppadum on the top creates some resistance and forces the one below to expand outwards rather than wrinkle and cook in a nonuniform shape while expanding, if you know what i mean ;D ;D.  Tried doing one at a time and soon reverted back to two at once method.  Seemed to give much more control over the cooking process.

My method is to heat the oil, testing the temperature with small pieces of poppadum.  When the piece expands almost as soon as it hits the oil, then is the time i start frying them.
I use a standard frying pan that you'd do your full English in, about 25 to 30cm diameter,  measured across the top. Fill it 3/4 full of oil and heat till it reaches the right temperature as described above.
Then with two egg slices very close by i slide two poppadums into the oil.  I then grab the egg slices and use the flat surfaces to submerge the poppadums. Almost immediately i remove them and turn them over and submerge them again then lift them out, prop them up vertically to drain on a plate lined with kitchen roll. The whole process is very very quick. i don't adjust the temp since you will cook a dozen of these very quickly and the temp will remain stable because of the constant introduction of poppadums into the frying pan.   Rule of thumb though is once they stop swelling they're cooked.  A second or two of over cooking is no harm but any more can impair the flavour.  I reuse the oil several times for poppadum or onion bahji frying until there is a discernable colour change.
Using this method i  manage to produce poppadums that look and taste no different to those servered in any BIR.

Hope this helps.

I have now posted the recipe i use for main ingredient and vegetable  preparation in the supplementary recipe section of the forum for those who are interested