Hi Chriswg

Welcome to this excellent forum.
I have just run out of my last batch of Bhaji's and in need to make some more. Up until now , I have made Chilli Prawns[url]https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=1334.0/url]which are very good. I'm going to give yours a go, and will let you know how I get on with them.

I was looking for something different for the weekend and I'm having a crack at your Beef Stroganoff. I've not eaten it for years, let alone make it. It sounds absolutly delicious and JeeryM's photo looks great.
You also have one for the future and that is your Steak Dianne. keep on posting these fantastic recipes.

cheers Bob

Welcome Rob290482

1inch cube roughly equates to one teaspoon of chopped fresh Ginger. Not sure about powdered Ginger, as never used it, other than for making Ginger biscuits.
I'm sure someone will be able to help you, as they are a very friendly and helpful bunch on here. once again welcome and enjoy.

Bob

I have always cooked my rice by the absorption method ever since I obtained a Pat Chapman curry book. I have followed his method of using 300g of rice to 600ml of water. I only use use 5 spices as they are the only ones I have tasted in a BIR Pilau Rice, These are  2 Brown Cardomen, 4 Green Cardomen, 2 inch piece of Casia Bark,2 Asian Bay leaves and 4 Cloves. These are then fried in 1 tablespoon of Ghee (butter ghee not vegetable ghee, very bad for you, full of trans fats) until they release their aromas.Then fry the rice for 1 minute which has been soaked and rinsed and then drained so there is very little moisture left on the rice. My particular brand recommends two hours and when rinsed there is very little starch coming off the rice. To this add your boiling water( 600ml)and return to the boil. Once water is boiling turn the heat down to half and leave covered for 3 minutes. Turn off heat and leave for a further three minute or till all the water has been absorbed. Spread out thinly on a baking tray, this is imperative as this lets the steam to escape, thus preventing over cooking and place in a cool oven 80 degrees C for 30 mins, turning over every ten minutes so all the rice dries out. I do this with my fingers, being carefull not to break the grains. The colour is achieved by placing a teaspoon of rice in a small pot with the food colouring. I use dry food colouring as I find i achieve better results. A pot each for the three colours,. yellow,red and green.these pots are placed in the oven with the rest of the rice and allowed to dry. Once dried the three colours are mixed with the rice.
Very similar to CA's but with different measurements and spicing. Will give CA's a go because of the larger quantities, as I use a lot of rice.

JerryM
Yes that is the link to Admins Madras.

emin-j

Yes the spun steele woks, they get very hot and hold their heat reasonably well. As JerryM pointed out, I put my garlic/ginger in the oil and cook  as the oil heats up. You know full well that Garlic can go from being just golden, to burnt in a blink of an eye.

I go along with Jerry on this. I've kept my base in a fridge for a week and it's been alright. The rest of the base is frozen in individual portions. As for the taste I have not noticed any discernible difference. Will test at some stage, a base that has been frozen, against freshly made and one that has been kept in a fridge for a week.

One thing I haven't mentioned, was that the base was not as thin as others I have tried.I simmered this base for well over two hours to get the oil to rise and kept thinning with water, but did not go too mad as I did not want to dilute the taste.
This got me thinking, perhaps the taste comes from the length of time the base is simmered. In BIR's the base is simmering all day and probably the next day as well. Any thoughts?.

Hi JerryM

As discussed before, there are two versions of Madras, one red and the other a slightly darker red/brown colour. Admins contains no tomato puree/paste so that could explain the darker colour. There is also a teaspoon of Pataks Balti Paste in the final Madras, this also could be another reason for the darker colour. The base obviously did contain  tomato, as all bases do in some amount.

One other observation, was that after reheating it, the taste did not seem so pronounced, but that could be that the taste buds had lost all senses, as had tried all three curries throughout the day.It was seriously good straight after cooking and the nearest I have been to recreating the curries of the 80's.
Where the photos are taken in the kitchen there is not enough natural light and the flash bounces of them, so don't do the curries real justice. Will have to take pictures somewhere else in the kitchen and take pictures you can almost smell and taste. ;D

Next I will make a Jalfrezi with this base and see if the results are similar.

Bob

I made this base today, but omitted the Kashmiri Murch and used only half a teaspoon of mild chili powder.
The reason I chose to make these adjustments, is to see if the base would work for the milder curries, like CTM, Korma and Pasanda's.  As yet to make these, but will post results when tried and tested.