Thanks SS,

The second attempt was a big improvement no doubt about it and tasted good and close to my local Madras.  Of course there is still room for improvement and im sure if I actually put a takeaway Madras next to the one I cooked there may be more difference than I thought.  I think I may of gone from 70-80% to around the 80-90% margin.

Next step is to make up a new base, the SnS June 08 then try the same madras to compare bases.  Following that I am keen to try various other recipes and carry out the true test as mentioned above putting a real BIR curry against mine and taste testing!

Del

Right guys,

I had another crack at it on Sat night and this time a big improvement!!

The curry was gorgeous and tasted pretty close to a BIR Madras to me!  Again I was using the Saffron base with the Madras recipe in SnS June 2008 base.

The differences this time were;

3 tbsp of oil rather than two last time
Ginger puree brought off the shelf in a jar
Much better technique

The extra tbsp of oil I think helped to bring out the flavours in the spices and allow them develop, they definitely had much more presence in the final dish this time!  This could of also of been helped by better timing when frying the spices (thanks for the links Jerry!).  I waited until the smell of the spices became intense, about 15-20 secs then turned the heat up on full immediately adding about 100ml of base closely followed by about 50ml of water, at this point the curry was still sizzling so there was plenty of heat in there!  Then continued to add the base bit by bit and cooked for about 15 mins in total topping up with water when it started to dry up!  I also made a batch of CA's pilau rice which was gorgeous by the way! ;D

I should also point out that I still couldnt find any Kashmiri Mirch, I went to several few Indian groceries with no joy!  So I used paprika instead.

So I am really happy with the result this time!  A definite step in the right direction!

Here are a few pics;

Madras bubbling away nicely after all the base and meat had been added


15 mins later and reduced to my requirement


Final curry with the pilau rice, not a very good pic and presentation isnt great but I didnt care at that point, I just wanted to eat it  ;D


Thanks again to everyone for all your tips and advice!

Del

Sorry to jump the thread but I was just wondering where people that use 'off the shelf' ginger paste from?  Do Tesco sell it?  Obviously tomato puree and garlic are easy to get hold of but im struggling to find ginger?

Cheers

Del

Well guys,

I had a go at the SNS June 2008 Madras using the older SnS base from the Saffron

Now with the KD 'Curry Secret' recipes you are not required to fry any of the spices in the currys I had made, they are added after the base sauce.  So frying the spices was new to me!  This resulted in the first one being chucked away as I badly burned the spices :  I have a 4Kw wok burner on my hob and I think I gave it far to much from the start when frying off the garlic / tomato / ginger pastes, then when I added the spices there was far to much heat in there and after about 20 secs the whole pan was dark brown colour and didnt smell to good!

So, second attempt I heated the veg oil then turned the heat right down removed the pan from the heat to add the pastes, then put back on on a low heat to cook them through!  This time when adding the spices they didnt burn  ;D.  Im not to sure I know what is meant by this toffee smell?  I mean I cooked the spices then after about 30 seconds or so I could smell them for sure, but not what I would call a toffee smell, infact I dont really know what toffee smells like if im being honest  :-[

So on I went with the rest of the recipe which went rather well.  As mentioned earlier though, my original base ended up quite thick i.e. not enough water added.  So I was hoping to make up for this during the Madras stage, and I did end up adding probably about 200ml of water during the process (I was cooking for two portions with about 500ml of base sauce) although it soon boiled off as when I was cooking with the base sauce in I was cooking on high heat!

So anywway, the results!

Superb curry!  Closer to a BIR than any of the KD recipes, however it wasnt quite there, I would say about 70-80%.  I put this mainly down to my technique and this being the first one I have made this way.  Although what I did find was that I had one or two mouth fulls when I thought, mmmm actually thats pretty close!  So I am going to try another one this weekend with the same base and just practice my technique a bit and see if it gets any better.

I also plan to make up a batch of the 'SnS June 2008' Base to so I can see how that compares with the same recipie to the Saffron base!

I should mention that I cooked the chicken my usual way.  Two breasts chopped into 5 pieces each.  2-3 Tbsp veg oil, 1 Tbsp of base and .25 tsp tumeric cooked in a sauce pan on a medium heat for 4-5 mins stirring constantly, then add chicken mix well, pop lid on and fry/steam for about 8 mins stirring occasionally!

So are the pics;

Just after the heat was switched off before stiring the corriander in and serving.  You cant see in the pic very well, but the oil had seperated and had risen to the top during the making, maybe the flash is reflecting of the oil!  It is probably a bit too thick in viscosity too!


Finished curry!  Sorry for the crap pic, the steam was getting in the way 
Once served though I did notice more oil had risen to the top of the curry and it did look much better than it does in the pic!


So all in all, a step in the right direction for me, I cant wait to have another go and try the new base out in comparison!

Cheers guys for all you help and advice!

Del

I will definitely try the new verion next!

As for making the Madras with the old base, you dont seem so sure it will work "Should be okay .. ish. " Why are you not convinced?  Will the spices not balance well with the amount already in the base?

Cheers,

Del

Thank you all for your comments and advice!

@ SnS, I have just realised I have been following this earlier version of your recipe rather than your newer adapted version here!  Hence no coriander! Doh  :

Im sure it will turn out great once it goes into the final curry.  I plan on going with the Madras on the first page of the later link (SnS's Base Gravy June 2008), I presume it should still work with the older version of the base?

Cheers

Del

Right guys,

I tried out the SNS Saffron base and thought I would report back!

I halved all the ingredients as I wasn't sure my 5L pot would accommodate the full recipe and it was my first go so it made sense to make less in case I messed it up!

Anyway, I gathered all the ingredients together;



Then chucked them in the pot;



This is how it looked just after the, tomato's and spices added after the blending stage;



This is how it was looking during the heavy simmering stage, notice all the froth building up on top;



Even after 30 mins though, I only got a bit of oil coming to the top, so I let it boil for another 10 mins and noticed no additional oil rise to the top  .  Somehow the base ended up thicker than it should of, it certainly wasn't like a runny soup and maybe it was for this reason the oil had not separated like it should have.  But here is what I ended up with;





Tasting it, it certainly tasted better than the KD base does when cooked!  I left it in the fridge for a day and have now frozen it.  I plan to cook up a Madras this Thursday night so I will report back once tested!

Quote from: SnS on November 07, 2008, 10:56 AM

Quote from: dellydel on November 06, 2008, 05:13 PM
Hi SNS,

Thanks for the welcome!

What dish would you recommend trying first to accompany your 'Saffron' Base then buddy?

Really cant wait to try it out  ;D

Cheers

Del

Hi Del

As a start, the SnS base has a Madras recipe to go with it. I believe this to be an easy curry to start with and recommend you try this first.

https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=2757.0

There are a few other curry recipes mentioned here in this thread that would be okay with the base - Admins Jalfrezi being a good choice.

Regards
SnS

Thanks for the suggestion SNS, I will probably try the Madras you mention first, however I have a couple of questions;

When you state 'garlic paste' and 'ginger paste' - are these made in a blender with water or are these in an 'off-the-shelf' tube form?

'tomato paste' - again, is this just tubed tomato puree?

'1 tsp chilli' - I have a pot of Rajah Chilli powder is this ok?

0.5 tsp kashmiri mirch - is this just another type of chilli powder, as shown here, is this a crucial ingredient? can I use Rajah Madras curry powder instead?

some dried methi - how much is this a pinch?

Sorry for all the questions 

And any comments welcome guys!

Cheers,

Del

Hi SNS,

Thanks for the welcome!

What dish would you recommend trying first to accompany your 'Saffron' Base then buddy?

Really cant wait to try it out  ;D

Cheers

Del

Thanks for your reply Jerry,  I will read through that post when I get a bit of spare time, im sure there will be a lot of interesting points there, thanks!

So to answer my other question regarding which base & which dish to try first, any have any suggestions?

There are so many which sound so good......

Base - Admin new base / Bruce Edwards / Darths / SNS saffron new base
(leaning towards SNS Saffron)

Dish - Curry King Bhuna (with chicken instead) / Stew's Madras / Rajver madras /    
CA's Chicken Phal, Vindaloo, Madras and Curry / Bruce Edward's Madras Recipe (from Lorrydo)
(Probably try the Bruce Edwards one)

Which of combination of these is likely to work best and get closest to BIR quality?

Cheers guys, really appreciate your advice and comments!

Del

Arr I see!

Well if no one has actually stood in a kitchen from start to finish and then tasted the final dish, then I see your point!

Thanks for your reply bud.

Cheers

Del