hi guys/gls

it wasnot what i thought it was going to be :-[. this is his perfect butter chicken dish  which he saw and tasted in delhi. it started off okay they went (him and his family) to their local bir and have ctm right then he is in delhi india walking the spice markets thn he went to two restaurants both did a butter chicken completely differently one was saucier than the other so he then returned to england after seeing who they cooked chicken tikka (thighs not breast) in a tandoor and laser measuring the temperature inside the tandoor from about 10 feet away at 380 degrees C . then you see him digging a bloody great hole in his pubs carpark and the lining it with heat proof bricks forming a 5 foot tandoor he then proced to fill bottom of whole with charcoals lighting them and the cooking chicken thighs in about five minutes flat. all in all i was not impressed by this and was completely horrified when he had completed his butter chicken (authentic) he chopped some green chillies put them on top of the finished dish and no coriander but toasted melon seeds and that was his perfect chicken tikka masala

sorry peeps what a let down again when will the television channels gives us what we want a real indian bir programme!!!!!!!!!!!!!

this part should be under the best dish heading as tonight i watched this guy from wales called hugh...of course. cooked an lamb and leek curry (i think he was trying to cook it bir style he cooked his onions leeks tomatoes in a big pan with water then added the lamb to ccok once cooked he removed it from the veg then blended it . he then added the lamb, sauce spices to a frying pan to cook again but did not heat the spices correctly so they judges got amouth full of flavourles lamb no visible leeks and raw spices . it did make me grin. especially as he had the cooker for it.

anyway needless to say he lost

regards a dissapointed and embarrassed
gary

hi guys/gls

heston is back with a new series tonight its on bbc2 at 8.30 for those who want to cook the perfect CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA.......then you must not miss this. if any of you ever caught his first series where he cooked the perfect fish and chips/sausage/chicken etc he has the only pub in the country to hold a michelin star. he is truly a perfectionist and has been known as a gastranomic scientist.

i can't wait but i have asked my sister to copy it on to dvd for me so i maybe able to post it or burn you a copy. will see how it comes out !

regards
gary

hi richard
yes i would say it was probably on medium.
2 nights ago i set up my camping stove which i have been apprehensive about using to cook my curries so i have just looked at it in the case it comes in . more worried about the setting up ie putting the gas cylinder correctly so as not to set fire to the kitchen. but as have said wednesday night i used it and oh my god how quick and easy was it to make my best tasting curry yet and the closet tasting to Rajver my locals. i was astounded and all for the price of set meal for one at Rajver which is ?11.95. the camping stove i got from wilkinsons with 3 butane gas cylinders so ?9.99 plus 3  gas  for ?2.97 99p each. and i will now use it all the time and the controlability compared to the electric hob.
everyone go get your self one now if you don't have one or gas cooker.the energy is only 2kw 1/5 of the restaurants but worth every penny

the coconut milk does not over power the base. it just gives it a hint if you didnot know the ingredients you would not really know it was in there iukwim. will be making another vindaloo tonight Rajver style.
take care

and kind regards
gary

hi guys/gls
update on the north region final of this competition chicken tikka masala beat fish pie in tonights final and goes through to the national final in two weeks. kep watching one of the judges said when tasting it all that is missing is a pint
as i have said before the recipes are available on line at itv.com/bestdish

regards
gary

hi rwr it didnot matter that the heat was only on medium because the pan and oil were hot. he turned the extractor on so he did not choke from the fumes (toffee smell) can be overpowering. because the base was runny it could be left to bubble.without fear of any burning taking place.plus the flame heats the pan differently because of the size of the flame "licks" the outside of the pan.
regards
gary

hi guys /gls
on tonights show it featured chicken tikka masala and even though it was a home cooked version it beat the cajun chicken tower with a resounding 3 judges loving the dish. the chicken was not cooked then added to the sauce, once the onion g&g chilli powder and cummin seeds and 4tbsp of tomato puree had been cooked for a couple of minutes the chicken with marinade was added to the pan cooked for 10-15 mins add the double cream garnish with coriander. watch friday nights show at 5pm on itv for the results to see if it goes through or you can watch it online and get the recipe at itv.com/bestdish

regards gary

hi
what i meant about the toffee smell is that in order to release the oils in the spices the pan/oil must be hot so in goes the garlic when it floats remove the pan from the heat to add the tomato paste chilli salt and curry powder return to heat stir well keep stirring until you smell toffee like aroma remove pan from heat then add a ladle of base sauce and mix well when bubbling add 2 more ladles and then the fenugreek stir well........etc add chicken heat for couple of mins add potato alittle more sauce coriander 2 more mins garnish and cover and let it settle for 5 mins , then go outside to clear you nose.


regarding his own mix of curry powder this it was not i double checked .so it would be handy to get the brand he used.

made a base with 6 onions 1 pepper 1small carrot palmful of coriander 1 tomato deskinned and chopped 1 heaped dsp tomato puree 250ml oil 1 1/2 ltr hot water 1tbsp salt. 2 dsp rajah madras curry powder 1 dsp turmeric 2/3 tin coconut milk.

boil onions salt pepper carrot coriander tomato and puree oil and water for 1/2 hour add the curry powder and turmeric stir well simmmer for 45 mins then add the coconut milk simmer for 20 mins  blend then add water until thinnish soup consistency simmer for 45 mins with the lid on hopefully the oil will rise up do not worry if not . th eoil will rise when cooking the final dish. made vindaloo as above yummy.

regards
gary

hi sorry no he didnot but the curries i have made being very close to the vindaloos i have been getting lately and they seem to be meaty tasting i think it is the curry powder . i am going to try it with the coconut milk it got today.... tomorrow so will let you know it went



regards
gary

hi guys/girls
just lately when i have run out of base sauce i have been walking my dogs across the fields to my local to get a vindaloo sauce ( having already precooked the chicken). the other night i thought i would ask to see the sauce cooked(as there has been a new chef for a while now). Amin went through to the kitchen to ask if chef minded having an audience....me ;D he reappeared to say go on through. the chef was alot younger than me (36) and his name was the same as the last chef Miah.i shok his hand and then he proceeded to show me how he cooks it.
first he reached up to a shelf above the cooker to the stacks ot frying pans and put it on the gas ring to heat up about 40 seconds then added 2 tbsps of veg oil from an old ghee pot on the back of the cooker. he then reached into a pot and sprinkled chopped garlic 2 chefs pinches into the pan after about 30 seconds he stirred it and removed from the heat to add the other ingredients 1tbsp tomato paste (from a large tin and mixed with water ketchup consistency) 1tbsp chilli powder 1tsp salt 1 heaped tsp curry powder (bought in prepacked did not get the brand-but any good curry powder will do,rajah mild ) he then put the pan back on the heat turned up to full power then added 1/4 large ladle of runny base sauce(200ml ladle ) to the pan mixed well the he turned the extractor on ( i guess he smelt toffee :) then added 2 more ladles of base and then 1 chefs pinch of methi and shortly followed by chefs pinch of fresh coriander (cilantro) stirred in an then left to bubble away for about 5 minutes stirring occassionally.then he turned to me and said there it's done. he poured it into the foil container lid on.

as usual it tasted fab

i did ask how he makes his base sauce he said fill the pot to the top with onions 15 ltr pot cook for 1 1/2 hours with salt water and veg oil add green peppers fresh tomatoes ( i assume they slice the skin off and use this for the onion salad as well, waste nothing) curry powder, turmeric and .........coconut milk! cook for another 1 1/2 hours and then blend i guess. the gravy looks like most i have seen in colour and is quite runny. i have heard somewhere that the runnier the sauce the better it will be but have yet to try it out. i did make a sauce the other night had no fresh tomatoes i could use so had to use tom puree ( did not have 15 litre pot or the onions to fill one so used 5 large onions  chopped finely 1 heaped dsp tom puree,2 large garlic cloves, 1 green pepper, 3 green chillies ,1 carrot chopped, 3/4 tbsp salt 250ml veg oil a palmful fresh coriander and hot water 1 ltr , 2dsp rajah madras curry powder 1tbsp turmeric. cooked onions and garlic and salt with 2tbsp veg oil 5tbsp water with lid on for about 50 mins then added chillies, pepper,carrot,coriander,tomato puree and the rest of the water and oil mix well and fast simmer for 30 mins just until the carrots are cooked then add the curry powder and turmeric stir in well ( because i didnot have any coconut milk i put in 1 tbsp of creamed coconut) and simmer for 20 mins. take off the heat and blend. i added a littlie more hot water to make slightly runnier soup consistency. used to make chicken vindaloo very nice i just don't have the heat to make the most of this.

hope you guys/gls enjoy the read and my 3rd visit into the kitchen

regards
gary

hi robothrobo
here in the uk CTM is the best seller it even tops the old favourite fish and chips as most popular takeaway dish. personally vindaloo all the way and hotter my wife won't eat anything less in heat. altough i will cook a chilli masala when she is having something else. i have two daughters 8 and 4 and they love my chicken tikka. mind you so does anyone else who tries it, normally first to go when i do it for a bbq  ;D have you looked at the bruce edwards curryhouse cookery postings good results and it gives you something other than recipes. but i tend to use the recipe for the base sauce that my local restaurant chef( at Rajver recipe posted and reposted) gave me when using these recipes and i can honestly say it has been a long time since i made a poor curry that didn't get eaten

regards
gary