I had some spare time this afternoon so I thought I'd have a play around with some new Madras recipes and methods. The result was very good, probably the best I have cooked to date, and while still not 100% there I believe it is on the right road. Some of 'the taste' was present.

To keep things simple, I had everything prepared before the pan went on.

Bowl 1

0.5 heaped tsp cumin
1.5 heaped tsp ground coriander
1 heaped tsp turmeric
2 heaped tsp hot chilli powder
1 heaped tsp garlic powder

Bowl 2

1 heaped tsp garlic / ginger paste
1 heaped tsp garlic paste
1 heaped tsp tomato puree (double concentrated)
Equal amount as above water
Mix together to form a runny paste

Other ingredients

1 portion base sauce (any APART from the CWG quick base - I used SNS)
1 chefs pinch methi leaves
1 big pinch chopped coriander
1 big squirt (sorry can't be any more precise) of lemon DRESSING

Method

Firstly I got the base sauce to a running boil in a saucepan

In the frying pan I added approx 2 tbsps Veg oil and left to heat up until smoking

To this I added the contents of bowl 2 and stood back shaking the pan a bit which encourage a lot of flames into the pan.

After about 20 seconds when the garlic was just starting to darken in colour I added a ladle of base sauce. Again this produced a lot of flames and spitting as the water based sauce hit the hot oil. I encouraged as much flambeeing as possible then left the pan still for a few minutes to reduce. Once the flames had died down I mixed in the Pot 1 spices.

I think this is a key part of the process. If you watch any of the webcams the chefs don't continually shake the pan and mix around the sauce, they just leave it to simmer hard and reduce down.

Once it was quite thick I added another ladle of base sauce, the lemon juice and methi leaves. I then left it still for another could of minutes to reduce down.

I added a third ladle of base along with a big pinch of chopped coriander and simmered slowly for a minute or 2 until it reached the desired consistency.

The result was lovely and will form the base of my lunch at work tomorrow. The taste was pretty authentic and lacked the tomatoey taste that my previous attempts have always been ruined by. The lemon dressing is a must and imparts a slight sweetness while not being too tart.

If anyone fancied giving it a go I'd love to hear your feedback. I know there is nothing revolutionary in the recipe but I think the combination of ingredients is very close to a standard BIR.

I've just read this post all the way through and although I don't want to be counter-productive, I just don't see the point. We know there is an element missing to our curries but it is the same element regardless of whether we are cooking a medium curry or a Vindaloo, or a CTM for that matter.

I don't see the point of experimenting on a 'curry' when I don't think it is anyone's favourite dish. I am far more motivated to try and acquire the missing taste through Madras cooking than I am with something I won't enjoy eating.

I understand your initial point about not making flavours with chilli powder or coconut but I really believe once one us has the Eureka moment it will be very obvious regardless of curry type.

I'm pleased to hear there is a lot of interest in this. They did say they could do it over 2 days which I guess would mean a day of base prep, marinades, bhajis, spiced oil, pastes e.t.c. then a day of curry cooking. It would be good to hear peoples thoughts on whether that sounds more appealing, or less.

If we let them know everything we want to cook they will provide me with a shopping list so we have every ingredient required.

My essentials are:

Onion Bhaji
Madras
Tikka Masala
Garlic / Plain Naan

If you are coming I'll ensure your preferences are catered for, if you can't make it then I'm sure we can try to fit in as much as possible.

Cory - they do a mean Mushroom Bhaji so you might be in luck if we have time!

Hi Jerry,

There is only one place you can go now and that is to put your hand in your pocket and pay a top chef to teach you the tricks of the trade.

I have been speaking to a local top-notch BIR about lessons and they are happy to arrange for their head chef to come to my house and teach me to cook whatever I want using my ingredients and equipment. I think this is the only thing that can now be done to get over the final hurdle. If he can get the taste like that then we know it is possible. If he fails then we know it is something do do with their equipment.

If any other members want to attend (I live in Fleet, Hampshire) then let me know and we can spread the cost. Our kitchen is very big so there would be ample room for 4 students and a master. I know of one member who is very keen for this already.

Im working weekdays in London for the next few weeks and as the Chef is off on Mondays and Tuesdays it would have to be on one of those days.

Jerry - Is it worth the train ride to get those final questions answered? The more of us that are there the more likely it will be that we don't miss anything. You would be a good person to have there if possible.

Post or PM me if you are interested and we can try and get a date that suits everyone.

There are some recipes from the series online here

http://www.channel4.com/food/recipes/chefs/gordon-ramsay/

Not my cup of tea but might appeal to some.

Very nice, and relatively easy too. Just a lot of waiting around for marinating. The next Madras I make, I think I will pre-cook cubes of chicken like this to go in.

Hi

I must admit, the curry secret got me hooked on curry cooking, although I found it unnecessarily complicated for some things. This site will take your cooking on well beyond any book you can buy.

Hi Panpot

Happy New Year to you too.

If you get a chance to really get a detailed breakdown of his bhaji cooking method it would be much appreciated. Mainly I'd be interested to know:

a) Do they marinate the onion in the spices before adding the gram flour
b) Approximately what temperature do they cook the bhajis at
c) Do they always twice cook them - once in the morning, once when ordered
d) Do they add potato to them
e) How thin are the onions sliced (wafer thin so they are almost see through, or a good few mm)

I hope the meeting goes well. Have fun!

Thanks.

Thanks guys, it was hard work but worth it in the end. Apparently it was on BBC Breakfast yesterday morning but I missed it

The local paper (Star Courier for those in the area) said they would come out today to take some photos. Our neighbours took some photos (while we were out) and sent them to the Guardian. I'll be gutted if they get in without me getting a mention.

I made good use of my time yesterday. The kids wanted an igloo so they got one. My wife thought I was mad when I'd managed to lay the first layer. Luckily I called in some reinforcements but it still took close to 7 hours to complete! (I'm on the right) We are all going for a curry tomorrow night to congratulate ourselves. Inside is big enough for 4 - 5 adults quite comfortably. We had 2 adults and 6 kids in it yesterday.