Have to say the Lamb Pasanda with the hint of wine was extreamly tasty and would love to have it again, but the chef has now changed and it was about four years ago.

I've just made a batch of Garlic/Ginger paste and frozen it in an Ice cube tray. If it's the air stopping the spores growing, is frozen any good?.Once thawed would it be alright or do you just put it in  the pan frozen?.
Thanks in advance.

JerryM

Here are a couple of photos of the rice.

On the left is the Dawn aged Basmati and on the right Sainsbury's own brand. As you pointed out, the better rice seems to be darker in colour. Whether some producers bleach their rice, believing that's what the consumer wants, I don't know, but what I do know the darker rice being aged tastes so much better.


the rice on its own is the Dawn variety. Hope this is what you were after Jerry.

Hi Kris

Your comment on the wine in a Pasanda is an interesting one. The only time I have seen it mentioned in any Indian recipe book, both were written by Pat Chapman. One was one of his titles, The Curry Bible and the other was a Sainsbury Indian cookbook. As said previously, I have tasted a Pasanda with the distinct taste of wine only once.

JerryM

Having only made the Pasanda once, I have not compared the difference between Corriander Leaf and Mint. When making the next one I will try it Kris's way again and a version with my changes to see if they work, and compare favourably with KD's, or that I'm way off the mark with my changes.

HiJerryM

I found Basmati rice a long time ago, but until now only used supermarkets own brand.
Whilst reading through a thread on rice, someone mentioned trying aged Basmati rice
when I last went to London i picked up an aged Basmati and gave it a go.
As said earlier, the taste is quiet different to cheap own brands. On my next visit to my parents I will pick up some more, but of a different brand, perhaps a little more expensive to what I paid last time, which was incidentally ?8.85 for 5Kg.

Here is a picture of the rice I'm using at the moment

I have a 5 Kilo bag of aged Basmati rice. The bag is a cloth type, with a zip to close it and a plastic bag inside containing the rice. The name on the bag is Dawn and produced in Pakistan.
This is the first time i have used aged Basmati rice and you can really taste the difference. I cook by the absorption method and let it dry in the   oven, on thelowest setting and have perfect results every time.

976bar
That looks really tasty. I will be trying this, this weekend but will be putting the Tikas on skewers and cooking over coals.

JerryM

That was my first attempt at a Passanda. As said previously, I often have this dish when I fancy something without heat. It is  a mild creamy dish similar to a Korma, but does taste completely different. In the traditional Passanda the lamb is marinated in red wine. Only once in a BIR have I had it, where you could taste that it had been marinated in wine.

Back to Kris's Lamb Passanda, my next attempt I intend to use the SnS2008 Base but with reduced chili powder in the base. I also intend to use condensed milk instead of cream, as this will make it a little sweeter, and hopefully nearer to what I'm used to. One other thing i will do, is to first reduce the amount Garam Masala and then omit it completely. Once finished I will be able to compare the two side by side.
If all goes well and I achieve that BIR taste, I will post the final recipe with photos, if not it's back to further tries. Not good for the wasteline. 

That's an interesting point. Haven't used branded yet only ever Pat Chapmans  and now Kris Dhillons. Before I got into serious curry making I used Shwartz. When my parents visit me in June, I will get them to bring some over, possibly TRS, MDH and Raja  . Have you tried any of these brands?