Here's how my chef cooks his chicken tikka pathia in my local takeaway.I've watched him cook it countless times over the past few weeks on my visits,and I've been able to cook it in the takeaway kitchen while the chef watches as well.It's my favourite curry to cook at home,and I think it's the easiest BIR curry to replicate at home.

Obviously there are regional differences on how a pathia is made.I've seen some recipes that call for a specific pathia sauce to be added.Some of these have pineapple juice,some tamarind and some even coconut,but my chef(and I'm guessing most places round here are the same) keeps it quite simple.It's nothing more than your standard curry with some chilli,lemon and white sugar.

If you have a decent gravy and mix powder you should be able to produce a good BIR pathia.However,after watching the chef in action recently I've been able to study his cooking up close,technique is very important.Rarely does he stir the pan(sometimes he has about four pans on the go at once and just leaves them).He leaves the pan bubbling away on a high heat for about four or five minutes ocasionally scraping the sides,then putting his spoon in the middle of the pan and then shaking the pan backwards and forwards.

In the kitchen and at home a chef spoon is used.To save any confusion I've listed the ingredients in tablespoons instead.

Ingredients
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1 portion pre cooked chicken tikka
3 tablespoons mixed veg oil/melted ghee
1 tablespoon mix powder
1 heaped teaspoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 tablespoon blended plum tomatoes
1 and half tablespoon white sugar
pinch salt
pinch methi leaves
3 tablespoons service onions
lemon dressing
2 ladles of gravy
1 piece tomato and 1 piece of green pepper.

First,in a pan put in the oil/ghee and heat.Add the garlic and brown(do not burn) and then lift the pan and add the service onions.Stir the pan for about 10 seconds,lift the pan off again and add the blended tomatoes,chilli powder,mix powder,sugar,salt and methi leaves.Stir around for about 20 seconds then add the first ladle of gravy.The pan should sizzle like crazy if it's hot enough.Put the chicken in and add the lemon dressing and cook on a high heat for about a minute.Scrape the sides back into the pan and add add another ladle of gravy.Add the tomato and pepper and contnue cooking for another 4 minutes or so.

The amount of methi and salt the chef uses is minimal,just the smallest dip of his chef's spoon.He tastes most dishes that he cooks and sometimes adds a tad more from time to time.The service onions are nothing more than finely chopped white onions with a tiny amount of red and green pepper.

Here's my latest one I cooked....

Quote from: Phil [Chaa006] on January 19, 2016, 07:44 PM
Ah, pleased to have it confirmed that my custom of adding Patak's lime pickle to home-made Indian mint sauce is well-founded ...

** Phil.

I remember another member years ago(Ghanna?) reported the use of Kashmiri massla paste in their local takeaway's mint sauce.This was definitely lime pickle though.I must admit I'm not actually that keen on mint sauce,but this one actually is very nice.

Quote from: Madrasandy on January 19, 2016, 08:28 PM
I much prefer blended toms to tom puree in a curry

That's something I picked up on in my local takeaway.The chef always uses blended plum tomatoes in the initial stages when cooking.I've always used thinned down tomato puree,not saying that's wrong but my chef definitely uses plum tomatoes.

Almost forgot,inbetween visiting the takeaway I made some chicken tikka using the marinade the chef kindly gave me...



Very nice indeed,an improvement on my current tikka,which I thought was good enough already.The additional/unusual ingredients certainly give it a special something.

Here's how my local takeaway chef makes his mint sauce.It's a full sized recipe,I'm guessing it would be quite easy to scale down.

First,in a standard glass jug blender he put in a big handful of fresh corriander(he chopped about an inch off from the stalks).Then he added three green chillis,the zest of one lime,five garlic cloves,1 green pepper and two tablespoons of Patak's lime pickle.This he blended until it was smooth.Then he added five cups of yoghurt,2 cups of full fat milk,one chefs spoon of Coleman's mint sauce,two chef spoon of sugar.Have to say quite delicious,here's what a tub looks like when you order a takeaway....

No,definately no water added in this,the only liquid being the blended plum tomatoes.Whereas the pre cooked chicken is left floating in a mixture of oil,water and tomatoes this ends up drier.There's no need for a lot of water to cook the potatoes as most of the cooking is done in the oven.

My apologies,my scribbled notes and general curry overload!! The chef did fill a main foil container twice with water and added it to the mixture.

I saw my takeaway chef prepare his potatoes for his evening's service.First,in a big pan he put in some mixed veg oil and ghee,about half an inch deep into the pan.Then he added a heaped chef spoon of blended ginger and garlic paste,quickly followed by a handful of cumin seeds.Then went half a chef spoon of both cumin powder and turmeric followed by some salt.About two chef spoons of blended plum tomatoes followed by the potatoes and tiny bit of yellow colouring.This was cooked and for about ten minutes.He then put the lid on and then(which is something I've not seen before)he put the pan in the oven for about forty minutes to finish the cooking of.Here's the result.The oil and tomatoes had settled in the bottom of the pan,after they were cooled and stirred he put them into a large container underneath.

I managed to catch my local takeaway chef do some pre cooked chicken on Sunday night.Quite simple,and quite similar to other recipes here on the site.

First,in a big pan went some mixed veg oil and ghee.There was quite a lot of oil,I guess about an inch deep in the bottom of the pan.Then in went about one and a half heaped chef spoons of blended ginger and garlic paste and some salt,follwoed by some cumin seeds.Then he reached into his mixed spice jar,and added a few whole spices(about five bay leaves,a couple of star anise,some green cardomons and a couple of cinamon sticks.)



Then he added a chef spoon of mix powder and two chef spoons of blended plum tomatoes.



bubbling away for about half an hour until the chicken is cooked.



The finished article



He then tipped it into a plastic container underneath the counter.The chicken sat in a lot of liquid,I guess it stops the chicken drying out,from time to time he also added a little bit of this liquid to some of the dishes he was cooking,I guess another little trick up his sleeve.

Well I spent the last three nights in the takeaway kitchen.Last night(Sunday) was pretty busy but Friday and Saturday were absolutely manic.As ever the chefs kept their cool,I must have seen them cook over a hundred dishes at least.Fascinating to watch,they were still able to answer my questions and I also managed to watch and record a couple of their precook methods which I'll post in the approriate sections.

They've asked if I can come in both Friday and Saturday nights now,I'm going to help in the kitchen and do some deliveries when it's ultra busy.In return they're willing to show me the ropes and share their knowledge..As the chef pointed out,that's where he started,no formal training,just helping out in a kitchen and watching and learning.Can't be bad,who knows I may make a curry chef yet!

I took in a sample of my massala paste for the chef to try and compare.He was quite impressed,although he thought mine had a bit too much coconut.He's promised to show me how his is done.To be honest though,I'm more than happy with my massala,it's the recipe I was shown in the other takeaway and actually think my massala paste has a lot more flavour than his.