Curry Recipes Online
British Indian Restaurant Recipes - Main Dishes => British Indian Restaurant Recipes - Main Dishes => Madras => Topic started by: Madrasandy on March 08, 2014, 08:55 AM
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After weeks of trials and tribulations I have finally cracked it. I made my Madras last night and it was absolutely perfect, heat,flavour,moreishness,texture,consistency, everything was there, please give it a go.
Note: all spoon measures are level
THE ULTIMATE MADRAS (FINAL EDITION)
1 - Star Anise
2 Tb - Onion (finely chopped)
2 - Thin green chilli
3/4 ts - Hot Chilli Powder
3/4 ts - Deggi Mirch
3/4 ts - Kashmiri Chilli Powder
1 ts - Mix Powder
1 ts - Fenugreek Leaves (rubbed between fingers)
1 ts - Cumin Powder
3 ts - Lemon Dressing
3 - Garlic cloves
1 - Ginger (size of 1 clove garlic)
3 Tb - Tinned Toms
1 Tb - Coriander Stalks (finely chopped)
1/4 ts - Salt
4 - drops of worcester sauce
1/2 -1 ts - Sugar
6 Tb - Reclaimed oil
350ml - Base sauce
Fresh coriander leaf
Finely chop onions and green chilli and blend with a little water
Finely chop ginger garlic and blend with a little water
Blend tinned tomatoes
Gently heat oil and add star anise then add onion/chilli and cook gently until colouring slightly and the onion has become sweeter (5-10mins)
Add garlic/ginger , remove star anise, and cook through for 2 mins
Add toms and cook through then turn up heat
Add chopped coriander stalks
Add Methi stir
Add mix powder stir, chilli powders, cumin stir and the add a little boiling water and stir/shake until spices are singed (30 seconds)
Add ladle of base and reduce a little till oil has seperated
Add lemon dressing, worcester sauce stir
Then add remaining base and cook on high heat for 5 mins
Season with salt and sugar to your own taste (add carefully tasting as you do)
Add chopped coriander - done!
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Glad to see you've reached your goal Andy!
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Which base, and which mix powder, Andy ?
** Phil.
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Hi used admin new base and abdul spice mix
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Thank you, Andy; I think this may well be my next attempt, then.
** Phil.
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Hi Andy
Kind of off topic but you say "stir/shake until spices are singed" Do you think actually singeing the spices as opposed to gently cooking them off is a key to achieving the BIR flavour (in any curry)?
Cheers
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Hi Mike,
Yes I tried gently frying spices, not frying them at all (Dipuraja style), but I found the best results came from singing the spices by adding a little water (cant remember which jalfrezi recipe I got that from), but I do believe the cooking of the spices is key to achieving BIR taste.
I made this Madras for the Mrs last night and she said hands down it beat any other Madras I have made!! and I always take other peoples opinions over my own as I was curried out by time I ate, shame there was none left for today!!
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I recently found the same thing by accident. I got a burning smell and I thought I'd cremated the spices but it turned out to be the best curry yet. I just thought it was interesting to have someone else confirm the same thing. Chewytikka swears by singeing spices aswell. It goes against your instincts somewhat as you would think it would give a slightly nasty taste if anything.
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This is interesting.
So, is the water required for 'singeing'? I would of thought adding water would reduce the temperature and also reduce the max temperature available when cooking? Surely you would get better 'singeing' with oil only?
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Hi Meggeth
I just used oil in mine to be honest. Give it a whirl. When I discovered it I very nearly cleaned out the pan and started again as it smelled slightly too far gone but as it was late at night I couldn't be bothered. I'm glad I didn't. I wondered afterwards if the burning was the key and then I read chewy's signature on the bottom of one of his posts and that's when the penny dropped...
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Hi meggeth, how you fry/singe your spices is entirely up to you, all I am saying is that by adding a little water (from boiled kettle) to the spices it singes the spices and you can tell they are cooking, I tried it without adding the water and you cannot tell how hot the spices are because of the onion,chilli,garlic, ginger toms in the pan that have soaked up the oil, and many times the spices were undercooked or overcooked, this has produced my best results , give it a go see what you think
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I got the adding water from Admin Success for me Jalfrezi
and add the Spice Mix, chili powder and black pepper, stirring well so it doesn't burn.
Return to the heat add a little water (Half a ladle) and cook off it should spit and sizzle
I kept adding half a ladle of water when the curry went dry and would cook this off. I did this about 3 or 4 times, this seemed to create some kind of magic in the cooking process, the end result?amazing.
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I am going to try this in a bit. Just wondered if it's a flat level teaspoon or rounded for the spices?
cheers :)
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Just wondered if it's a flat level teaspoon or rounded for the spices?
Yes. Probably :)
** Phil.
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lol Phil....flat or rounded? ???
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lol Phil....flat or rounded? ???
Best read Andy's own words (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,11284.msg103206.html#msg103206) :
Any one actually tried this recipe rather than arguing over heaped level or rounded teaspoons?
so I suspect Andy neither knows nor cares (also my own point of view).
** Phil.
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I went with rounded , thanks Phil :)
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I'd go with one or the other if I were you!
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You guys are soooooo helpful ;)
The rounded was a winner with mum and dad. Havent had mine yet :)
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In answer to what you said in Shouts, Lou.
Go here:
http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/ (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/)
Upload your image then copy the 'Embed on Bulletin Boards' code.
In your message, click the 'Insert Image' button and paste the code between the [img] brackets. That will embed it into your message and will appear on the front page:)
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thanks Garp ;D
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Hi Phil(chaa006) why are you saying this
lol Phil....flat or rounded? ???
Best read Andy's own words :
Quote
Any one actually tried this recipe rather than arguing over heaped level or rounded teaspoons?
so I suspect Andy neither knows nor cares (also my own point of view).
** Phil.
I never said that about this recipe, that statement was posted in another topic and in regards to everybody arguing over that topic, so how can you say I neither know or CARE!!!!
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Hi Loup, all spoons are level unless otherwise stated, thanks
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I never said that about this recipe, that statement was posted in another topic and in regards to everybody arguing over that topic, so how can you say I neither know or CARE!!!!
I wrote what I did in good faith, Andy, based on your reaction to other people's discussion of flat, rounded and heaped measures in another thread. I assumed (perhaps wrongly), that you were not interested in nit-picking, and that you believed that exact measurements were not vital to BIR success. If I was wrong, I sincerely apologise.
** Phil.
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Ah I see Phil, your post just came across differently to me, my mistake it sounded as if you were having a dig. I do , as you say, believe that exact measurements are not vital but i understand that people would like to know exactly what the recipe used in measurement terms, flat heaped etc so they know how the recipe is supposed to taste, regards Andy
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i understand that people would like to know exactly what the recipe used in measurement terms, flat heaped etc so they know how the recipe is supposed to taste
I agree it's so important, I'll be happy to add a line to your post #1 to say all spoons measures are level. I'll leave out the bit about 'unless otherwise stated' because there's no such comment in this particular recipe. Is that OK?
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Hi George yeah thats fine with me
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Hi Madrasandy.....well it tried this recipe to spec this weekend and I must say it may well now be my "goto" madras!
It was superb, I think the combination of the methi, worcestershire, minced onion and chillies and all the various powders made the difference. My previous favourites are/were CT's and CA's so to say this may top those is praise indeed. I am making 3 curries for the pub for my wifes birthday shindig over the bank holiday, korma, CTM and now THIS!!
Well done Sir!!!!
Hopefully I will post some piccies soon!
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I want to give this a go sometime soon
Sorry if I've missed it, but where does the main precooked ingredient go in?
Just before the last ladle of curry gravy?
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Hi Haldi
I actually don't pre cook my chicken, i'm in no rush, so i do it a la CA style, that is put it in at the start and seal it straight away and then in with the recipe in the sequence according to the post. The chicken is then freshly done and still nice and moist.
Ed
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Cheers for comments Ed, really glad you enjoyed it. Looking forward to seeing your pictures.
Hi Haldi yes I added the precooked chicken with the remaining base for last 5 minutes. Just recently though I have started adding the chicken (uncooked) at the start of the recipe, as Ed said CA style, and have found the chicken is a lot more tasty and moist.
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Hi
I may try this soon. Just wondered if anyone else has tried it and what their thoughts were?
MM
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I made this last night using Jbs base , the first time I have done so.
Fantastic, Mrs MA's favourite madras, lovely balanced flavours, perfect heat levels , beautiful.
The acid test for me would be to do a side by side comparison with the zeera madras , both different in their own right, both lovely curries, on my 2 do list :)
(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/ae9510bb48e6736e00e8fc88dbde24ce.JPG)
(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/c361f0c6d87b5ad92db6a73934894e7e.JPG)
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Yum! :P
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Glad you have got the results your happy with. I think this stopped being a madras when you added star anise and Worcester sauce and sugar
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Glad you have got the results your happy with. I think this stopped being a madras when you added star anise and Worcester sauce and sugar
Not to mention the lemon juice and Kashmiri chilli powder. If it's an "ultimate" curry that's fine just don't call it a Madras.
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Thus spake the Curry God, and all were mortally afeared. "Who amongst us has taken the sacred name 'Madras' in vain ?", each asked of his neighbour, but none dared answer "I". Then, crawling out from beneath a rock, a little child emerged into the light of the day, blinking. "Hath anyone theen mine chicken Madras", he asked, innocence beaming from his tiny eyes. "It was the bestest I ever tasted", he went on, "and my mummy says that was because she lost the recipe and had to impro... impro... IMPROVISE". "What did she use", asked the Pharisee ? "Well, all the usual fings, of course, but she added some lemon juice, and some Worcestershire sauce, and some ...". "STOP" came a voice so loud and so fearsome that most fainted and some died. "WHO DARES TAKE THE NAME OF THE MADRAS IN VAIN". "My mummy", said the little boy, who was very deaf and therefore did not realise that the Curry God was angry. "And it was the bestest bestest bestest chicken Madras ever ". And the Curry God, seeing the innocence in the little child's eyed, was moved to compassion, and he asked the little child, in a quiet voice so as not to frighten him "May I try some of your mummy's chicken Madras ?". And the little boy went to fetch some, and the Curry God tried it, and the assembled company sat silently in awe, awaiting the damnation that would surely follow when the Curry God tasted the Forbidden Ingredients. But there was silence -- a very long silence -- and then the Curry God said in a Very Quiet Voice "May I have some more, please ?" and then, in a voice that could be heard across the whole of the land of Canaan "THAT WAS THE BEST CHICKEN MADRAS I EVER TASTED. HENCEFORTH, NO-ONE SHALL SPEAK OF A CHICKEN MADRAS UNLESS HE IS WILLING TO SWEAR BEFORE ME THAT IT CONTAINS LEMON JUICE AND WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE, STAR ANISE AND SUGAR, AND ALL OF THOSE OTHER INGREDIENTS THAT THIS LITTLE CHILD'S MUMMY HAD THE SENSE TO TRY". And they went away marvelling at all they had seen and heard, and from that day on, throughout the land of Canaan, no-one ever again made a chicken Madras without using lemon juice, or Worcestershire sauce, or star anise, or sugar, or some other ingredient that, whilst not carved on the sacred Tablets of Stone, nonetheless contributed to the success and flavour of the final dish.
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Very entertaining Mr McAvity :D
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MA
Now we have the ultimate madras will there be another even more ultimate madras yet to be cracked? ;D ;D ;D
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Glad you have got the results your happy with. I think this stopped being a madras when you added star anise and Worcester sauce and sugar
Not to mention the lemon juice and Kashmiri chilli powder. If it's an "ultimate" curry that's fine just don't call it a Madras.
Stop trolling SS and get your 'madras' recipe up, come on, we've been asking for it for years! ;)
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Stop trolling SS and get your 'madras' recipe up, come on, we've been asking for it for years! ;)
More chance of getting H4ppy's ebook ;D
Ultimate - conclusive in a series or process; last; final
Here (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,12693.msg103209.html#msg103209)
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Glad you have got the results your happy with. I think this stopped being a madras when you added star anise and Worcester sauce and sugar
If you've ever had a really tasty Madras in a BIR, how do you know what was in it?
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I got board after the first line phill
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I got board after the first line phill
Ludo or snakes-and-ladders ?
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I was thinking Monopoly ;)
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Cluedo anyone
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I think it was Andy, in the kitchen, with the Reaper :P
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I think it was the Reaper in the kitchen with Andy ;) and the living room, hallway and bathroom
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Andy in the toilet with the loo roll
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I made this tonight and must say it's a cracking ruby, if you haven't tried it yet then give it a go.
London.
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Cheers London Im pleased you enjoyed it :)
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Going to cook this on the weekend for some friends. Quick question, what is lemon dressing? Also could I do this with Prawns?
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Going to cook this on the weekend for some friends. Quick question, what is lemon dressing? Also could I do this with Prawns?
Lemon dressing is the commercial product sold in bottles ivangough, usually containing lemon concentrate, sugar & a stack of chemical enhancers & preservatives.
Yes prawn madras is great as long as the prawns are not overcooked.
Regards
ELW
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Re-visited this last night, bloody fantastic , lovely balanced curry, one of my all time favourites :)
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A great curry which I thoroughly enjoyed, best madras I've cooked. Cheers Andy
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2 tbps blended onions...why can I never blend and cook onions properly when pureed, never turn out right and never seem to cook out properly, any tips, do they require boiling first?
Tried pureeing in the Kenwood but usually too little to puree.
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2 tbps blended onions...
But the recipe doesn't say that - - it says "2 Tb - Onion (finely chopped)". And there is no mention of the word "blended" in this thread before your usage in the immediately preceding message, nor does the collocation "tbps blended onions" occur else anywhere in the forum.
** Phil.
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2 tbps blended onions...
But the recipe doesn't say that - - it says "2 Tb - Onion (finely chopped)". And there is no mention of the word "blended" in this thread before your usage in the immediately preceding message, nor does the collocation "tbps blended onions" occur else anywhere in the forum.
** Phil.
It was a matter of speech on blending onions with water.
I got it copied somewhere that......
Finely chop onions and green chilli and blend with a little water
Finely chop ginger garlic and blend with a little water
Blend tinned tomatoes
Anyway, away from being pedantic >:(, the question still remains valid about correct way of cooking out pureed\blended onions..
UPDATE:
ACTUALLY....it is listed by the OP on the very first post..get of your high horse :o >:(
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Could it have something to do with the water content of the onions?
I mentioned cooking issues in this post:
http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,14103.msg123034.html#msg123034 (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,14103.msg123034.html#msg123034)
The water content of the blitzed onions and green pepper added more liquid (in one fell swoop, rather than released gradually) to my curry than I had anticipated.
It was touch and go for a while as to whether the curry was going to be boiled or fried! :)
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Could it have something to do with the water content of the onions?
I mentioned cooking issues in this post:
http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,14103.msg123034.html#msg123034 (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,14103.msg123034.html#msg123034)
The water content of the blitzed onions and green pepper added more liquid (in one fell swoop, rather than released gradually) to my curry than I had anticipated.
It was touch and go for a while as to whether the curry was going to be boiled or fried! :)
Yes it could well be that, too much water. I wonder if a quantity of onions in a recipe where specified to be 'blended' should have the onions blanched beforehand, was a genuine question since the OP stated 'blended with a little water' or words to that affect and hence a reasonable question. Before i came here all my curries were 'traditional' and just used onions gently fried - no blending.
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I see that Andy, the OP, hasn't been on here for a couple of days, but I'm sure that he'll be along in due course to provide the definitive answer to the question. :)
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I've tried this recipe and found it bloody good. I thought the blended onion/chilli gave it a good body (not an original idea but good nonetheless).
I've blended them raw, with a tablespoon of water, using a hand blender in a narrow container, and turned out great. Sometimes have to add another splash of water depending on how it looks. It should be quite thick.
I don't think a Kenwood 'jug-type' blender will work as it just throws the ingredients around the jug. A hand blender lets you push the mixture down whilst blending and gives great results.
Hope that helps :)
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UPDATE:
ACTUALLY....it is listed by the OP on the very first post..get of your high horse :o >:(
Really ? Then perhaps you can quote it (using the site's "Quote" function) rather than just assert that "it is listed".
** Phil.
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2 Tb - Onion (finely chopped)
2 - Thin green chilli
Finely chop onions and green chilli and blend with a little water
Stick blender works perfect ;)
Sometimes I just finely chop onions and gently fry with the star anise until melting then remove anise
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UPDATE:
ACTUALLY....it is listed by the OP on the very first post..get of your high horse :o >:(
Really ? Then perhaps you can quote it (using the site's "Quote" function) rather than just assert that "it is listed".
** Phil.
Give over please, you were wrong, just get over it.
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2 Tb - Onion (finely chopped)
2 - Thin green chilli
Finely chop onions and green chilli and blend with a little water
Stick blender works perfect ;)
Sometimes I just finely chop onions and gently fry with the star anise until melting then remove anise
Thanks MA
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Give over please, you were wrong, just get over it.
Put up or shut up, Pugs. The phrase "2 tbps blended onions" neither occurs on page one of this thread nor anywhere else on the forum, other than in your message seeking clarification thereof. If you can find it, quote it, otherwise have the guts and the decency to admit that you were mistaken and apologise.
** Phil.
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Lummy! Blended-onions-gate! Nixon had nothing on this...
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The phrase "2 tbps blended onions" neither occurs on page one of this thread nor anywhere else on the forum, other than in your message seeking clarification thereof. If you can find it, quote it, otherwise have the guts and the decency to admit that you were mistaken and apologise.
** Phil.
But it does say to blend them in the recipe
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Wots this?
Onions at ten paces!
Seriously,great Madras.
Cheers Geoffbrick
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haha, grumpy old man alert. Ok, safely going to be ignoring this guy from now on, sticks 'n' stones and all that.
Thanks to everyone else for the common decency :D
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haha, grumpy old man alert. Ok, safely going to be ignoring this guy from now on, sticks 'n' stones and all that.
Thanks to everyone else for the common decency :D
Or you could do the decent thing and admit you were wrong?
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Methinks oor Phil is being even more awkward than usual.
The recipe calls for 2Tbsp of onions, finely chopped, mixed with the chilli then blended - not a million miles away from Pugs's original quote.....
Or could it be that oor Phil is making the difference between 'Tb', 'tbsp' and 'tbps' the basis of his rant xxxx
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Am i missing something here or is this thread about the ultimate madras or arguing the toss over whether two 2 Tb - Onion (finely chopped) plus 2 - Thin green chilli blended with water = 2 tbs pureed onion with chilli? I suggest we now focus on the merits of the recipe as everybody seems to have a good understanding of the ingredients. Any more debacle over onions and water will, since this really is pedantic to the extreme as well as serving no purpose, result in my purging the thread of said ingredients, whether i upset somebody or not ;)
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What the thread is about is irrelevant.
Now that must be a classic, but something many of us older members are painfully acccustomed too ::)
Please remain on topic and refrain from deliberately provoking other forum members. I will now be deleting any posts that are not relevant to MA's orginal post, starting with yours.
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Isn't it easy to deliberately mis-represent someone's point of view by selectively quoting from their reply and then flagrantly abusing your powers as moderator to delete the remainder of the text so that no-one else can see the context in which the quoted words were written ? You are perfectly happy to leave the original (and intentionally provocative) "get of (sic) your high horse" comment in the thread, preferring instead to delete a message that questions whether such a comment is acceptable on this forum.
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Y'know, Andy, looking back on this thread, I can hardly believe I never posted my intention to try your recipe out. In retrospect, it was probably all the off-topic nonsense that put me off.
I haven't made it yet, and my next curry will be Chewy's Rezala (again!) with a bucketload of juicy king prawns. But this one is definitely next. It reads well, and if I can replicate the texture of your sauce, then I'll be a happy chappie. :)
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No worries naga, a lot of things go amiss with all the boring non relative thread disruption that many participate in more often than not.
Let us know how you get on, and dont forget the pornpics ;)