Topic: Best Madras I have ever made with that "Toffee Aroma"

[976bar]

I made this tonight, and was extemely satisfied with the results. I couldn't believe it when I finally got that "Toffee Aroma" as the sauce was cooking. You can adjust the chillis to suit your personal taste, and I also like lemon juice in my Madras, again a personal taste.


Chicken Madras

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts
300 ml of SNS base gravy
1 Onion finely chopped
4 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp of garlic & ginger puree (Fresh)
1 tsp Deghi Mirch (Red Chilli Powder)
2 fresh green chillis sliced very thinly
1 tsp Tomato Puree
1 tsp of spice mix
1 tsp Turmeric
Pinch dried methi leaves (fenugreek)
Squeeze of Lemon Juice
Chopped fresh coriander leafs and stalks
Salt
Add water if sauce is too thick

Method
Cut the chicken breasts into chunks, put to one side.
Heat 3 tbsp oil in a wok and gently fry the onion until golden brown.
Add the garlic, ginger, green chillis, and fry for 1-2 minutes.
Add the tomato Puree and fry for 30 seconds.
Add the Deghi Mirch and fry for around 30 seconds
Turn up the heat and add a ladle of the base gravy, let it sizzle, then add 2 more ladles and let it heat up. Continue doing this until all the base gravy is in there. Cook for around 3-4 minutes to reduce the sauce. If it gets too thick add some water.
Remove from the heat and put in a food processor. Puree until smooth. Let it stand for a minute or two.
Meanwhile heat 1 tbsp oil in the same wok, add 1 tsp of turmeric, fry gently for 20 seconds. Add the chicken pieces and fry turning until it is sealed.
Add the puree?d madras mixture and boil hard on a high heat. You will then get that toffee aroma, which I have never had before. Then the oil starts to separate.
Add a pinch of Methi leaves, the coriander and about 1-2 tbsp lemon juice (optional).
Cook until the chicken is done. 
Serve at once with Rice and Naan.

All in all with the exception of the puree time I would say this took about 15-20 mins.

[joshallen2k]

Hi 976bar - glad it worked out for you. Pics look good.

Question - why would you add onion to the base, and then puree it again? Just wondering what you think that adds to the dish, other than suggesting there wasn't enough onion ratio in the original SnS recipe.

I couldn't see this being a BIR method, so was wondering what led you down this path.

Thanks!

-- Josh

[chriswg]

I can understand the thinking behind it as fried onions taste very different to boiled ones which actually taste pretty bland.

I agree its definitely not a BIR method but if the results are good - stick with it.

[976bar]

Hi 976bar - glad it worked out for you. Pics look good.

Question - why would you add onion to the base, and then puree it again? Just wondering what you think that adds to the dish, other than suggesting there wasn't enough onion ratio in the original SnS recipe.

I couldn't see this being a BIR method, so was wondering what led you down this path.

Thanks!

-- Josh

Hi Josh,

My original Madras recipe had 1 tbsp of pataks Balti paste in it, and I wanted to steer away from this. So I thought the onion would give it more depth, then i thought why not puree it as well. I think next time i might just add the onions chopped, although I have never had a madras that has had onions bits in it before...... 

[JerryM]

976bar,

well pleased u hit toffee - u're on the right track.

the chopped onions in the curry are quite difficult to master - but they too are on the path. i used to pre fry, then pre par boil. the par boil works best. i now manage to cook fresh ok. i put it down to having a thinner base and more heat which finish cooks the onion whilst the base is condensing. the frying alone is not good enough as they burn before cooked.

once mastered the onion should blend into the dish and u would not know it's there.

[976bar]

976bar,

well pleased u hit toffee - u're on the right track.

the chopped onions in the curry are quite difficult to master - but they too are on the path. i used to pre fry, then pre par boil. the par boil works best. i now manage to cook fresh ok. i put it down to having a thinner base and more heat which finish cooks the onion whilst the base is condensing. the frying alone is not good enough as they burn before cooked.

once mastered the onion should blend into the dish and u would not know it's there.

Thanks Jerry

I will experiment with the onion some more and let you know how it turns out. It was very satisfying to produce a madras with such a depth of flavour and no Pataks anywhere in sight!!

[Derek Dansak]

Great work. This is basically the recipe I use. This is very similar to the bir chefs methods i have seen first hand. a handful of chopped onion should be fried at start for 2 or 3 mins. dont let it start to soften, as this will occur later when you add the base at high heat. the tumeric is also very good. the chef i know adds extra tumeric. even though he uses spice mix as well. i find this works well for madras, and rogan josh especially. i would use more oil, and a little more spice mix perhaps. fry the tomato puree in a little extra oil for 1 minute, it adds a little extra flavor. also try it with no methi , it can be better without. nice one  ; D

[976bar]

Great work. This is basically the recipe I use. This is very similar to the bir chefs methods i have seen first hand. a handful of chopped onion should be fried at start for 2 or 3 mins. dont let it start to soften, as this will occur later when you add the base at high heat. the tumeric is also very good. the chef i know adds extra tumeric. even though he uses spice mix as well. i find this works well for madras, and rogan josh especially. i would use more oil, and a little more spice mix perhaps. fry the tomato puree in a little extra oil for 1 minute, it adds a little extra flavor. also try it with no methi , it can be better without. nice one  ; D

Hi Derek,

Many thanks for your input. I guess I am trying to do too many things at once here. I'm trying to create that BIR taste, but without the unhealthy side to it, i.e. not so much oil, as I suffer from a bit of a cholestrol problem. I love my indian food and I can use all the spices/garlic/ginger/tomatoes I like, but I do have to watch the oil content.

Next time I will give your input a go and let you know how I get on

[PaulP]

Hi 976bar,

If you are worried about oil consumption here is my take on things for what it is worth:

Don't use vegetable ghee - full of transfats and hydrogenated fats.
Don't use cheap margarine - same as above.

For butter ghee the jury is still out on that one.

I use rice bran oil to make my curries. Check it out on Google but they say it is as healthy as olive oil and can take high temperatures without degrading.
Sainsburys have started selling this stuff - about ?2 for 500 ml.

I have also started using virgin coconut oil for some of my final stage curries. This is very expensive at 25p a tablespoon but it tastes great. Some people say you should avoid this as it is 93% saturated but it is a unique oil and world populations that consume loads of pure coconut oil have little heart problems. Once again it is worth googling this stuff. Note that this coco oil is unprocessed. The cheap coconut oil and bars you can buy are full of the hydrogenated fats due to processing.

If you eat the right oils you then only have to worry about the high calories. I reckon if you are planning a blow-out curry you can eat a bit less during the day to compensate.

Paul.

[Derek Dansak]

Hi 9bar ! Yes the health issues do put a dampener on our fun. the great thing about curry is it can be very nice without much oil. extra water can help here. as a means to bring out the full flavor of the spices. obviously there are a great amount of yogurt/tomato based curries which need no oil. or curry slow cook caseroles which need no oil. the list goes on. creating a decent bir dish with little oil is also something i have done. its never quite as impressive, but still tasty. oil and high salt seem to be key , sadly.