Hi all.

To continue from the base sauce/gravy.


The takeaway and restaurant list per example Chicken Madras or Meat Madras on the menu. The chicken is obvious but listing Meat gives them the option of using either mutton or lamb. The chicken and meat arrive pre-cubed in large plastic bags from the wholesale butcher.

Here is what happens:-

Towards the end of the evening 2 large saucepans are placed onto a work surface.
Into each saucepan is put 2 ladles of oil, 1 level tablespoon of turmeric and 1 level tablespoon of tomato puree, about 6 asian bay leaves and four finely chopped garlic cloves. Both are given a good stir to mix. Then the cubed chicken is added to one and the cubed meat to the other. Everything in the pans is tossed to coat the meats with the mixture. They are then lidded and left overnight in the cooler cabinet. This is to top up the already pre-cooked meat to the levels of what was started with at the beginning of the night. They calculate this by adding up the amount of dishes sold (simple).

The following day at around midday when the kitchen staff arrive 2 ladles of the base sauce/gravy which is obviously cold are added to each pan and stirred in.
Heat is applied to both pans constantly stirring. When boiling the heat is reduced to a simmer and boiling water is added to just cover the meat in both pans stirring to mix.

The chicken is left to simmer for approx 20 minutes and the chicken is skewered to ensure it is cooked. The heat is removed and the chicken is removed with a slotted chefs spoon to drain the fluid and placed in a container and left to cool.

The meat is left to simmer for approx 1 hour to obtain the tenderness. The heat is removed and the meat is removed with a slotted chef?s spoon and placed in a container and left to cool.

The Chef?s Note: The same measurements of turmeric, asian bay leaves, finely chopped garlic and tomato puree along with base sauce are used no matter how little or how much chicken and meat are being pre-cooked. The only variable is the water. I mentioned about other spices and he said no, no, no! The pre-cooked meat has to be used for dishes such as Korma and Passanda. No heat or spices he said.

So to the vegetables.

Potatoes.

These are cut into small cubes and simply boiled in Water with a touch of salt and a tablespoon of turmeric. Nothing more, nothing less. The potatoes are only just cooked so they remain solid without breaking up. They are then kept in the fridge for use.

Cauliflower.

Here frozen cauliflower florets are used and cooked exactly the same as the potatoes.

Next post very soon

Regards
Andy

Hi

You could try the granules. The tubs that are used are available from Bookers or Makro wholesalers

Regards

Andy

Hi all. Just left curry house. Will start posing before weekend.\

Andy

Hi Everyone,

Finally got round to joining this site. A very good friend of mine has been running an indian tale-away and a seperate indian take-away/restaurant now for over 10 years. Being a curry lover myself, i have spent many many days and nights with him both learning, preparing, cooking (when staff were on holiday etc) his huge range of food from the menus over the last 10 years.

I have all the hand written recipes for all of the menu items as my memory could not remember on demand fast food cooking on busy nights.

Everything from the big pot of base sauce though medium curry, massala, vindaloo, madras, dansak, korma, patia, malayan, bhuna, rogan josh, dupiaza, sag, biryani, lankini, balti, jalfrezi, rices, side dishes, tikka, tandori, breads, starters, house specials and chefs specials etc etc etc...........

It is quite true to say that all can be reproduced at home if one has a tandoor of course or should i say most can be reproduced at home with very near tandoor produced items done in an oven/grill/pan.

There are of course methods adopted in the cooking to get that required consistant taste one expects and of course things like evaporated milk in Korma and tomato soup in chicken tikka massala and the very careful flavour enhancing in 90 per cent of all dishes.

When i get some time i will post some of the recipes and methods and i am sure you will all produce the right results.

Yummy

Andy....