Topic: Chicken Tikka Masala demo

[pete]

I saw this cooked last night too
There are a few ingredients which I knew, but would have liked to know more about
The tandoori marinade is probably what we have posted on this site already
But I don't know that for sure
This coconut/sugar mix is new too
Has anyone heard of that?
So a little mystery here

Chicken Tikka Masala

7 pieces of chopped pre cooked chicken tikka
3 desert spoons curry gravy oil
1 desert spoon garlic ginger puree
1 desert spoon of curry mix
3 ladles Tandoori Marinade
1 ladle Curry Gravy
2 tablespoons coconut/sugar mixture  (white ground powder)
2 tablespoons single cream


As usual , have the gas ring on high
Things don?t tend to burn because you are using old oil
Fresh oil gets a lot hotter
Heat the oil and fry the garlic ginger puree for a couple of minutes
Stir every now and then
Add the curry mix followed quickly by  2 ladles of the tandoori marinade
Reduce for about three minutes
This mixture is a vivid bright red
Add the curry gravy, cook a minute, then add 1 tablespoon of coconut/sugar mix
Cook another couple of minutes then add the chicken
Cook another three minutes then add the single cream (from a carton)
Then the rest of the coconut/sugar mixture, followed by 1 more ladle of tandoori marinade
Heat another couple of minutes and it?s ready

There is a certain attitude towards curry house cooking
I have read articles about more "upmarket" restaurants
Their attitude to the humble curry house, is one of "all the meals are the same"
Well, after seeing the chef make only three meals last night, I was very impressed by his cooking skill, and just how many different ingredients go into various dishes
True, they all have a slop of curry gravy, but it made me realise how little I know.
These chefs are artists and true professionals in every sense of the word

[blade1212]

Great effort Pete.....

I'm in the process of making a Kris Dillon base given all the pointers lately back to this recipe. Maybe this along with minimal spices will do the trick...

Did the chef elaborate on the makeup of the curry mix ?

[pete]

No he didn't
But it looks very similar to the bruce edwards curry house cookery mix
I am sure it is something very similar

[George]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/printFriendly/0,,1-58-1677094,00.html

?Azmal Hussain, the head chef at Preem and Prithi (Brick Lane)...is puzzled and repelled by the British taste for chicken tikka masala. His restaurants do serve the dish ? he?s no fool ? but, he says, ?I wouldn?t eat it if you paid me. You have half a cup of almonds, then half coconut, lastly you put cream on it, and sugar? It?s about 1,800 calories. 1,800! You should eat 500 to 700 calories! And three almonds is enough for all day.? ...Hussain runs Monday-night curry cookery classes at Preem and Prithi.?

[pete]

1800 calories
That is really scary
I have CTM occasionally
It's special because it have curry gravy in
Anything, with some of that sauce, is great
I was bought potato bhaji a couple of years back
Potatoes can be very bland, but this was incredibly tasty

[George]

I'm sure that Indian take-away and restaurant food is about as unhealthy as you can get, which is why I am making deliberately slow progress in trying out many of the great-looking recipes on this site, and seldom visit the restaurants these days. We all know how much oil is in it, for a start, and how much you can see in a typical dish served up. It must be like eating a whole slab of margarine in one meal. I also assume the BIRs use very high levels of salt. Those are the two main things, actually, together with sugar and coconut in dishes like korma and CTM.

Regards
George

[Curry King]

One of favorite restaurants near me states on the menu that each dish is prepeared with healthy eating in mind!!  I'm not convinced as they make some of the best currys ive ever had.  I just can't see how you can get anywhere near the "taste" without using obscene amounts of oil and salt.

[George]

I just can't see how you can get anywhere near the "taste" without using obscene amounts of oil and salt.

I'm sure you're right. Some recipes suggest you can cut back on oil and salt if you like, but not if you want to produce a curry like the restaurants do. So when I try any of these recipes, I wouldn't dream of cutting back on anything. But it remains a very unhealthy pursuit, in my opinion.

Can our search for 'that taste' be worth a serious threat to one's long term health? (if you cook and eat too many of these dishes).

Take care
Regards
George

[Curry King]

I know what you mean I eat far to many BIR style currys and it can't be good!? I have even tried making the occasional authentic curry now just to cut back on the oil, I made a red chicken curry at the weekend although I thought it was nice it just wasn't as good?

[woodpecker21]

I'm sure that Indian take-away and restaurant food is about as unhealthy as you can get, which is why I am making deliberately slow progress in trying out many of the great-looking recipes on this site, and seldom visit the restaurants these days. We all know how much oil is in it, for a start, and how much you can see in a typical dish served up. It must be like eating a whole slab of margarine in one meal. I also assume the BIRs use very high levels of salt. Those are the two main things, actually, together with sugar and coconut in dishes like korma and CTM.

Regards
George

sorry george but i beg to differ.sure alot of oil is not good for anyone but 99% of places now know not to use hydrogenated veg oil. and if it is as pete & cq have both witnessed the re-use of oil from the gravy and only 2tbsps of oil is used in the final dish if not then scooped off before adding coriander then the only thing to worry about is 40 day fast before going to his restaurant to eat a CTM personally i think you have more to worry about when sitting down to your sunday roast. also the fact the pete witnessed a previously unconsidered secret ingredient in his chicken balti ........wait for it .......water(now how authentic is that!)

when you actually break it down what is actually(oops!) what i mean to say is that onions ...good for you ,ginger, garlic, carrots, coconut, chillies, almonds, chicken(@ Rajver they boil it with some turmeric and when the final dish is complete tastes moist tender or is that succulent) is one of the healthiest meats there is. and as for salt the chef actually said it should actually be added to the gravy after you have tasted it because the onions maybe sweeter or saltier depending how lucky you are.

regards

gary