Curry Recipes Online
British Indian Restaurant Recipes - Main Dishes => British Indian Restaurant Recipes - Main Dishes => Biriani Dishes => Topic started by: Mark J on June 15, 2005, 11:37 PM
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OK this ones for yellowfingers, I finally got back to my friendly takeaway and ordered the above.
He used 2 pans to cook this one for the sauce, the other for the rice.
The madras sauce was very basic, get 1 cooks spoon of oil very hot then add a TBSP of tomato paste (the more I look at this the more I think it might actually have ketchup mixed in it or even be ketchup), 1 TSP of res. masala, 1 TSP chilli powder and a squirt of lemon juice, fry this lot for about 20 seconds then add a small amount base, evaporate this and then add a ladle of base, simmer for 5 mins. This sauce turned out very smooth indeed and had the taste. I didnt notice him adding salt which is unusual and probably means he doesnt MSG unless it is in the base.
For the biryani he used 2 cooks spoons of oil not 1, he started with a TBSP of pre cooked onions and the chicken tikka, fry this lot for a few mins and then add fresh coriander and fry for a few minutes more, while this is going on he microwaved precooked pilau rice. He added a load of this to the pan and stir fryed for a few minutes more.
He added in a chopped raw tomato and wedge of lemon to the rice in the container.
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Thanks Mark
I'm sure I will give this ago sometime
It's all part of our collective knowledge, in which you have been a major factor.
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Cheers mark i think I will try this one tonight.
Was there no garlic or garlic ginger paste used at all?
cK
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There wasnt and I was very suprised by that
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Y'see, this is really quite exciting. You just can't get much more basic than that madras sauce recipe, so as it had 'the taste' this really narrows down the possibilities of where it comes from - or at least where it is in the cooking process. If it's not in the base to start with, as some people are saying, then it's in one of the few ingredients used in the dish.
I know what I'll be doing next! I'll cook up a batch of MarkJ's base with added chicken stock, and then make up as many restaurant masalas as I can from the recipes listed on this site. Then with each curry I make, I'll try a different masala, mixtures of ketchup and puree or just ketchup, pre-fried onions or barbied ones... this on the basis of chasing my local's 'taste' (their madras and vindaloo are identical apart from chilli heat. And a potato!).
Another great post, MarkJ - thanks. One question - did he flame the pan at any point?
Ian
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My DARTH-MASALA has no Ginger puree in it. ;)
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hey mark thanks for the recipes, a few questions
For the biryani he used 2 cooks spoons of oil not 1
Was that for one portion of Biryani rice? It seems like an awful lot! Also was it ordinary oil or was it ghee?
Weren't there any sultanas or nuts or coconut in some form added?
He added in a chopped raw tomato and wedge of lemon to the rice in the container.
The lemon wedge is a new one to me. Usually I get some mixture of egg, cucumber and tomato.
It just looks too basic. Did it meet the standards of biryani rice that you have had elsewhere?
The Biryanis that i have had have definitely been coated in what i took to be base sauce, well dried out of course.
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Was there no garlic or garlic ginger paste used at all?
There wasnt and I was very suprised by that
As I posted elsewhere, if you look at some of the online menus the vindaloo is sometimes described as having extra garlic, ginger and black pepper, so perhaps it's not so unusual.
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Hi folks,
Ian - He didnt have flame in the pan but did have little flames licking up the sides
Yellowfingers - I never have biryani so I cant say if it was up to standard but I would say I didnt think it was up to the standards of other meals I have had from him. Yes it was a lot of oil for one portion but Im not suprised as the rice was obviousl stir fried in it. No sultanas or coconut or anything. I must admit this dish is not on his emnu, the dish was chicken tikka biryani with a masala sauce (red coconut sauce from CTM), I didnt like the sound of that so I said I want a madras sauce instead, maybe that changed something?
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For the biryani he used 2 cooks spoons of oil not 1, he started with a TBSP of pre cooked onions and the chicken tikka, fry this lot for a few mins and then add fresh coriander and fry for a few minutes more, while this is going on he microwaved precooked pilau rice. He added a load of this to the pan and stir fryed for a few minutes more.
He added in a chopped raw tomato and wedge of lemon to the rice in the container.
Hi again Mark J
It was really bugging me as to why this should be so different to the Biryani I am used to, so I stopped thinking about Biryani and just looked at the recipe ingredients and method and it hit me. This is a recipe for fried rice or perhaps special fried rice, indian restaurant style. I think perhaps you were not given the right thing and as you don't normally have Biryani, how were you to know?? What do you think?? ????
I'll be really disappointed if this is the case as I was eagerly anticipating this recipe from you? ? :-[
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Sounds entirely feasible to me!
:)
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Hi all,
Yes biriyani does have sultanas and toasted almonds and is also made with curry gravy. It is finally garnished with sliced boiled egg and sliced tomatoes. Of course, if you can get hold of it also some edible silver paper too. Traditionally it is also served with a vegetable curry/side dish! I have a great recipe for it if anyone is interested.
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Hi curryqueen,
If your biryani recipe is restaurant style I would definitely be interested. I'm not looking for a traditional Biryani where you layer the meat with the rice and bake it in the oven, I am looking for the restaurant style quick stir fry with pilau rice and curry gravy. If you have the vegetable curry recipe I would like that though. Thanks.
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Hi Yellow Fingers, Sorry its's taken so long to come back. Here is the restaurant recipe for Biryani!
prepared chicken tikka, 1 tablespoon cashew nuts(not salted ones) 1 tablespoon sultanas, 12oz uncooked basmati rice prepared, 20 fl oz gravy base, 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp chilli powder, 1/2 tsp salt, freshly chopped coriander. For the garnish: 1 or 2 hard boiled eggs sliced or quartered and the same of sliced tomato.
Prep chicken tikka. Put 2 to 3 tablespoons of oil into a pan a heat through, add cashew nuts and stir until golden brown. Take out and drain. Do the same with the sultanas until they plump out and drain. Put chicken tikka pieces into the pan and stir fry for 2 minutes, add the cooked rice to chicken and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes until heated up thoroughly. Bring gravy base to a boil and turn down to simmer. Add garam masall, chilli powder, salt and stir well. Cook on simmer for a couple of minutes more. Pour gravy base over the rice and chicken and sprinkle over with cashews and sultanas. Finally garnish with boiled egg and tomatoes. Finally sprinkle over with chopped fresh coriander. Hope this helps, it's delicious! Let me know how you get on with it. It's all to do with preparation.
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OK this ones for yellowfingers, I finally got back to my friendly takeaway and ordered the above.
He used 2 pans to cook this one for the sauce, the other for the rice......
Mark
I'm several months late in noticing your message above, posted back in June. The index of recipes has proved useful.
Please confirm - is your message a series of (very interesting) observations or an actual 'recipe' given to you, or at least talked through, by the chef? I know I found it impossible to ascertain what was going on when I watched a biryani being made, more recently.
Also, have you actually tried out the recipe and, if so, how close does it come to what your take-away actually serves as their Chicken Tikka Biryani?
Regards
George
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Hi George,
This was an observation, however the guy at my takeaway is very friendly and I can follow his recipes, if he adds something I'm not sure about or is too quick I ask him what he has done (he is cooking about 6 feet away from me in an open plan kitchen)
I haven't tried the recipe out because I'm not a biryani fan, I had this one because YF wanted a biryani recipe from a BIR, and unfortunately the end curry turned out to be decidedly average.
cheers
Mark
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It's all part of our collective knowledge, in which you have been a major factor.
Mark
Thank you for you clarification. I agree with Pete (above): all information is useful and your reports are up there with the very best. I can't help wondering why the biryani which you saw didn't have any base sauce added to the rice, though. I'm sure most BIRs would use base sauce in a biryani. I'll report back once I've had a try (or two) at replicating a typical BIR chicken biryani.
Has YF or anyone else tried and succeeded at cooking a BIR-style chicken biryani yet, please?
If you compare a chicken biryani with a chicken tikka biryani, I would have expected it to be a case of using either pre-cooked chicken, or pre-baked chicken tikka, with all other elements of the dish remaining the same. But I may be wrong.
Regards
George
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Yes this one did seem totally unlike other BIRs, I wonder if it was because I asked for madras?
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I'm making my 15 Onion base as i type this !!!
I'm going to have a go at a Biryani as i had my first one about a month ago, i will omit the Chilli powder in the first stage so i can make some different Curries, Lasan Chicken is another I'm going to have a bash at. ;D might do a pic of the cooked Base ,i will post it in the 99.9% post .
DARTHPHALL..... 8)
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Has YF or anyone else tried and succeeded at cooking a BIR-style chicken biryani yet, please?
I've definitely tried George, but alas no success yet. In principle it's easy. You heat up some curry base with your choice of meat, add some biryani masala, bung in a portion of cold pilau rice and stir fry until the curry sauce is absorbed by the rice. Then of course you can add raisins, almond slivers etc. and top with any combination of slices of tomato, cucumber and boiled egg to make it like your local version.
In practice, unsurprisingly, it's the biryani masala that's the problem as I just can't seem to get a blend that's right. In desperation I recently picked up a jar of biryani masala from Tesco and I'lll give that a go when I have time.
Mark's recipe is definitely not biryani, it's indian style fried rice. That's no insult to Mark, he'd never had biryani before so wasn't to know and I appreciated his effort in trying to get the recipe.
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I've definitely tried George, but alas no success yet. In principle it's easy. You heat up some curry base with your choice of meat, add some biryani masala, bung in a portion of cold pilau rice and stir fry until the curry sauce is absorbed by the rice. Then of course you can add raisins, almond slivers etc. and top with any combination of slices of tomato, cucumber and boiled egg to make it like your local version. In practice, unsurprisingly, it's the biryani masala that's the problem as I just can't seem to get a blend that's right. In desperation I recently picked up a jar of biryani masala from Tesco and I'lll give that a go when I have time
YF
Many thanks for your report on work-in-progress. It sounds like the spicing (masala) is the key, then, from what you've found. I hoped that one might not need to add much more than the base sauce, if the base sauce already tastes good on it's own, like MarkJ's did when I made it. But again, not having tried to make a BIR chicken biryani yet myself, it sounds like I'm wrong. The take-away I visited recently also added lots of different bits and pieces (I don't know what) so I guess it's not as simple as I'd first hoped. I'll save my money on any almond slivers, tomato, cucumber, boiled egg etc (the finishing touches, more for appearance than taste, I assume), until the basic taste of the core element - the 'coated' rice and chicken mix - is like at a BIR. 95% of hundreds of BIR chicken biryanis I've had over many years, at dozens of different BIRs have all tasted very, very similar - almost as close as one Big Mac tasting virtually identical to another Big Mac, any time, any place.
Regards
George