Topic: Chicken Tikka Pathia - Curried Away Style

[Malc.]

After 50 posts mine included, only 4 posts and the original are actually on topic!  :-X

[Peripatetic Phil]

Really Phil? You were the one person that i thought would understand being married into a Chinese/Vietnamese family.  EVERY Indian in the world knows and uses the word "gravy"!

I accept that, in the context of the meat-juiced liquid that accompanies a roast.  But there seems to be a consensus here that in a BIR kitchen, the sauce is referred to as "garabi".  /If/ that is the case, then I see no harm in our adopting the term, and I certainly can't see that to do so is a racist act.

Would you really mispronounce words in a derogatory way in a Chinese kitchen so that they would understand you?

In a DEROGATORY way ?  No, of course not.  But surely there is no suggestion that anyone is using "garabi" in a derogatory way, is there ?  Rather, it seems to me that we are using it in an affectionate way : something to facilitate communication rather than to hinder it.

I understand from your first message on the subject that you had a hard time at school because of your race, and I am truly sorry for that and understand that the experience can have left scars and made you more sensitive to possible racism than others who have been more fortunate, but I really do think that you are seeing racism here where none exists.  Just as the French (despite the best efforts of L'Acad

[DalPuri]

Consensus? What a load of %$

[Peripatetic Phil]

If one of your best friends came to your house and then asked one of your wife's family who's English wasn't perfect, "so how do you make your special flied lice?" Would you still think of it as affectionate?

That would depend entirely on the motivation of the person asking the question.  My wife's family know that their English is not always perfect, and if I say something back to one of them using the same mis-pronunciation that they have just used, stressing the pronunciation as I do so, then they know I am teasing them and it is being used in an affectionate way.  They may then try to get closer to the English pronunciation, and I will help them.  The whole point is, surely, that no-one here is using "garabi" in the same way that members of the National Front use "Paki" (or "Chink", for that matter) -- those who use it do so because they believe that that is what it is called in BIR kitchens.  Whether this is a fact, I have no idea, nor do I know whether the forum has started using it because of "the teachings of one person" or whether the idea is more widespread.  All I know is that I cannot think of a less likely place to encounter racism than in a forum devoted to Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani food -- it seems to me that the vast majority of CR0 members hold those who work in BIRs in very high esteem, and the very last thing we would want to do is to cause offence to them, knowingly or otherwise.

** Phil.

[Peripatetic Phil]

OK, watched the video now, and whilst this doesn't resemble any pathia I have ever eaten that is not intended to imply that it is not an excellent dish -- we have no way of knowing from a video alone. But one question : why does he add the Tandoori masala right at the end ?  How can the spices in the masala cook for long enough to allow their essential oils to leach out into the dish ? 

** Phil.

[Malc.]

Probably for similar reasons that garam masala is sometimes sprinkled over a dish before serving. I know my rajah tandoori masala has a sweet floral almost chocolaty aroma and taste uncooked.

[Peripatetic Phil]

Probably for similar reasons that garam masala is sometimes sprinkled over a dish before serving. I know my rajah tandoori masala has a sweet floral almost chocolaty aroma and taste uncooked.

So I wonder whether we can classify spices into three sets : those that /must/ be cooked in oil to release their flavour; those that /can/ be so cooked, but which can also be added raw at or near the end of cooking; and those that are almost invariably added added raw at or near the end of cooking.  What do you think ?  (I would put turmeric, chilli and white cumin in the first set).  And can you list the ingredients of your Rajah tandoori masala, as it is something that I do not possess ...

** Phil.

[Malc.]

And can you list the ingredients of your Rajah tandoori masala, as it is something that I do not possess ...

Certainly I would say some spices have to be cooked to get the best from them such as turmeric, but others like coriander or cardamon you can use as is.

My apologies, my TM is not Rajah having just checked, it's TRS. The ingredients are as follows: Coriander, salt, fenugreek, cumin, cinnamon, chillies, ginger, onion, garlic, mustard, bay leaves, nutmeg, E124, E102, citric acid, cloves, mace, cardamons. 

Makes wicked Tandoori Mackerel too

[George]

How can the spices in the masala cook for long enough to allow their essential oils to leach out into the dish ?

Haven't you ever sprinkled pepper on your food (any kind) at a restaurant table? That done, do you ask the waiter to take your meal back to the kitchen for a thorough reheat to allow the essential oils to leach out into the dish?

[rallim]

Oh and the red sauce nonsense, It's a fact, and used in a lot of Indian restaurants, 1 recipe I have: tomato sauce, lemon juice, sugar, tinned fruit, mango chutney and a couple of other ingredients this restaurant used..best patia ever.

rallim are you Scottish because I have a feeling that's a 'standard' pathia sauce way up North. Down here though, unless things have changed (and I could easily believe they may have), the pathia tends to be made up from individual ingredients rather than a preprepared sauce.

Hi Secret Santa yeah Scottish, my friends restaurant had a large urn full of patia sauce which was a red colour with a sweet and sour taste and was kept in the cooler.

Regards