Topic: Zaal base with an added extra!

[curryhell]

Having run out of base it was time to set to and cook up another batch.  My prefered base is that shown to us at Zaal's in Fleet back in February of this year.  It has a lovely almost sweet flavour which is very moorish and the texture is silky smooth and glistens. Everytime i've cooked with it, it has delivered fine tasting curries.  The story of the base is here:

http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=7859.0

and Solarsplace has provided a concise easy to follow version here with video footage:

http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=8871.0

Although i rate this base highly i cannot help but feel it could be improved further.  There has been so much talk and reports of how much more flavour has been experienced by the inclusion of whole spice as well as chicken stock.  Yesterday i decided to try something i'd been saying i'd do for a while.
Whenever i cook my chicken I always use the Ifindforu's method which is detailed here:

http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=7611.0

It produces succulent pieces of beautiful tasting chicken which smells so BIR when its cooking.  And the resultant stock is simply to die for in flavour IMHO.  Such a waste to throw it away as i had done in the past.  It uses some wholes spice which just happens to be those spoken about and included in base preparation (cassia, asian bay and cardamon). 
Last time i cooked some chicken I froze the stock for inclusion in my next base.  So to kill two  birds with one stone, i decided to add the stock to my new base. Admittedly, the base already contained ackni stock of the aforementioned whole spice as per the recipe but i wanted to add the chicken stock to see for myself if there was any noticeable difference given its superb flavour and aroma and whether chicken stock really made that much difference to the finished curry, this being another hot and contraversial topic in times gone by.
This was added once the base process was complete save the boiling and simmering to release the oil to finish.
Here's the end result - no suprises here:





Excuse the feeble attempt at my trying to capture the consistancy as it left the ladle

My first impressions of the base once cooled were as expected.  Pleasant mild veg tasting thin soup with a hint of curry flavour just like it was last time i made it.  No discernable chicken taste.  However the aroma was greatly enhanced.  I could smell the whole spice in the background with the ginger garlic.  Before these were not obvious.

So tonight, having left the base to cool overnight, was my first opportunity to cook with it.  I was quite looking forward to the results which may answer a couple of my own questions.  I decided to cook two dishes i had cooked quite regularly and which would highlight any possible improvements or changes to flavour, that is providing my cooking techniques are consistent.  The chosen dishes were the Zaal phall as per the video:

http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=7714.170

 and my easy madras which tried to emulate a recent takeaway madras i had had:

http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=8786.0

The madras:










It must have been one of my good nights in the kitchen ;D.  The end result was probably one of the best curries that i can remember ever producing.  The consistency was IMO spot on, not too thin but at the same time not thick and the colour was as good if not better than the takeaway i had eaten. It was a beautiful golden orangey yellow with spots of red oil dotted across it.
It oozed flavour and depth and the texture was almost creamy.  There was a sharpness from the tomato puree but the tomato flavour had faded well into the background. A lovely curry flavour ensued that just went on forever.  The chilli heat was evident but provided only a small surge  of heat that came and went with every mouthful which was accompanied by a very slight underlying sweetness of the mango chutney and fried onions. This curry was far superior to my previous attempts at imitating what the takeaway had delivered and certainly as good and better in some respects.  Again this was at the bottom end of the madras scale and additonal heat could be added but would affect the fine curry taste that the dish had.

On to the Zaal phall:







Again the texture and look was very good, again creamy but thicker than the madras but not in anyway stodgy or pasty.  The colour was orangey red (ordinary chilli powder was used rather than deggi or kashmiri mirch) with quite  a lot of red oil on the surface.  The same amount of oil was used to cook the madras but the phall was cooked longer to cook out the water that was added to bring out the heat of the chilli.  This must have encouraged the oil to migrated from the base more.  The aroma clearly gave away the  presence of Mr Naga and a tomato element which had an almost roasted smell to it.  The taste however was not in anyway overpowered by the  addition of naga pickle.  It simply blended in and added to the complex flavour of the dish.  The tomato background flavour was more prominent but married well with the heat of the increased chilli content.  It almost had a rich flavour to it.  The afterburn on the lips was prolonged but not intense and unpleasant as can happen with uncooked chilli powder.  The dish was as good as any phall i had cooked at home.  Next time i would increase the chilli content as i only added a little over half a level chefs spoon.

Conclusions:
Two out of two very good results so it must be something to do with the ingredients ;D
No taste of the chicken stock in the background (which is good)
However, i'm not sure whether the "improvement" is due to the adding of the chicken stock, the whole spice in the stock or a combination of the two.  Next time i will try adding the stock from either CBM's or IFFU's bombay potato recipe. That way i get whole spice cooked in the gravy as either method produces a divine smelling and tasting stock which is criminal to throw away.  It will also eliminate the chicken from the equation and allow me to use the gravy for vegetarian dishes if there is ever a need.
Would i add the resultant chicken stock to a gravy again?  Most certainly as there were no detrimental effects and there was an improvement overall.  I can sense check this further as i cook other dishes to see if the improvement is sustained and consistant.
I will be making another base shortly and adding the bombay potato stock for a comparison.  And i still have 3 portions of Julians base so i can do an exact comparison side by side to determine what qualities each dish has or lacks.
Enough waffling.  Time to press the post button i think :

[Peripatetic Phil]

Excuse the feeble attempt at my trying to capture the consistancy as it left the ladle

That's not just curry p@rn, that's curry bukkake !

But jolly well done on the results : it sounds as if I should attempt to replicate this.
** Phil.

[Secret Santa]

Damn you to hell curryhell!

I was perfectly content at the thought of a few crackers and some choice cheese at this late hour but now I just have to hit the curry.

All in all it looks amazing. The only negative for me would be that the phall is just swimming in oil, far too much to be considered reasonable.

[Peripatetic Phil]

Damn you to hell curryhell!  I was perfectly content at the thought of a few crackers and some choice cheese at this late hour but now I just have to hit the curry.  All in all it looks amazing. The only negative for me would be that the phall is just swimming in oil, far too much to be considered reasonable.

It arrived too late to change my meal : roast partridge witn roast potatoes, stuffing, mushy peas, bread sauce and gravy.  Sheer British indulgent heaven

P.S. Reluctantly forced to agree about the oil : a tad too much, IMHO, but I'm sure it was decanted before the guests were served.

** Phil.

[curryhell]

Damn you to hell curryhell!

I was perfectly content at the thought of a few crackers and some choice cheese at this late hour but now I just have to hit the curry.

All in all it looks amazing. The only negative for me would be that the phall is just swimming in oil, far too much to be considered reasonable.

I do apologise SS for interfering with your original supper plans .  How many times has this been done to all of us on the site? ;D.  Hey ho, dial away or get yourself into the kitchen :
As for the phall, i don't think the pic does it justice.  If it had been swimming i'd have have thrown it a life raft and then removed any excess.  I'll post pics of it again when i eat it so you can see all is not quite what it appears on the oil front for the phall.   I must confess i was surprised at the amount that the base gave up after the cooking though . Normally it gives virtually nothing with a good phall, maybe just barely visible.

[curryhell]

Excuse the feeble attempt at my trying to capture the consistancy as it left the ladle

That's not just curry p@rn, that's curry bukkake !

But jolly well done on the results : it sounds as if I should attempt to replicate this.
** Phil.

I can see where you're coming from Phil.  Forgive the pun and the incorrect spelling ;D :  Enjoy your dinner. Sounds real good.  Whilst i love mushy peas, they just don't belong a plate full of roast goodies
Just finished the remnants of the other nights delivery.  Funnily enough tasted just like my Elaichi North Indian Special : :

[colin grigson]

That is a great post CH ... very informative and comprehensive as always ... thanks for sharing 

[Salvador Dhali]

Nice one, CH - that Madras and phal look like the real deal.

As I've mentioned before, I'm a fan of the Zaal base too, and while I always add a tablespoon or so of the stock from the precooked meat to my curries, I hadn't thought of launching it all straight into the base.

It's something that I'll definitely be trying though... 

[solarsplace]

Hi Dave

Great post & delicious looking food in the pictures 

You are totally right. The stock from the pre-cooked chicken can be far to good to be wasted, but I guess it often does at home due to lack of freezer space and not necessarily making a gravy at the same time etc.

I used to use the Knorr Chicken Stock Pots (http://www.knorr.co.uk/Products/Knorr-Stock-Pots.aspx) as a short cut stock with bases in the past. Used to work very well at the time to add a subtle / meaty depth of flavour - might be worth keeping in the idea pile for a rainy day.

Cheers

[curryhell]

Thanks for all the comments guys.  Well, here's the phall just before i devoured it tonight with some mushroom pulao.  Probably about a tbsp of surplus oil .  How did i rate it?  It was lower down the heat spectrum than i prefer when it comes to a phall so next time a bit more chilli powder.  Taste wise, not as good as the best i've been served over the years but certainly equal to a good majority i've had in a BIR and better than some . Am looking forward to the madras taste test now and using the rest of the gravy






One day on and it's testing time again.  I have just eaten the madras with special pilau and mushroom bhaji.  When i cooked it i thought it was good.  Having time to get over my cooking spree when i tasted it again tonight I knew it was good.  The smell was just simply BIR.  Whilst the heat was well down the scale there is no getting away from it, this was a quality BIR curry cooked at home.  I'm so confident, this one will be cooked and taken in for the madras curry testers at work.  Even now, i'm sure they will be suitably impressed with the texture, smell and most of all the flavour.  The mushroom bhaji was also good, courtesy of CBM's little india video no. 1