This is my Chicken Madras recipe. Its a BIR version (British Indian Restaurant) that has authentic ways to make the perfect restaurant curry at home. There are quiet a few steps that need to be completed but most can be done in advance.
Stage 1 - Garabi
The Garabi or Gharbi is the main base sauce of all curry's. All different restaurants have their own version and I've tried and tested quite a few but to date this is the best one I have found. You will need this to cook the madras recipe but you can do this up to 3 days in advance
Ingredients
6 Large onions
500 ml of Vegetable Oil
1 - 2 Tablespoons of Cumin Seeds
1 Chef Spoon of Salt (1 Chef spoon is around 3 tablespoons)
2 Tablespoons of Garam Massala
1 Teaspoon of Tandoori Massala
1 Tablespoon of Chilli Powder
1 Chefs Spoon of Watered down Tomato Paste
3 Litres of Water
Method
1. Chop the onions roughly and place them in a large pan
2. Sprinkle on the cumin seeds
3. Add water to the pan until it is about 3/4 full leaving the top of the onions uncovered
4. Boil for 1 hour on a high heat.
5. After 1 hour check the water and ensure the water is covering the onions add more if needed and reduce the heat to a simmer for another hour.
6. After 2 hours add the oil and continue to cook for another hour.
7. After the 3 hours are up add the salt and spices and continue to cook for a further 30 minutes to an hour.
8. Blend together to get it as fine as possible.
Stage 2 - Mix Powder
As with the Garbi each restaurant has its on blend of spices known as the mix powder, the mix powder is a blend of different spices that is used in most curry's as a base. You can play around with the spices to get it as you like it but this is the mix I use. This can be done in advance then put in a air tight container to use again and again.
Mix the following together,
8 tablespoons of Turmeric powder
5 Tablespoons of Coriander powder
4 Tablespoons of Curry powder
4 Tablespoons of Cumin powder
3 Tablespoons of Paprika powder
1 Teaspoon of Garlic powder
1 Teaspoon of Ginger powder
Half the quantities if you don't want to make as much.
Stage 3 - Pre Cooked Chicken
Ever wondered how your local curry house can create really lovely dishes really quickly? The reason apart from the stages above is because the meat/poultry is already cooked. All Indian restaurants cook the meat or poultry off in advance for speed and for ease.
Ingredients
Chicken cut into good sized chunks (At least 1 inch cubed)
2 Table spoons of Methi (Fenugreek Leaves)
2 Tablespoons of Mix powder
Water
Method
1. Add the chicken to a saucepan and cover with water
2. place the pan on the hob on a high heat
3. Add the Methi leaves and mix powder and stir together
4. Boil for 20 minutes until the chicken is succulent (Open a piece up and make sure its not pink inside). You want it to be as tender as possible but cooked all the way through.
5. Drain the water away and place the chicken to the side.
Madras
You will now be please to know that we have completed all the prep to make the curry and we will now be constructing the Madras.
Ingredients
1 Chef spoon of oil
1 to 2 Tablespoon of Lemon juice
1 Tablespoon of Chilli powder (More if you want it hotter)
1 Tablespoon of Mix powder
1 Tablespoon of Ginger Paste
2 Tablespoons of Garlic Paste
2 Tablespoons of watered down tomato paste
Pre Cooked Chicken
Garabi
Salt if required
Sprinkle of Tandoori Massala
Method
1. Heat up your pan on a high heat and add the oil
2. Add the Ginger and Garlic paste and mix with a wooden spoon/Chefs spoon or equivalent for around 1 minute. Then add the lemon
3. Add the spices and mix with the garlic and ginger and and cook for 1 - 2 minutes, be careful not to burn the spices, turn the heat down if necessary.
4. Add the watered down tomato paste and mix together.
5. After 1 minute add one ladle of Garabi and stir together
6. Keep stirring and keep on a high heat for 5 minutes.
7. Add you pre cooked chicken (As much as you want to use)
8. Add another 1 or 2 ladles of garabi and mix together
9. You want to keep cooking this for at least 10 minutes, you want to get it to the correct consistency that's right for you, I often add more garabi whilst cooking and cook it to my desired consistency. I personally would cook it for 20 minutes in total occasionally topping it up with garabi.
10. Taste and add salt if needed.
11. Sprinkle over a little Tandoori Massala & serve with some fresh corriander.
Pilau Rice
This is how i make my pilau rice which comes out great every time
Ingredients
Basmati Rice (How much you want to make)
2 Bay Leaves
4 Cloves
4 Cardamoms
2 Tablespoons of veg oil
1 Cinnamon stick
Water
Colouring for that Restaurant look
Method
1. Heat up a oven proof pan of salted water with enough water to completely cover the amount of rice you are going to use.
2. Once the water is boiling add your rice and mix so it doesn't all sit on the bottom
3. Bring back to the boil then continue to boil for 7-8 minutes only
4. Remove from the heat and drain
5. With the back of a knife slightly crush the cardamom pods
6. In your now empty pan heat up the oil and add the bay leaves, cloves, cardamoms and cinnamon stick. Keep moving them about for a few minutes until you can smell the aroma coming out of them
7. Turn off the heat
8. Place the drained rice back into the pan with the spices and mix together
9. Add 2 straight lines of colouring into the pan but don't mix
10 Heat the oven to 100c or gas mark 1 and place rice mixture into the oven for 45 minutes with the lid of the pan on or use Tin foil if you don't have a pan with a lid.
11. Remove the lid and continue to cook for 15 minutes.
12. Remove from the oven and mix together (The colour now is amazing)
More pics will be added next time I make this recipe.
Enjoy
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