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July 2017 - Rusty's Vindaloo

Group testing of selected forum recipes by forum members
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Greybeard
BIRD'S EYE
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Posts: 1604
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 11:18 pm
Favourite Curries: Dopiaza, Kashmiri, Madras or Garlic chicken
Location: Somewhere north of Watford but south of Inverness
Scotland

Re: July 2017 - Rusty's Vindaloo

Post by Greybeard »

Rusty,

This is going to be my curry tonight, what base did you use? Need to put some together as I've run out, so I thought I'd try to be as authentic as possible. Even have the yellow mustard seeds :thumbup:
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
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Rusty
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Australia

Re: July 2017 - Rusty's Vindaloo

Post by Rusty »

That's great GB hope I am not too late, the base I use is my own. Your reviews are always great so looking forward to it.

Cheers Rusty
The best day of the week to prepare onions for a base gravy is a Fryday 8-)
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Greybeard
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Favourite Curries: Dopiaza, Kashmiri, Madras or Garlic chicken
Location: Somewhere north of Watford but south of Inverness
Scotland

Re: July 2017 - Rusty's Vindaloo

Post by Greybeard »

Photo for the time being, writing a classic "Greybeard" review.
Rusty's vindaloo
Rusty's vindaloo
IMG_5846.JPG (129.56 KiB) Viewed 51497 times
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
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Rusty
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Australia

Re: July 2017 - Rusty's Vindaloo

Post by Rusty »

Looking forward to this GB nervously, Hiding my vindaloo to the right of the dish I feel this may not be good :lol::

Cheers Rusty
The best day of the week to prepare onions for a base gravy is a Fryday 8-)
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Greybeard
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Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 11:18 pm
Favourite Curries: Dopiaza, Kashmiri, Madras or Garlic chicken
Location: Somewhere north of Watford but south of Inverness
Scotland

Re: July 2017 - Rusty's Vindaloo

Post by Greybeard »

Don't worry Rusty, it was a great curry, I took the photo plated only because I was ashamed of the apalling state of the both the kitchen, the worktops and the cooker after a mammoth session of cooking a large fresh pot of base, a huge batch of ginger and garlic paste + 6 other dishes ...

As you can see by the smears on the plate I was in a desperate hurry and starving to boot :thumbup:
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
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Greybeard
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Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 11:18 pm
Favourite Curries: Dopiaza, Kashmiri, Madras or Garlic chicken
Location: Somewhere north of Watford but south of Inverness
Scotland

Re: July 2017 - Rusty's Vindaloo

Post by Greybeard »

Anyone who has spent any length of time on this forum will realise that BIR curries are addictive. Not just from the taste perspective, but one gets into a particular groove when cooking, performing the ritual of Mise en place, thinking through the process of what exact order in which to add ingredients, visualising the final result. Ensuring that all the ingredients are on hand for some of the more obscure Curry Club recipes. Maybe visiting the chemist to purchase a packet or two of antacid tablets to store in the bedside drawer for when a bad dose of indigestion hits you at 4am in the morning. Checking that there is sufficient room in the freezer to store a toilet roll or two. It all culminates in a form of adrenaline rush when everything comes together, albeit for the briefest of moments. As any chef will tell you, the hours of perpetration, blood sweat and tears may well result in a perfect dish, just for this to be consumed in considerably less time than it takes to perform the post-dinner cleanup. It is no wonder that the UK spending on chilled ready meals in January 2017 was worth £1.6 billion and climbing.

We live in an instant society, where the principles of delayed gratification and self sufficiency joust with the siren calls of convenience and compromise. All of this boils down in the end result to a simple precept, that we can place our trust in a brand, a system, hand over our cash and get something back in return that will surpass anything we can achieve ourselves. We exchange our valuable money instead of our valuable time and hopefully gain a perceived value. Those who lurk in the deeper recesses of this forum tend to subscribe to the former, longer term view – no pain, no gain. I have always contested that high quality French and Italian food is based on freshness of produce and a number of basic techniques and disciplines, but a decent curry (especially a BIR curry) requires a lot more control, patience and discipline. I can guarantee I can teach anyone how to make a perfect white sauce or roux in 15 minutes, but it has taken me years to master the art of a decent Biryiani or Pilau rice. Months to get the BIR techniques “Just right”. Don’t get me wrong, decent Italian or French cuisine takes a lot of effort, but once you understand the basic techniques it all falls into place. The problem with BIR is that it is such a complex melting pot of cultures, values and methods that getting a clear focus as to what is truly going on is sometimes difficult. There is a lack of core identity and a multitude of options and methods. Take the Vindaloo for instance. Originally a Portuguese dish based on sour wine and pork, the BIR translation bears little resemblance to the original creation.

This recipe by Rusty, plays upon this theme in many ways. Traditionally, the whole pork and wine issue is a preservative and marination issue, which has migrated to mutton, chicken and other meats with a blast of non-alcoholic content over time. The question must be asked of course, who was willing to sample such blasphemous fare to construct the BIR equivalent. I could be wrong of course, but I doubt if plagiarism alone could account for the cross pollination between cultures. Maybe it did. From a purist perspective, Vindaloo is is possibly not a BIR dish after all, for its roots are not Indian. It would be churlish to take this line however, as Vindaloo is to the Indian curry house what strawberries and cream are to summer and Wimbledon.

Likewise, it would also be churlish to dismiss Rusty’s “Chuck it all in a pan” technique. Sure, the ingredient list is fairly minimal, and I like the ground mustard seeds philosophy as this added a different type of heat, making this a multi-layered dish rather than a brutal fiery gut-stripper. This is another one of these curries I can recommend a beginner taking on, it is very straightforward and provided you don’t go crazy on the heat levels, these is little risk of burning the spices due to all the liquid between the watered down tomato paste and the water used to help blitz the garlic and ginger paste. For this recipe I used my 28cm aluminium pan on the lowest heat of my big wok ring, and I didn’t have any problems. This month’s Curry Club dish was served with Pilau rice, Saag aloo and a good helping of Dhal. The reasons for these choices was not conspiratorial, these is something really comforting about the combination of Vindaloo and potato, Dhal and rice to use a Jamie Oliver phrase are “Best friends”. Anyway, it was a Friday (translate this to curry night) and a good blow out was inevitable. Rather than take a photo of the resulting bomb site that was my kitchen and the cooker (I had spent hours preparing a fresh load of base and 20 garlic bulbs worth of paste), I took the liberty of photographing the final meal rather than the dish itself – I was too hungry and impatient to decant it into a serving dish.

Now a confession. I didn’t tell Mrs GB that I was cooking a Vindaloo, as anything perceived as “Too hot” is met with a certain degree of feminine ire. I had a suspicion though that as the technique used is different from the standard BIR method, the resulting curry would turn out differently from a “standard” one. I was banking on the longer length of time to reduce the paste would mellow out the heat, and this indeed was the case. The final curry was – as I expected – multi-layered, with lots of flavour. There was no harshness or roughness, despite the quantity of spices used. Once again, it confirms that the “low and slow” technique produces excellent results, even although this is a major departure from your standard BIR kitchen where the aim is to to turn out as many curries as quickly as possible. It might be possible to crank up the heat and reduce the time, but I suspect this might leave a harsh edge to the spices or possibly leave them undercooked a bit if you are to avoid burning.

We both gave this a 9, and while I could handle a bit more heat I thoroughly enjoyed the dish. There was a small portion of curry and dhal left over, and this was enjoyed even more the next day. For the seasoned BIR chef, this method seems alien, and if you can can get the heat level just right, it could well be quicker to cook. There is no denying though that the resulting curry was excellent, and I have managed finally to get Mrs GB on the first rung of the hot curry ladder without using the underhand props of a heavy cold or pregnancy (hers, not mine I must add). Well done Rusty, for not only coming up with a great curry, but also proving that rules are sometimes meant to be broken.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
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Rusty
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Favourite Curries: Vindaloo
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Australia

Re: July 2017 - Rusty's Vindaloo

Post by Rusty »

Thanks for the great comprehensive review GB you were spot on in many ways,the heat level was to suit my taste and I agree not as hot as maybe a vindaloo should be. The technique I use would be great way for new BIR cooks , although as you said there is technique too cook the spices it is pretty dummy proof and makes a good curry.

Thanks again GB for giving my Vindaloo a go, next time you make your favorite curry why not give the chuck it all in method a go and see if there is any difference.

Cheers Rusty
The best day of the week to prepare onions for a base gravy is a Fryday 8-)
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Greybeard
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Favourite Curries: Dopiaza, Kashmiri, Madras or Garlic chicken
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Scotland

Re: July 2017 - Rusty's Vindaloo

Post by Greybeard »

Thanks Rusty, will give that a shot, it won't work with cream / yoghurt based curries as the dairy products may curdle, but it is definitely worthwhile for the standard Madras etc.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
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Rusty
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Favourite Curries: Vindaloo
Location: Adelaide South Australia
Australia

Re: July 2017 - Rusty's Vindaloo

Post by Rusty »

I only chuck in all ingredients at the start when I can things like butter,cream yogurt ect I add later on or as the recipe states
Cheers Rusty
The best day of the week to prepare onions for a base gravy is a Fryday 8-)
martyc
JALAPENO
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Joined: Sun Feb 28, 2016 12:52 pm
Great Britain

Re: July 2017 - Rusty's Vindaloo

Post by martyc »

Looks awesome...next on my list to trial !
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Rusty
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Favourite Curries: Vindaloo
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Australia

Re: July 2017 - Rusty's Vindaloo

Post by Rusty »

Give it a go guys, simple to make you can't go wrong.

Cheers Rusty
The best day of the week to prepare onions for a base gravy is a Fryday 8-)
Marktheshark
SERRANO
SERRANO
Posts: 478
Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2017 2:45 pm
Favourite Curries: Keema bhuna, vindaloo, Madras
Location: Halifax, West Yorkshire, England
England

Re: July 2017 - Rusty's Vindaloo

Post by Marktheshark »

Great review GB, as always, and many thanks to rusty for posting this recipe, cant wait to try this slightly different method and the resulting curry.
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Rusty
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Favourite Curries: Vindaloo
Location: Adelaide South Australia
Australia

Re: July 2017 - Rusty's Vindaloo

Post by Rusty »

Please do Mark

Cheers Rusty
The best day of the week to prepare onions for a base gravy is a Fryday 8-)
Thorbs
PIMENTO
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Favourite Curries: Chicken Chilli Masala, Prawn Kerela
Location: Brackley

Re: July 2017 - Rusty's Vindaloo

Post by Thorbs »

Nice one Rusty, particularly liked the taste of the vinegar coming through at the end, not too strong just brought all the flavours together.
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Rusty
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Re: July 2017 - Rusty's Vindaloo

Post by Rusty »

Thanks for trying my recipe Thorbs, I feel the vinegar is the key ingredient in a vindaloo, did you take any pics of your final dish.

Cheers Rusty
The best day of the week to prepare onions for a base gravy is a Fryday 8-)
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Dragonsfire
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Favourite Curries: Vindaloo
Location: Alberta Ca
Canada

Re: July 2017 - Rusty's Vindaloo

Post by Dragonsfire »

Great Looking Plate :thumbup:
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