Hey Everyone,
Been meaning to post this for about three weeks... my second attempt at a curry for a couple of friends I'd invited over. I cooked mostly the same stuff as before because I felt more comfortable doing something I'd already done (it is only my second attempt after all) and I also wanted to try modifying things very slightly based on my results last time. I did use the frozen base as per advice in my other thread "
base sauce - fresh or frozen" and it was indeed perfectly fine.
So, my overall meal consisted of popodums and chutneys, paratha, chicken dhansak, saag paneer, and pilau rice. Recipes again were using KD's The Curry Secret book. Changes I wanted to make from my initial attempt (
see thread here) are as follows;
It seems like I put too much coloring in the rice last time around and it all came out a bit orange. I was careful to use less this time and I tried to ensure a lot of white was still visible in the pan. Also, I felt the rice needed a little more fragrance than before, so I increased the spices added overall by 50% from the recipe. This came out nice for my palette.
- Rice Cooking
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- Pilau Rice
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Second was the dhansak. Last time around it came out quite dry. I think this was because I left it on for quite a long time while I was getting all the other stuff ready. Additionally the chicken was overdone because I cooked it fully then put it in the sauce where it cooked a lot more. So changes this time; I was careful to only just almost cook the chicken in the base before removing it and putting it aside. When I cooked the sauce once ready I kept a lid almost all the way on it to keep in the moisture. I also added a quarter cup of water a couple of times just to keep it to a nice consistency. Lastly I didn't add the chicken until about seven minutes before I was ready to serve it, and just long enough to heat it through and finish off that last minute or so to cook. Result, must runnier sauce and perfectly cooked chicken.
- Chicken Dhansak
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The saag panner last time was a little disappointing. The cheese was a little over fried and I've never been a big fan of saag paneer with the cubes anyway. This time I simply grated the cheese and added it to the spinach a little before it was ready so it kinda melted into the mix. I also added two slightly rounded tablespoons of caster sugar to sweeten it up. One mistake I feel like I made though was to get salted spinach. The sugar helped offset this a bit but it was still noticeably salty. Next time, unsalted spinach for sure.
- Saag Paneer
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Still have to work a little on my bread. It's the last thing to do, and by the time I am ready to cook it I am frantically trying to get everything ready so it just kinda turns out meh. Still tasted good though, though my exact technique definitely needs some work. Next time I think I'll try naan though.
- Paratha
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All in all, a very tasty curry. Please let me know your comments, or advice on how I can do better next time.
- Dinner Table
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Thanks!
Lozman.
