Recipe Chicken Dopiaza

We liked it. Craig really liked it. I'd like to make again as I think the comparatively heavy tomato sauce kind of muted the flavors of the aromatics and spices. We usually have canned tomatoes in pantry as a just in case, but didnt this time, nor did I have enough fresh.

However, and this is just purely a personal preference, think I would toast all the seeds, including the brown mustard, and coarsely grind them before cooking. The cumin, coriander and fenugreek seeds didn't really breakdown when I pureed after cooking them, and I just didn't like feeling them as I ate.

Overall. I'd give it a thumbs up for sure!
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medtran49 said:
It means the liquid drained from the tomatoes.
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That was my initial thought but when using tinned tomatoes I've never consider draining off the juice. In fact, with the tinned tomatoes available here, if you drained off all the juice there'd be very little left.
 
medtran49 said:
The cumin, coriander and fenugreek seeds didn't really breakdown when I pureed after cooking them, and I just didn't like feeling them as I ate.
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I generally grind cumin seeds before adding them to curry. Coriander seeds, I always grind. Fenugreek seeds I add whole a few minutes before the end and they always seem to dissolve.
 
I'm glad you liked it! Phew...

medtran49 said:
I'd like to make again as I think the comparatively heavy tomato sauce kind of muted the flavors of the aromatics and spices. We usually have canned tomatoes in pantry as a just in case, but didnt this time, nor did I have enough fresh.
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Exactly what I thought when you said 'tomato sauce'.
 
medtran49 said:
However, and this is just purely a personal preference, think I would toast all the seeds, including the brown mustard, and coarsely grind them before cooking. The cumin, coriander and fenugreek seeds didn't really breakdown when I pureed after cooking them, and I just didn't like feeling them as I ate.
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Yep. As I recall the seeds did break down when I pureed, so either I cooked longer than I said (I'm beginning to doubt the accuracy of my recipe timing now!) or my stick blender is more powerful. There would be no harm in cooking the sauce longer.

In fact, for a lot of curries I do toast and grind the seeds. My thinking here was to keep the taste of the spices lighter so the onions came through more. I'm not sure it made that much difference. Toasting the seeds as you know will intensify their flavour.
 
Yorky said:
That was my initial thought but when using tinned tomatoes I've never consider draining off the juice. In fact, with the tinned tomatoes available here, if you drained off all the juice there'd be very little left.
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I don't think I meant drained. :shy: I meant the weight minus the tin. Sorry.
 
Morning Glory said:
Yep. As I recall the seeds did break down when I pureed, so either I cooked longer than I said (I'm beginning to doubt the accuracy of my recipe timing now!) or my stick blender is more powerful. There would be no harm in cooking the sauce longer.

In fact, for a lot of curries I do toast and grind the seeds. My thinking here was to keep the taste of the spices lighter so the onions came through more. I'm not sure it made that much difference. Toasting the seeds as you know will intensify their flavour.
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I cooked for the 15 minutes, then covered and it sat for a couple of hours before I finished, so cooking time was a lot longer as it cooled down. We've got 1 of the "big name" stick blenders (my butt is too lazy to get up and look now, but I think it's Cuisinart) that has adjustable speeds. It's kept on the high end of medium speed range. Not sure I'd want to turn it up any further as I got splattered a couple of time with drops, even after I added some water. But, again, the heaviness of the sauce versus chopped tomatoes may have come into play here as well.
 
garlichead said:
For best results heat up the seeds until fragrant then crush in a mortar and pestle or in a spice grinder then add to anything your sautéing near the beginning of the recipe.
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Already been mentioned a couple of times.
 
garlichead said:
For best results heat up the seeds until fragrant then crush in a mortar and pestle or in a spice grinder then add to anything your sautéing near the beginning of the recipe.
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That is what I normally do but wanted a less intense flavour as this dish is all about onions. As I said - I'm not sure it mattered in the end except that when medtran49 ate it she didn't like the whole seeds which remained. When I made this the seeds got blended in.
 
Morning Glory said:
That is what I normally do but wanted a less intense flavour as this dish is all about onions. As I said - I'm not sure it mattered in the end except that when medtran49 ate it she didn't like the whole seeds which remained. When I made this the seeds got blended in.
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Yeah for sure. If I want a less intense flavour from spices I just adjust the amounts I use. If it's white fish for example I'll be more sparing not to cover up the delicate flavour but if it's shrimp I might kick everything up, reduce the vegetables down to more of a thick ragu. Practice and trusting your palate is key.
 
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