Once again Hector has been tasked with sharing his Curry Cooking Skills with his soon-to-be-no-longer Charges. Aloo Chicken has proved to be successful in the past, time for a revisit. It was agreed that Curry for twelve would be the maximum within tolerance. This was based on doubling up at the cooker which turned out only to have five rings, oops. I’m sure I counted thirteen, or was it fourteen? Then two Colleagues who organise the Leavers’ Programme took a seat and a set of ingredients too. How many now?
KRK (Woodlands Road, Glasgow) once again supplied the Ingredients. They have continued the practice of piling up Sacks of Onions on the pavement outside their premises. One sack proved to be a blessing, at least there was Onions for all. The Skill Levels varied considerably. The Son of a Caterer chopped the Onions with gusto whilst one poor Chap who had better remain nameless looked at the Onion, the Knife and pondered… The Ginger was grated, the Garlic crushed/grated and the Fresh Chillies presented. How many? I don’t like Spicy Food – was one admission. (Why are you here?) Do we include the stems of the Coriander? Of course!
For some this was the first time a Chicken Fillet had ever been handled – Raw.
Strange looks. Real (Halal) Chicken, not Mechanically Recovered like The Weans enjoy. I didn’t get a Potato – twelve large Potatoes had been purchased, I don’t do miracles. Share and share alike was the requirement.
To The Cooker
Five Rings, Five Pots. Two Pots had Double Ingredients, one had Triple, a fourth Quadruple, but this was not admitted until a rather Anaemic Brew manifested itself. Meanwhile a Single Staff Curry pot had hogged the Fifth Ring… The first twenty minutes is the most important in the Cooking of Curry, the Onions need to be pulped. With the Partners spelling each other, there was near continuous stirring, time for the Chicken and Potatoes and finally the Fresh Coriander.
Meanwhile, Hector was making batches of Basmati. Is this enough Rice for all of us? We are having Curry with Rice, not Rice with Curry.
The Proof is in The Eating
The Staff Curry lived up to The Billing, superb. Hector enjoys a Chicken Curry? I had to sample the others. The larger the Pot the less the Taste. Bulk Curry Cooking takes on a New Dimension, difficult to control unless one has the luxury of not cooking from scratch. I still feel that Chicken Curry is best served as soon as it is ready, like Fish Curry. Lamb is best left overnight. Mince and Peas may work both ways, we shall find out on Friday when Hector’s Home Cooking will feature.
Some of these faces have featured before, and they were eating Curry too…
