Bottle masala chicken curry is a restaurant curry you’ve never heard of. Nobody has. It isn’t a thing. Not yet anyway. But it should be.
Lush sauce. Tender chicken. And incredibly complex flavours. Courtesy of a magical spice mix. Bottle masala.
Never heard of it? That’s OK. Follow me down the rabbit hole. It will all become clear.
Bottle masala is a spice blend. Like garam masala. Or chaat masala. But not really.
It’s a crazy, crazy spice blend. With an unbelievable list of ingredients.
Things like stone flower. Mugwort. Nagkesar bulbs. Sounds like ingredients in a Harry Potter potion. Except there’s no eye of newt. Or mandrake root.
Can be as many as 60 different spices in the blend. It’s the stuff of secret family recipes. Handed down from generation to generation. You can’t fake this level of complexity.
And if you’re wondering. It’s called bottle masala because it is stored in bottles. Nothing more complicated than that.
Coloured bottles. Keep the light out. And the spices fresh. Good thinking…
East Indian bottle masala comes from west India
This one gets curiouser and curiouser. Bottle masala comes from western India. Made by East Indians. That live in Mumbai. And didn’t come from east India.
Confused? I’m a little fuzzy myself. Seems it goes back to the days of the East India Company. I think.
All these history lessons have something to do with the East India Company. So it could be true. Or not. Take it with a grain of salt.
A few hundred years ago the Portuguese arrived in west India. And set out to converting people to Christianity.
The Portuguese worked their way to Bombay. Did their thing there. Converted a bunch of Bombay residents.
Then the English came along. The East India Company maybe? With money. And work. For locals.
Enterprising and recently converted Christian residents of Bombay wanted jobs.
They spoke English. And it seems they were good at marketing. Not sure what religion had to do with it though…
They took to calling themselves East Indians. After the East India Company. That’s how “East” Indians came to live in west India.
I don’t know if that’s true. I wasn’t there.
But I do know they make a wicked spice blend. Which lets me make bottle masala chicken curry. So I’m happy.
Another thing I know. The Portuguese brought chilies with them. And the rest is history…
Bottle masala chicken curry
Don’t worry. I won’t make this a regular thing. But there’s a story behind this bottle masala chicken curry.
I had never tasted bottle masala. Until a long time friend of glebekitchen sent me some. Thanks Patricia. You started this one.
Still can’t believe she shared. It’s so good. Came to her from a friend in Goa. Who got it from a local lady who makes it.
I remember getting it. Clearly. I could smell it through the bag. Intense. Amazing even. Something special.
I tried it. I loved it. Made an amazing curry that night. Everything was perfect. I was happy.
Until I realized I don’t have friends in Goa that know ladies that make bottle masala. Big problem. Fatal flaw even.
You can get bottle masala – you just have to want it
I started researching bottle masala. Had to get my fix. Looked hard at recipes online.
There are some out there. They are non-trivial. And the ingredient list is daunting. Even for me.
I’m all out of nagkesar bulbs. And we all know what happens if you hear a mandrake root scream.
You can make it if you are determined enough. Or you can buy it. There are guys out there that sell it. Boutique spice purveyors.
I get mine from a shop in Derby. That’s in the UK. The Herb and Spice Emporium. Look them up. Top notch stuff.
Bottle masala chicken curry is all about the bottle masala
How’s that for a shocking headline? Think about it for a second.
What spices are you going to add to a blend of just about every spice known? None. That’s my answer anyway.
Bottle masala is the star. What this one is about. It works. Incredibly well.
But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t play with it. Shouldn’t slip it into other dishes. For a bit of complexity. Think of it as a bit of fairy dust. Magic powder.
I’m slipping it into dishes all over the place. Not a lot. But enough to get a little of that magic.
The Kitchen King variations
OK. It’s one variation. Nod to J S Bach there. Couldn’t resist.
But there is a variation that works. Not the same. But it will still be a pretty special chicken curry.
There’s a commercial blend called Kitchen King. Sounds like it would suck. That’s a name nobody can take seriously.
But it is actually pretty good. 20 ingredients. If you’re counting. No nagkesar bulb. But still.
Swap out the bottle masala for 2 1/2 teaspoons of Kitchen King and a teaspoon of kashmiri chili powder. Drop the salt. There’s salt in Kitchen King. Adjust salt at the end if needed.
It won’t be bottle masala chicken curry. Obviously. But it will be a really good chicken curry. Call it chef’s special chicken curry.
“Succulent chicken morsels in a rich sauce with fresh green chilies and chef’s secret spices”. Seen that one before? Indian restaurant menus always make me laugh.
This is cooking just like they do in Indian restaurants
The techniques may seem a little odd to you. Unusual even. There’s a lot of prep. You need to make this stuff called curry base . Or base gravy. Depending who you ask.
Curry base gravy isn’t rocket science. It’s basically a bunch of boiled onions and some spices. Some garlic and ginger. Tomato. A bit of cilantro. Oil.
Some people put a bunch of other stuff in their gravies. Coconut. Peppers. Carrots. I’ve even seen evaporated milk.
I don’t like that approach. The more you put into the gravy the more all the curries taste the same. It’s a trap.
The other big thing is cooking technique. It’s different. If you’ve never cooked restaurant style take the time to read this primer on Indian restaurant cooking . There’s even a video. Worth a look.
It’s not hard. It’s certainly not rocket science. But it does take a little getting used to. So don’t plan on having a dinner party the first time you try.
Try bottle masala chicken curry if you can
This one is tough for me. I almost didn’t do it. Because it sets the bar high. Really high. Asking you to get bottle masala a big one.
I am unapologetic on glebekitchen when it comes to ingredients. I know I don’t make it easy. This is a blog for passionate cooks.
My goal is to get you to an Indian grocer. Or a Thai grocer. Or a Japanese grocer. For the experience. Food shopping is an adventure. For me anyway. Just fun.
I don’t usually suggest a trip to Goa. Or push you to hunt the internet. But this one blindsided me too. One taste and I was an addict.
If you can’t get bottle masala don’t worry. You can always make a really good “chef’s chicken curry”. It won’t disappoint.
But if you can get it. Then bottle masala chicken curry is something that you really need to try.
bottle masala chicken curry
Ingredients
The spice mix
- 3 1/2 tsp bottle masala – there isn’t really a substitute
- 1/2 tsp kasoor methi – dried fenugreek leaves
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- pinch asafoetida – if your bottle masala doesn’t smell like asafoetida already (optional). Really. Just a pinch. It’s potent stuff.
The curry ingredients
- 3 Tbsp oil
- 1 Tbsp garlic/ginger paste – recipe link below
- 2 finger hot green chilies – aka jwala. Cut in half lengthwise then into 1 inch pieces
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste with enough water to dilute to the consistency of pasatta
- 15 oz curry base – recipe link below
- 10-12 oz pre-cooked chicken – I prefer thighs cut into bite sized pieces
- 1/2 tsp jaggery or brown sugar
- 5-6 cherry tomatoes – halved
Instructions
Do your prep – this goes fast
- Make the spice mix. Combine all the spice mix ingredients in a small bowl.
- Dilute the tomato paste with enough water to get to the consistency of passata.
- Prep your chilies and tomatoes. Pre-cook your chicken.
Make bottle masala chicken curry
- Heat your frying pan (don’t use non-stick) briefly over medium heat. Add the oil.
- When the oil starts to shimmer add the garlic ginger paste and green chilies. Cook, stirring constantly, until the garlic ginger paste stops sputtering. Stand back. Wear old clothes. Restaurant style can get messy.
- Turn the heat down to medium low and add the spice mix. This step is critical. Stir it constantly for around 30 seconds. If it starts to darken lift the pan off the heat. You want the spice mix to bubble in the oil. That’s called blooming spices. Flavour magic happens here. You know the smell of Indian restaurants? This is where it comes from. What you don’t want to do is burn the spices. That’s a one way trip to starting over. Seriously. There’s no coming back. So be a little careful until you get the hang of this.
- Turn the heat up to medium high. Add the diluted tomato paste. Stir to combine and cook until little bubbles start to form. This takes around 30 seconds to one minute. You are now in the safe zone. Really hard to burn spices at this point. High heat is important here. You will be frying the curry base, generating all sorts of wonderful flavour compounds. That’s more flavour magic. As you become more comfortable with this technique try pushing it.
- Add 3 oz of curry base. Stir until bubbles form, around 30 seconds. Think lively boil meets frying in oil. Watch the edges of the pan. The curry can stick here. Sticking is OK. Just scrape it back into the curry. Burning is bad.
- Add 6 oz of curry base and stir briefly. Let it cook/fry until the bubbles form again. This takes 1-2 minutes.
- Add the rest of the curry base and let cook until the bubbles form – another minute or two.
- Taste. Every bottle masala mix is different. If you find it well balanced go with it. If it is a little tart add the 1/2 tsp of jaggery or brown sugar.
- Turn the heat down to low and add the pre-cooked chicken. Stir to combine.
- Let the curry simmer for about 5 minutes. If it gets too thick add a bit more curry base.
- Add the halved cherry tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes are just warmed through.
- Serve with basmati rice or your favourite Indian flatbread. I was working on a keema biryani recipe when I took the pictures. That was too much. Don’t do that.
Notes
Nutrition
bottle masala chicken curry
Ingredients
The spice mix
- 3 1/2 tsp bottle masala - there isn’t really a substitute
- 1/2 tsp kasoor methi - dried fenugreek leaves
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- pinch asafoetida - if your bottle masala doesn’t smell like asafoetida already (optional). Really. Just a pinch. It’s potent stuff.
The curry ingredients
- 3 Tbsp oil
- 1 Tbsp garlic/ginger paste - recipe link below
- 2 finger hot green chilies - aka jwala. Cut in half lengthwise then into 1 inch pieces
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste with enough water to dilute to the consistency of pasatta
- 15 oz curry base - recipe link below
- 10-12 oz pre-cooked chicken - I prefer thighs cut into bite sized pieces
- 1/2 tsp jaggery or brown sugar
- 5-6 cherry tomatoes - halved
Instructions
Do your prep - this goes fast
- Make the spice mix. Combine all the spice mix ingredients in a small bowl.
- Dilute the tomato paste with enough water to get to the consistency of passata.
- Prep your chilies and tomatoes. Pre-cook your chicken.
Make bottle masala chicken curry
- Heat your frying pan (don’t use non-stick) briefly over medium heat. Add the oil.
- When the oil starts to shimmer add the garlic ginger paste and green chilies. Cook, stirring constantly, until the garlic ginger paste stops sputtering. Stand back. Wear old clothes. Restaurant style can get messy.
- Turn the heat down to medium low and add the spice mix. This step is critical. Stir it constantly for around 30 seconds. If it starts to darken lift the pan off the heat. You want the spice mix to bubble in the oil. That’s called blooming spices. Flavour magic happens here. You know the smell of Indian restaurants? This is where it comes from. What you don’t want to do is burn the spices. That’s a one way trip to starting over. Seriously. There’s no coming back. So be a little careful until you get the hang of this.
- Turn the heat up to medium high. Add the diluted tomato paste. Stir to combine and cook until little bubbles start to form. This takes around 30 seconds to one minute. You are now in the safe zone. Really hard to burn spices at this point. High heat is important here. You will be frying the curry base, generating all sorts of wonderful flavour compounds. That’s more flavour magic. As you become more comfortable with this technique try pushing it.
- Add 3 oz of curry base. Stir until bubbles form, around 30 seconds. Think lively boil meets frying in oil. Watch the edges of the pan. The curry can stick here. Sticking is OK. Just scrape it back into the curry. Burning is bad.
- Add 6 oz of curry base and stir briefly. Let it cook/fry until the bubbles form again. This takes 1-2 minutes.
- Add the rest of the curry base and let cook until the bubbles form - another minute or two.
- Taste. Every bottle masala mix is different. If you find it well balanced go with it. If it is a little tart add the 1/2 tsp of jaggery or brown sugar.
- Turn the heat down to low and add the pre-cooked chicken. Stir to combine.
- Let the curry simmer for about 5 minutes. If it gets too thick add a bit more curry base.
- Add the halved cherry tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes are just warmed through.
- Serve with basmati rice or your favourite Indian flatbread. I was working on a keema biryani recipe when I took the pictures. That was too much. Don’t do that.
Notes
Nutrition
Beef barbacoa. Better than you can buy. I think anyway. Deep beefy flavour. Gentle heat from the chilies. And a little tang at the end. This is how you make tacos people talk about.
Hard to beat. But not hard to make. If you can make pot roast, you can make beef barbacoa.
Beef barbacoa you will be proud of
Better than taqueria beef barbacoa. That’s a tall claim. I know. I haven’t eaten at every taqueria out there. But I have eaten at a lot of them. I love tacos.
Texas. San Diego. Arizona. Mexico. And a bunch of places with lesser credentials. I’ve been around.
Maybe your taqueria is truly great. I can believe it is. Maybe you’ve been lucky. Got a taco every time they finished making their beef barbacoa.
But for those of who get reheated barbacoa. Made yesterday. Or the day before. I think this is better.
At least I didn’t say better than Chipotle’s. How is anything cooked at a central factory and shipped country wide is the gold standard?
Makes no sense. But look around the internet. Everyone is making beef barbacoa “as good as Chipotle”. Call me crazy but there’s better out there. Way better.
I’m not saying I don’t like Chipotle Mexican Grill by the way. As far as fast food goes it is pretty good. Just suggesting it might not be at the pinnacle of Mexican cuisine.
Barbacoa – pot roast but better
This is just a fancy pot roast. Seriously. If you can make a pot roast you can make barbacoa.
And if you’ve never made a pot roast? This is a good time to start. It’s easy. Slow food. A lot of flavour. Not a lot of work. And you can feed a crowd.
Goes like this. Brown some beef in a dutch oven. Fry up a spice paste. Add some chicken stock.
Stick it in a low oven. Braise until tender. Meltingly tender. Shred the beef. The sauce is already made. It’s the braising liquid.
Combine the braising liquid with the beef. Simmer that together to get the flavours to really combine. Done. It is really that easy.
There’s magic in the sauce
The sauce is what makes this. Pure chili powder. Chipotle in adobo. Some Mexican spices. Garlic. And a bit of vinegar for tang. Nothing too exotic. Pretty simple really.
The magic comes when you cook the beef. All those wonderful beefy juices become the backbone of the sauce. Beefy. There’s no there way to describe it.
It’s incredibly savoury. Intense. And the sauce coats every little bit of beef. It’s just one big flavour sledgehammer.
Slow cooker beef barbacoa
Bet you thought I was going to tell you how to use a slow cooker to make this dish. Nope. Sorry to disappoint.
Slow cookers take the idea of a braise too far. You get great sauce. Sure. You will always get great sauce. Because all the flavour from the meat is in the sauce.
Good sauce. Truly tasteless meat. Not what I’m looking for. Not what I would call better than Chipotle’s even.
I don’t do the slow cooker thing. Never will. I’m after balance. I want the best. No compromise for convenience.
Not just for tacos
Barbacoa makes amazing tacos. Up there with birria de res and carnitas for me. Pickled onion. Lime. Corn tortillas. Maybe a little habanero salsa. So good.
But barbacoa is not just for tacos. Put some in an quesadilla some time. With a little Mexican cotija cheese if you can get it. That’s a serious quesadilla.
Makes a great filling for a burrito. Some charro beans . Lettuce. Onion. Pico. A little guacamole. I’m getting hungry here…
Makes a great topping for nachos too. Corn chips. Salsa. Melted jack. Pickled jalapeño. And some little barbacoa flavour bombs on top. That is good living.
Serve your barbacoa with Yucatan pickled onions or pico or both. Or think about quick Mexican slaw . That works really well.
Beef barbacoa. Incredible tacos. And so much more.
better than taqueria beef barbacoa
Ingredients
The chili vinegar paste
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp Mexican oregano – optional but don’t substitute regular oregano
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1/4 cup pure mild chili powder – I like New Mexican Red or Ancho
- 1-3 chipotles in adobo plus some of the adobo puree – depending on how spicy you like it.
- 2 tsp salt
Beef barbacoa
- 3 lbs good quality beef chuck roast or bottom blade roast – one piece of meat
- 1-2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 cups low sodium chicken stock
Instructions
Make the chili vinegar paste
- Combine the cider vinegar, garlic, Mexican oregano, cumin, chili powder, chipotles and adobo, salt and enough water to make a smooth paste in a blender.
- Blend until smooth.
Make beef barbacoa
- Pre-heat your oven to 275F.
- Brown the beef in the oil using an oven proof dutch oven large enough to hold the beef. You want the meat to brown up but not crazy brown. If you push it too far the edge of the beef will not get to the meltingly tender stage. This step is critical to getting the big beefy flavour so don’t skip it.
- Remove the beef from the pot.
- Adjust your heat to medium low. Do not remove the fat in the pot. Pour the chili vinegar paste into the pan. It will bump so be ready. Stand back. Don’t wear nice clothes for this step. Seriously.
- Cook the chili vinegar paste for about 2-3 minutes, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot.
- Add the chicken stock, stir to combine and return the beef to the pot.
- Bring to a simmer.
- Cover and place in the oven.
- Cook (braise) the beef for about 4 hours total. Set a timer for 1 hour. After an hour remove the pot from the oven and flip the beef. Cover and return the pot to the oven. Repeat this a total of three times.
- After 3 hours cooking time check to see if the beef is fork tender. I find it’s about right at an internal temperature of 207F. It’s ready when it’s ready. Not before. If it’s taking too long nudge the temperature up to 325F and check every 15-20 minutes.
- If the beef is fork tender remove from the oven. If it isn’t return the pot, covered, to the oven. Check every 20 minutes until it is fork tender.
- Remove the beef from the pot. Let the beef cool until you can shred it. Two forks works for this. Your want the strands to be about 1 inch long so cut the beef before shredding.
- Pour the liquid into a bowl. Skim the fat from the surface. If you have a fat separator kicking around from Thanksgiving use that.
- Pour the defatted braising liquid (now a wonderful sauce) into the shredded beef and mix to combine.. Return the meat and liquid to the pot. Bring to a simmer and cook for around 5 minutes. This gets the sauce and the meat to really come together. Taste and adjust salt if required.
- Serve and prepare to be told you make better than taqueria beef barbacoa!
