Topic: 3rd Anniversary

[Stephen Lindsay]

OK so the site says it's just gone 11pm "local time" - whatever that means. But here in Dundee it's just gone midnight which I have just realised, is 3 years to the day since I joined the forum. I am not a prolific poster of messages, or of recipes but I try to contribute where I can and have learned more from this site in 3 years than in the previous 30.

So, what have I learned?

Well, in no particular order, the following things struck me as new information at the time.

1. The use off-the-shelf pastes (e.g. Pataks) by takeaways both surprised and disappointed me.

2. The prevalence in the use of precooked meats struck me as both necessary (e.g. lamb) and unnecessary (e.g. chicken).

3. That the number of spices required to make a decent BIR curry is quite small.

4. That other ingredients that I had hitherto been using regularly in curries, e.g. cassia and cinnamon, fennel, cardamom are used infrequently in BIR curries.

5. That I still can't replicate a decent naan bread, regardless of the recipe and heating the oven to full - I really must build a tandoor one day.

6. That I can pretty much visualise what goes into most standard curries on the takeaway menu without resorting to opening a recipe book.

7. That I can knock up a damn fine curry (IMHO).

8. That I am not the only curry egghead on the block but also that I have managed to keep my interest in curries fairly grounded.

9. That there is no real secret ingredient.

10. That some people haven't yet made it to 9.

But if I could single out one or two highlights from the site I think it would be the Ashoka recipes posted by Panpot. Being Scottish I know the quality of the food that Ashoka turns out both in Glasgow where it originated but also here in Dundee. Panpot's posts were truly memorable and the recipes produce utterly wonderful curries.

I'd also like to mention that Bruce Edwards' articles had, in their clarity and focus, helped me to organise my thinking around the components of a decent curry.

Lastly, my wishes for the future. I'd like to see the forum develop to a point where it has engaged the interest and participation of BIR chefs to assist us Caucasian enthusiasts, most of whom have never worked in a restaurant kitchen.

Can a white man sing the blues?

Can a white man cook an Indian curry?

[Secret Santa]

Happy Birthday to you, Happy birthday to you...!   ;D

Great post stephen, I can relate to most of what you posted there.

Can a white man cook an Indian curry?

Well if jb's recent cookery class is anything to go by...NO!

He watches the thing being cooked right in front of him, copies it, and it's different, somehow lacking! Go figure eh!     

[chriswg]

Good post Stephen although I'm sure the 10 bullet points doesn't come close to representing the blood and sweat that you must have put in over the last 3 years.

As for point 5 - you need to ditch the oven method and start investing some time in the Tava / grill method. It makes the thin almost chewy type Naans rather than the massive thick bready ones, but I prefer the thin ones. I'm by no means an expert but start off with CA's recipe and method and go on from there.

[Stephen Lindsay]

Can a white man cook an Indian curry?

Well if jb's recent cookery class is anything to go by...NO!

ha ha poor jb though I'm sure he'll appreciate the humour

Good post Stephen although I'm sure the 10 bullet points doesn't come close to representing the blood and sweat that you must have put in over the last 3 years.

As for point 5 - you need to ditch the oven method and start investing some time in the Tava / grill method. It makes the thin almost chewy type Naans rather than the massive thick bready ones, but I prefer the thin ones. I'm by no means an expert but start off with CA's recipe and method and go on from there.

yeah you're right chriswg, the 10 bullet points were just the ones that came to me first.

re the naans yeah I think investing in a tava might not be a bad idea, or at least it might bridge the gap meantime.

[JivyJ]

Good for you SL. I can relate to a number of your points, I come from Glasgow and I had tried a number of the bases from this site but I must admit that when Panpot posted his recipes I had found my heaven.  I can see from reading posts that tastes and recipes differ around the country and people will disagree on the components for curries - understandable.  I use Panpots mostly but will still try other new recipes and suggestions when posted.  I have decided to try and get the hang of taking photos and posting them and take a more active part in this brilliant forum.  I had just made Panpots bunjara and karahi bhuna the other day but the damn camera needed recharged so I just couldn't wait just had to eat it.

[Razor]

C'mon guy's, please don't do this again

Stephen,

I can absolutely relate to all 10 of your bullets. 

Having never ventured north of the boarder, I have no idea what a Scottish curry should taste like.  Would you say that the Ashoka recipes well represent what you guy's and gal's are used to up there or are they just a good reflection on the Ashoka chain of restaurants?

Bullet point No9 is the stand out one for me.  I agree, there is no secret ingredient but, maybe there should be another bullet point?

11.  Sometimes the magic happens and I have no idea what I'd done different.

I'm pretty sure that we've all come across that one

Great post Stephen and I reckon most of it could apply to all of us on here.

Ray

[Stephen Lindsay]

Thanks JivyJ and Razor, good to hear from you both.

re the difference between Scottish and English curries my own take on it is I think it's fairly complicated cause although there are differences I expect the a more varied. I think the Ashoka chain probably represents their style of cooking more than it does your average Scottish takeaway which is pretty dire. There is a big cultural difference between the West and East coasts of Scotland which I am sure gazman will agree with. It would therefore be logical to expect that this would be borne out by differences in curries too. One thing which is noticeable in Scotland is that the Chicken Chasni is a hugely popular dish, possibly more so than CTM, and especially so in Glasgow. My best stab at describing what it is would be to take, say a Pathia sauce, to get the sweet and sour flavour, and finish it off with cream, so it is kind of a cross between Pathia and CTM and along with Irn Bru and Mars Bars deep fried in batter it could be regarded as a Scottish national dish! Finished off with loads of beer of course.

My main experience of eating curries in England has been in Yorkshire - Huddersfield, Bradford and Halifax, though this was some time ago. I didn't find that there was a huge difference but the main thing was perhaps stronger use of spicing in Scotland, so a Scottish Madras in Scotland would be like a Vindaloo in Yorkshire. My pal also lived in Dorset for a few years and he said pretty much the same.

However there are posts on here that refer to a South-East English curry and a London Dhansak and so on which suggests to me that the variations are maybe more about region than one country as a whole. As I said I've a bit of experience to go on but I wouldn't hold much faith by it.

If you are interested in the Ashoka posts I'd encourage you to give them a go and see what you think. Panpot did a huge amount of work on them (last year I think it was) and it sounds like there's a few folk who have been pretty impressed by the results, myself included.

I've taken to working with BE base more recently, as it's much simpler than Ashoka which requires 3 separate recipes to be prepared in advance. However I've been thinking about taking the best elements of both and seeing where it leads so I will report on that if and when I get moving on that.

[Panpot]

Fantastic Post Stephen. Delighted that the Ashoka recipes were included with you 10. I obviously  can't disagree with any of your list. Great idea though. This site was a wonderful resourse for me when I lived in the South of France where the curries are just crap. It drove me to seek out the opportunity to get behind the scenes at the Ashoka and until then thrived on the work of many masters on hear. I hope you are still around in another three years. Happy birthday. Panpot

[Stephen Lindsay]

cheers Panpot

never been to South France but have had curries in Paris and wasn't really impressed - you can tell it's not really their thing over there.