Curry Recipes Online
Curry Chat => Talk About Anything Other Than Curry => Topic started by: mickdabass on September 10, 2014, 05:20 PM
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I am hoping that those of you who take the time to read this post will not be offended by my humble opinion
Ive been a member for a long time here. Maybe too long I dont know.
I have never spent any time in a bir kitchen and I have never been able to contribute an authentic bir recipe to the forum.
One thing I have noticed over the years how there seems to be a pattern of several new members all popping up at once. This has happened a few times since Ive been on here. Most recently there has been an influx of curry refugees from other forums.
Its so refreshing to have new members with new opinions, hopefully one day bringing the last couple of pieces of the jig saw to the table.
The only downside to it is that a lot of the new topics have been discussed previously. It would however be pretty boring to simply post a link to an old thread on the same subject
Makes me think of the film matrix revolutions where we realise the "new messiah"
is nothing of the sort, and turns out to be version 6.1 or something.
I have done a few revolutions around this forum
We are all here for similar reasons - all of them curry related of course. My reasons are simply to try and replicate an early 1980's curry that I used to be able to buy from my local takeaway which are now (virtually) extinct.
Others are here for commercial gain. Well I say good luck to everyone! As long as I can selfishly achieve my own personal goal; then I dont worry too much about the politics.
That said, if I do find the answer, I will be the first to share my findings for free in the same spirit as the selfless posters have done so in the past. Without whom I would still be fannying around with lloyd gross-man's stir in sauce etc. (sorry George)
Perhaps my taste buds have changed over the years? Food back in the 80s was generally a lot blander than what is available today. Perhaps our expectations are now much higher? Our eating patterns have changed too. I remember seeing a video for zz tops song "tv dinners" in the 80s and wondered what the hell a tv dinner was...!!! Quite laughable now
Almost every curry based question imaginable has been asked and answered somewhere on this forum.The forum would be pretty boring if people replied to a new topic with a link to the original thread from a few years ago etc. Might cut out some of the waffle though
I personally do not think for a second that the average bir is going to spend any more money than they need to outsourcing obscure and ultimately expensive supplies. For instance, dutch onions are the most consistent and cheapest onions available all year round. Birs arent going to go out and buy anything else except for a rare occasion. Ultimately it all comes off their bottom line. They are not likely to spend unnecessary time sieving and mashing their base sauce either when they can blitz them with one of those heavy duty outboard motor type stick blenders in about two minutes. They are unlikely to fiddle about with things like infusing whole spices either. It has been proven countless times that spiced oil is a red herring and does nothing at all to the flavour of the final dish.
Im going out now to buy a tin hat and flack jacket
Dont ask me what the point of this message is. I dont even know myself. Just thought I would give people some food for thought on their quests to become "Elite Curry Jedi Grand Wizard" or whatever
Best Regards
Mick
But curry on everyone. Until you have done your first revolution you will still be unsure
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Great post mick
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Same here. I agree with everything you say, Mick.
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I would do too.
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Thanks for sharing Mick
All made sense to me :)
My love for curries ( and food in general) keeps me looking in on this forum almost every night
I do feel a bit of a bond between some members on here which also keeps me looking in :'(
Then you get someone say like Scotty comes along his Chinese recipes were fantastic
Sorry to say Im here for the long run ::)
Cheers Trimmo
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It has been proven countless times that spiced oil is a red herring and does nothing at all to the flavour of the final dish.
I disagree. :D
It depends on what dish you are making and what spices are used.
Over the past few months I've been making a lot of karahis and biryanis. I'm quite fond of Nationals Sindhi biryani mix and have used the reclaimed oil from that to make a curry and some plain rice on separate occasions.
Obviously boiled rice will be easily flavoured, but so was my curry from using the spiced oil to start it off.
Those little mixed masala boxes are packed with flavour and worth considering for making spiced oil. ;)
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I guess you could install a intelligent or smart new subject box, when trying to start a new subject it would say subject taken due to word recognition, then provide the link to original subject.
This would give the opportunity to retrace all previous comments, also add new input, but wouldn't it be difficult to combine the 20 or so mirrored topics already floating around from past years.
The problem being new users never getting the opportunity to build up there profile, that would turn the sight in to more of a library than a forum, but it could work I guess.
But an interesting post nevertheless :)
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As a relative newb, I would say a few things pertinent to the OP. Not everybody that shows up here is necessarily a "refugee" from another site, but more so a user / browser of many. I, for example, over the last 12 months to 2 years have been sporadically searching for information, and this site is not my only point of reference. Just wish I could understand Hindi as some of the actual Indian stuff looks good but I have to turn the sound off and watch repeatedly. Pausing, stopping, replaying etc
Like most of you I imagine, Indian Cookery is not my only food style or interest and so not the only forum category used. Let me say that this site is great compared to some. Let's just say that the information given here is superior and the nature in which it is provided is meaningful, cordial and well intended. I've been banned from 2 fishing forum sites because I didn't share the Site Owner's / Moderator's views on certain things and told them to turn into the whoo whoo bird basically. A certain distilling site I have used has senior members who essentially put the boot into newbies for asking questions.
Unfortunately, the very nature of information providing forums such as this one, predicates the fact that there will be unwanted and unmanageable repetition. The distillation site provides a link on the top banner menu to the "Google search tool" which provides a far more extensive search within the actual site than their own search tool.
As a user of other forums and understanding the problem of junk information, I always search first and only ask when I can't find myself.
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It has been proven countless times that spiced oil is a red herring and does nothing at all to the flavour of the final dish.
I disagree. :D
It depends on what dish you are making and what spices are used.
Over the past few months I've been making a lot of karahis and biryanis. I'm quite fond of Nationals Sindhi biryani mix and have used the reclaimed oil from that to make a curry and some plain rice on separate occasions.
Obviously boiled rice will be easily flavoured, but so was my curry from using the spiced oil to start it off.
Those little mixed masala boxes are packed with flavour and worth considering for making spiced oil. ;)
Theres always an exception to the rule; and I think you are probably right on this one DP. I was wrong to generalise I suppose
Regards
Mick
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As a relative newb, I would say a few things pertinent to the OP. Not everybody that shows up here is necessarily a "refugee" from another site, but more so a user / browser of many. I, for example, over the last 12 months to 2 years have been sporadically searching for information, and this site is not my only point of reference. Just wish I could understand Hindi as some of the actual Indian stuff looks good but I have to turn the sound off and watch repeatedly. Pausing, stopping, replaying etc
Like most of you I imagine, Indian Cookery is not my only food style or interest and so not the only forum category used. Let me say that this site is great compared to some. Let's just say that the information given here is superior and the nature in which it is provided is meaningful, cordial and well intended. I've been banned from 2 fishing forum sites because I didn't share the Site Owner's / Moderator's views on certain things and told them to turn into the whoo whoo bird basically. A certain distilling site I have used has senior members who essentially put the boot into newbies for asking questions.
Unfortunately, the very nature of information providing forums such as this one, predicates the fact that there will be unwanted and unmanageable repetition. The distillation site provides a link on the top banner menu to the "Google search tool" which provides a far more extensive search within the actual site than their own search tool.
As a user of other forums and understanding the problem of junk information, I always search first and only ask when I can't find myself.
Thats a good answer Livo. When I first joined this forum, It took a while to understand the process that went towards making a bir type curry. Im a bit of a shy person anyway, and rather than asking "stupid" questions, I researched the site and found all the answers I needed. I was glad I did.
I personally find the bir quest to be an excellent way to escape from all the hassles and pressures associated with "normal life" although mrs MDB is slowly getting more racked off with the constant smell and oil spatterings. Might have to consider emigrating the curry operation to the garden shed lol!!
Regards
Mick
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Hi Mick :)
That was a good read
Are you satisfied with your curries? If not why ?
I am certain there is no "magic" the chefs are hiding I know of Asians who work in Birs on a grudge almost slave wages even some chefs they would all sell their souls to escape. The "secret would have been out years ago
There are methods that must be learned which some refuse to master
Then back to the forum for more recipes ,bases mix powders etc
More attempts then frustration and cocky stroppy pmt attacks on those trying to help and newbies
I cant remember if it was Chapman or Edwards who explained how and importance of getting the spices cooked right Did any one take any notice ? Well not many
Just my 10p worth
Mr Ox
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It has been proven countless times that spiced oil is a red herring and does nothing at all to the flavour of the final dish.
I disagree. :D
It depends on what dish you are making and what spices are used.
Theres always an exception to the rule; and I think you are probably right on this one DP. I was wrong to generalise I suppose
Regards
Mick
It was a BIR gravy curry that I made. I forget what though, possibly an achari or a pathia? Maybe even a madras? The Mrs couldn't taste it at all, but I thought it came through quite strongly. Maybe plum or mace?
although mrs MDB is slowly getting more racked off with the constant smell and oil spatterings.
I made some pakoras yesterday and coming back into the house after a couple of hours, I thought the kitchen smelt rotten.
Reminded me when I was a teenager going around with my nan looking at new houses. One in particular was owned by an Indian family and me thinking it really stunk badly. Not a nice curry smell at all, more an old rancid fried curry smell. :o :D
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I made some pakoras yesterday and coming back into the house after a couple of hours, I thought the kitchen smelt rotten.
Reminded me when I was a teenager going around with my nan looking at new houses. One in particular was owned by an Indian family and me thinking it really stunk badly. Not a nice curry smell at all, more an old rancid fried curry smell. :o :D
Don't tell fried!!! ;)
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Come on, chaps, it is not necessary to quote everything the previous contributor has written verbatim -- if he/she has already quoted the previous contributor, then please edit that part out before adding your own comment. The preceding two posts have included recycled material to depths three and four respectively, thereby repeating things we have already seen several times before and adding significantly to the length of the message without at the same time adding anything of value.
** Phil.
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Come on, chaps, it is not necessary to quote everything the previous contributor has written verbatim...
Great fleas have little fleas
upon their backs to bite 'em
And little fleas have lesser fleas,
and so ad infinitum.
;)
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@Phil is not trying to teach anyone how to suck eggs here. It is a recurring problem on all sites I frequent.
Again this goes back to good forum etiquette and practice. Education on how to use a forum is a good thing and so this thread has significant value.
We need to all remember that Junk in = Junk out. It is understood that some people look at any coding language and are immediately put off even trying to edit posts as you suggest @phil, but once examined it really isn't too difficult. (Although I wasn't prepared to tackle that code for those Tables. Just because of the time it would take.)
When addressing someone, or referring to their previous post, use the "@username", or even "@abbreviated username" to refer to previous posters rather than quotes all the time. People understand what is meant even if the post you are referring to is several posts up the page.
There is also a "modify" button right next to the "quote" button. I use it all the time, particularly if I've made an arse out of myself, although I don't "drink and forum" any more. Hic. That is to hic cause some prb hic prolblemmmns. hic
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Personally, I abhor and detest the <commercial-at><name> convention, which originates with a so-called "social networking" site that I equally abhor and detest. Every time I read "@Phil" I want to scream "There is no commercial-at in my name". If a shorter version of :
Phil is not trying to teach anyone how to suck eggs here. It is a recurring problem on all sites I frequent.
is required, one need only write 'Livo said : "Phil is not trying to teach anyone how to suck eggs ... "' and if one wants to address another contributor by name then a blank line followed by <name><colon><space> is surely adequate. Let us leave commercial-ats for their real purpose (to separate the local-part from the domain in e-mail addresses) and keep them out of this forum where, for this member at least, they contribute nothing other than a sense of profound nausea.
** Phil.
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Mick thanks for your post, I enjoyed reading it.
Like yourself i also noticed from time to time
a flurry of new active members.
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Fair enough Phil. Consider me suitably rebuffed and never to use the atmark symbol ever again.
All others. Please forgive my folly. I have given myself an uppercut and will refrain from further irresponsible and faulty advice. (I hope)
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I abhor and detest the <commercial-at><name> convention, which originates with a so-called "social networking" site
I agree with you about the use of the 'at' symbol but I disagree that you should be able to modify a thread title part-way through. It's misleading, and a weakness of the forum software as far as I'm concerned. Why do it?
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George wrote : "I agree with you about the use of the 'at' symbol but I disagree that you should be able to modify a thread title part-way through. It's misleading, and a weakness of the forum software as far as I'm concerned. Why do it?"
Because it is a reply (hence in-thread) but off-topic (nothing to do with CR0 revolutions) and hence deserves a new title (IMHO) so that those interested only in CR0 revolutions know that they can safely ignore this particular contribution.
** Phil.
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those interested only in CR0 revolutions know that they can safely ignore this particular contribution.
It's not so easy to ignore, though, is it? i.e. being right in the middle of a thread. So not only did you go off topic (no bad thing, really) but you spoiled the the thread by changing the title. I've never noticed anyone else do that, on any other forum. I suggest it's bad practice and out of order.
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George wrote : "It's not so easy to ignore, though, is it? i.e. being right in the middle of a thread. So not only did you go off topic (no bad thing, really) but you spoiled the the thread by changing the title."
With respect, I do not accept that I have "spoiled" the thread at all; rather, I have added value, by ensuring that those who read it can see which messages (of mine) refer to the original thread topic, and which form a related digression.
George also wrote : "I suggest it's bad practice and out of order."
Yes, you have made that observation before. I respectfully disagree. If (in the opinion of the authors of the board's infrastructure), it were a Bad Thing[TM], then I would suggest that they would never have offered the facility in the first place. Since they do offer it, and since Stew (as Board owner) has seen fit to allow it to remain, I would argue that its use is completely acceptable. Furthermore, I have adduced what is now termed a "use case" in my preceding message, and I have seen no rebuttal from you of this use case; rather, all I see is your personal opinion without supporting argument or facts.
** Phil.
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Yes, you have made that observation before. I respectfully disagree. If (in the opinion of the authors of the board's infrastructure), it were a Bad Thing[TM], then I would suggest that they would never have offered the facility in the first place. Since they do offer it, and since Stew (as Board owner) has seen fit to allow it to remain, I would argue that its use is completely acceptable.
Ironically just like quoting and recycling preceding messages :)
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Ironically just like quoting and recycling preceding messages :)
I have explained why I choose to occasionally change the subject within a thread, DO, in a preceding message. Would you care to explain why, other than for reasons of laziness or pure ignorance, someone might choose to recycle not just the contribution of the previous contributor but also his/her previously recycled contributions to a depth of three, four or more ?
** Phil.
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Ironically just like quoting and recycling preceding messages :)
Exactly.
Does anyone else appreciate Phil's habit of amending thread titles in the middle of a thread?
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Phill. If it shouldn't be done, then... "they would never have offered the facility in the first place. Since they do offer it, and since Stew (as Board owner) has seen fit to allow it to remain, I would argue that its use is completely acceptable."
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ha ha ha. nice one guys. could some clever so and so please re-rename the thread
"pointless bickering and bitching"
Cheers
Mick
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Nae bother :)
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Phill. If it shouldn't be done, then... "they would never have offered the facility in the first place. Since they do offer it, and since Stew (as Board owner) has seen fit to allow it to remain, I would argue that its use is completely acceptable."
DOO, I have already explained why I believe that changing a thread title is justified; I am still waiting for you to explain why re-citing recycled material to a depth of three, four or more is anything other than sheer laziness or ignorance. Changing a thread title is a conscious decision, requiring thought and action; recycling previously cited material without trimming is simply a demonstration of laziness and/or ignorance.
** Phil.
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Being serious, surely only the original topic starter should have the right to change the title....not every Tom, Phil and Harry ;D
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I don't need to justify anything Phill. You need to justify a one-man crusade against consensus! :D
Not that I GAF of course ;)
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Where is the consensus, DOO ? Where are the dozens of voices all proclaiming "we believe that recycling previously recycled material is of benefit to forum members" ?
** Phil.
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Being serious, surely only the original topic starter should have the right to change the title....not every Tom, Phil and Harry ;D
By the same argument, only the original topic starter should have the right to reply to previous messages in the thread :)
** Phil.
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It was the status quo Phill. The status quo without dozens of voices all proclaiming 'we believe that recycling previously recycled material' is objectionable = consensus.
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It was the status quo Phill. The status quo without dozens of voices all proclaiming 'we believe that recycling previously recycled material' is objectionable = consensus.
The silent majority are always silent, by definition, DOO. Scotland will probably go independent not because the majority want independence, but because those who do will bother to vote (i.e., to attempt to change the status quo), whilst those who do not will simply abstain. If you really believe that the majority of forum members are happy to waste their time reading infinitely recycled dross to arbitrary depth, why not start a poll to that effect ? The forum supports such polls. I spoke out against it because I believe that it is detrimental to the forum and a distraction to the reader; others may agree or not, and I am certainly prepared to hear arguments in its favour -- oddly, though, even its staunchest protagonists such as your good self seem strangely silent when asked why it is a Good Thing[TM] ...
** Phil.
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It doesn't have to be a good thing Phill- it's just there, like the ability to change thread titles. NO-ONE CARES. Including me, as I said above; but I'll only tell you why if you ask. Frankly, your arguments are specious. After all, you could quite as easily start a poll too. Something else the software allows. There are really quite a few aren't there?
BTW, you're wrong in your analysis of the Scottish debate as well :D
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Being serious, surely only the original topic starter should have the right to change the title....not every Tom, Phil and Harry ;D
By the same argument, only the original topic starter should have the right to reply to previous messages in the thread :)
** Phil.
I usually appreciate your logic, Phil, but on this occasion I think you are wrong. If someone starts a topic under a particular name, asking for feedback or opinions, they can expect replies, but not for the topic name to be changed.
If you invited me round to 'Chez Phil' for a curry, I would expect to be able to make comments on your curries, and possibly the decor of your house. I wouldn't, however, find it acceptable to replace the wooden plaque at the front door with one which said 'Chez Garp'.
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If you invited me round to 'Chez Phil' for a curry, I would expect to be able to make comments on your curries, and possibly the decor of your house. I wouldn't, however, find it acceptable to replace the wooden plaque at the front door with one which said 'Chez Garp'.
If you were to agree to take over the mortgage payments, I would be very happy for such a sign to be displayed (so long as I could remain in residence in perpetuity, and you would have to return to Maison Garp, without doggy bag !).
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[Y]ou could quite as easily start a poll too. Something else the software allows.
http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,13277.new.html#new (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,13277.new.html#new)
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Have you had a bad day Phil?
It's not like you to get so heated over such a trivial matter....
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Have you had a bad day Phil? It's not like you to get so heated over such a trivial matter....
Heated ? Moi ? Most certainly not, Sir. Simply speaking up for the silent majority who are sick and tired of untrimmed re-quotations :)
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Have you had a bad day Phil? It's not like you to get so heated over such a trivial matter....
Heated ? Moi ? Most certainly not, Sir. Simply speaking up for the silent majority who are sick and tired of untrimmed re-quotations :)
Yes, but we won't know we are until your Poll ends... in Sepember next year!!! ;)
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Yes, but we won't know we are until your Poll ends... in Sepember next year!!! ;)
And if the Scottish Referendum were to last a year rather than less than a day, the outcome would, I suspect, be very different. "Vote in haste, repent at leisure", as my great-uncle Thadeus used to say.
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Is it any wonder we don't get many members posting, What a complete load of cobblers. Admin should delete all 3 threads. Or is it 4 by now ::)
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Or something else. You have plenty of time x
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As the title suggests
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"All" is pretty... all-encompassing though!!!
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You know what I meant, You can't be that stupid,..........OR maybe ;)
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As the fella says "Who is the more foolish- the fool, or the fool who follows?" ;)
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For my bit,
The quotes - fair enough, although I have probably over quoted in the past but i do try to trim them down.
The @. I use it, can't see a problem with it.
Changing thread title - A poor practice in my opinion. I would prefer to put a title in bold at the top of my post, a recent example from me being http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,13037.msg108633.html#msg108633 (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,13037.msg108633.html#msg108633) That's better than changing the title of the thread.
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Quotes are important so people can follow easily, but quotes should be trimmed to just the sentence you are responding too otherwise it becomes mis-leading
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Is it any wonder we don't get many members posting, What a complete load of cobblers.
I agree but I may be reading your post in a different way. i,e. I suggest it's a load of cobblers to say we don't get many members posting.
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You're an asset to the management team, George.
I note you didn't quote the whole quote, which maybe would have...no, did, in fact, make it entirely clear what Les meant to say.
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As the fella says "Who is the more foolish- the fool, or the fool who follows?" ;)
And as the other fella said
"The fool who leads, the fool who follows knows hes a fool
and wants some one who isn't a fool to lead, being a fool, he
chooses a fool that he thinks ain't a fool to lead, the fool who leads
doesn't even know he is a fool." :-*
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I agree but I may be reading your post in a different way. i,e. I suggest it's a load of cobblers to say we don't get many members posting.
George,
I would suggest that you read the post as it was meant to be, and not what you want it to be,
Please engage brain, before opening mouth, (or typing post)
PS
Thanks, Garp
At least 2 of us are on the right page :D
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It's a shame that after mick made such an interesting post, it has been hijacked in the way it has.
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Highjacked well and truly, I had even forgot what the original post was about, and it was a great post, what a shame
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Lads, the fool would be the one who thinks that this banter is exclusive to this page. In every single forum I visit, these very same points are debated. There is never an answer and some members will never read about it, so they carry on, oblivious to the frustration, or lack of, that is causes, or doesn't, in others.
Hijacking, over-quoting, aggression, repartee, textual jousting, censorship, etc. are all part of the digital age, along with many other unwelcome but unavoidable consequences of the technology we use and have come to rely on.
I believe that this thread has significant merit as it allows people to express their feelings about how a shared resource is used. As a public place we need to be mindful of just that. I disagree with the suggestion to remove it, but lets keep it civil eh what!
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Does anyone else appreciate Phil's habit of amending thread titles in the middle of a thread?
No. Not in the slightest. And I've berated Phil for doing it before and no doubt will again in the future. The old cuss just won't learn will he? :-\
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Here's ELW's approach to solving the problem of multi layered quotes. Put your post inside the quote. Had me confused for a minute. ??? ???
http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,13264.msg110316/topicseen.html#msg110316 (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,13264.msg110316/topicseen.html#msg110316)
Sorry ELW! I now you probably didn't mean to do this. Just light-hearted fun.
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Does anyone else appreciate Phil's habit of amending thread titles in the middle of a thread?
No! and it's been discussed before.
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wow. a real post up there with the best.
the no1 (and probably only rule for the site) - for me is to stay cordial with each other. the endless bickering serves nothing. different views are good - just post them and let others decide if useful or not.
i deal with repetition by only reading topics that interest me (i think i can learn from). i do end up missing things but they generally turn back up again. (just on the stated examples: oil and mashing do have their part, i did not believe mashing either for a long time, is it necessary certainly not and same goes for oil)
my hope is that the minds of members can be changed (on what the complete jigsaw is). myself included it's easy to discount offerings and not try them. this fear comes from trying stuff only to find rubbish.
the bottom line is my curries are better than most BIR land. that's a personal triumph that i felt would never be achieved. its CRO members who made that possible.