Phil,

Sorry I got my numbers wrong that is the same burner as mine...40kw. It's a beast!

Hi Everyone,

Just to let you know, I had long since stopped selling the ebook with Alex (who is now big into Chinese food and has a successful You Tube channel).  Alex and I were once thought to be one and the same but I can assure you we live in different parts of the UK, although I have met him once in Glasgow when I travelled up from Shropshire.  It was me that wrote the book, with Alex's input.  We will hopefully be putting out something similar for Chinese food, but that's another story.
I had indeed donated the ebook to Les, to sell as proceeds were going to charity, however he wasn't getting much from it so didn't hang on to it.  At that point I thought the whole thing was done, but I still get the very occasional request.

Now, in 2020, I still make the curries and enjoy them greatly.  I also loved Panpot's recipes and yearn for more!  I now use a 45kw gas burner and having high heat output has changed my results for the better (I got it mostly for Chinese cooking but clearly it works well for Indian curries too). 

Nice to see the forum is still going, good luck to everyone using the ebook!

Martin

I've never heard it called flavourless before!

When using this Base,  you can try adding 1 tsp -1 tbs  mango chutney and ramp up the METHI  (I blend the leaves and add 1 tsp of that....it tastes VERY good.

Regards to all,

Martinwhynot

Frank,

I would probably doubt the garlic is the difference between the 2.  BIR in Scotland can and does taste different to this recipe, but not always.  It has a familiarity of more than one establishment so it is fairly widespread I think.  It may be a 'lazy' way to cook a curry but when I was eating these before I got into cooking them the method was irrelevant to me - I just wanted to replicate it; arguably the simplicity adds to the chance of consistency? I don't know! 

I remember Panpot's postings on the Ashoka, a fairly famous chain of restaurants around Scotland, from memory they used a method similar to most (oil in first, etc) but I think they generally use less powders up there - no mix and no chilli powder - preferring blitzed fresh.  The notion of using little or no oil at the start does make some sense insomuch as there is less to cook out (spice or mix).  I 'get' the thoughts about the garlic & ginger and tomato paste not cooking but when I've eaten the dishes cooked I'm just not noticing this at all.  It all makes me wonder what people here would have thought of the restaurant curries up there if they'd known the method was easier than they'd expected. 

Regards,

Martin

Quote from: Whandsy on February 12, 2013, 06:12 PM
I don't know if this has been documented anywhere but I pm'ed BB1 when his recipes were 1st posted and the takeaway he works in uses reclaimed bhaji oil 

W

Hi,

I wouldn't let that put you off.  It is debatable how much that will affect the outcome as it depends on how used the oil is (you'll never know that!).  I've done it, taking C2G's suggestion in his book and I didn't notice much of a difference TBH.

Regards,

Martin

CA and others,

I agree the observation that once the oil is in the base it can't come out and that with CA's recipes, you can therefore control the oil a bit more.  Fair enough but the comment is getting made that the oil isn't the major issue here, it's the greasiness.  I agree with CA that it will be the coconut (I've posted this already as an observation but I fear it got buried in sideways arguement?)

It's not my recipe to post so I will ask him, if you don't mind. 

For what it's worth, when I looked at the full 25kg recipe the calculations I offered (800ml are exactly proportionate to the *estimated* 4L of oil that went into the pot direct from the oil tin) 

I also suggested halfing the sugar for the same reason

I also suggested halfing the coconut for the same reason

If people stopped burying these comments with blah it would have been easier to find?  (Not having a go, just an observation)

I think this post will tweak the 5kg base to something less oily and less greasy.  It was the recipe I used for the base in the videos and was less 'heavy' in the mouth than my first attempt with the 7kg version.

I think there is mileage in this base for sure - close to many restaurants I've eaten in up and down the country.  Please go with this for now, if BB is content I'll post his recipe.

I'm glad this post is kinda back on track - for now at least!

Regards

Martin

Hi DP,

Not sure if I have the answers - I just cooked a simple curry!

I added a smidgen of oil to the onion in the video purely because I thought that it would need it to brown off the onion - no other reason.

Could I brown the g/g using this method?  Probably not but IMHO just as chicken skin will brown if heated soley in oil, it also cooks when its placed in boiling water; I assume then that the g/g and tom paste are cooking but probably not it the classic way that it would be if added to oil at the start of the process.

I know what a finished curry tastes like and this tastes like a finished curry when I've made it.  I don't know if others have done it wrong or it just didin't suit there taste, etc.  I've not cooked out spices and had raw spice in dishes before and know the difference.  I regret I can't add more than this as my outlook, thankfully is very simple: If I like it, that's all that matters.

Regards and thanks for a question related to the video - been a while 

Quote from: Secret Santa on February 11, 2013, 08:30 PM

Quote from: Martinwhynot on February 11, 2013, 08:24 PM
By my calculations that means that CA's base would work out at 1.458L of oil.  I'm speechless...BB1 will be just slightly peeved as the oil content was the factor in all the bleating and whinging.

You continue to ignore the crucial point. Unlike other bases and methods the Glasgow base does not (at least in my experience) release the oil that it contains. So the fact that it may contain slightly less than other bases is moot because it all stays in the finished curry.

? My first photos of the results clearly showed oil at the side of the pan and sitting marbled on top of the curry so I think I did get the point being made.  Also oil separates from the base too so giving another opportunity to skim some away.  The amount of coconut block used could also be contributing to the greasiness comments some are making.

Regards,

Martin

By my calculations that means that CA's base would work out at 1.458L of oil.  I'm speechless...BB1 will be just slightly peeved as the oil content was the factor in all the bleating and whinging.

Quote from: ELW on February 11, 2013, 07:01 PM

When its compared to others available, it doesn't have much spice/GG content ....scale down the 5kg to 2.5 & it has less than ca's & slightly less oil :

BB's base has more than CA's?  Seriously?!?!?! After all the crap that's been written here, even after the recipe got tweaked?  I give up!