From Piccadilly Gardens you are only a couple of minutes walk from Chinatown, top food even if it isn't Indian.

Cheers
CoR

i know they cook their own tea in the shop before service. i'm sure its different to what's on the menu. the point being they use the same ingredients.

That is the whole point, yes of course they use the same ingredients but the resulting dishes are nothing like the stuff we know as BIR cuisine.

My taxi driver chap, it's his firm btw, provide delivery cover for a lot of the T/As and BIRs round here and many of his drivers also work in the restaurant trade so he does know what he is talking about. I'm sure that most BIR cooks take pride in their work, their livelihood depends on it after all, however if you ask anyone in the trade if they actually eat the stuff they serve I'll be willing to bet that very few do.The taxi guy calls it "shite" because of all the oil and salt in it, he reckons it's just not good for you, whenever I've asked how much they use he just says "too bloody much."

It's interesting to note that the BIRs seem to be changing/evolving into out of town destination style establishments (town centers T/As all seem to be kebab shops now) as more and more Asian people are eating out and demanding a more traditional and possibly more sophisticated style of cooking.

Another reason the 'old skool' BIR taste is disappearing, maybe?

Regards
CoR.

Suddenly, this book is looking like it might be a major breakthrough, after all. Perhaps the favourable response, here and elsewhere, is pushing up the value of the book. I see you can now pay as much as ?16 (incl p&P) on eBay. Search eBay.co.uk with 'undercover curry' to see the item I refer to.

Cheeky buggers, just checked, still available for 8 quid with free delivery from Amazon which is how I bought mine, ordered Sunday it was delivered on Tuesday.


Cheers
CoR

Hi HK

Good looking curries there, nice one.

Agree pretty much about the book, I don't think any of the celeb chefs have much to worry about from Undercover Dave but it's a good read and quite informative, you never know he might even be 'on the level'.
Done about 4 or 5 batches of the small scale base now and I've found that although you don't actually taste cabbage in the finished base, the type of cabbage seems to make quite a difference to the colour and texture of the base, I prefer white type cabbage to the savoy stuff, anyone else think the same?
Have you tried the Vindaloo Sauce yet? Pure rocket fuel, brilliant!

Hi Matt

Tried the Rajah Madras Masala, it's OK but I reckon I'll go back to doing my own spice mix, either the BE mix or Axe's IG work well for me.

Cheers
CoR

Hi FI5H

Have a look in the freezers in your local Asian supermarket, you can get prepared ginger, garlic or ginger and garlic ready frozen in little blocks, no preservatives or additives once defrosted smells and tastes exactly like fresh.

Best bit, costs about a quid per 400 gram pack which is a lot cheaper than fresh and no waste.

Cheers
CoR