Quote from: Garabi Army on November 17, 2013, 09:37 AM

Quote from: Whandsy on November 17, 2013, 01:19 AM
Ken ,i spoke over the phone with chris about 6 months ago and he said that (at the time) he had told you everything he had been shown from sam. Is that significant?, or do we have to wait for his ebook? He also said he wished he'd never told you (nothing personal) because it could compromise his whole ebook secret.
Does that make sense? Can you make better curries from something we are yet to find out about?
W

As I told Chris at the time, I would never divulge anything until his e-book was released and I stick by that.  And yes, I can honestly say I have been making better curries, this is mainly due to the techniques I have mastered. Unfortunately I forgot some of the finer details of the recipes, so like you I'll have to wait.

Cheers,
Ken

Hi Ken

This is a good question which I would like to add to if I may... I won't ask you to reveal any specifics about Chris's ebook but can you please answer me a couple of things about his "secret" gravy ingredient as seen in his youtube video? (That is, I'm presuming you both know what it is and have used it!)

1. Is it something totally new and never before seen by amateur BIR cooks such as ourselves? And..
2. Are the results from it mind blowing or just OK?...What I'm trying to establish is...Is this the missing link that we've all been searching for?

I know this "secret ingredient" mallarkey is old ground so apologies but it's something that's really had me going since I saw the video and I don't think anyone got to the bottom of it apart from various speculations. I'm really looking forward to the ebook but I don't want to be filled with false hope and when I do finally buy it be underwhelmed at the results as so often is the case with various ebooks and recipes etc... So go on Ken put me out of my misery...

Regards 

Mike

Not being funny mike, but you're replying to a post in which Ken has said he will never divulge anything!

Quote from: MushroomMike on November 30, 2013, 01:48 AM
I don't want to be filled with false hope and when I do finally buy it be underwhelmed at the results as so often is the case with various ebooks and recipes etc...

I doubt you'll be underwhelmed as a shed load of effort appears to be being put into it judging by the time it's taking to get it out. But don't expect a miracle either; I've seen nothing in the videos that isn't standard technique including the spiced oil and the "magic" paste. It'll just be another variant of the many books already available but will be worth it for any new recipes included.

Mike, 'secret ingredients' have always been a red herring, what is important is technique and method. Chris and Sam will explain this in their e-book. Until then mate, keep the faith 

Cheers,
Ken

Quote from: natterjak on November 30, 2013, 07:23 AM
Not being funny mike, but you're replying to a post in which Ken has said he will never divulge anything!

Hence why I wasn't asking for any specifics i.e ingredients, techniques etc.....

Cheers guys. I guess I'll see for myself in due course. I quite like H4ppy's videos though, he seems like a bloke whos really passionate about curry. Fair play to him for the effort he's put in I say.

Quote from: Garabi Army on November 30, 2013, 04:10 PM
Mike, 'secret ingredients' have always been a red herring, what is important is technique and method. Chris and Sam will explain this in their e-book. Until then mate, keep the faith 

I disagree. I think it limits your options to rule anything in or out before you've succeeded in creating each specific dish to whatever standard you seek. I say this partly because I've had recent success using ingredients which are seldom, if ever, mentioned here at this forum and I've never seen them used in any video taken within a BIR kitchen. I'd hate to think that anyone is put off, if they sign up to restrictive philosophies like yours, or Jerry's old list of myths. I'd need to taste the food from Sam's takeaway to decide if I'm interested in much they have to say. The food we had at the Agra last night was perfectly good BIR fare, but the dhansak wasn't up there with the best, so why would I be interested in copying it? I wonder whether Sam's dhansak tastes any better? Has anyone been to Sams' takeaway?

Quote from: George on December 01, 2013, 11:29 AM

Quote from: Garabi Army on November 30, 2013, 04:10 PM
Mike, 'secret ingredients' have always been a red herring, what is important is technique and method. Chris and Sam will explain this in their e-book. Until then mate, keep the faith 

I say this partly because I've had recent success using ingredients which are seldom, if ever, mentioned here at this forum and I've never seen them used in any video taken within a BIR kitchen.

Please feel free to elaborate George 

Personally speaking I don't think we'll ever 'universally' agree that we've cracked the BIR secret. The majority of us are all trying to either equal or better curries that come from local restaurants or T/A's. Within a couple of days of each other I had Chicken Karahi from a takeaway in Preston (which I really enjoyed,

Quote from: MushroomMike on December 01, 2013, 11:15 PM
Please feel free to elaborate George 

I view the release of my 'findings' on this forum as being a bit like the publication of scientific results in learned journals. I should be able to repeat any success and subject it to peer group review before it's safe to explain. Moreover, I should be able to make applied use of these 'secret ingredients' in final dishes, rather than just suggesting that anyone tries ingredient X or ingredient Y. Otherwise, I'm concerned that it's potentially wasting everyone's time.

As a result, hardly anything gets mentioned because I have too much difficulty getting consistent results. I seek to develop recipes which produce curries as identical to each other, from one week to the next, as when you have a Big Mac anywhere in the world - they are almost identical.