Thanks SS, I will try that method and compare results. I must bite my tongue at this point and not rush to judgement, so will do that and give it a try instead.

Quote from: Sverige on December 07, 2018, 07:56 AMI'd welcome SS or anyone else who has witnessed BIRs precooking potatoes by boiling them in water to post a recipe for a home sized quantity and then we can actually try this and compare results with the jb method

So I made a batch of JB's potatoes for lunch today exactly according to your reduced portion recipe with the exception of increasing the quantity of panch phoran as I knew that the quantity given wouldn't be enough for me.

I have to say I was quite disappointed with the results. Eating the potatoes on their own they are quite bland unless you happen to bite into one of the seeds. I could barely tell the difference between these and plain boiled potatoes. What they lack in comparison with CBM's recipe is that the simmering method infuses the potato with the spice flavour so it's all through the potato and this is not happening with the "dry" oven cook method. It's all going on the surface. Get rid of the coating and they're basically very mildly spiced potatoes.

Also I think the different spicing and added onions in CBM's recipe make for better spicing and flavour. I do agree though that they hold up very well and make them ideal for cooking in curries. I believe CBM's recipe and method is significantly better so I'll be sticking with that.

It is the way they hold shape that I liked about them as well. As an accompaniment side dish I found them satisfying in the bombay aloo. Stand alone they may be a little bland. I didn't try them alone. I think CT'S suggested frying would make a good snack with a smothering of t/a style chip curry sauce. 6 ingredient sweet curry sauce. Dripping, onion, apple, flour, curry powder and chicken stock.

I finished off the remainder of these pre-cooked spuds tonight (bar a couple I'm saving for a vindaloo), Cut up a bit and mixed into mayonnaise, potato-salad style. Very nice indeed. Reminded me of coronation chicken which I haven't had for ages.

Quote from: Secret Santa on February 07, 2019, 10:14 PMReminded me of coronation chicken which I haven't had for ages.

Very wise

So you've overcome your earlier disappointment then SS.    I'd never heard of Coronation Chicken till just now.

My question is what are these precooked potatoes used for?
They remind me of TA chips in size, but those are just half cooked blanched in oil. Averywhere.

Giving these a veg Bagar as discribed, would be a good short cut if they were heading for Bombay Potato type dish
but would have to be a good seller to warrant this precook and Bengali 5 spice is not to all customers tastes, so a bit risky.

Quote from: jb on January 18, 2016, 07:42 PM

The size is like Take Away Chips, around here. Just curious, JB if your still about.

Quote from: livo on February 07, 2019, 11:18 PM
So you've overcome your earlier disappointment then SS. 

No not really. It's just that the spicy coating mixes nicely with the mayonnaise to produce a really nice curry-flavour potato salad. My observation that the potatoes themselves are lacking in flavour (i.e. without the spice coating) remains. I'd still go with the CBM method every time.

What I did notice though, which might be of interest to those who prefer this method, is that the potatoes were definitely tastier after being refrigerated for a couple of days. I presume that's because the flavoured coating has had time to seep into the potato. This is why I prefer CBM's method though because the flavour is automatically throughout the potato due to being simmered in the spice stock.

It makes me wonder if CBM's potatoes could be made even more flavoursome by a couple of days refrigeration. something I've not previously done but will on my next batch as an experiment.

Quote from: chewytikka on February 08, 2019, 12:34 AM
My question is what are these precooked potatoes used for?
They remind me of TA chips in size, but those are just half cooked blanched in oil. Averywhere.

Giving these a veg Bagar as discribed, would be a good short cut if they were heading for Bombay Potato type dish
but would have to be a good seller to warrant this precook and Bengali 5 spice is not to all customers tastes, so a bit risky.

Quote from: jb on January 18, 2016, 07:42 PM

The size is like Take Away Chips, around here. Just curious, JB if your still about.

I'm still about, still obsessed with everything BIR.I often log onto the forum to see what's happening. I'm quite lucky that my local takeaway(the one where I'm allowed in the kitchen) still has the same chef so I'm still able to go in and watch.

I still think this is the best method of pre-cooking potatoes. I've found it can be a bit tricky cooking a big pan on the hob, one minute they're rock hard and the next they've gone mushy, or sometimes they're perfect on the outside but the middle is not cooked properly.

I'm not saying every BIR chef does it this way, mine certainly does and I've seen him do it like this loads of times.

The potatoes are used in many things, obviously Bombay aloo, sag aloo,chana masala, and a couple will go in any vindaloo dish.

As far as the size and shape Chewy, it's just the Chef's way of doing them. One other takeaway round here does really small potatoes and I've seen other places do theirs differently as well. Once cooked, they are actually quite bland, I've tasted some straight out of the cooking pot in the takeaway kitchen and they were the same. However,if they're left overnight in the fridge then the flavours will develop .

Thanks JB.
Ive been creating various forms of Masala Fries and these Potatoes,
what I would call Zeera Aloo, will make really tasty Masala fries, deep fried crisp and dusted with a Chilli/Chat powder mix.

I've worked alongside BIR Chefs creating special dishes, where they do poached/confit Potatoes in oil with spice, mainly Haldi,
which gives the Potato the look of sliced Mango when plated. Not to my taste, but Hey Ho.

Good to see different approaches  to BIR
cheers Chewy