Quote from: rallim on April 12, 2013, 12:00 PM

Quote from: chewytikka on April 12, 2013, 12:20 AM
Sorry, I don't think this has any worth as a subject for a BIR creative forum.
Would be a better idea, if you deleted this George.
I finally agree that this site is going to the dogs :

Sorry, may as well delete all the other threads not related to "BIR" then? I personally don't care much for supermarket curries! but, one Christmas eve I was finishing the painting of a room in the house before family came up Xmas day, my wife went out to get last minute snacks and whatever from Aada, all the takeaways were closed so she brought in a madras curry and I can tell you I really enjoyed it with a couple of beers from the fridge. Yes not "BIR" but they still have there place...Actually I have tasted worse and binned curries from so called "BIR" takeaways.

I also find the Asda Madras perfectly edible!
http://groceries.asda.com/asda-estore/banneroffers/banneroffercontainer.jsp?listId=1215089809602


Used to have one a week before I started making my own.

Quote from: George on April 12, 2013, 11:53 AM

Quote from: DalPuri on April 12, 2013, 11:47 AM
The supermarkets aren't trying to emulate whats sold on the streets of Mumbai, neither are they giving us a sneak peak into Indian home cookery, they're trying to produce curries that we all know from our local BIR.

I'm not sure that's the case, at all. They don't have enough oil to look like BIR curries, for a start. I see them as the supermarket's attempt to deliver a curry which is both tasty and not too unhealthy.  I think they succeed with SOME dishes within the chilled food ranges.

You've missed my point there George. What i'm saying is that you're not going to find a Rajma masala, Poha Upma, Pav Bhaji etc, what you see in the supermarkets is what is popular in the UK because of the influence of the local restaurant and reflected in a BIR menu.

I've never eaten a BIR curry that was worse than the best I've had from a supermarket in my life.

IMHO the supermarket curries are nasty processed factory food. They may be relatively low in oil but they contain more salt than I use when cooking.

The Sainburys chicken madras is all coconut and curry leaf flavours, nothing like a BIR madras.

Quote from: PaulP on April 12, 2013, 01:07 PM
I've never eaten a BIR curry that was worse than the best I've had from a supermarket in my life.

IMHO the supermarket curries are nasty processed factory food. They may be relatively low in oil but they contain more salt than I use when cooking.

The Sainburys chicken madras is all coconut and curry leaf flavours, nothing like a BIR madras.

Maybe you are cooking them wrong Paul, try an extra 30 seconds in the microwave 

Quote from: George on April 12, 2013, 02:50 PMBut it's still way ahead of the worst BIR dross, except you don't agree.

I don't agree either.

I'm even amazed you're attempting to make this case. I've never had a supermarket curry that even approaches the worst I've had in a BIR restaurant or gets anywhere near what I can produce at home which is essentially why I stopped buying them.

Neither do they represent particularly good value. For about 3 quid, I can produce three portions or more of a home cooked curry that knocks any supermarket curry into a cocked hat.

Just because they're cheap (in comparison to BIR's) and convenient (you just pick one off the shelf) does not mean they're good or tasty, because they're not. At least not to anyone who knows anything about Indian cookery. And that's not intended to be sideswipe at you personally, this is just my personal opinion.

They're bland, all generally taste the same, smothered in tomatoes and full of preservatives and chemical stabilisers.