Topic: New Year Day Rehearsal

[walleye]

Ok I have the family coming NYD and I have decided to cook a Indian-fest a couple of traditional Indian recipes which I have made in the past along with a few BIR,s the TIR,s is the easy part all cooked in a big pot but not too sure whether to cook the BIR,s in advance and just warm up or to cook when guests are here ? BTW I am cooking my first  BIR base tomorrow will let you know how I get on .

[Peripatetic Phil]

Ok I have the family coming NYD and I have decided to cook a Indian-fest a couple of traditional Indian recipes which I have made in the past along with a few BIR,s the TIR,s is the easy part all cooked in a big pot but not too sure whether to cook the BIR,s in advance and just warm up or to cook when guests are here ? BTW I am cooking my first  BIR base tomorrow will let you know how I get on .

Although I have no doubt that your guests would love to have their main courses (BIR) cooked while they wait, in practice that will be virtually impossible unless they are very few or you have a number of assistants.  And as home-made BIR curries definitely seem to improve with keeping (at least for the first 24 to 48 hours), I would have thought that making them in advance, then chilling, and finally re-heating (gentle microwave warm-though, followed by quick re-heat in wok with extra oil and a garnish of fresh coriander leaves at the end) would have beem the best compromise.

** Phil.

[walleye]

Update making my first base stock following CA,s oopps first boo boobed put in 3 tablespoons of spice mix instead of 3 teaspoons but managed to scrap it out in time before I stirred it in  .

[curryhell]

  .......... ;D ;D ;D

I'm sure you recovered the situation   Totally agree with Phil's suggestion re. the pre-cooking of the dishes.  Not only does it take the pressure off of you but it also gives you time to relax and enjoy the whole affair and time for your senses to have recovered and therefore you'll appreciate your efforts a lot more.  My only suggestion would be to warm the food gently in the over as opposed to micorwaving it.  I always find that any quick form of reheating changes the consistancy of the dish and therefore the overall flavour albeit minor.  I have tried gently reheating in a microwave over a prolonged period to see if there is an improvement in the end result.  Certainly better when done slowly but IMHO, the oven wins it 

[walleye]

To tell you the truth we dont own a microwave at the moment the last one went pop and we never replaced it the base mix is all blended now, taste a little garlicky but otherwise sound so now we are choosing a dish to try out

[curryhell]

If you're new to BIR cooking I would recommend you try Chewy Tikka's madras.  A great curry and has the added advantage of an excellent instructional video to help you along.  As  a second choice I would recommend H4ppy Chris's South Indian Garlic chicken -  extremely tasty dish oozing with flavour.  Links below

https://vimeo.com/33663388

http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,11119.0.html

Let us know how you get on 

[walleye]

OK here is my effort start to finish

[ELW]

Hi walleye, hard to be sure from the pic, but your base gravy looks a little thick, which is giving it a slightly dried out/reduced look on the plate.It may have tasted amazing though. In my experience it should be thin like milk. I always add water after blending, using hardly any at the boiling stage.

Regards
ELW

[walleye]

I have a load of base left will probably thin it out a little, the dish was improvised bhuna but most of the TA,s and BIR,s around my area seem to serve a thickish sauce but mine needs a little tinkering a little to heavy on the garlic

[ELW]

I have a load of base left will probably thin it out a little, the dish was improvised bhuna but most of the TA,s and BIR,s around my area seem to serve a thickish sauce but mine needs a little tinkering a little to heavy on the garlic

Hi walleye, I'm just about to do the same. I have nearly 4ltr of very thick gravy from 1.5kg of onion using only 300ml of water to start initially.  The t/a's dishes near me differ widely in texture & taste. Some advertise a bhuna as a thick "dry" sauce, although when it arrives it can be the opposite. Your gravy looks as it should do. I've found it does take a lot of tinkering to get this right at home.
Good luck with the big day

Regards
ELW