Topic: Hello to all !

[JonL]

Hello to all !!!
Ive been trawling the net for months looking for BIR recipes. I cant believe I only found this site yesterday.

Ive tried a lot of Pat Chapman recipes, that Curry secret book (which seemed so complicated, it felt like a wind up!) & more recently the one from the NATCO site.
How do you pros rate the NATCO one.

Its the best thing Ive made so far, but I cant really say its a good replica of a BIR. Its not far off though, but (not being an expert) i couldn't say what its lacking.

Ive loaded up with the extra ingredients I need to try Darth's 100% Madras & also Terry's (ifindit4u) version also. I am going to start tomorrow. Next on my list is probably Curry Kings Chilli chicken massala (my favourite from my local)

It drives my wife mad as I cant really get excited about any other food style & eat spicy food, mostly Asian, most of the time.

 This site is by far the best resource Ive found. Like I say earlier I must have been a mental block when doing my searches as ive never hit here before.

Ill let you know how my first attempt goes.........  ;D

JonL

[laynebritton]

Hi jonL
Welcome to the Curry factory throw away all your books cos you ain't gonna need em anymore you have found Curry Nirvana Oh Yes.
We test our own recipes here by trial and if they ain't right we start again until we are happy with the final product books are just guidelines really !

Get your cooker fired up and start peeling some onions ( Er about 15 )
Layne

[Yousef]

Ho JonL,

Welcome to the site, i think you are going to be in for a treat after you try the recipes on this site.
Prepare for your house to be turned into a Takeaway.

Your curry journey starts here....

[CurryCanuck]

Welcome JonL - so many curry recipe here to choose from .... all great ....created for you with curry care by the dedicated members of this site . 

[extrahotchillie]

Welcome JonL
Hope you enjoy & contibute your ideas to the site

[Peripatetic Phil]

... I've tried a lot of Pat Chapman recipes, that Curry secret book (which seemed so complicated, it felt like a wind up!) ...

I'm new to this forum (joined fifteen minutes ago !) but for me, Kris Dhillon's "The Curry Secret" was the most important find in over forty years of attempting to re-create the flavour of British Indian Restaurant curries.  I cannot recommend this book too highly.  Not only does his method enable home chefs to re-create that authentic, highly sought after, flavour, but it also (by partitioning the task into a number of discrete steps) enables the home chef to do well over 90% of the preparation in advance and to serve his/her guests with a freshly cooked curry within 30 minutes of their arrival.  I would add to this that my wife's recipe for pilau rice far surpasses anything I have ever been able to achieve, and between us we are now able to produce authentic BIR curries on demand  :-)  Now if only I could discover how to make authentic roti, I would be in seventh heaven !

As an aside, I now find that having learned Kris Dhillon's method, and gone on to experiment with different spices/quantities at the final stage, I now feel sufficiently confident to re-spice the remains of take-aways, and my wife (who is my severest critic !) is happy to admit that the re-spiced version is usually substantially better than the original.  Simply re-heating a left-over take-away in a microwave oven is very unsatisfactory : far better to heat some more ghee (I frequently use re-cycled ghee) in a wok, throw in the left-over curry, add a little water or stock, re-spice and serve.  Definitely worth a try, if you've only ever used a microwave oven to re-heat ...

[CurryCanuck]

Bruce Edwards concepts on curry far surpasses that of KDs' . Both his methods and ideas  were far more intuitive and closer to the mark . KD's attempt to re-create BIR curries is more style than substance - however there is the odd recipe which is passable . I think that a lot of the members here have gleaned whatever information they can from these authors and have moved on to create far more authentic tasting dishes - the recipes on this site can attest to that . Like laynebritton says , books are just a guideline . Checkout the recipe database and be prepared for a curry culinary treat . 

[DARTHPHALL]

Its time for you to travel to Curry land  ;D

[JonL]

Thanks for the welcome everyone. Tonight's the night for my fist crack at either Bruce's or Darth's base gravy. the only thing I'm short of (for Bruce's version) is the veg Ghee.

Not sure if i can handle going to the Indian grocery store for the 10th time this week, so it may be Darth's tonight.

Hopefully, I can knock the gravy up quick as possible & make a finished dish.

I'm not the fastest chef in the world so by the time the children are asleep & i get cooking, it can be pretty late by the time the curry's on the table. Hard life, innit !!!!

On the "Curry Secret" book topic, I have heard from other people that the book is good but I really cant imagine that any BIR Chef goes through all that rigmarole to cook up a batch. Admittedly, I only used the book for 2 attempts but that was enough for me.

Darth & Bruce's sound far more believable & I'm sure there are many others on this site.

Back soon with results !!!!

[CurryCanuck]

Good luck & may the curryconclave be withyou !