i used to use an Indian cafe type place on bury new road in manchester. i remember most of the meats in the Curries were on the bone. far tastier
Have you tried any of the Pakistani cafes in the Shudehill area of Manchester?. 'This and That' is a great place on Soap Street (but finding it is like looking for a needle in a haystack). It looks a dump from the outside, it's been there years (I've been going for 15), and the curries are absolutely fantastic. I always have 'rice and three' which is a big portion of rice and three curries of your choice.... for about ?3.50. I am getting hungry just thinking about it. Al Faizal is also a good cafe in the same area. Anyone familiar with them?
I good Coincidence Chris, because these were the main ones I was referring to. I used to go to the 'This and That' on Soap St, from when it first opened and I became very good friends with its original owner/founder who was called Din Feroz who hailed from the Punjab (got moved to Pakistan when the split came). He was in a bad way after his wife dies suddenly, so his family persuaded him to have a go in the cafe biz. He had never cooked before so he had to learn everything about traditional home cooking from his female relatives. His signature dishes were Shab Degh and Bhindi Gosht (more on them later), and before sold up to his relatives to set up a new restaurant in Chester he have me his treasured secret recipe for Shab degh. I moved South at the same time and we lost touch. So if he is back there perhaps you can give him my regards. I used to work in the Arndale office block for ICL, so he knows me as computer Jon.
Now Bhindi Gosht is lamb with Okra cooked over night, but I don't have his recipe. Shab Degh is one of the most prized Northen Indian dishes originally made for the Mogul Kings. The name literally means cooked overnight. It is cooked in a stone pot that is buried in hot coals under the ground over night. It comprises small white turnips (yes turnips!) lamb kofta balls and very thin lamb chops (called breakfast chops) all cooked in a rich but thin gravy. The final touch in the last few minutes of cooking which gives the dish its unique flavour is a special dry masala which is stirred in. Din gave me a bottle of this masala but didn't know the recipe as he got it from his Dad who was spice merchant in Karachi. If you still go to this Cafe Chris perhaps you could ask them if they now have the recipe. I f you are successful I will post the Shab Degh recipe on this forum. I think the masala was made from the following whole spices that are coarsely ground:- White Cumin, Ajwain, Fennel, Green Cardamom. The colour of the masala when ground is a pale green, and it is very pungent.
Anyway, I must go back to the slave kitchen to make another batch of 50 or so curries (CTM (Original recipe) and Jalfrezi (my recipe).
As always I try to lob in a bit of trivia; the literal interpretation of Jalfrezi is basically what we call Bubble & Squeak, i.e. a fry up of leftovers. Balti means bucket, and my wife had her meals served from one when she taught in Pakistan!
Happy Cooking
C P