Topic: Despicable!....but Anyone had a Rummage?

[DARTHPHALL]

 

[haldi]

• Oil or ghee?
• Bottled curry pastes or curry powders?
• Commercially prepared curry powders or individual spice powders?
• Commercially supplied spice powders or freshly gound whole spices?
• Individual whole spices of commercially supplied mixtures?
• Commercially prepared (eg bottled purees or pre-peeled) or fresh garlic and ginger?
• Tinned tomatoes or purees/pastes or fresh?
• Tinned or dried lentils?
• Bottled or dried or fresh mint?
• Bottle or fresh lemon and lime juices?
• Dried (ie leaves) or powdered  or fresh fenugreek?
• Desiccated or creamed or tinned or fresh coconut ?
• Artificial or natural food colours?
• etc

Never any ghee, always KTC oil (oil is put on hot naans too)
All bottled pastes by Pataks (tandoori,tikka,balti and kashmiri masala), Natco powdered spices
Only a few spices too
Coriander,cummin,turmeric,madras curry powder,chilli,garam masala
No bottled garlic or ginger. Always fresh
Wholes spices are white cummin, coriander seeds, white cummin, bay leaves
Tinned and fresh tomatoes, tomato puree
Never canned lentils, always dry
Canned spinach
Always bottled mint (for chutney and tikka marinade)
Bottled lemon juice
Always dried fenugreek
Coconut powder and dessicated
KTC or East End colours

The above are used at three very good takeaways, but none produce the "taste"
They make very fine curries but need to be eaten fresh
If frozen they come back bland, oily and lacking flavour.
Frozen curries with the taste freeze and reheat losing very little
Whatever creates the "taste" has got to be other than the above list
The aroma of the "taste" seems very unspice like
I can't can't make it, but neither can most of my local takeaways either.

[Chilli Prawn]

Not suprising really, a bit like our waste bins (on a slightly smaller scale) :-X

I note the canned Spinach.  Most BIRs use this these days and I reckon that gives the BIR taste to their Saag dishes.  My local BIRs use both tinned and frozen.  the frozen is used for Saag Gosht (dry fried Spinach & Lamb) which is one of my geat favorites.  Anyone got a recipe for this that is rated?

CP

[Cory Ander]

Thanks for your input Haldi.  At last!  Some more actual observations on the ingredients that BIRs actually use!....... ;D

....but I was a little (read "very"!) disappointed to see that none of the three BIRs produce "the taste"?

.....I had no idea that there are so many crap BIRs around? 

....do you have any observations for BIRs that DO produce "the taste" Haldi? 

Thanks again 

[DARTHPHALL]

There are many Bir's now that seem unable to produce "The taste".
 I have only one within 20 miles of myself now 

[Chilli Prawn]

It is my belief it is because they are mainly Bangladeshi and all their cooks seem to be trained in the same cookery school and work to the prescribed standard recipes that are cost efficient and suit the majority of palates.  Sad isn't it.  I would go an rummage in my local BIRs bins but they know I am a competitor so I am not sure how it would be if I was found out!  Might be easier to get to know the local Biffa drivers

If you want to be in the know perhaps you should join the Bangladeshi Restaurateurs Guild here http://www.gbruk.org.uk/news4.htm

Happy searching
CP

[Cory Ander]

.....it is my belief it is because they are mainly Bangladeshi and all their cooks seem to be trained in the same cookery school and work to the prescribed standard recipes that are cost efficient and suit the majority of palates.  Sad isn't it........

But CP, it's Bangladeshi BIR curries (with "the taste") that I wish to emulate! 

So, sad that Bangladeshi's produce such curries?  Definately not! 

Sad that so many BIRs seems to lack "the taste"? Definately!.....but it is surely nothing to do with the reason you cited here! 

[haldi]

Thanks for your input Haldi.  At last!  Some more actual observations on the ingredients that BIRs actually use!....... ;D
.....I had no idea that there are so many crap BIRs around? 

....do you have any observations for BIRs that DO produce "the taste" Haldi? 

Thanks again 

These places make very tasty curries, so "crap" is a bit harsh
But as for observations of "taste" BIR's, I have found one very important thing
The "taste" originates from their curry base
NO doubt about it
I have had two bases from places with the "taste", and both contain this awesome flavour
I also obtained base samples from places without the "taste"
And guess what?
No "taste" in the base.
There are loads of recipes on this site which provide a very similar result of the no "taste" base
But I want that extra mile
The "taste" base is very mild
No chilli heat and has the "taste" aroma
When I bought some back, the smell filled the car
Incredible when you think that the sauce was in a sealed plastic carton and a carrier bag too

[George]

I have had two bases from places with the "taste", and both contain this awesome flavour

Did you see the base sauce spooned out of the saucepan in front of your eyes and are you 100% sure nothing else was added before the take away container was handed to you? When I asked for a sample of base sauce, it was taken out the back, and I'm sure something else was added.

Regards
George

[snowdog]

But CP, it's Bangladeshi BIR curries (with "the taste") that I wish to emulate! 

Precisely!

The best curries/best curry house I have ever had/used was made/run by a Bangladeshi who, unfortunately, retired and took his secret with him.

However, I for one am not going to try and confuse the issue by trying to suggest that every perfect curry everywhere in the world has to be identical to the ones made by that guy, nor that he or she should be of a particular nationality/race.

Perhaps part of the problem of not being able to emulate proper restaurant curries is that the matter is repeatedly confounded by people forcefully claiming this or that is the answer (or a definite part of it)... they can't ALL be. And I suspect most probably aren't.

I don't even think we're all aiming for the same thing!

One thing is clear: one person's 'perfect' curry is almost certainly different to the next person's.