Topic: Pat Chapman Base Gravy

[StoneCut]

But is that the same one?

Edit
Who cares, for that price I just ordered it

[Peripatetic Phil]

But is that the same one?

No, it's a more recent edition (1997 v. 1993).  May even contain some corrections !  This is the 1993 original.

** Phil.

[George]

But is that the same one?

Edit
Who cares, for that price I just ordered it

The price of the book is likely only to be the start of your costs, once you've written off hours and hours of what could turn out to be wasted effort, not to speak of ingredients.

[Invisible Mike]

Good point. I spent part of Saturday afternoon sourcing some of the spices I didn't have. All evening making the gravy, smashing cassia bark in the pestle and mortar (not fun), mixing the tandoori powder and the balti massala powder on top of rice and homemade pakoras....It wasn't until 4 hours later that the dinner was on the table. Was it worth it? No. The madras I recommended in my last post is an hard act to follow. I've just ordered the Abdul Mohed book. His recipes look much more like the real deal.

MM

[commis]

Hi
Please remember that this a balti base.
Regards

[Garp]

.......and was written 20 years ago and doesn't profess to be a British Indian Restaurant/Takeaway cookbook

[fried]

This was the first base I ever made, so any criticism I have off it is probably my own doing. I can't actually remember what it tasted like but the end product never impressed me much. I didn't have that magic curry moment until I made Chewytikka's 3 hour base.

As has been mentioned this is Balti style which I think is pretty hard to find the genuine product
,unless you live around Birmingham. So, it was my first base, cooking in an unfamiliar style.

I still use the Tandoori masala recipe though and it's a recipe that's been copied all over the net.

Might be interesting to try the base again.

[Peripatetic Phil]

.......and was written 20 years ago and doesn't profess to be a British Indian Restaurant/Takeaway cookbook

I think that, by definition, any book setting out to describe the preparation of Balti dishes must be a book concerning BIR techniques.  The Balti styloe originated in the BIR trade (in the West Midlands, to be precise).

** Phil.

[Garp]

Our Pat would argue that the 'Balti' originated in an area of northern Pakistan known as Baltistan rather than Birmingham

[Peripatetic Phil]

Our Pat would argue that the 'Balti' originated in an area of northern Pakistan known as Baltistan rather than Birmingham

"Our Pat" was very keen to establish himself as the font of all wisdom concerning Indian food, and made quite a good living from it (or so I am given to understand).  Whether his pronouncements can entirely be relied upon is, I would venture to suggest, a rather different matter ...

** Phil.