Topic: BIR, keep it simple - 9 Korma Chameleon recipes

[macferret]

Apologies for the profanity. I was not quite myself - it turns out I was going down with man flu. So now I am a slow learner with a stinking cold

[Unclefrank]

There's also this as well http://ramkicooks.wordpress.com/

Think these recipes have been posted on here before but still worth a try.

[Stephen Lindsay]

Keeping it simple is so important when learning to cook some complex meals
A Bir chef once advised me to learn to cook a basic chicken curry
When its good every time and only then start playing with spices and different recipes
Like the saying " learn to walk before you run"
Anyone in agreement ? ;D

See this old thread and my comments halfway down page 1

http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,8020.msg70997.html#msg70997

[Peripatetic Phil]

A Bir chef once advised me to learn to cook a basic chicken curry.  Anyone in agreement ?

Most definitely.
** Phil.

[parker21]

hi KC impressed that you have added 9 curries to your BIR repertoire :-) and I know that they are your take on these dishes! but I never seen or had a Bhuna without onions and pepper? or a korma without either ground almonds and or coconut powder and sugar, as cashews I would consider a luxury and I'm sure too expensive unless in one of Bir chefs special or a garnish at the end of cooking  !?! have you checked out the work of  Bruce Edwards on cr0 and is where my curries changed for the better lol or my wife thought so! and that inspired me to get into BIR kitchens ( the maharaja, Rajver and Mouchak of which the recipes are posted on here) and even end up cooking my own curries in there  LOL this is only my humble opinion and is not meant cause offence by any means  I do use star anise in my chicken chilli masala which is the same recipe from Bruce Edwards curryhouse cookery the smell of it cooking with the onions, green pepper and green chillies is amazing and yummy too!

kind regards
gary

[Gav Iscon]

As for taking 2 years to learn how to cook a recipe, perhaps you're a very slow learner. More like 5 minutes, if you have a good recipe. It's not like learning to play a musical instrument or fly an aircraft, is it?

Just watched Nigel Slater saying he's been on about 40 years trying to replicate his step mothers Lemon Meringue pie and he can't do it.  :

[DalPuri]

Just watched Nigel Slater saying he's been on about 40 years trying to replicate his step mothers Lemon Meringue pie and he can't do it.  :

And he started young too!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1658851/

[macferret]

I have been told the same thing Noble Ox - a trainee chef gets told to cook a medium chicken curry over and over again until it clicks. When I am trying a place for the first time, I sometimes order that because it's such a standard. I have also been told by more than one chef that they had to train for 2 years before being allowed to cook unsupervised.  Not quite the 10,000 hours they say you need to master a musical instrument, but in the same order of magnitude.
I believe it has something to do with more and more of the task becoming instinctive and unconscious, which brings me back to the point I was trying - possibly not well - to make, which is that more experienced chefs find highly condensed recipes more intuitive and useful than the slavish lists of ingredients and processes that we find in most cookbooks. So there comes a point at which the request "Could you write down the recipe for me?" becomes hard to fulfill.  Maybe a more useful question would be "Can I film you doing this?" which has always worked better for me,

[noble ox]

It makes so much sense that way
As humans we get over ambitious and carried away trying to learn too much too soon
A little discipline and patience will go miles ;D

[livo]

as cashews I would consider a luxury and I'm sure too expensive unless in one of Bir chefs special or a garnish at the end of cooking 

Out here there is little or no difference in the cost of cashews and almonds and often cashews are cheaper.  This says either we are getting our cashews very cheap or are being ripped on our almonds.