Topic: Anyone heard about Hari Ghotra?

[Gav Iscon]

I'll definitely be giving the Fish Curry a whirl although I'm away for the next week so it'll have to wait a little.

[livo]

I will definitely be trying these recipes.  While BIR style may be the main theme of this site, I for one appreciate traditional method. For me it's about the finished meal and less so how you get there. There is no right or wrong.

Lamb Madras will be on my Bucket List, and the Goan Fish looks good as well.

[robapierre]

Points for honesty Rob!

Well, I'll be honest too - thought the videos are overlong and not a good format for youtube, looks like an imitation of a tv cookery show. People watch TV cooking shows to be entertained (hence the larger than life characters), people watch youtube for practical info on how to actually cook. The format which works there is less fixed shot to camera, more cutaways, edited down, with captions and narration, etc.  Look at "CookedbyJulie" or "Allas Yummy Food".

Traditional indian recipes aren't really what most people are on this forum for, this place is all about pre-cooked base sauce and curries which are whizzed up in ten minutes flat, like restaurants do ("BIR" style).

Someone is spending good money on those videos, there's no shortage of production talent involved but I really don't see it working for you unless you can get a more unique offer in a youtube friendly format, 5-7 mins max!  Also consider steering Hari towards the BIR style as even a numbnuts like Julian Voigt (leviteish on YouTube) got 180k+ hits on a bad video of a bad recipe for base gravy.

My 0.00000002 million dollars supplied.

Sverige, thanks for the honest feedback...that's exactly what I'm after!

As you've identified, different formats and treatments appeal to different audiences. To be honest, we're experimenting as much as possible. Like Garp has pointed out, we also have the more punchy step-by-step versions on the website and YouTube channel. This is an example for the Lamb Madras:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUmxXCcntDk&list=PLiIFVnqAES7SO9hXJsN3I2hR7OTkoi_Mo&index=31

We have also scheduled group sessions where you can see Hari actually interacting with the budding chefs.

All that being said, I think you are absolutely right about finding a unique and appealing approach to cater for the YouTube market. I am open to any suggestions the curry-recipes.co.uk community might have. 

[harighotra]

Hi It's been great to hear your comments and thoughts on the videos and yes we are trying lots of different approaches so keep your thoughts and ideas coming.
In terms of the food I completely get that people are after quick and easy curries but I want to be able to share some great dishes with people who love Indian food to show you that you can achieve great fresh flavours at home cooking from scratch. That said I do have a BIR sauce on the website http://www.harighotra.co.uk/indian-recipes/mains/tomato-base-restaurant-sauce - maybe that is one to film for you guys?

[london]

Hi Hari,

To be honest you base sauce looks more like a pasta sauce, most base sauces on here use a lot more onions and are blended to a soup like consistency. Having said that I made your keema which was very nice and last night we had peoples round and your spiced tomato chutney was enjoyed by everyone.

Regards,
London.

[Ghoulie]

Most (but not all) British Indian Restaurants are not up to the mark as far as I am concerned.  Give me the authentic tasting regional dishes any day of the week - true 'asian cuisine' - not the dishes served by a Bangladeshi ex waiter with an entrepreneurial streak & a rich uncle who funded his restaurant / takeaway venture / dreams.

I will admit to being spoiled by living in Dubai / Middle East for 8 years and travelling all over from there - eating some of the tastiest Asian cuisine ever cooked - so why settle for anything less?

[Mattie]

I'm also interested in rustling up the Goan Fish Curry, looks easy, fast and tasty.  I'm not able to squeeze it in until late next week so if someone tries it let me know if its a goer!

[chewytikka]

Hi Hari
Welcome to the forum.
Your in fine company with the Celebrity chefs, looking at your

[Garp]

Greetings, Hari, and thanks for joining and participating in the forum. I wish you well in this venture.

As Chewy says:

Jellyfish and yourself have a really clean and slick web presence. well done!

Quite impressive

However, Chewy likes to speak on behalf of everyone, when maybe he should be more precise:

British Indian Restaurant cuisine is still historically and predominantly, Bangladeshi
and the curries have slowly evolved and are aimed at the english palate.

There are many nationalities on this forum; quite a few Australians and many Scots, like myself. Where I live, and, I believe, in the majority of Scotland, restaurants and takeaways are predominantly Punjabi (although I think that the Punjabi/Bengali styles have been so entwined in catering for the 'British' palate that they are almost indistinguishable from each other).

Personally, I find that BIR Punjabi cuisine has more depth of flavour and richness than its Bengali counterparts.

I, as I'm sure many here did, started out trying to create traditional/authentic Indian dishes. My first cookbook was a Madhur Jaffrey (I still have it - covered in splashes from the pan). As good as these dishes are, they were not what I got from local restaurants, which is why I joined this site, to find that takeaway taste. Now, having discovered a lot, thanks to the great cooks on here, I find myself wanting to go back to the traditional now and again.

Question: before grinding whole spices, I have always dry-roasted them. I notice that you don't in the videos I have watched. Any reason why?

Cheers,

Garp

[livo]

Hi Hari,

To be honest you base sauce looks more like a pasta sauce, most base sauces on here use a lot more onions and are blended to a soup like consistency.
Regards,
London.

That does not make it wrong though, does it? A Balti base sauce recipe I have is a much stronger sauce then the bland onion soup style you refer to. Each has it's purpose.

It is disappointing that this is the very first response Hari will see when she looks back at this page.

Hari,
I welcome you warmly to the site and look forward to trying and enjoying your dishes.  As an Australian, I often read that our T/A and Restaurant curries aren't up to scratch, but I don't know about that.  We eat and enjoy them. I have spent many years doing mainly traditional style curries so the whole base sauce and whip it up after is a bit new for me.

It is a busy time for me at the moment with the whole family home so I'm not in the house, and particularly not the kitchen, much at all. As soon as the silly season is over and life returns to normal, your recipes will be put to good and much appreciated use.  Although I may have to try one or two pretty soon.

It is an absolute joy to have you in our midst and I think we will benefit greatly from your generous sharing of knowledge and skill.

Greg