Topic: Only just found this

[hukkas]

I probably didn't look hard enough, but I didn't realise this forum was here - it looks right up my street!

It took me a while to get past the CAPTCHA - is it just me who can't read those things? - but I'm here now, so this is just to say hello as a new member.

By way of a brief introduction;

* I grew up in West Yorkshire - not Bradford specificly, but not far off - so I used to be lucky in terms of having good restaurants and takeaways nearby....these days not so much
* Nowadays I make my own about 95% of the time, partly for that reason
* I do cook some "proper" curries (currently enjoying Rick Stein's India), but I've always been a sucker for BIR curries
* I've long (nearly 20 years, maybe?!?) been a fan of the Kris Dhillon book, although I really need to broaden those horizons a little
* Usually go for lamb given the choice, and if I HAD to pick a favourite it would be an achari

Sorry for waffling!

[Garp]

Hello and welcome hukkas. Glad you found us eventually

It sounds like you have a lot of experience eating and cooking both traditional Indian food and restaurant style.

Looking forward to your contributions.

[Stephen Lindsay]

Hello Hukka and welcome to the forum

I am from Scotland but I had friends who used to stay in Bradford and Huddersfield so I know of the wonderful curry culture in your area. I remember visiting the Bombay Brasserie in Bradford a couple of times but also enjoying a nice curry at the Samarkand in Heckmondwike.

I am a long time member and I like to keep in touch with the forum though it's not as active as it once was. In my opinion this is because some (a lot?) of the members have got to the stage where they are producing restaurant quality curries that faithfully replicate our takeaways and eat-ins. It seems to me we have reached a critical mass in terms of the contribution of knowledge and recipes.

That means then. that there is a wealth of knowledge on this site if you know where to look. My suggestion would be to pick a base, and associated spice mix and recipe then try them out. The base recipes can be found if you go to the forum tab at the top of the site, then scroll down to where it says curry base recipes and have a look there. The base recipe has been akin to a sort of search for the holy grail. You'll see however (in my opinion) that there are many similarities between them.

You mentioned KD and we have one member (Phil) who is a big advocate of that base but if I understand him correctly then I think he has mentioned that the amount of base gravy in her recipes is a bit on the meagre side for one portion. I too have used KD 1 and KD2 in the past and that's what I found. I don't think her spicing is representative of other recipes on here.

There are a few bases that have been tried and tested and you will be able to see from the number of posts which ones they are. I have my own preference and have been getting consistently good results. I won't say what it is, but rather leave you to form your own opinion. I'm sure if you want more detailed recommendations then other members will be happy to help. Just give us a shout and you will get a quick reply from the regulars.

Let us know how you get on?

SL

[Peripatetic Phil]

You mentioned KD and we have one member (Phil) who is a big advocate of that base but if I understand him correctly then I think he has mentioned that the amount of base gravy in her recipes is a bit on the meagre side for one portion. I too have used KD 1 and KD2 in the past and that's what I found. I don't think her spicing is representative of other recipes on here.

It is certainly the case that during my initial forays into Kris Dhillon's recipes I felt that both the volume of base and the level of spicing were only 50% of what I had come to expect from eating in the better BIR restaurants that were still around at that time, so I both doubled the amount of base and doubled the amount of spices per unit of base, thus effectively increasing the spicing by 400%.  Whether I would still find the same today is moot -- it is a long time since I last cooked BIR food, and I would need to repeat my earlier experiments to see if I still reached the same conclusions.

Welcome to the forum, by the way !

** Phil.

[vinotinto]

Im a big fan of Rick Steins Indian book, there are some excellent recipes in it

[Stephen Lindsay]

Im a big fan of Rick Steins Indian book, there are some excellent recipes in it

Yes it's a book that I've read and it has good reviews. I also enjoyed the programme of the book. The cooking method on the TV programme owed more to home style cookery than BIR. If you are looking to replicate BIR cookery you won't mind Rick's book much help. However you will find this site helpful.

[hukkas]

Thanks for the welcome!

For me the KD base is about the texture; bearing in mind that before I discovered that, the curries I was making weren't BIR, essentially. However, I'm probably at the stage where I need to find a new one. KD's is pretty bland, to be honest, although that's not necessarily an issue - it just provides more scope for experimentation / customising it according to what kind of curry I'm making. It feels like adding spices (other than the paprika and turmeric that are in that recipe) to the base is doing it at the wrong stage, although I'm not against the idea of trying. I've tried red pepper and carrot; the pepper didn't seem to do that much, and the carrot made it a bit too...vegetal, if that makes sense.

[hukkas]

I am from Scotland

The best curry I ever had was in Glasgow - can't for the life of me remember where, unfortunately. I had an amazing curry in the same city years later, then it suddenly dawned on me I was in the same restaurant!

Also, continuing the Scotland theme, I used to live in Aberdeen and there was a place that did a couple of really interesting additions - one port, one with Guinness. They were both interesting, if not spectacular, and I'm not sure I've seen either since!

[vinotinto]

Agree Stephen, completely home style and not BIR.  Have used his daal in Sober Rats dhansak and it worked a treat 

[Sverige]

Which recipes in Rick Stein's Indian book are worth a try?