Topic: How do you know when you are "there" ?

[pete]

The sauce is the curry and everything else is a guest at the party.

that is so correct
and the secret is the curry base
which is like no base on this, or any other site

[livo]

and the secret is the curry base
which is like no base on this, or any other site

This is an extraordinary claim!  Are you saying that you know a "secret"? Something that is not on this site or any other source of curry information.

I've begun the process of reading 800 posts, starting back in Christmas 2004, to see if I can find a hint as to when you found it and what the "secret" is. Nothing other than extra hours cooking and some aging so far.

Not March 2005!!!     Still looking though.

On the plus side, I think the gravies we have are very close now.
It just needs a touch of..................??

Have you found something different since November 2005? 

Thanks for all the info Mark
This really is the last piece of the puzzle
These methods really produce an excellent base with the sweet and savoury flavour we all know.
Everything is now on the site
I shall be keeping one base going forever now
Anything left over will be frozen and added to the new.

Apparently not. Jan 2006

I am beginning to think that it is impossible to recreate BIR curries unless you get an unrepeatable, lucky cooking moment.
That has happened to me several times, and I just don't know what went right

We jump to April 2017.

Because I'm still not totally satisfied with my results either

So if you now know the "secret", it is only a recent revelation.  Please do share.

[mickdabass]

Livo

Youd better read Haldi's posts too.

One and the same person I believe 

Regards

Mick

[fried]

As much as I love Haldi's posts, this is just complete guff.

[livo]

Having read almost all of Pete's posts (and some related threads) yesterday, I am already aware that haldi is one and same. Chewytikka raised it. This does not diminish the inference made by Pete that he has knowledge of the secret of the base gravy. Unpublished on this or any site he says.  I've called him on it.

Less than 12 months ago (April 2018) Haldi was still searching for the missing "5%".  Nothing posted since (2 posts) says he found it.

[Stephen Lindsay]

There is no secret. It's all here, it's all in KD's books, it's in the BE set of articles, it's in Abdul Mohed's book, it's in the Curry Guy's book etc. etc.

Over the past 18 months I have befriended a chef who has his own takeaway near St Andrews. When we started talking cookery he realised I knew a bit more than the average customer and he has made me other curries not on the menu, but more akin to what he, his family and the other chef's eat. In return, I went to the Halal store, bought some chicken and made some curries for him. He was very complimentary.

Late summer, early autumn, I took up 6 curries to my friend and his wife who run a coffee shop just outside Aberdeen. They were gobsmacked and have asked me to put on a curry night at the coffee shop. A date has still to be arranged and I am anxious about cooking for 40-50 people but we will work on the logistics at some point and I will get assistance from their chef and from themselves.

So, from a domestic point of view, I think other people's reactions are one of the things that tells me I am there. My partner says I don't really appreciate how good my curries are, and I think she may have a point as I am probably my own toughest critic.

From a commercial point of view, I have no experience whatsoever so I'm not even on the starting blocks never mind being 'there'. I think others like 976bar (Bob) and Chewy would have much more to say on that subject.

But for the moment I think I have got my curries to a consistency that I am happy with and I take great pleasure in cooking for eating's sake.

As for naan bread, well that is a different story altogether....

[livo]

I agree completely Stephen. I am also my own harshest critic.  Others are impressed with my home cooked BIR style food (mostly without exception). I make no claim to being particularly good at it. Just competent at reproducing what I see here and elsewhere. I could easily be comfortable with a few repeatable dishes but I continue to want to learn more and try different things.

I'm not meaning to ridicule Pete / Haldi as I also agree with him in that being the actual cook on the day desensitizes you to the aromas and flavors.  I'm also a strong believer in curry being better with maturity (time in the fridge), particularly traditionally cooked curry. I used to always cook Indian the day before for banquets and sometimes still do.

However, I stand by my assertion that his previous post is "extraordinary", I found it also provocative of further inquiry, and intriguing all at the same time. 

I think it would be accepted that BIR food can be on a scale anywhere through awful, fair, good, great and up to awesome. What is the difference?  I've long ago discarded the notion that there is " A secret" or "The 5%", but I don't discount the possibility that there are some things that when achieved, can make a huge difference.  This is not just in BIR cookery but all cuisine.  Pete even hits on that point in discussing the accidental success that occurs sometimes but is not repeatable because it isn't known what it was that actually worked on the day.  I've experienced this phenomena myself on several occasions with BIR and other dishes.

If Pete / Haldi has recently discovered the key to this last reproducible achievement of improvement and BIR bliss, I'd hope he would be happy to share it with everybody, and in so doing, achieve what I'd have thought was the aim and objective of this forum.

[chewytikka]

As for Pete/Haldi, his secret has always been Manky Oil.
Zaphod Beeblebrox, might say something different,  ;D
But nobody should really care if their Bipolar Base Gravy turns out edible.
Probably by tomorrow they will have made the holy grail of all Base Gravies....or maybe not 

[Madrasandy]

Didn

[pete]

and the secret is the curry base
which is like no base on this, or any other site

This is an extraordinary claim!  Are you saying that you know a "secret"? Something that is not on this site or any other source of curry information.

I'm sorry if that was misleading
No,  I meant after countless recipes, I don't believe you can make a restaurant curry base at home.
I think the result is only obtainable by using seasoned bhajee oil and cooking on a very large scale
The aroma of a sample base, when heated, is the BIR aroma
You can't get that, with a home made base

don't get me wrong, you can make amazingly good curries at home
But they are not the same

I believe, you can't make a BIR curry unless the base is correct
That is my conclusion after about 30 years of trying