Topic: The BIR secret....

[bhamcurry]

I think I have cracked the BIR secret!

... it's 100% reliable recipes. Add to that "accidentally adding way too much Kris Dhillon base gravy and having to cook it down by nearly half" plus "dammit, not enough salt!" and I had a wonderful chicken Madras tonight. The overly enthusiastic application of KD's base gravy having to be cooked down definitely added a depth of flavour and richness. Tasting the gravy after I took it off the heat made me realise it needed about an extra half teaspoon of salt.

That's it. Nice Madras, delicious pilau rice, all done in around 25 minutes. Rock on 

[Peripatetic Phil]

Excellent news, BHC

[jalfreziT]

So was it the extended cooking time that gave the good result or was it the additional base.

I

[mickyp]

So was it the extended cooking time that gave the good result or was it the additional base.

I

[jalfreziT]

So was it the extended cooking time that gave the good result or was it the additional base.

I

[Peripatetic Phil]

I think I have cracked the BIR secret!

... it's 100% reliable recipes.

Can you give us some examples, ideally those that you used on this occasion ?

Add to that "accidentally adding way too much Kris Dhillon base gravy and having to cook it down by nearly half" plus "dammit, not enough salt!" and I had a wonderful chicken Madras tonight. The overly enthusiastic application of KD's base gravy having to be cooked down definitely added a depth of flavour and richness.

Interesting, because of late I have tended to use less base rather than more, although when I started out I always used twice as much as KD recommends.  I think I need to re-visit that idea.

Tasting the gravy after I took it off the heat made me realise it needed about an extra half teaspoon of salt.

I am a salt addict, and for me the hotter the curry the more salt required.

** Phil.

[bhamcurry]

JalfreziT: I think the reduction of the base, causing the caramelisation of the sugars in the onions and tomatoes is what lends the richness. I dropped the cooked (cold roasted) chicken in for less than 2 minutes just to reheat and that worked out great.

Phil: I have mainly been cooking the recipes from the PDF collated from recipes here. The pilau rice is Bruce Edwards', the dhansak I have been enjoying is Geezahs' "London style", the Madras I made last night was 976Bars version. When we were in Kent last month visiting family I tried a local curry shop (Biggin Hill Spice, if you're interested) and realised that the tarka dal I make from the recipe in the PDF is way better than theirs. They could do with looking up the recipes here!

For spice mixes I am still experimenting, but the fry spice mix from Curry Wizardry by Anthony Goolab is *air kiss* - so simple, but as soon as the scent hits the air I start getting hungry! (1tbsp green cardamom, 10 tej patta, 2 large cinnamon sticks, about 8 grams stick or 2 teaspoons ground). The other spice blends I am making are more or less a hybrid Kris Dhillon / advice from here, along with slight tweaks such as adding a little fennel seed or a whole star anise. It's the usual refinement - this needs a little more earthiness, so fennel or anise - this needs a little brightness, so cinnamon or tej.

As a wise man once said, the fun is in the journey not the destination. The advice from this forum is making my journey a lot of fun.

And don't forget to add a little more salt 

[porchy]

Hi All,

Been looking on various websites and reading various books plus this forum for many months/years  adding this, fresh/powdered that, in search of the BIR holy grail, making a really nice curry but always missing that something.

Well guys and girls on my quest I happened to come across Glebekitchen, have a look at their youtube video https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL_QHxpBll3H0PUASaN6AlQ

You cannot use a non stick pan and cannot double/triple up quantities etc . Using this techinque the most basic combinations taste amazing (less is more) and  enhance the other ingredients (tomato, spinach etc).

In my experience the results of this technique are truly remarkable. No wonder it's been kept a secret.

Have fun and enjoy

rgds

[Secret Santa]

So was the video in any way relevant?

[porchy]

I have no shill connection or interest in any way to the other site/video but understand your reservation.

After searching for more years than I would like to remember to get the BIR flavour the video gave me the clearest instructions and  reinforces the discussion above e.g. the reduction and caramelisation of the base in the oil by adding hot and slowly, reducing  until the