The BIR secret....

[jalfreziT]

We just finished the reheated Chicken Jalfrezi (Richard Holme/MrCk) recipe that I made this morning. I paid special attention to scorching the onion and pepper. Edges were black on onion and blistered on the pepper.

It was good but not the best we have had. For some reason the sauce was thinner than usual and the flavour not quite there. And there sits the problem. There are so many variables when cooking BIR. The fault is of course mine.

[romain]

I suspect you might have taken it a bit further than I go.

From the jalfrezi recipe - "The key to the smoky taste is to get some blistering of the green pepper skin when doing the initial stir fry. Onions and green pepper go in to hot oil and cook until the edges of the onion turn brown and you start to get a bit of roasted pepper action."

I don't go to the black edges on onions stage. And I only go for some blistering on the pepper skin. Of course,  it could be something completely different as you suggest as well. Cooking is definitely an art.

[jalfreziT]

Joo, I think you

[romain]

It was good but not the best we have had. For some reason the sauce was thinner than usual and the flavour not quite there.

Perhaps you didn't have the heat high enough? Thinner sounds like perhaps you didn't get enough Maillard?

It's always something...

[madpower]

The secret is in the mixed powder,i was lucky enough to get some from a Ta,i promised i would not say who i had it off or were from,i had a tblsp off it and i made 2 curries with it,my house smelled like a Ta and all the neighbors commented about that,i would say it tasted better than some of the places around here,i cant believe some people think it is because of the cooking of it,you can watch them from start to finish they are not michelin star chefs they are quite slapdash about it most the time,most of them aint got the expertise or time to wait for a mallard reaction,i think anyone on here could be a indian food chef with their mixed powder

[Peripatetic Phil]

I don't think that it can reasonably be doubted that if one is going to use a mix[ed] powder (as opposed to using individual spices), then the proportions of the spices in that powder must be important, just as the proportions of the individual spices would be important if one were using just those.  But timing and technique also come into the equation (as does experience).  So for myself I do not believe that "the secret is in the mixed powder"

[jalfreziT]

Agree with Phil.

It

[mickyp]

Agree with Phil.

It

[Peripatetic Phil]

But nonetheless (and I am not arguing with myself, or with those who have agreed with me), if Madpower's BIR was able to supply a better, more balanced, mix[ed]powder than he had been using until then, and especially if it used a higher proportion of ground fenugreek than his normal mix[ed] powder, then I for one would not doubt that he achieved better, more authentic and "BIR-smelling" results than he had previously.

But when MP says "you can watch them from start to finish they are not michelin star chefs they are quite slapdash about it most the time,most of them aint got the expertise or time to wait for a mallard reaction", I wonder whether what might look slapdash to you and I is, in fact, more an indication of their experience.  When I cook at home, especially when I cook Chinese food, I don't measure anything, and someone watching might well say "looks slapdash to me", but I have made these dishes so often that "muscle memory" kicks in, I don't need to think about what I am doing, but I can be confident that the results will be good.  For the better BIR chefs, I am sure this is how it works, but I do not deny for one second that with this county's present hostile immigration policies, it is getting ever harder to find good BIR chefs and standards are falling nationwide.

** Phil.

[romain]

Every video I have seen and the restaurant kitchens I have been in have all had major fire power under their pans. Heat + sugars + amino acids = Maillard reaction.

My burners are 20K BTU which I believe translates to around 6kw. I run it near flat out once I add my first ladle of base. I quickly googled the output of an industrial cooktop. 30K BTU so 9kw (assuming my math is correct). For sure they are getting it. Caramelization is not the same thing as Maillard.

Not suggesting spicing is not important mind you.