BRITISH-IAN FOOD IN THE MAKING

[jb]

He's very busy making these videos, enjoyed the latest one, a special mint curry. So simple but looks very nice. I wonder if he has any more 'Chef specials' he will show us. They always look exotic with 'special secret ingredients' when they appear on your local restaurant menu but usually they're nothing more than basic curries tweaked with a couple of pre made sauces or tweaks. I think he's great, I hope he gets the support he deserves..I wonder if he's still involved in a restaurant now?

[noble ox]

Hi jb.
Syed was a head chef for 8 years and is now living in the Scottish highlands
He because of covid is offering his knowledge via online media and I believe one day will write a book
He gets my support for the results I am getting
He is very busy and will participate here when he finds the time

[Peripatetic Phil]

Thanks for the update, NO.  Re. JB's "I wonder if he's still involved in a restaurant now? ", no, Syed wrote in a reply under chicken tikka "nah graham..not working anymore since 2018".

** Phil.

[livo]

Bombay Aloo made using potatoes done in Syed's pre-cooked mixed vegetables video method instead of boiled in turmeric water worked very well.  I did it before he uploaded the video and added curry leaf and mustard seeds.

There is good information available in Syed's videos as well as the others mentioned.  These are relatively new youtube presenters and they are worth watching.  Take the opportunity to broaden your knowledge, look for pointers and tips, try things out and keep what you like.  If you see something 'wrong' or that you don't like, work around it, ask or just ignore that part.  I'm not going to cook everything I see but these are great developments.  Imagine these videos coming out 10 or 15 years ago.

For example, I made Shah Cooks BIR naan yesterday to specification (except cooked inverted tawa) and they are excellent.  I even had to add the little bit of extra flour just as he did in the video.  I'm going to try The Bengali Cook's Garlic and Ginger paste (with coriander stalks) and Tomato Puree (pre-cooked) in my next batch of curries.  All just little steps but possibly big advances.

I really don't care too much about 100% recreations of BIR as there is clearly no single correct dish and I'm not competing with UK restaurants.  I'm now making better dishes than I was 3 weeks ago, and that's progress.

There is little doubt that the videos are not exactly commercial kitchen but they aren't meant to be.  They are done at home for home cooking.  I don't care.  I'm grateful.

[George]

You may recognise that Precook process as the jb-method for precooking potatoes, well documented on here by our invaluable guru jb.

Where is this jb-method written up, please?

[Peripatetic Phil]

Where is this jb-method written up, please?

https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=14255.msg124616

[George]

Phil - thanks very much for pointing to the recipe for JB's potatoes.

On the Britishian Food channel, I see that the SIMPLEST RECIPE FOR FAMOUS CHICKEN TIKKA DUPIAZA is due to 'premiere' in 2 hours time at 2pm today (12 June)

It looks superb but why does he stress the words 'simplest' and 'simple' in so many of his recipes? It's a real turn-off, causing me to fear they've all been redesigned to taste less well than they did when he worked in the restaurant. Wouldn't it be better if he used words like 'best' and 'tastiest'. And made sure the recipes taste at least as good as the restaurant versions. They probably are as good. It's just the use of the word 'simplest' which has me concerned.

[Peripatetic Phil]

Phil - thanks very much for pointing to the recipe for JB's potatoes.

You are very welcome.

On the Britishian Food channel, I see that the SIMPLEST RECIPE FOR FAMOUS CHICKEN TIKKA DUPIAZA is due to 'premiere' in 2 hours time at 2pm today (12 June).  It looks superb but why does he stress the words 'simplest' and 'simple' in so many of his recipes? It's a real turn-off, causing me to fear they've all been redesigned to taste less well than they did when he worked in the restaurant. Wouldn't it be better if he used words like 'best' and 'tastiest'. And made sure the recipes taste at least as good as the restaurant versions. They probably are as good. It's just the use of the word 'simplest' which has me concerned.

Well, obviously I cannot answer for Syed, but it seems possible to me that because he is publishing on Youtube rather than on a specialist BIR forum such as this one, he has to target his videos at the Youtube demographic rather than ours.  And for much of the Youtube demographic, "simple", "simpler" and "simplest" are real attractors.  Do you not think that this might be the case, George ?

Anyhow, for me Syed's chicken tikka dopiaza recipe is of less interest than his very recent "BIR style king prawn bhuna" (which eschews the use of a base sauce).  I shall be transcribing that one next. Incidentally, yesterday evening I made his chicken Madras, but it was not the success I had been hoping for, and on eating the sauce later (after all the chicken had been eaten, and the sauce had gone cold), I came to the conclusion that it was too spice-heavy.  The sauce remaining from his pre-cook chicken recipe, on the other hand, is absolutely superb (and fragrant) and I think that I will be using that as the basis for my next experimental curry.

** Phil.

[JonG]

George, I think it

[JonG]

Well now I watched the video and I take it all back. It looked to me just as the method he might use in a BIR kitchen, save perhaps that the onions and peppers might