Topic: Hello from Toronto

[JonG]

I somehow just stumbled upon this site, and what a fantastic place it appears to be!

I grew up in Glasgow in the '70s and my first flat was on Otago St at the corner of Gibson St ? curry central at that time with renowned classics like the original Koh-i-Noor, Shish Mahal, Shalimar and Himalaya literally on my doorstep.

I bought the famous Shish Mahal cookbook when it was published in 1983, and it has remained my curry-bible until now. I've been pretty happy with the quality of my curries following the book, especially since moving to Canada in the late '80s. Restaurant curries here are good but don't compare to BIR.

Another curry hotspot in Glasgow at that time was The Goodies, a small TA on Great Western Road. It was a favourite stop off after the pubs shut (at 11 pm in those days), and I'd watch in fascination as the cooks put together the curries right before my eyes in the open kitchen. I realise now from looking through this site that it was the famous KD1 method they were using, so I've just bought the book and can't wait to get to it!

Great to be here and look forward to some spicy adventures!

Hello Iain and welcome!  We

[George]

Suggestion - if Phil agrees - to move the heating and room temperature posts to a new thread, where I will be pleased to continue the conversation with anyone who is interested.

_{Done.  OT content now under "Off-topic replies", at "Off-topic replies / butter (bells), ghee, frying, room temperatures, heating, etc".}

[joshallen2k]

Hi Iain and welcome!

I too am from Toronto. I learned to love BIR food when I lived in the UK for about 10 years.

And you're right, curries here are completely different. Mostly the same names, but very different ingredients and taste. Here a Madras has curry leaves and coconut. CTMs have green peppers and completely different sauce. Its goes on from there.

I have not yet found a BIR style restaurant in the greater GTA area. And I've probably tried most of them!

However, if you venture up to Peterborough, there's a Bangladeshi restaurant there called Shafiqs. Very close to BIR standard. Highly recommend it.

[Ghoulie]

Hi Iain and welcome!

I too am from Toronto. I learned to love BIR food when I lived in the UK for about 10 years.

And you're right, curries here are completely different. Mostly the same names, but very different ingredients and taste. Here a Madras has curry leaves and coconut. CTMs have green peppers and completely different sauce. Its goes on from there.

I have not yet found a BIR style restaurant in the greater GTA area. And I've probably tried most of them!

However, if you venture up to Peterborough, there's a Bangladeshi restaurant there called Shafiqs. Very close to BIR standard. Highly recommend it.

I shy away from curries with coconut mentioned in the make up - find them too sweet for my palate.
2 years ago, we took a holiday on a posh houseboat ?hotel? in Kerala run by Oberoi. Brilliant experience. 2 chefs greet you & offer the normal menu fare or ask if they can surprise you - having ascertained your likes/ dislikes. We opted for the latter. I mentioned coconut as a no-no as too sweet. The chef took great delight in including coconut in several of his dishes that weren?t remotely sweet - just to prove to me coconut was not always what I perceived it to be in Indian dishes. Fantastic experience on the Oberoi MV Vrinda - https://www.oberoihotels.com/kerala-backwaters/