Topic: Andy's Recipes

[Curry King]

I got round to trying Andy's paste over the weekend and during the cooking process I remembered that I had been here before:

http://www.natco-online.com/acatalog/Holy_Grail.html

With the exception of the tandoori masala it is word for word the same recipe.  Now I have nothing against the natco holy grail recipes, I tried them a while ago and they made a pleasant curry but not anything in terms of BIR taste or smell.  I notice that the base and currys have been elaborated on in Andy's recipes, they are similar but with a few more ingredients.  I might be barking up the wrong tree but is Andy the mysterious curry phantom "M", either that or has his chef pinched all his ideas from the Natco site!

There is some discussion on them here if anyone else wants to have a look what we said about them first time around:

http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=383.0

cK

[Chilli Prawn]

I should imagine that a lot of aspiring BIR chefs search the recipe sites and Forums for ideas and inspiration, so I don't really find this odd.  Lets face it this is how any cooking evolves; by exploiting/sharing ideas and recipes.  Just look at any Indian cookery book and you will find identical or very close copies all over the place.  So I am happy to think this is coincidence CK; anyway I am not in to conspracy theories  ;D  I am sure Elvis had no hand in this (he was a burger man anyway :) But..... if he is 'M' where is 007 then, aaaargh ;D

[andy2295]

Hi

An interesting post. First of all our base has nothing to do or resembles the Natco one and is quite different if you were to produce them side by side. The natco one uses red onions, tin of tomatoes which together take on a completely different flavour themselves. One of our ex chef's however quite some time ago provided some information to someone associated with them but that is all i will say. :-X  This curry business history goes back a lot further than natco does.
This secret paste they mention, it is no secret been known for years, good selling point though, but missing the tandoori masalla powder for colour. I can give you 5 other ones that have or are being used in different establishments that are virtually the same but with minor variations all producing slightly different flavours. Chef's choice. ;D

Regards

Andy.

[Curry King]

Just look at any Indian cookery book and you will find identical or very close copies all over the place.  So I am happy to think this is coincidence

CP, it's practicaly word for word the same recipe!  Are you seriously saying you think that it's a coincendence?  Are you hav'in a laugh!

[andy2295]

Hi,

As to a spice mix made with equal amounts of ingredients, oh dear how May as well buy sharwoods ;D

Regards
Andy

[After8]

Hmm, it reminds more me of the KD book where you tend to boil things.

Andy and CP have both stressed that technique plays a big part in achieving the taste and smell we're looking for. I have to confess that, in my haste to try this, I've attempted Andy's recipes with out having all the right stuff: Instead of the spice mix, I used curry powder; instead of the tomato paste I used (to my shame) a squirt of ketchup.

Even with these ingredients, I was able to  get very close to to what I'm after. If you could have smelled this place I'm certain you would have been in no doubt that the recipes are the real deal. I always thought, because it was so strong, that smoky smell was a secret ingredient, or, the tandoor. When I made my last curry, there was nothing out of the ordinary in there, and yet the smell just appeared from nowhere. Now, getting rid of it's my main concern. 

Things like the paste and the spice mix are the things that make one curry house the same as or different from another, but all the good curry houses seem to have something common to thier flovour, and I think this is down to the methods

After getting so close, I won't be trying the Nacto method.

A8

[Curry King]

Hi Andy,

Take this how you want but that paste is crap, if a regular BIR uses that I will eat my hat.  It takes far to long to mess about making it and add's very little to the final curry.  I'm slightly annoyed that I didn't spot it before I wasted 2 hours making it  :-[

One of our ex chef's however quite some time ago provided some information to someone associated with them but that is all i will say. :-X  This curry business history goes back a lot further than natco does.

Please tell us.... actualy don't bother, somethings not quite right here but to be honest I don't really care.   Keep it up though as CP seems to think your the new messiah, even though he hasn't tried a single recipe of yours, funny that  :

cK

[Chilli Prawn]

[/quote]

Please tell us.... actualy don't bother, somethings not quite right here but to be honest I don't really care.   Keep it up though as CP seems to think your the new messiah, even though he hasn't tried a single recipe of yours, funny that  :

cK
[/quote]

CK I guess you missed an earlier post of mine where I clearly said I am taking a back seat for a while to finish my house and get it ready for sale.  Plus, it would be unfair on Andy if there was another raging debate on UCB and its associated  recipes.  I don't think Andy is any way or shape a new messiah it was just a bit of humour; but he is working hard to provide information to those who want it.  As for trying his stuff, I definitely will as soon as I can get the buliders, decorators, and plumbers out of my way so I can cook seriously again.  Please don't jump to conclusions, I really am not Elvis (just a distant relation ;D)

CP

[andy2295]

ck.

Thanks for saying that. Hope your hat tastes good. According to you then no bir will use the same recipes. Mmm must all taste different therefore everyone is chasing a different bir taste. Feel sorry for the industry.
To say the paste is crap is quite offensive but hey i dont care what you think. I will let the chef's know for you. All i can say is that we use it, i know of 5 others that use it slightly differently depending on their slant of cooking, i know of some that dont use it. Their choice, our choice.
You have no need to use it or the recipes. It is not my loss at all.
I would not tell a chef how to cook as i would not tell a mechanic how to mend my car.

When you say something is not quite right. Dont know what you mean?
You seem to have this thing with natco for some reason.

It seems that some people on here dont want to listen to the chef's in the industry, some want to be instant chef's. Life is not like that. Some people want to listen and learn.

Constructive comments always welcome.

CP HURRY UP WITH YOUR HOUSE I NEED A REST.

Andy

[Curry King]

CK I guess you missed an earlier post of mine where I clearly said I am taking a back seat for a while to finish my house and get it ready for sale.  Plus, it would be unfair on Andy if there was another raging debate on UCB and its associated  recipes. 

Why would there be a raging debate about the UCB, a bit pretentious don't you think,  most of us havn't even tried it yet!

I don't think Andy is any way or shape a new messiah it was just a bit of humour; but he is working hard to provide information to those who want it. 

Andy may well be working hard and putting in loads of effort but whats the point if it's no good or knocked off from somewhere else?  Another gripe is that it seems to me Andy's recipes\posts and your own in some cases have praise heaped upon them when they are largely untested, why?  

As for trying his stuff, I definitely will as soon as I can get the buliders, decorators, and plumbers out of my way so I can cook seriously again. 

How are you in a position to comment on all of he's posts then?  Look through them your there every single time "biggin it up", you on his payroll or something as I can't see why else you would be doing it?  

By the way when you do get round to trying them I would give the paste a miss as it's muck  

cK