Topic: Who believes there is a secret ingredient to the curry base?

[Secret Santa]

I will be purchasing a black iron fry pan soon, these are used in BIR's so I beleive, they hold the heat well

The few open kitchen BIRs I've been able to peer into over the years have used cheap looking long handled stainless steel or aluminium frying pans. The problem with those heavy cast iron pans is that they retain the heat so that if you need to remove the heat for a short time, say to add the powdered spices, the temperature stays too high risking burning them. Even the pics I can find on the internet mostly show cheap looking stainless steel ones.

[brum_57]

hi - stainless steel pans are not cheap lol or I would have a set I do take your point about the iron pans and the possibilty of burning the spices - Yes the pans you seen were probably cheap aluminium saulte pans, worth a try I guess.

Kev.

[kaled0070]

Hi folks, heres my tuppence,
I met my local takeaway owner the other day in asdas and asked him how they get the "taste" and he said "our pans retain all the flavours" so maybe chipfryers right in saying that, like the chinese do, only wipe down your pan, don't wash em, like a good omelette pan. Ok I suppose if your using them everyday but...
As for asafoetida I thought that was only used in authentic curries where using garlic/onions are against their religion, however I've tried using a little instead of freshly fried onions and garlic in the main meal to no effect, possibly cos they're in the base anyway.
Cheers
Mike

[George]

So what's happened to the edit facility? And other threads just disappear without reason?

Here's my previous post with amendements:

"Stainless steel is one of the worst materials in terms of heat conductivity. Unless bonded with other materials, like alumimium or copper I wouldn't give it shelf space. Aluminium is second only to copper as one of the best materials."

[Cory Ander]

Hi George,

The edit (or "modify") button is still here on the top right hand side of the post.  I believe the "delete" facility was removed many moons ago 

Some threads get moved to a new (hopefully a more logical) home.

I think Stew may have deleted, what might have been, a divisive thread yesterday.

[Cory Ander]

The problem with those heavy cast iron pans is that they retain the heat so that if you need to remove the heat for a short time, say to add the powdered spices, the temperature stays too high risking burning them.

Hi Santa,

I agree with what you say Santa, but their ability to retain heat (i.e. high heat capacity) is also one of their benefits because it makes the distribution of heat more uniform  and the temperature more stable - thereby avoiding hot spots and arguably reducing the risk of burning.  I use them all the time for this very reason.

[George]

The edit (or "modify") button is still here on the top right hand side of the post.  I believe the "delete" facility was removed many moons ago 

Something must be wrong with my browser settings because I can no longer see an edit button!

Like you, I rate cast iron because of even heat distribution. Much of the porcelain enamel has come off my old Le Creuset pans but I still use them. There's a difference here, of course, between the best material for heat distribution and the best material as your top surface or coating. That's why some of the more expensive pans bond a layer of aluminium and/or copper in between top, and often bottom, layers of stainless steel, in an attempt to get the best of all worlds. I have a couple of metal plates which I can heat on the gas rings on top of the stove. I use them like a 'hot plate' in commercial catering. The first I tried was stainless steel (throughout, several mm thick). I learned a lot. It is simply awful. There are hot spots and cold spots. My next attempt was solid copper. This is brilliant for heat distribution but it tarnishes badly and is far more difficult to clean. My next attempt will be with a solid sheet of cast iron but then rust could be an issue. I say, "sheet" but these are really thin blocks. They are sufficiently thick that none of the sheets can be bent.

[Secret Santa]

Cory Ander I understand what you're saying about the heavy cast iron pans but the ultimate test is what do the restaurants use. I may be wrong but it seems from the photos and videos I've seen and the few BIR kitchens I've seen myself, that they use cheap looking aluminium frying pans. Of course they also have vastly more powerful burners than most of us do, and the type of pan and the available heat source are both part of the equation.

[Cory Ander]

Yes Santa, that certainly looks to be the case in the video recently posted by Brum 

[chipfryer]

Are there anymore videos lurking about like this?

I might get some cheapo pans but I cannot think where to look for them over here? Perhaps my Chinese superstore up North?