Hi all,
Here's my take on it as I cook both Chinese and Indian food. I think technique has a lot to do with it but there are tricks of the trade too. Take Chinese fried rice for instance. I tried for years to get an acceptable restaurant style fried rice and in the end I cracked it.....by buying an electric rice cooker! The key problem was always too much moisture in the rice and in no other way could i get a "dry" rice other than using a rice coooker. My point here is if you follow most recipies for fried rice you can make it work using a rice cooker. Boil it as most do and things go pear shaped but most books don't tell you that!
i am sure out of all the base recipies here that at some time if not most, sources have been telling the truth about the recipies but they are using commercial equipmemnt to cook it. Also in the Curry secret KD mentions that some chefs add a teaspoon of Tandoori marinade to add extra flavour at the end of cooking. I know this to be true as I found it floating in my Lamb Karahi one night! The Lamb Poori I bought last night definately had vinegar in it, probably about a teaspoon full and also strong ginger overtones. So i believe there are certain twists at the end of cooking. Most tikka starters or chaats are seved with a slice of lemon. How many of use squeeze it on without thinking possibly not knowing that we are adding an essential ingredient ourselves - wouldn't that be something? As for the smell of your local BIR when you walk past. As has been said before. You are out on fresh air then all of a sudden you are hit by this heady aroma of spices etc. It is going to seem more intense. Let's not forget as well that what you are smelling is being thrown out buy a commercial extractor system so you are getting a mix of absolutely everything going on in that kitchen at the time, not just the curry. As for msg. I saw a chinese chef throw about dessert spoon full into the wok before cooking a chow mein one night but i also know the same restaurant buys in their noodles prepacked and "wet" from company in Manchester so again technique, ingredients and flair? MSG does add flavour to Chinese cooking but I feel Indian spices may be too strong to allow the, enhancer as it is, to make much difference. I would possibly suggest that what we may be looking for is a simple ingredient, maybe even vinegar, that cuts through the smooth oily spices to give the dish an extra dimention. It has been said elswhere that smoked paprika probably isn't used but I would dissagree. I am convinced my local carryout uses it but only in their Chefs Specials dishes. The thing about this stuff is it's hot too so you don't have to add extra Chilli powder. Corry put up a mignificent post about flaming his curries on his burner which looks like it has been wrenched off the wing of a Beoing 747 and says it makes a marked difference to his curries. Could this be because he is cooking outside in th open air? Less dulling of the smell senses? In total I think you are all being a bit hard on yourselves as I am convinced that the curries you guys are producing would sit alongside a hell of a lot of BIR curries and probably beat few as well. Just one last thing about the cooking temprature. If you look at most domestic cookers, hobs and even ranges the output is about 3.5 to 5 or 6 (can't remember if it's Kilojules or what)on the wok burner, a Chinese commercial wok burner runs at about 17! You will not find a domestic range with much more as it is rated to match a domestic canopy or extractor! what I used to do before i got a cannon range was remove the cast iron diffuser on the ring and let the flame come through straight onto the bottom of the wok - not suggesting that you do do the same ofcourse!!! ;D
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Topic: Who believes there is a secret ingredient to the curry base? (read 192,310 times)