Topic: Large Flamed Cooker

[JerryM]

Mik,

yea me too. i've gone for the lowest cost option as i'm still not convinced it's going to get the last 5%. Haldi's comments on the type of flame weigh heavily. i am also convinced that a high output is equally not needed - there's not the volume of food going in like there is for a Chinese.

the cast steel pan i bought recently (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=2604.0) i feel made quite a difference - much faster and even heat distribution and this makes me think their is some improvement to be gained from the boiling ring for what is little money.

having only a 1.5kw electric hob and having tried my gas bbq (which is not quite suitable due to the rectangular burner) i do feel i need to be using gas even if it has to be propane.

It was shipped this afternoon.

[JerryM]

1st impression of the HA319 stove (the small one) is tranquil. u can see it's aimed as an up market camping stove. it needs a gas tube and regulator as they are not included.

the frame itself gets very hot when in use which i suppose is quite obvious. it sits on my electric hob fine though - which was the objective.

this is no "wok" burner and i don't feel it would be much good on Chinese cooking as it would not cope with the volume of food unless it was added in small batches.

i have no base at mo and intend using the stove to produce my next batch and i feel it will work spot on.

i fried some oil in it and then some tom puree. much better than my electric hob although i did get a lot more splatter (due to the higher cooking temp) and cleaning up to do.

it's certainly heating the pan quicker and i feel making the cooking that bit hotter.  at the mo it fits the bill for me - something that's relatively cheep but with decent performance.

i need to cook to say more. currently a happy chappy.

[topconker]

I contacted the BBC just the other day asking where to find the type used on the Chinese Food made easy programme, unfortunately they decided my query was not worth answering and all I got was a bog standard reponse saying due to the volume of questions they receive they were unable to let me know.
TC

[haldi]

i did get a lot more splatter (due to the higher cooking temp)

Yes, it get's very messy
Whenever it flambes you get a spray of oil all around too!

[Cory Ander]

Details of the "ring burner" I use can be found here:  http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=1851.msg25738#msg25738

[JerryM]

cooked base yesterday and the stove was spot on.

i did need to turn the flame down to it's lowest setting for the simmer. it was very quick on heating up the bulk to boiling. both bode well for it's heat output.

i also fried a couple of omelettes with much better results then on the electric hob (crispy outside & soft centre).

going to do a test "frying" curry sauce tonight.

[mickdabass]

just found this on ebay
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Used-Indian-Chester-Cooker-Gas-Range_W0QQitemZ220269745046QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item220269745046&_trkparms=72%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

[JerryM]

have now cooked 2 curry sauces on the stove in "frying" mode using CA's technique (link http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=1851.0). i'm finding that i prefer it for my other cooking.

i found the stove spot on (in CA's terminology the stove is a 9Mj or 2.5kw which is well below the indicative minimum of 18Mj). my steel pan handle got hot for the 1st time ever. i don't feel i need to get the bigger jet (would be needed for Chinese).

i can't say for sure i got more "smokey/toffee" taste c/w the electric hob. it certainly was not cooked as "hot" as in the CA illustrated post. however my perception was that the curry was better (but not greatly say 2%, leaving 3% togo to BIR). the 2 family testers felt it was as good as the best i've made. we've got some friends staying over this coming week who know their curries and intend to get their opinion.

key for me is that i feel it makes for 100% consistency at the cooking stage eliminating the variation i got in the past (you know the pan is going to be hot very quickly).

i felt the heat distribution was very even (actually less splashing c/w electric hob which must be very uneven) and the turn down to simmer at the end of the frying stage spot on.

i found after cooking the 1st curry that i needed to thin the base much more than in the past and added 500ml of water to the 3L base. this gave much more evaporation during the cooking (in line with SNS & Admin's water technique which is very effective at producing that moorish taste)  i need to work at this as my normal rule of thumb of 300ml base to produce 200ml finished has changed (probably more like 400ml due to the extra evaporation compared with previously).

in summary i want to be able to cook in the kitchen and electric hobs are useless for BIR cooking. a stove or burner ring is an essential (unless you have a gas hob) for getting that bit closer to BIR.

[JerryM]

forgot the pics

[JerryM]

had my 1st disaster - burnt the tom puree.

i've always appreciated it's very easy to burn the spices and always take great care as a result.

i tried pushing the "heat" part of the cooking much more than previously - i heated the pan for a while before adding the oil. i then dallied too much with the tom puree and it burnt. surprisingly i did not get a smell to warm me only the tom puree becoming darker than i've seen before. it was only when tasting the curry that the error was very much apparent - it was a peculiar effect as the spices weren?t burnt.

i normally put oil in and watch it until it starts to smoke then put the tom puree in - i'll stick with this proven technique from now on.

it does prove that the 2.5kw stove is hot enough to do the job.

one interesting fact that i'd not previously come across - the hotter the tom puree gets the darker it gets and the browner the curry becomes. this became apparent as i made an exact 2nd curry but using my normal technique and this was still very "yellow/light brown" c/w with the burnt offering which was dark brown.