Topic: Maliks Indian restaurant LIVE CAM!

[George]

BTW, to all and sundry. The white powders on the left of picture are sugar and coconut flour..OK? Not ground almonds..ffs. Try putting that much ground almond in a curry, well,  a korma, and see if you ain't chomping on something that has the texture of sand! Does anyone actually use common sense any more?

SS- I agree with your thinking here. If we were placing bets, I'd go for sugar and coconut flour. One possibility, however, is that either or both, could be a pre-mix. e.g. the coconut tub could contain 99% coconut flour, with 1% ground almonds added in by the BIR. This would be affordable and would allow them to use exotic-sounding almonds in their menu description (as many BIRs do) even though there's only a trace element which can't possibly affect the taste of anything. Similarly, for all we know, one of the bottles could contain 99% kewra water, or something and, say 1tsp almond essence, addded by the BIR themselves. Pre-mixes would help speed-up the cooking process.

[Unclebuck]

BTW, to all and sundry. The white powders on the left of picture are sugar and coconut flour..OK? Not ground almonds..ffs. Try putting that much ground almond in a curry, well,  a korma, and see if you ain't chomping on something that has the texture of sand! Does anyone actually use common sense any more?

SS- I agree with your thinking here. If we were placing bets, I'd go for sugar and coconut flour. One possibility, however, is that either or both, could be a pre-mix. e.g. the coconut tub could contain 99% coconut flour, with 1% ground almonds added in by the BIR. This would be affordable and would allow them to use exotic-sounding almonds in their menu description (as many BIRs do) even though there's only a trace element which can't possibly affect the taste of anything. Similarly, for all we know, one of the bottles could contain 99% kewra water, or something and, say 1tsp almond essence, addded by the BIR themselves. Pre-mixes would help speed-up the cooking process.

makes sense to me.. Ive recorded some more footage ill upload it when i can.

[Secret Santa]

One possibility, however, is that either or both, could be a pre-mix. e.g. the coconut tub could contain 99% coconut flour, with 1% ground almonds added in by the BIR.

Yes, can't argue with that George, it's a definite possibility. Only two things make me think differently. First, the colour and 'flow' of the white powders suggest to me that they are pure sugar and coconut flour.  And second, their menu craftily doesn't describe their curries' contents, so there's no reason to think that almond would feature in any of them.

You know, as I was typing this , I started to have doubts about my logic here. If they are pure sugar and coconut flour then they are putting near enough one whole ladle of sugar into the Korma and CTM! Sounds like an awful lot.   

[George]

Yes, can't argue with that George, it's a definite possibility. Only two things make me think differently. First, the colour and 'flow' of the white powders suggest to me that they are pure sugar and coconut flour.  And second, their menu craftily doesn't describe their curries' contents, so there's no reason to think that almond would feature in any of them. You know, as I was typing this , I started to have doubts about my logic here. If they are pure sugar and coconut flour then they are putting near enough one whole ladle of sugar into the Korma and CTM! Sounds like an awful lot.   

It's good to concur. The next step must be to try and emulate the approx quantities and approach at home, not just for a korma but for many other dishes. I'm not surprised that they use unhealthy quantities of several ingredients, notably oil, salt and sugar. I'm happy to follow suit in the interst of R&D but, even if it works, I wouldn't want to make a point of easting such unhealthy food!

On another point, what about dhansaks - has anyone seen any use or preparation of lentils?
And I'm not sure I've seen much sign of tomatoes or paste either, as for CTM. Perhaps they add these things out of sight of the camera.

[Graeme]

Secret Santa posted...
"BTW, to all and sundry. The white powders on the left of picture are sugar and coconut flour..OK? Not ground almonds..ffs"

I think your wrong to dismiss the possibility of almond powder.
The chef...
1) places both powders in pan
2) cooks for a few mins

Don't you think this is too much sugar,
and the final dish will be to sweet?

And where is the almond powder? when is it added?

I don't think its in the bottle, so could this bottle
be some sort of mild coloring?

I am still with the coconut/almond powders :-)
IMO, they add flavours, texture and sweeten to the correct lever,
all at the same time.

[joshallen2k]

I mentioned Kewra water even though I don't really know what it's used for.

From what I gather, Kewra water and rose water are similar. The BIR I frequent uses rose water in their Korma, it says so on the menu, and its fab.

I did an experiment yesterday, making a korma using the "fry lots of coconut powder and sugar" method in the oil to caramelise a bit. I Then added base, chicken, and finished with cream. I also added almond extract instead of ground powder. Unfortunately I put too much extract in and it was overpowering. However, if I look past the almond taste, it was a very BIR korma taste.

Everyone around the table scoffed it down. Too bad about the almond, this may have been one of my best.

-- Josh

[George]

And where is the almond powder? when is it added?

I doubt if it features much, or at all, in most BIR kormas. I say that primarily on cost grounds, for a typical korma. If the menu mentions almonds as a bit of poetic licence, they could simply add 1 tsp ground almonds to each 'pint' of coconut flour, to possibly stay within the law regarding trade descriptions.

If the two powders are indeed almond powder + coconut flour, then where is the sugar?

[Graeme]

Hi George and all,

Almond powder was seen in trays sitting next to the coconut powder
in the Bir Kitchens I have been in. I have been allowed to taste them.
Both coconut and almond powders do play a part in the BIR kitchens
i have been invited into.

I have never see a tray of sugar but i will ask about this if i
ever get the chance again. As we know, they don't always like too
many questions.

On the sugar,
I simply thought this would be the natural sweeteners in the powders
and no extra sugar would be required.

I am sure it will be sorted out once we start cooking George,
and other members start trying out the diffrent ingredients.

[Secret Santa]

On another point, what about dhansaks - has anyone seen any use or preparation of lentils?
And I'm not sure I've seen much sign of tomatoes or paste either, as for CTM. Perhaps they add these things out of sight of the camera.

No I haven't seen any use of lentils but I think this is in a container behind them, out of shot, and by the time they return the pan to the cooker they've stirred it around a bit so it's difficult to tell what's been added. The tomato puree is in the tub on the left counter. It just looks like puree straight out of the can and is quite thick.

What I have seen used a few times is Lee and Perrins Worcester sauce, tomato ketchup, and what I believe is brown sauce. I also saw them use a can of chick peas the other night.

The other thing I noticed is just how many kormas they churn out. Almost every other curry seems to be a korma! Also there's one unknown ingredient which goes into the korma and it's hidden in a jar on the left counter, right in the corner. He gets it out with the ladle held almost vertical, so it has to be a paste of some kind or else it would fall off the ladle. Could this be almond puree perhaps? It's only about a tablespoon, whatever it is.

It's annoying that all the extra ingredients are out of shot behind them isn't it?

[George]

What I have seen used a few times is Lee and Perrins Worcester sauce, tomato ketchup, and what I believe is brown sauce. I also saw them use a can of chick peas the other night. The other thing I noticed is just how many kormas they churn out. Almost every other curry seems to be a korma!

It's very interesting to compare notes! I hadn't noticed the L&P or ketchup yet but I did see him turning a pepper mill on top of a biryani, I think it was. I don't think I've heard of pepper being applied like that before in BIR cooking. I agree with you about the number of kormas. Perhaps they do a particularly good example but I'm very surprised at the sheer proportion of dishes which appear to be kormas.