Topic: Got an invite to my local resturant kitchen!

[adriandavidb]

This chilie powder thing:  I used to use schwartz, very good in a Mexican chilie, it adds just the right flavour; not so good in curry, in my madras I use Rajah, to some extend it seems to 'self sour' the dish in a way that Schwartz never did, MUCH better in a curry.  I would suggest stick to Rajah, but just use less of it!

[billycat]

The thing is adriandavidb in my opin ion Bir curry isnt a sour taste it has a caramelised sweetness to it

i am not dis agreeing with what you all have created what i am saying is rahja chilli powder is too harsh with out flavour for me i am not saying schwartz is the answer it was what i had to hand so i used it
 i like really really hot flavoursome curries that using fresh chillies can bring not the harsh tastelessness that rajah seems to bring

[Secret Santa]

The thing is adriandavidb in my opin ion Bir curry isnt a sour taste it has a caramelised sweetness to it

I totally agree billycat, umless of course it's something like an achari which is soured by the added pickle. That said, I've been for a curry today and both the bhuna and the masala both had a sourish taste to them. I think it's a modern change for the worse, but of course those that have only ever had a sour madras, for example, wouldn't know any different.

The amount of curry recipes on this forum that add lemon in say a madras or a vindaloo just amaze me, it takes the curries in a totally wrong taste direction for me.

[Graeme]

The thing is adriandavidb in my opin ion Bir curry isnt a sour taste it has a caramelised sweetness to it

I totally agree billycat, umless of course it's something like an achari which is soured by the added pickle. That said, I've been for a curry today and both the bhuna and the masala both had a sourish taste to them. I think it's a modern change for the worse, but of course those that have only ever had a sour madras, for example, wouldn't know any different.

The amount of curry recipes on this forum that add lemon in say a madras or a vindaloo just amaze me, it takes the curries in a totally wrong taste direction for me.

Hi SS,
Ref, your post above...
have you any ideas as to what i should add to
my next BIR madras/vindaloo etc instead of the normal
lemon/lime juice.

I would like to add this into my next BIR curry.

Thank you, graeme.

[adriandavidb]

I love currys with 'caramelized sweetness', and have tried many madras/vindaloo type dishes in MANY places, so would say that I don't just like sour curry because I have not tried any better!!

As any chef will tell you Hot/sweet/sour flavours work well together!  In fact I would go as far as to say that a sour note hepls to complement the chilie heat!

Mild curry very deffinately should not be sour, but, and it may be a matter of personal taste, hot is better with sweet and sour notes also. That 'caramelized sweetness' is very much still part of the equation however!  Try adding a quarter tps of Worcester sauce or rice vinegar to a hot curry. Also half a tps of brown sugar (caramelized-in, by frying with the spices, at the beginning of final dish preparation), and you'll see exactly what I mean!  The trick is not to add too much souring agent.  The curry should not end up obviously sour OR sweet, but rather these flavours help 'lift' the chilie.

I 'flash-up' curry portions big enough for two adults, using about a pint of base sauce, so if you cook smaller portions I would reduce the quarter tps still further!

Don't knock it 'till you've tried it!

[Secret Santa]

have you any ideas as to what i should add to
my next BIR madras/vindaloo etc instead of the normal
lemon/lime juice.

Lemon/Lime juice...NORMAL..not in my curry eating experience. Try leaving out any souring agent. Ahh, but then you wouldn't be imitating and eating these third rate curries that we get nowadays..Nahh leave it in. ENJOY!

[Secret Santa]

Don't knock it 'till you've tried it!

Seriously mate...I bet i have and always will surpass you on BIR curry eating. 5ish years lunch and evening meal daily (when i was rich ). OK that was in the eighties, but you haven't got a bloody clue.

The curries on this forum are OK but they SOOO lack the taste and SOOO lack the smell.

If this is what you are happy with then OK.

But I am a real BIR connoisseur. Not a newbie.

This is really getting silly.

No BIR Curry recipes, here or anywhere else, actually reproduce the old style curries.

[haldi]

No BIR Curry recipes, here or anywhere else, actually reproduce the old style curries.

I was in a BIR kitchen the other week and saw several curries cooked
I talked at length about the base, explaining how I felt there was something missing from the home made version.
But I still couldn't find any new ingredient or technique
It's so frustrating to have got so far and then hit this "brick wall"
Some of this chefs curries are made with curry gravy, curry gravy oil,salt, precooked ingredients and tomato puree, and they taste absolutely amazing.
I realise that the curry gravies vary greatly at different places, but the curry gravy from this place has everything.
You could eat it on it's own.
It's the best thing I have ever tasted and the ingredients are so simple.
What are they doing that we don't?
I have checked about the re use of old oil
They use fresh KTC.
And they don't use ghee either
Their curries have that 1970's flavour
I suppose it stands to reason that these types of curries should be simple
The available ingredients in the 70's were limited compared to today.
It's great to have this site to talk about this, but Secret Santa is right.
There isn't a 100% home made recipe for what some of us are after
And I really don't understand why

[adriandavidb]

but you haven't got a bloody clue.

I can assure you I have!  I'm 45 years old and have been eating BIRs for the last 35 years, and seriously, several times a week since 1982!

'seriously mate'. you're starting to sound arrogant!

[kid curry]

Yes your right even i asked abt the ghee!

They said this  they only use this in their rice dishes.

I think another issue is how many curries taste great to one person but if you taste them, they seem a mile off.

Out of all the Curry's i have eaten(and theres been hundreds)There are more bad than good in my opinion!

You either no it or you don't.