Topic: Do bir chefs know where the 'taste' comes from?

[chinois]

So veg oil comes in a tub now?

Derek it was veg ghee mate!

Seriously derek, I mean seriously, veg oil in a big tub?

In a restaurant in udaipur, india their oil came in a thin bag! The kind you might get sweets in but thinner, like a sandwich bag/cling film!
Guess what? The bag melted and oil poured all over the work surface!  :

[Panpot]

Thanks for the check list guys I will do what I can,I hope to get news this week of a visit soon. Bye the way looking at the Malik video for the first time today as JerryM points out the chef tend to use the oil form the simmering base sauce pot yet without any obvious reason occasionally uses what looks like ghee.

[Derek Dansak]

It could be veg ghee. is veg ghee hard, or soft and runny at room temperature? i will cook my next madras in pure veg ghee. maybe the extra heat permitted during frying will do some magic?

[Derek Dansak]

someone should pluck up courage to take in a sample of one of our lightly spiced madras dishes, and ask the bir chef to sample it. then just ask why it does not have that delicious toffee sweet taste which is common to all bir dishes. i cant see any other way to break through the barrier we have reached. if the chef does not know, then it must be a circumstantial thing to do with bulk cooking. I will try to take in a sample to my local ta, if i can be cheeky enough! 

[JerryM]

DD,

not wanting to poo poo the idea of taking a sample at all. those at my local TA are very proud of their product (and rightly so). i feel u would get more value from taking a recipe in and asking what's wrong. why i say this is it's very difficult to detect what's wrong by taste alone other than to say it's no good. by looking at the recipe and talking around how u make it or even asking to watch them making yours - more success likely for me.

[Panpot]

JerryM your a genius, I now have an appointment on Sunday afternoon to visit the Kitchens of very popular BIR. I think you have got it spot on with this idea of taking in a recipe or two and ask for advice. Maybe your good self and others could suggest the best recipes to take in that may well be the one most closest to BIR. It could be Curry King's Bhuna made with SnS's base or CA's Jalfrezi what do you think?

Any other questions welcome.

I cant wait Panpot

[SnS]

someone should pluck up courage to take in a sample of one of our lightly spiced madras dishes, and ask the bir chef to sample it. then just ask why it does not have that delicious toffee sweet taste which is common to all bir dishes. i cant see any other way to break through the barrier we have reached. if the chef does not know, then it must be a circumstantial thing to do with bulk cooking. I will try to take in a sample to my local ta, if i can be cheeky enough! 

I've already taken my Madras to both the Saffron and my local takeaway (much to the amusement of waiting customers). The Saffron (Raj - chef & manager) said he would have no problem using it in the restaurant although it was a little on the sweet side for his taste (I'd added a little mango chutney). The takeaway (Latif - head chef) said he couldn't detect any lemon juice (I prefer not to use it in a Madras) but otherwise a perfectly acceptable BIR curry.

The base used was the SnS Base Gravy June 2008 and the accompanying Madras recipe.

http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=2757.msg24503#msg24503

SnS  ;D

[Secret Santa]

The base used was the SnS Base Gravy June 2008 and the accompanying Madras recipe.

I'm going to attempt this some time later in the week. After my first attempt (with the original base) I am looking forward to trying this amended version.

[JerryM]

Panpot,

well pleased and hope visit goes well. you're very lucky.

as for recipe i'd go for your fav dish rather than base. i feel having tasted real BIR base the bases on this site are well capable of delivering BIR curry.

for me the hardest to crack appears to be madras. the closest recipe i've found is the rajver http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,1454.msg12717.html#msg12717
. with the onion paste i feel i'm very close. i don't use lemon juice and make a few tweaks but which are very small personal preferences (madras must be sweet & tomatoey). i intend putting some passata into the next go following the advice given in the onion paste post.

for me madras is crucial as it's essential tool for deriving the other recipes.

my recipe for info is per 200ml portion: 1 to 2 tbsp fine chopped garlic, 2 tbsp reclaim oil, 2 tbsp tom puree, 1 tsp mix powder (spice mix), 1 tsp rajah curry powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp chilli powder, 300ml base, 1 tbsp chopped coriander, splash worcester sauce, 1 tbsp onion paste.

[SnS]

The base used was the SnS Base Gravy June 2008 and the accompanying Madras recipe.

I'm going to attempt this some time later in the week. After my first attempt (with the original base) I am looking forward to trying this amended version.

Good luck SS - hope it goes well for you.

SnS