Topic: Big Day !

[emin-j]

Hi All ,
       Got my big day tomorrow ,a three hour cooking lesson at the Myrisitica Indian Restaurant in Bristol  8)I'm just hoping it gets down to the nitty gritty and smelly old oil and stuff  ;D but I think it's a bit posh for that . Still be a good experience though I hope 

[joshallen2k]

Good luck and looking forward to the post!

[chriswg]

Say hi to Bhaskar from me. (You might have to explain I was the loon calling him out of the blue with lots of curry cooking questions!)

[JerryM]

Still be a good experience though I hope 

Got to be one of the best possible experiences for me. i am in no doubt you'll have a great time.

[emin-j]

Wow ! what a day .
                 A BIG BIG thank you to Amit the owner and host for today's Cooking Experience.
As soon as we walked in the door to the Restaurant we were greeted by Amit and asked what we would like to drink ,complimentary of course  :)and from then on he just kept topping us up with drinks whenever we wanted all day !Lucky we were dropped off and picked up  ;D
We started the Class with a little ' guess the Spices ' competition but the Spices were in Original seed form and not powder and all the containers were covered with cling film so you could'nt smell them ,I didnt do bad and scored 11 / 12  ;D the one I missed was Black Salt.
By then the Chef was ready for our first lesson ,Chappli Kebab ( sort of minced lamb burger with Onion and Spices )the minced Lamb was mixed in a large mixing bowl by hand with Onion and Spices mixed in then made into a Burger shape then cooked on a frying pan shaped like a hot - plate with a drop of oil sprinkled over it ,they also make a mint and mango dip to garnish the finnished Kebab and they were Deeeelicious Then we went onto little Onion Pakoras also with another dip - very nice 
we then did a Chicken Tikka Masala ,Prawn Chettinad ,Vegetable Dal ,Plain Naan ,and a Peshwari Naan in the Tandoor.
We sat down to lunch then and were served like King's and Queens by the Restaurants waiters and then out came the Indian Red and White Wines for us to try  All the meals were delicious and so was the Wine  ;D
We all had a go at making Chocolate Samosas for our Deserts and that was fun , we all did well though.
Amit was a fantastic  host and very passionate about the quality of his Restaurants meals.
The BIG surprise for me is that the Restaurant do not make a massive container of ' base sauce ' instead they make the sauce at the start of the Curry (follow on to next post)

[emin-j]

When I write a largish post the text just goes out of site at the bottom of the box and although I tab down it just keeps disappearing !
Anyway the Base Sauce ,I asked Amit about using old oil ? No , only fresh Vegetable oil ,BUT they do not make a base sauce and according to Amit it is only T/Aways and Restaurants combined with a busy T/A that would use a Base Sauce ,this is purely to save on cooking time and unnecessary for the home cook.
I was interested to see how the Chef would ' make a sauce 'from scratch  He started by putting two large Chef's spoons of (this Curry would be about 3-4 portions) oil into an aluminium frying pan then about 10 TBS of finely chopped English Onions and fried for about 10 or so mins until caramelised then added about a cereal dish of finely chopped fresh Tomatoes,he continued frying and pulping the mixture with his spoon then placed his spoon in the pan and started filling it with a mixture of fresh green chillies and ginger ( chopped finely )fresh chopped garlic ,salt,spice mix ,chili powder ( they make all their own spice powders from seed )then stirred this in and continued to fry and pulp ,I couldn't see much of a sauce at that point but then he added about half a pint of water  and there it was a fantastic fresh made sauce using fresh ingredients ,how could it not be good !He then added some single cream ( tikka masala )then the precooked chicken cooked for another few mins then added some fresh Coriander and it was done   
The flavour of that Curry was unbelievable .
There were 10 of us at the Class today and everyone had a fantastic day ,the family and me will definitely book for a meal at the restaurant but also sign up for another class in January.Phew ! what a day...................

[joshallen2k]

On the curry side of things, it seems to me that he gave a "home version" of the lesson.

I would have thought that a base sauce would be a must, whether they are a takeaway, or a sit-down, whatever.

Did you get any specific recipes?

-- Josh

[Cory Ander]

Hi Emin, glad to hear you enjoyed it 

Please would you confirm the naan recipe and how they made and inserted the Peshwari filling?

Thanks,

[Cory Ander]

When I write a largish post the text just goes out of site at the bottom of the box and although I tab down it just keeps disappearing !

Yes, I get the same problem using Internet Explorer 8.  Selecting "compatibility view" from the "tools" menu helps a lot (but doesn't totally eradicate the problem).

See here for more information: http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=3594.0

[George]

On the curry side of things, it seems to me that he gave a "home version" of the lesson. I would have thought that a base sauce would be a must, whether they are a takeaway, or a sit-down, whatever.

I agree. I'm sorry to say I fear the lessons were dumbed-down an completely modified for the purpose of showing the visitors anything except the real thing. That's why I suggested in another thread that before agreeing to pay much money for a lesson, it seems almost essential to draw up a contract or sound understanding of some sort.

Take the CTM - I guess if it tasted great (as good or better than the normal restaurant output), then who cares whether a different recipe/approach was used. Did these dishes taste the same as the normal restaurant output?