Topic: Big Day !

[joshallen2k]

Nice one joshallen2k  If you can find a Restaurant that will make you a Chicken Curry from scratch using all fresh ingredients you might be surprised to find there is Curry life outside of traditional BIR 

Anything's possible! I wish it works out to be true, I really do. I just think that the "taste" that has made the old-school BIRs a British institution since the 70's, is more likely to be down the road Haldi is on, with the reused oil.

I'm sure that using fresh, quality ingredients, and without a base - would yield great tasting results... but would the taste be there?

Maybe there's another "taste" that you get from scratch/fresh cooking, that satisfies the palate in a similar (or better) way, but the only way to test that would be to use the recipes.

Eagerly awaiting the recipes 

[emin-j]

Nice one joshallen2k  If you can find a Restaurant that will make you a Chicken Curry from scratch using all fresh ingredients you might be surprised to find there is Curry life outside of traditional BIR 

Anything's possible! I wish it works out to be true, I really do. I just think that the "taste" that has made the old-school BIRs a British institution since the 70's, is more likely to be down the road Haldi is on, with the reused oil.

I'm sure that using fresh, quality ingredients, and without a base - would yield great tasting results... but would the taste be there?

Maybe there's another "taste" that you get from scratch/fresh cooking, that satisfies the palate in a similar (or better) way, but the only way to test that would be to use the recipes.

Eagerly awaiting the recipes 

Me too joshallen2k ,
                   Not being a hypocrite or anything but when I got home after my day at the Restaurant my Wife asked 'Where's my Curry then ' and if I would have asked before all the hobs were turned off and the Chef cleaned up I could have ordered a Curry for the Wife to take home.But she settled for a Curry from our local T/A and I couldn't resist a Madras either  ;D ;D And no it wasn't a patch on the earlier Curry I had ,it just tasted like a watered down version  oh dear here we go again 

[qprbob]

Glad you had a good day Emin. I too think some of the best curries I have eaten are the traditional type. Having said that, I do hanker after a BIR curry , like that of the late seventies - eighties. I will always still make traditional Indian food as well. Looking forward to the recipes.

[JerryM]

emin-j,

clearly a real big and interesting topic.

just so i can get my head round it. if 4 different mains orders come in do they make 4 dishes from scratch or does the "10 min base" reach a point when they split it into 4 portions and then cook/finish the different dishes.

[emin-j]

emin-j,

clearly a real big and interesting topic.

just so i can get my head round it. if 4 different mains orders come in do they make 4 dishes from scratch or does the "10 min base" reach a point when they split it into 4 portions and then cook/finish the different dishes.

Hi JerryM,
         I can only guess really as I didn't ask that particular question ,but there are four full time Chef's plus a team who prepare for the Chef's , I did ask about turnaround for meals and Amit the owner said most customers have a starter which is quick to prepare and by the time they have finished their starter their main course will be ready,Amit also said with a smile that the speed the Chef cooked the CTM in our cooking lesson was very slow compared to a busy night in the restaurant and was only for our benefit.

[emin-j]

Glad you had a good day Emin. I too think some of the best curries I have eaten are the traditional type. Having said that, I do hanker after a BIR curry , like that of the late seventies - eighties. I will always still make traditional Indian food as well. Looking forward to the recipes.

Hi qprbob,funny you should mention the quality Curries in the 70s and 80s I was only thinking of that myself at work today and have seen it mentioned many times on the forum.
Could it be possible that back then Curries were cooked from 'scratch' and as Indian cooking grew in popularity T/A realised that if they were going to keep up with demand they would have to prepare for the rush in advance and the ' Curry Base ' was born , I dunno.
The CTM we had on Saturday was cooked from scratch the base being made up of chopped Onions,chopped fresh Tomatoes,chopped fresh Ginger,chopped fresh Garlic and Green Chillies ,can you imagine the flavours in that base from all the natural liquids that came from those ingredients  the finished Curry tasted so fresh and you could taste all the flavours with a balance that was just right

[emin-j]

Nice one joshallen2k  If you can find a Restaurant that will make you a Chicken Curry from scratch using all fresh ingredients you might be surprised to find there is Curry life outside of traditional BIR 

Anything's possible! I wish it works out to be true, I really do. I just think that the "taste" that has made the old-school BIRs a British institution since the 70's, is more likely to be down the road Haldi is on, with the reused oil.

I'm sure that using fresh, quality ingredients, and without a base - would yield great tasting results... but would the taste be there?

Maybe there's another "taste" that you get from scratch/fresh cooking, that satisfies the palate in a similar (or better) way, but the only way to test that would be to use the recipes.

Eagerly awaiting the recipes 

Hi joshallen2k
                    < I'm sure that using fresh, quality ingredients, and without a base >

That was the beauty of making the base from scratch and gradually building on the base to a completed CTM .By using all fresh chopped ingredients and creating a 'pulp'by slowly mashing it all together using the back of his Chef's spoon can you imagine all the natural flavours from the juices released in that base  other than the spices he added about half a pint of water and there was the base ,he then went on to add the precooked Chicken ,single Cream ,and fresh Coriander.

[JerryM]

emin-j,

this post by Kid Curry should be of interest http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=3098.0.

the big problem i had at the time was getting the onions to cook through. nowadays i might be able to do it ok. given u're comment on cooking time the chef must cook on high heat - can u give more details on how he cooked the dish.

the other thing stopping me from this route is the ability to add small quantities of various ingredients (coconut block for example) without them becoming too small to maintain accuracy hence chucking the base out of balance. the base i make most of the time is 7 portions so interestingly not that different in volume terms (assuming they always cook a 4 portion "10 min base" then split).

[matt3333]

Hi emin-j
Sorry to ask for more info but did you notice whether the tomatoes were skinned and deseeded, and had the chillies been deseeded as I guess they could add some unwanted heat.
Thanks

[emin-j]

emin-j,

this post by Kid Curry should be of interest http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=3098.0.

the big problem i had at the time was getting the onions to cook through. nowadays i might be able to do it ok. given u're comment on cooking time the chef must cook on high heat - can u give more details on how he cooked the dish.

the other thing stopping me from this route is the ability to add small quantities of various ingredients (coconut block for example) without them becoming too small to maintain accuracy hence chucking the base out of balance. the base i make most of the time is 7 portions so interestingly not that different in volume terms (assuming they always cook a 4 portion "10 min base" then split).

Hi JerryM
               I really do believe every main course that is ordered is made from scratch, each Curry having it's own base ,mind you I suppose if the Chef had orders for 4 CTM he would make them together  the CTM he cooked for us was about a 3 - 4 portion Curry purely because along with the other two main courses he cooked these meals were to be shared between the 10 of us in the cooking class.
Yes they would need to cook on high heat for speed to keep up with demand the owner did say he was cooking real slooow for our benefit ( you would have loved the flames on the second main course he cooked 
This is how the CTM cooking went. ( ** this made about 3-4 portions ** )
The Chef put 2 large Chef's spoons of fresh vegetable oil in a aluminium frying pan ( his spoon is bigger than mine  .
He then placed about 3/4 of a cereal bowl of very fine chopped Onions in the pan
these were fried until caramelised and just started to brown.
He then placed about the same amount of fine chopped fresh Tomatoes ( not peeled or deseeded )in the pan and continued to fry until this was breaking down into a pulp this needed plenty of action with the spoon squashing it all about.
He then put in a heaped Chef's spoon of fresh mixed Green Chillies and fresh Ginger ( chopped fine inc seeds )sorry I don't know the ratio off Chillies to Ginger it was made up in a small icecream tub hopefully when I get the recipes I can be more helpful.
Then a heaped Chef's spoon of fresh finely chopped Garlic.
He continued to fry for about 3-4 mins ( guess ).
He then placed his spoon in the frying pan and placed in the spoon - about 2 teaspoons Chili Powder ,teaspoon ? of Salt ,about a tablespoon of spice mix or their own make Garam Masala ( sorry for being a bit vague but I expected to be given the recipes at the end of the cooking class and not have to wait for them or I would have taken notes  :-[ )
He then stirred the contents of the spoon into the Curry for 1-2 mins then added about 1/2 - 3/4 of a pint of water ,this now had become the sauce ( base )he then took the cooked Chicken from the Tandoor broke the Chicken into smaller pieces and placed in the Curry ,stirred for a short time then added about a tablespoon of fresh Coriander leaves , stir in and ready to serve.
Sorry for not being more accurate at the moment,I think the important bit is the Fresh Onion/Tomatoe/Ginger/Chili/Garlic part which is quite accurate you could probably add you usual Spices to that to complete your Curry ,I hope the recipes turn up soon