Topic: Curry Cuisine

[Unclebuck]

i got this as a pdf and its very good has a 'British' Indian section - not bir as we know but a good read and must have for curry fanatics.

heres the intro on the British Indian section.

"
Indian cuisine is omnipresent in Britain?so much so that Chicken Tikka Masala has
been voted Britain?s favorite national dish. Two centuries of colonial presence in the
Indian subcontinent fostered a much-flaunted love affair with the Indian kitchen,
and Britain, reinventing a centuries-old culinary heritage, has made ?going out for a
curry? and ?having a takeaway? celebrated symbols of multiculturalism.

The British memsahib adapted Indian masalas to suit Western palates, and in so
doing, threw ?authenticity? out the window. Colonial-style curries were made up of
meat, fried with a curry paste before being stewed in water. Anglicized curries, made
popular by returning expatriates, were often embellished with chopped bananas,
shredded coconut, and raisins, a style of cooking virtually unknown in South Asia.

Of course, new flavor combinations and cooking styles have been making the rounds
for centuries. The fact is that no cuisine remains static: India didn?t have chilies until
the Portuguese brought them from the New World. And spices are not new to
Britain?in addition to being a valuable trade commodity, aromatic spice blends have
long played a key seasoning role in British cooking styles.
South Asian immigrants arrived in Britain?s big cities from India, Bangladesh,
Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and East Africa during the sixties and seventies, and many
entered the restaurant and catering industry. Adept at adapting menus to suit local
tastes and expectations, the South Asian restaurant sector was the success story of
the second half of the last century.

Most Indians prefer lamb or chicken curry made with meat cooked on the bone, the
advantage being that while the meat simmers, it makes its own flavorsome sauce. In
Britain, however, meat cooked this way can be tricky to negotiate on the plate,
especially with cutlery, which might explain why boneless meat is preferred.

While menus at many British curry houses have remained largely unchanged over
the past two decades, the emergence of newer styles of cooking at fine restaurants
has elevated modern Indian cooking to a privileged position. More recently,
supermarkets have developed new product ranges championing regional gems,
including Keralan fish curry and biryani from Hyderabad.

But it?s the tried-and-tested stalwarts of Indo-British cooking that continue to hold
their own, such as Madras Curry (p326), creamy kormas, and Chicken Tikka Masala
(p330). The difference today is that there?s a culinary curiosity to lift the lid off the
Indian spice box and cook authentic recipes at home.
     Roopa Gulati"

Admin can i ask you to take off the 1500kb upload restriction [temporarily] so i can upload this book for you all.

the file is 37,000 KB

UB 

[976bar]

i got this as a pdf and its very good has a 'British' Indian section - not bir as we know but a good read and must have for curry fanatics.

heres the intro on the British Indian section.

"
Indian cuisine is omnipresent in Britain?so much so that Chicken Tikka Masala has
been voted Britain?s favorite national dish. Two centuries of colonial presence in the
Indian subcontinent fostered a much-flaunted love affair with the Indian kitchen,
and Britain, reinventing a centuries-old culinary heritage, has made ?going out for a
curry? and ?having a takeaway? celebrated symbols of multiculturalism.

The British memsahib adapted Indian masalas to suit Western palates, and in so
doing, threw ?authenticity? out the window. Colonial-style curries were made up of
meat, fried with a curry paste before being stewed in water. Anglicized curries, made
popular by returning expatriates, were often embellished with chopped bananas,
shredded coconut, and raisins, a style of cooking virtually unknown in South Asia.

Of course, new flavor combinations and cooking styles have been making the rounds
for centuries. The fact is that no cuisine remains static: India didn?t have chilies until
the Portuguese brought them from the New World. And spices are not new to
Britain?in addition to being a valuable trade commodity, aromatic spice blends have
long played a key seasoning role in British cooking styles.
South Asian immigrants arrived in Britain?s big cities from India, Bangladesh,
Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and East Africa during the sixties and seventies, and many
entered the restaurant and catering industry. Adept at adapting menus to suit local
tastes and expectations, the South Asian restaurant sector was the success story of
the second half of the last century.

Most Indians prefer lamb or chicken curry made with meat cooked on the bone, the
advantage being that while the meat simmers, it makes its own flavorsome sauce. In
Britain, however, meat cooked this way can be tricky to negotiate on the plate,
especially with cutlery, which might explain why boneless meat is preferred.

While menus at many British curry houses have remained largely unchanged over
the past two decades, the emergence of newer styles of cooking at fine restaurants
has elevated modern Indian cooking to a privileged position. More recently,
supermarkets have developed new product ranges championing regional gems,
including Keralan fish curry and biryani from Hyderabad.

But it?s the tried-and-tested stalwarts of Indo-British cooking that continue to hold
their own, such as Madras Curry (p326), creamy kormas, and Chicken Tikka Masala
(p330). The difference today is that there?s a culinary curiosity to lift the lid off the
Indian spice box and cook authentic recipes at home.
     Roopa Gulati"

Admin can i ask you to take off the 1500kb upload restriction [temporarily] so i can upload this book for you all.

the file is 37,000 KB

UB 

This sounds like an excellent read, well done Unclebuck

I wonder though if we brits prefer meat off the bone as opposed to on it? I would have thought that not just in India but all over the world, cuts of meat on the bone would have been cheaper for them to buy rather than expensive cuts of meat off the bone?

I do agree that cuts on the bone do hold more flavour due to the natural stock that emits from the bone marrow when cooking, but whether we chose the more expensive cuts because the meat is possibly easier to negotiate on the plate or not i am not sure.....

I know when I was a kid, it was always meat on the bone because that was all we could afford, whether it was Indian cuisine or British fare, and we certainly never had any problems with cutlery then...... In fact i am sure we did then and still do now, is pick that bone up and knaw on it till the meat is gone!! Ribs are a prime example

[Domi]

Hi UB

Why not just up it to rapidshare and post a link? It would be easier than everyone grabbing it from the forum and ruining it's bandwidth

[PaulP]

Regarding cuts of meat my Indian work buddy says chicken legs and thighs are considered the best part of the bird and chicken breast is not so highly valued in India.

I do like a Tandoori thigh/leg combination from a good BIR but haven't had one for a while.