Where to next

[JerryM]

i feel i've picked the pockets of all the nuggets on the site. i feel i've also eliminated all the red hearings. but in answer to emin-j's recent question "are we there yet" - despite this having nightmare connotations of kids and holidays for me" - it's a clear NO for me.

the trouble is for the 1st time in my curry journey i can't work out where i need to focus effort. my last post on ingredients was a desperate try but has produced nothing new.

don't get me wrong - my curries are very good and probably most would be very happy with them. i've also well exceeded my own expectations.

the trouble is something is just not quite right - when comparing mine side by side with TA.

what i do know is that it's not base, technique or equipment.

the trouble is that i can't really explain what the difference is. i'm not even sure if it's common or dish specific. the only example i can give is from making the lasan chicken - the dish came alive. it sort of jumped up another notch from being good to very good.

it could be that i just need to get more experience through cooking (now that i know what i know from my CRO journey to date). gut feeling it might be spice or paste related. the trouble is i really can't put my finger on it.

it would be real interesting to know where u all feel your own personal gaps are. my thinking being that it might just gell something for me - something i'd just not quite connected with.

fingers crossed.

[peterandjen]

Well i havn't been coming here long but im happy that i have found my own personal secret ingredient. so that search has finished for me.
Although happy in that respect i still want to try different recipes, move on from Balti's and try Kormas/Bhunas Tandoori and so on. Also i want to find a good Chicken Chaat recipe.
So i think i'll be hanging around for a while yet.
Also the biggest plus for me in coming here is the fact that there's another site i joined a couple of days previously to here, That as far as im concerned is just a plain rip-off/con.

I like the fact that this place is free, the stuff i will learn is free, and i can happily speak freely.

Yes there's still much to learn.

[commis]

Hi
Petter and Jen, please if you will what was this secret ingredient that you discovered?
Regards

[emin-j]

JerryM , for the time I have been on this forum I dont think there is any member who has looked in such depth as you to find ' the missing link ' I reckon if you havent found one by now there isn't one  I have been making just Madras and the odd Korma for the last year mostly at weekends , I have stood behind two BIR Chef's and watched them make a Madras , Ive watched no end of video footage and they have all used the same Spices / Process that we all seem to use on the Forum .
Only just lately have I been able to produce better tasting Curries consistently that my local T/A    Sometimes the T/A Curry is very good and sometimes it's just hot and flavourless , they only have one Chef which I would think would stick to the same Recipes all the time so how can they produce the good and not so good Curries ? Same Chef , Same Spices , Same Recipes .
For me I beleive it's all in the cooking technique , about a Month ago I did my usual Madras Curry and I just had the feeling I had overcooked the Spices the end result was just a hot but flavour less Curry , this is why I beleive our T/A is so inconsistent , being so busy it's easy to miss that ' perfect time ' to add that first ladle of Base Sauce so as not to overcook the Spices. For the last few weeks using the experience I have gained I have made sure the Garlic / Ginger and Spices are fried for a minimum time and are not left at rest in the frying pan where they can burn in seconds , I can now produce a Madras which is consistently better than our T/A . ;D 

[chriswg]

Hi Jerry,

There is only one place you can go now and that is to put your hand in your pocket and pay a top chef to teach you the tricks of the trade.

I have been speaking to a local top-notch BIR about lessons and they are happy to arrange for their head chef to come to my house and teach me to cook whatever I want using my ingredients and equipment. I think this is the only thing that can now be done to get over the final hurdle. If he can get the taste like that then we know it is possible. If he fails then we know it is something do do with their equipment.

If any other members want to attend (I live in Fleet, Hampshire) then let me know and we can spread the cost. Our kitchen is very big so there would be ample room for 4 students and a master. I know of one member who is very keen for this already.

Im working weekdays in London for the next few weeks and as the Chef is off on Mondays and Tuesdays it would have to be on one of those days.

Jerry - Is it worth the train ride to get those final questions answered? The more of us that are there the more likely it will be that we don't miss anything. You would be a good person to have there if possible.

Post or PM me if you are interested and we can try and get a date that suits everyone.

[George]

If he fails then we know it is something do do with their equipment.

I'm sure a visit by the chef must be worth trying and should be fun, but if it fails to deliver the flavours you're looking for, then it's more likely he's deliberately holding something back, or you don't cover the entire process, rather than anything else. The first thing to check is that he knows you're only interested in specific BIR dishes and nothing else. It will be difficult to arrange, too, because you probably won't have enough time to start from scratch and make everything needed, including flavoured oil and base sauce. Any other approach will invalidate the entire session.

Jerry will never succeed. His whole approach is wrong. First he says he can definitely discount, or has certainly ticked off, certain aspects. He even started a thread on myths which he thought were 100% certain. But how can he be sure, unless and until he delivers a 100% perfect curry in his eyes? Only after you've arrived, can you look back and be certain about what's needed, and what's not.

[peterandjen]

@commis
For me it was a mixture of caramelised onions and spice mix fried together in mustard oil.
But thats MY personal flavour, as i've said before though we all have differing tastes and goals.

[JerryM]

thanks all - really appreciate your thoughts. i'm trying to pin down what to try out this yr and it does help. i think i'm going to go for spice mix.

emin-j,

u could well be right - i may well have arrived so to speak and i now just need to gain experience. this is exactly what my wife says. i still feel i'm short of what i can only describe as, "short of flavour". peter's missing ingredient ie mustard oil may well be it for me too. it could even be as simple as black salt or msg. the trouble is that i've tried certain things along the journey and discounted them at the time (i think these being black salt, methi, msg, cumin to an extent) - they may now be that final touch - i guess what George is getting at in the comments on my approach.

George,

i still believe the myths document holds good. the approach i've followed is the only one i know. i'm certainly up for a change though and will go along with whatever u suggest.

chriswg,

u know i'm not keen on travelling south. your offer is something i can't turn down though. how good is the chef's english - i feel i only need to talk to him for my needs. count me in. i ask on the english as this is the biggest difficulty in talking to the chef at my local TA (other than the boss on the counter).

[emin-j]

thanks all - really appreciate your thoughts. i'm trying to pin down what to try out this yr and it does help. i think i'm going to go for spice mix.

emin-j,

u could well be right - i may well have arrived so to speak and i now just need to gain experience. this is exactly what my wife says.

i still feel i'm short of what i can only describe as, "short of flavour". peter's missing ingredient ie mustard oil may well be it for me too. it could even be as simple as black salt or msg. the trouble is that i've tried certain things along the journey and discounted them at the time (i think these being black salt, methi, msg, cumin to an extent) - they may now be that final touch - i guess what George is getting at in the comments on my approach.

George,

i still believe the myths document holds good. the approach i've followed is the only one i know. i'm certainly up for a change though and will go along with whatever u suggest.

chriswg,

u know i'm not keen on travelling south. your offer is something i can't turn down though. how good is the chef's english - i feel i only need to talk to him for my needs. count me in. i ask on the english as this is the biggest difficulty in talking to the chef at my local TA (other than the boss on the counter).

;D

[George]

George,
i still believe the myths document holds good. the approach i've followed is the only one i know. i'm certainly up for a change though and will go along with whatever u suggest.

I'll say one thing - I may think your approach could go against the success you seek, but I do admire your refusal to get wound up by the sort of criticism I fired at you. As a result, I feel bad about it! I can't pretend to know the answers but, as I've said before, I reckon some group tasting sessions would help to 'calibrate' various members results. e.g. we may taste your curries and say they are superb, or not. Tasting each others' output would help us assess where we're all coming from.