Topic: Demo at my local TA

[dellydel]

Hi guys,

Been meaning to post for a couple of weeks just haven't had chance.

I was in my local the other day and I was speaking to the manager as usual and asked him what I should go for, he suggested going for a North Indian Garlic Chilli dish, I agreed, then he said come with me....... I'll cook it in front of you  ;D  So into the kitchen I went!

This is how it went:

1- Pan on over the burner on a medium heat

2- 1 Chefs spoon into a pot on the hob containing fresh veg oil

3- Heat oil then add approx 1 tbsp of G&G paste for a minute stiring. This looked like ready made stuff to me rarther than 'homemade'

4- Then he stuck his spoon into another pot on the hob which was filled with precooked onions and peppers, out came a heaped chefs spoon full adding it to the pan.  It looked like 2/1 mix of onion/pepper and he told me they were precooked in a bit of oil and turmeric.  They were cut really fine like you would find then in your bag of salad with poppadoms

5- After adding the onions and pepper he mixed it about a bit then stuck the tip of the spoon into a pot of tomato paste, so about a tsp worth.  Tomato paste looked a deeper red than the dbl concentrated stuff I buy in tube form and it looked smoother.  He also said he was adding it to give it a bit of colour

6-  After another minute he then added the spices...... approx 1 tbsp of spice mix, 1 tbsp chilli powder, 1 tsp dried fenugreek, tip of spoon into salt then mixed it in.

7-  Then took a chefs pinch of sliced garlic cloves and the same of chopped green chilli's aswell as adding a chefs spoon of melted butter from another pot on the hob.  I asked if this was ghee but he said no, it is normal butter

8-  After adding the above he then turned the heat up to infuse the spices, the flames were now licking around the top of the pan.  Then a minute or two later he added just one laddle of base.  Laddle was propably about 250ml at a guess, but there base sauce is quite thick, certainly not like the thin soup bases we are accustomed to on here

9-  Another couple of minutes pass and its ready, transferred into the container and sprinkled with fresh corriander.  I walk out a very happy customer, trying to get back as quick as I can to write it all down  ;D

This is what it looked like served on their veg pilau rice, it was delicious!





Going to give it a go with the new slightly thicker batch of CR02 base I made today!

Cheers

Del

[Cory Ander]

Thanks for the post and info. Dellydel.

I admit, when I first looked at the photos I thought "Who's stuffed up their rice and curry then!?  I hope it's not from one of MY recipes!!!  )

Then I saw it's actually from your BIR!  Just goes to show how little I know then!  :

[chinois]

Thanks for the account dellydel, seems like you remembered the order of everything!
I bet when the chef added the precooked onions/peppers the BIR smell was there. Yeah? If so that's really frustrating!
So did the garlic come out pungent/raw tasting or did it get browned? Most curries seem to have the garlic lightly browned at the start so this looks like a different technique. I suppose cooking it this way makes it stand out and dominate more?

I hope you showed your appreciation so you might get another demo! 

[chriswg]

Really good post, well done. I'll be very interested to hear how your version compares to the BIR one.

The ingredients look like it probably tasted similar to a Madras but a drier, more garlicky version - my idea of food heaven! I'm going to have to give this a go some time very soon. One question - when he added the slices of garlic, did they look raw or partially cooked? A minute or two for raw garlic doesnt sound enough to me.

[dellydel]

@ CA - What do you mean by your post 'looks like someone stuffed up', does it not look good to you  ;D

@ Chinois - To be honest the smell was there when I walked into the kitchen as there was other stuff going on, so I didn't notice a difference when he cooked my dish..... It certainly didn't go away 

Regarding the garlic, I was a little concerned when he took a big pinch of sliced garlic and added it so late, not something I would of ever considered!  But after doing so the heat went right up so at this stage it would of been softened.  When I came to eat it though, the garlic slices didn't appear to be browned, I was expecting a raw taste, but there wasn't!

It is also the same case for the green chillies, adding them late meant they were very flavorsome and had a little bit of a crunch to them which helped them stand out imo.  Although any dish with chillies from there, they seem to have a slight crunch, adding later on is key I believe!

I would like to know their spice mix though, maybe I will ask next time I'm in, until then I will probably go with the old trusty BE spice mix!

[Cory Ander]

@ CA - What do you mean by your post 'looks like someone stuffed up', does it not look good to you  ;D

No, to be honest, to me it looks like an awful mess! 

No doubt it tasted great though....

[Curry Barking Mad]

@ CA - What do you mean by your post 'looks like someone stuffed up', does it not look good to you  ;D

No, to be honest, to me it looks like an awful mess! 

Don't hold back Cory

[Cory Ander]

Don't hold back Cory

Just being honest Achmal, I'd be embarrassed to serve up food like that  :-X

I'm not knocking dellidel's post, just the appearance of the food.  The post is a good post and most informative 

Perhaps we should post more photos of the curries from our favourite BIRs?  It makes me feel whole heaps better about my own! 

[dellydel]

Lol, I appreciate your honesty Ca. I suppose beauty is in the eye of the beholder!  Looks great to me  ;D

[Curry Barking Mad]

Don't hold back Cory

Perhaps we should post more photos of the curries from our favourite BIRs?  It makes me feel whole heaps better about my own! 

That may be a good idea, seeing how a Madras, for example, looks from different parts of the country or  the world, for that matter,

Even a Madras or Vindaloo from American Indian Restaurants would be good,

Mick