Topic: K Dhillon book reviews

[CurryOnRegardless]

Hi Axe

The Cauliflower Keema is nice, which reminds me haven't done it for ages, must give it another go.

Cheers
CoR

[Malc.]

Paul, KD1 was also on the shelf at 1.99 but I figured that KD2 would naturally be the updated KD1. I don't know if this is true, perhaps I should have picked it up as well. Have you tired other recipes from the KD1?

Jerry, had to chuckle at that the base comment.

CoR, that sounds quite good. I did look atthe Lamb Cutlets Ray mentioned, they look good too. I am going to enjoy trying them out, even the wife is behind me on this.

[Razor]

Axe,

The lamb cutlets are nice but, you need to get more flavour in to them.  Perhaps double the quantities of spice and give them a really good marinade.

Ray

[PaulP]

Hi Axe,

I think the KD1 and KD2 books are quite different with possibly more traditional Indian cooking in KD2.

I stumbled upon the KD1 book and ordered it just before I discovered this forum.
I haven't cooked a single curry from KD1 because if you want to emulate BIR cooking this forum has much better recipes than KD1.

In fact I would agree with George that the only real secret revealed in KD1 was the use of the curry base sauce.

The big problem for me comes with the KD1 recipes. For most of the curries the predominant spice seems to be garam masala. Most of us on here know that you can really ruin a curry with too much gm.

Me - I like a tablespoon of decent spice mix for that full-on flavour in my dishes!

Paul.

[JerryM]

Axe,

pretty much as PaulP say's. i do keep the KD1 as a reference and well worth a purchase  - this site has now gone beyond.

i read mix powder instead of the garam.

[George]

I saw the updated version of the book in a shop at a reduced price, recently and considered buying it. A quick look through the recipes convinced me (a) that it was little changed from the original book and (b) the ingredients/methods were highly unlikely to produce results anywhere near as good as dishes from a BIR, or off this forum. So I didn't buy it.

I now realise I was looking at a second edition KD1 for ?1.99

The KD2 book looks quite different and may contain quite a few new recipes. Are they any better than the next-to-useless' KD1 recipes though? (other than the general point about using a base sauce, which was a revelation in the 1980s when KD1 came out).

I'm sorry for any confusion.

[Malc.]

George, not a problem at all, I didn't realise their was an update to  the orignal. I just assumed that with Jerry's reference to KD1 and KD2  that it was 'the new curry secret' that you were referring too.
 
 I've had a look at the recipes in slightly more detail and will be  giving them a good go. I just have to knock up a fair amount of the KD2  base. I am no expert on either book and no fan of tomato in base. But  none the less I intend to plod on a give them a good go. I'll report  back on this thread on the success and failures as they present  themselves.
 
 
 
 Had a look at the Cauliflower Keema and it looks delicious. I will be  cooking that later this week.

[Malc.]

I cooked the Cauliflower Keema tonight and enjoyed it. Whilst I used my left over trial base, I beleive using the KD2 base would improve further on the meal I had tonight. Mostly as my initial trial base had too much Cassia in it and wasn't that good. I will be making up the KD2 base to make further recipes to spec.

[JerryM]

Axe,

it probably does not help - i've made the KD1 (KD2 is the same) base a lot. i've not made it since joining the site. there are much better bases on the site. i do think though on the path of learning it is well worth making a batch just to put u're mind at rest and set peg in the ground.

had a look at the keema pg135 out of interest. this is the kind of dish in the book that i'd want to do a BIR take on it. some things worry me though - the garam for a start - did u use branded and did the 0.25 tsp overpower.

[Malc.]

I can't compare the KD1 base as I do no have the book. KD2 does say new and improved base recipe but when I read it, I thought it sounded a little bland to be honest. But in the course of experiment and to do justice to the listed recipes in the KD2, I will be trying it.

The Keema dish is a delicate one, that is for sure. You don't need alot of spicing to change it's overall balance. In my opinion the Garam Masala improved the dish at the end. What did annoy me was the lack of measure in the Cauliflower needed for the dish. I mean, what is 1 small Cauliflower. If you go to the supermarket, a small cauliflower can be anything from 4-7 inches. As I cooked the dish just for me, I used about about half a pudding bowl of the chopped cauliflower and quartered the remaining ingredients as much as possible.

Changes I would make include adding finely chopped onion a little more chilli and as an alternative, maybe some spinach too.