Are we being too harsh on ourselves?

[Razor]

Hi Guys,

Ok, last night, being in a lazy mood after a very long day at work, I decided to order the family a takeaway

I ordered from this place http://www.indianoceanonline.co.uk/  This place has a number of awards and I believe was held in high esteem with the Curry Council.  Now, the last time I used this place was way before I became a member of this site and my memories of their food, was that it was excellent!

However,  what I had last night (Lamb tikka Jal Frezi) was less than impressive.  It was watery thin, very bland and to be honest, a disappointment.  My wife and children had CTM, again, they were very unimpressed, leaving most of it for the dog, (who by the way, seemed to enjoy it ;D)

I turned to my wife and said, "this place has gone downhill"  she said that my Curry's (CA's really :) were far better.

Now, my wife is no 'curry connoisseur' but she does know what she likes, and she didn't like this!

It then occurred to me that we may be being at bit too harsh on ourselves.  Our biggest critics will undoubtedly be ourselves but what do our family and friends think about our food.  Has anyone ever tried out a 'blind taste test' on our friends, comparing our food with a restaurant dish?

After a couple of years as a member here (most of it, purely as an observer )  I believe that I have picked up a wealth of knowledge that would make what I cook, comparable with a lot of the TA's and BIR's.

Now I'm not suggesting for one minute that I am a 'complete curry chef'  but I am saying that my food, could pass as a BIR dish, to someone that didn't know otherwise and I'm sure that would be the case with most of us here.

We are always in search of 'the taste' but who's to say that we haven't found it?  We spend many years, tweaking and perfecting our style, ingredients and methods, making tiny steps along the way to perfection but the 'eureka' moment either passes us by or we never seem to have one!  But, if you can remember your first attempt, and then fast forward to where you are now, and bang, that would be your 'eureka' moment.

This post is not a 'knee jerk reaction' to having a substandard curry, it's something that I have felt for a while.  We went out with friends a month or so ago and we went to a fantastic restaurant.  I actually give it rave reviews on the forum but, when I sit back and really think about it, the food was good but it wasn't the best I'd had either!  The evening was excellent, the restaurant was brilliant, the service was fantastic the food was good but, if I was served the very same food back in the 80's when a curry house was somewhere to get a bite to eat and not a night out, I wouldn't have been so enthused.

I'm not suggesting that we are there, and I'm not suggesting that we should stop looking to improve but, what I am saying is, I think sometimes we are a little harsh on ourselves and we are definitely our worst critics.  Let you family and friends critique your food, I think that way, you will get a more accurate understanding of where you are in your quest!

Ray

[peterandjen]

Hi Razor, i feel the same way, i went to the local Indian restaurant a few weeks back and watched them make my Dupiaza, i never really learned anything, other than they use their own spice mixes. And the naan bread was gorgeous, which i think is an understated ingredient to a good curry.
I have said myself on here that i can cook a better balti than my local, and when family have come round for a curry, they have all said the same thing, that it was the best they had had, well my granddaughter said she actually prefered the white curry to the red curry but then she is only 2, and was on her second plate full.
Ive had eureka moments, when ive said "thats it,its pefect" but then the following week have not found it, but then so do all restaurants, one week good the next not so good.
I am self critical, and believe it or not im modest, but i don't see any reason not to be honest with myself.
When i was a babby a wagon wheel was massive and a curly-wurly was 2 feet long, our tastes and memories alter with time too.

[Cory Ander]

When i was a babby a wagon wheel was massive and a curly-wurly was 2 feet long, our tastes and memories alter with time too.

Ha!  Those darned manufacturers have duped you then P&J!  They WERE massive way  back then!  THEY have shrunk them and led you to BELIEVE that your tastes and memories change with time!  The darned things are tiny now!   

[Razor]

Hi Peterandjen

Wagon wheels were massive back in the day and a can of pop had to be held with two hands hahahaha.

I regularly make my best mate a 'takeaway'  he gives me a fiver for it, not that I want his money, but he feels if he treats me, he can ask again

He swears, what I cook for him, is better than anything his local does, and who am I to argue :

Bt the way, toblerones used to be a metre long back in the day as well ;D

Ray

[PaulP]

I think you make good points here Ray. I guess a lot of us (me included) are both very critical and seeking some kind of perfection that we might never reach.

As a result I focus 100% on the sauce flavour and don't faff around with nice extras like pilau rice, nan breads, bhajis etc. I just make a chicken, lamb or vegetable curry and eat it with plain basmati rice. Once I'm really happy with the curry sauce I'll move onto the extras.

Last night's curry was very good indeed!

Those Wagon Wheels and Curly Wurlys sure look smaller!

Paul.

[peterandjen]

yeah and im not even going to mention spangles.

[Malc.]

I am a newcomer to cooking BIR but not to cooking. It is always easy to be critical about things. But I have always compared my curry skills against that of my favourite BIR. So I am, so far anyway, permanently disappointed. Don't get me wrong, we've enjoyed many good home cooked meals, but that BIR something is always missing.

Having been introduced to this site very recently, I have been forced to re-think my entire perception of curry. Doing so means I have approached the subject with a completely open mind, but have found myself making silly assumptions and have to keep reminding myself to remain open minded.

Given the amount of processes that exist in the BIR kitchen, we will invariably struggle to find that truly authentic BIR flavour. That does not mean we can't create a dish that is equally as good. Infact, given the changing face of BIR/TA curry and the ever increasing use of pre-made pastes etc., I would consider that the attention we give recipes, is probably far greater than that of your average modern BIR. It therefore stands to reason we will produce a better end result.

The IG Chef recently mentioned to me that they took the best bits from various different regions to produce their menu. We are doing a similar thing, picking all the best bits we learn from our quest. They produce some of the best food I have ever eaten in a BIR, surely we can too.

[Razor]

Absolutely Axe,

The thing with BIR cooking is, in theory, it should be simple!  They are, after all, running a business, they are not going to over complicate things.  Everything that they do in their kitchens will be simple, methodical and almost mechanical.  Im pretty sure that they don't have any michelin star standard chefs working in these places, although they will be very good at what they do.  It's more than likley that they are all related in one way or another, and learned their craft from spending a few months in the BIR kitchen.

If you cooked your favourate dish, 30 times a day, day in day out, how good do you think that would make you as a chef, probably excellent IMO.  And that, to me is where they have the advantage, that's all.  I wouldn't say that their food is any better than ours though.

Axe, I am absolutely convinced, in a month or so, understanding how dedicated you appear to be, you will reach a point where you are creating dishes that all your family and friends will love MORE than their local BIR, but YOU will be the only one thinking that there is something missing (and there probably won't be anything missing at all)

Ray

[Malc.]

Its quite funny you know, he we are discussing our progress and ability ever in search of the secret and yet everytime I visit IG, they insist it is easy and there is no secret!

I have to keep reminding them that it maybe easy and well known to them, but to us its a bloody mystery!

I have come to consider that it is easy, as you say, it has to be easy and quick to cook or they wouldn't do it. I just have to identify all the individual processes and work out how they fit together properly.

With the help of IG and the wealth of experience on here. I hope I can give something back. Being able to cook a meal for family friends that is liked as much if not more than their usual BIR or TA would certainly be an accomplishment.

[Stephen Lindsay]

The experience described by Razor is one I can relate to. I often find myself thinking, "that was nothing special", or " I could cook that just as good if not better" when I am eating out whether it be Indian, Chinese or Italian. I don't think of myself as being any kind of super chef but I can cook. I am happy with the level that my curries are at now and I enjoy cooking them. This site is a genuine treasure trove to curryholics like me.

I remember the 1970s when Naan breads were the size of a table for 4.

I remember when Cadbury's Creme Eggs were the size of melons.