Topic: Chef Din: 1970's BIR

[pete]

I made Dins "my base gravy" which he posted before the 1970's base gravy. I've got loads in my freezer along with the salvaged savoury oil. So I was't going to make another of his bases, before using that. To be honest, both recipes are very similar, except the 70's style gravy pre cooks the chicken in it whereas his first base has chicken carcass boiled in it's added stock . So.....I made the vindaloo. It's a good recipe. I think the worcester sauce adds a little magic. Curry Queen had a few recipes using that way back!! So I feel almost like I've gone full circle. The curry was pretty oily too. My wife loved it, but I didn't feel it was a "wow" moment. Just a reasonable curry. I really liked the simplicity of the recipe and I'll be trying a few more curries  from Din. He clearly knows his stuff. I had a bought frozen curry at the same time as this vindaloo. Hate to say it, but I preferred the bought curry (it was a Rogan Josh). Better aroma and deeper flavour

[Kashmiri Bob]

Will be spending some time over Christmas trying out some of chef Din's recipes.  Also interesting is his preference of a stainless steel pan over aluminium. 

[George]

Also interesting is his preference of a stainless steel pan over aluminium. 

I think Chef Din is a mine of information but I will not be taking his advice on pans. I am quite sure stainless steel is the worst possible material for a frying pan. It has too many hot spots, rather than the good conduction of aluminium or carbon steel. Tri-ply pans are also good with layering between stainless, aluminium and sometimes copper.

[pete]

I've just watched his Vegetable Madras recipe.
Once again it's very clear, simple yet very informative
But can't help noticing that its almost the exact recipe as his vindaloo recipe
I must admit I thought that most of my 70's and early 80's bought curries tasted pretty much the same (and I loved them)
Except for a chilli difference or maybe fried garlic poured on top
So I reckon his recipes are pretty spot on
I'm really enjoying his videos
Wish I'd seen these 20 years ago

[Secret Santa]

I tried Din's mushroom bhajee (sic) today. I had to pre-prep the bhuna onions, which was easy, as was the cooking of the bhaji itself.

Again, it was a decent enough meal (I had it as a main with rice), but still low-end takeaway in my opinion. I thought the bhuna onion which, by the way, is really tasty on its own, would have lifted it to a new level but no, not really.

Strangely, and I find this with a lot of dishes, adding the base gravy actually makes the flavour worse (having tasted before its addition). Great tasting base, great tasting bhuna onions, but there seems to be some strange negative synergy going on. Shrug.

[pete]

Yes , I know what you mean. The curries are ok but somehow you've not got exactly what you want. And totally agree that the sum is less than the parts. All the same his recipes are very comprehensive and complete and I'm really enjoying them.

[mickdabass]

SS I know what you mean about this negative synergy thing.

For the last year or so I have been using BE's Base gravy - mainly with Chef Syeds recipes which imo have been well matched. I couldnt get on with Syeds gravy for one reason or another

I tried Chef Dins 70s base over the weekend and I still cant understand why the resultant currys cooked were neither over spiced or over salted. Perhaps Im losing my sense of taste I dont know. In the past I have tried akhni stock but have found it overpowers the resultant curries but in Chef Dins base I am not even aware of it being present. To be fair I did deviate from his recipe slightly as I  bought one whole chicken from asda and used that for the gravy - after i had de breasted it.

After all these years of cooking curries I sometimes feel like Ive learnt very little. Totally confused now.

[George]

Yes , I know what you mean. The curries are ok but somehow you've not got exactly what you want. And totally agree that the sum is less than the parts. All the same his recipes are very comprehensive and complete and I'm really enjoying them.

I'm not sure what you mean. You say they're not what you want but then you say you're really enjoying them. Please clarify.

I think Secret Santa's use of the term 'low end takeaway' is useful, to distinguish from food which may be amongst the best you've ever had. I am only interested in preparing dishes with flavours which are about as good as it gets. As I've said before, I achieved it for only a few dishes, for my taste. That's because I only worked on a few dishes and haven't yet spent enough time with "R&D" on other dishes.

[pete]

I'm not sure what you mean. You say they're not what you want but then you say you're really enjoying them. Please clarify.

Hiya George
I accept the fact that a restaurant/takeaway can get a better result than I do
And Din is showing exactly how he prepared all his curries for years
And I really find that fascinating
I have never understood why my home cooked versions often fall a little short
The funny thing is that I have been allowed on several occasions to cook my own curry in a takeaway
And they turned out perfect
So I know it's not that I lack the cooking skill
It's that something is just a little different when you do it all at home
And I'm not driving myself crazy trying to find the missing ingredient any more
I love the way Din shows the whole method to produce a curry, from start to finish
And there is so much
It's amazing
A 1970's curry encyclopedia
By the way
My wife thinks these curries are  far better than any takeaway we use

[livo]

Interesting points there Pete.  It makes absolutely no sense at all that you can cook dishes in a commercial kitchen and then not be able to replicate at home.  Other than the energy output of the burners there should be little to no difference, and if what has been stated recently by actual chefs is anything to go by, this is essentially irrelevant.

Having recently done Chef Din's dishes, I found them quite good. Really good actually.  When I went back and tidied up the 2 beef dishes after they'd sat in the fridge for a few days, they were delicious.  Syed's were good, Chef Faz is good. The Bengali Chef,  Rik (Loveitspicey), et al.  I no longer hold a belief or suspicion that there is a mystery secret or missing ingredient.  It's all there in plain view.

However, while saying that it makes absolutely no sense, the fact remains that home cooked dishes just seem to be something less than hoped for, with the qualification of saying usually.  Occasionally, for whatever reason, it all just happens and you get what you hope for.

I still believe that it is a bit "in the mind" and as the cook we don't always enjoy the meal straight away.  Other diners always (usually) enjoy the meals I cook and they never say, "Oh its OK, but not as good as the restaurant".  They will tell me if it's too spicy or if I nail a particular dish.  As I cook using different bases and pre-cooks over time, my dishes are not consistent.  A restaurant / takeaway would have consistency unless they use different chef's or have a change in staff / skill level, etc.  I imagine I could get consistency but I'm not really looking for that as I'm not running a business based on returning clientele.

While it is fairly widely accepted that a traditionally prepared curry will improve over a rest period of 24 - 48 hours, this appears to not be the case with Restaurant / Takeaway dishes prepared commercially.  Why is it that our BIR method dishes do appear to benefit from the rest?  Is it the dish itself or us as the cook?  I guess you need 2 cooks to decide by taking turns to be the cook or the diner.