Topic: ++++MDB’s Birmingham Balti Gravy 100% Clone Al Frash Balti Restaurant ++++

[Secret Santa]

Don't give up on it Santa.

I haven't really given up on it but I'm intrigued now as to how much difference that sustained flame makes to the final flavour. I'm going to have to get a suitable small "balti" dish and give it a go.

[Secret Santa]

Cook a crap curry in a pressed steel bowl and voila...you have created a balti 

That's what 99% of BIRs do though. It's sad.

[livo]

I've got a few aluminium "Balti" pans but I'd be reluctant to try that and I think my wife would have a hissy fit.  They're serving dishes really.
 I won't be getting the stamped Birmingham Balti pans out here, but I do, however, have a completely appropriate, small, flat bottomed, steel wok that would suffice quite well.  I really think that all the flame and fluff is a bit of a show really though. How much of the heat from above (combusting oil splatter) is really doing anything to the food.  The cooking is coming from beneath in my opinion.  Might cut down on the stove splatter though I guess.

Put some of your usual cooking preference into Mick's base gravy.  You will enjoy it.

[Secret Santa]

Was just looking at Shebabs website and right on their home page is a quote from a customer, "Wanted to order a meat madras but had to order a meat balti and pay extra to have it madras strength upon arrival and tasting there was no flavour and no madras heat tasted bland.
Was expecting alot more from the balti triangle establishment.?  "

Sort of confirms exactly what I thought when I tried the standard curry. I distinctly get the impression that balti equates to blandness.

[Secret Santa]

I really think that all the flame and fluff is a bit of a show really though. How much of the heat from above (combusting oil splatter) is really doing anything to the food.

In general I agree with you however I've never seen that sort of flame sustained throughout the cooking process. I feel that must have an effect.

[Onions]

Was just looking at Shebabs website and right on their home page is a quote from a customer, "Wanted to order a meat madras but had to order a meat balti and pay extra to have it madras strength upon arrival and tasting there was no flavour and no madras heat tasted bland.
Was expecting alot more from the balti triangle establishment.?  "

Pretty brave of them to put a review like that on their front page!  Is this the place? -https://www.shababs.co.uk/

...Malwarebytes blocks it on my machine due to a risky connection. Perhaps it knows the difference between a curry and a balti too   

[Onions]

I asked him if he classes his curry as a balti because its cooked in a balti bowl and he said yes so I think that sorts out all these bastardised baltis then. Cook a crap curry in a pressed steel bowl and voila...you have created a balti 

That seems to answer my question from elsewhere!  probably an excuse to charge a quid more for it an all!

[Kashmiri Bob]

I really think that all the flame and fluff is a bit of a show really though. How much of the heat from above (combusting oil splatter) is really doing anything to the food.

In general I agree with you however I've never seen that sort of flame sustained throughout the cooking process. I feel that must have an effect.

Just for show I feel.  Not needed.  I don't use the word perfection lightly and have achieved it with Mick's recipe on a domestic kitchen hob.  It was nice to see base gravy in the video link though.  It doesn't seem that long ago it was everything fresh, nothing pre-cooked, no base gravy, fresh, fresh, fresh.  As mentioned earlier, it's basically cafe food, quick and easy prep.  I have never seen a video of a Birmingham Balti house kitchen turning out, say, 50-100 covers.  It's always a demonstration.  Not a bad thing.  Good marketing.  How it's actually done wouldn't have the same ring to it.

Rob

[Kashmiri Bob]

Out of interest, for those who have tried this, how much Akhni stock reduction did you see when making it?  I noticed quite a lot.  Not trying to catch anyone out, but I have being doing this long enough to know what is bland, and what isn't.  Immense depth of flavour too.  Just trying to identify where it could go wrong.  I will be making another batch soon and won't be changing a thing.  Perhaps a pinch more salt

Rob   

[Secret Santa]

I have being doing this long enough to know what is bland, and what isn't.

Ditto.

There's clearly something amiss here. You say it's got immense depth of flavour, I say it's bland. What gives?

On a purely objective level, had I been served this balti and not told what it was or was supposed to be, and I had to comment on its overall flavour, my response would still have been, "bland". I mean, livo thought the same and the one comment on Shababs website says the same. We can't all be getting it wrong. And in all honesty I have no axe to grind here. If it was good I'd have said so.

I would have liked to get George's feedback on making it as he's another one of the very few here who has tried the real thing. But nada!

As far as the akhni stock, I forgot to cover it so there wasn't an awful lot of liquid left at the end. But, to make up the water content once I'd poured the stock into the main pot I boiled up the spices again so they were drained dry of their essence and I added that water to the main pot too. I tasted some of the spices at the end and they were totally devoid of flavour.