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

[livo]

Balti King visited this forum and made videos for Balti Gravy and Balti dish based 100% on MDB's Al Frash clone recipe.  Unless he is MDB, it is pure plagiarism.  The ingredient list and instructions are a direct clip and paste from the OP of this thread. Only bit missing is MDB's note about using 1" pieces of cassia.

[Kashmiri Bob]

Recall when I made the base for the first time thought a video would be good, as it's an obvious game-changer and unscrupulous types might want to claim it as their own.  I hope they are Mick's videos.  Watched them through again and reckon they are actually very good.  Was sure their were some comments on my first view, but I must have been seeing things.  Anyway, good to see you back livo.  All the best for 2024!

Rob

[livo]

Is this you Bob?  Aphrodisiac Balti.  Might have to bash one of these out.

https://youtu.be/6tpF2aDv9Uc?si=2yy9ylBFip7qyO0c

He also does Shababs Baltis.  Not many views and I'd never seen this channel before.

[Kashmiri Bob]

Goodness where has the time gone?  Anyway, I have been joining up a few dots/experiences with Mick's base. 

Part 1  Suspicions

Last November I suggested that somehow the cassia may mute the other spices in the stock and this could contribute to an occasional dud batch.  This was nonsense.  I now think its much simpler to explain.  We know there are differences in cassia quality.  This is a fact and can't be ignored.  However, I have recently made another batch of the gravy.  The resultant baltis are coming out full-on top banana.  If anything this time a little overly sweet for my taste.  Easy to sort with just a touch of green chili paste.  The thing is this batch has been made with the same bag of cassia I have used previously,  which resulted in two duds.  The first dud was to spec with 55 g cassia.  For the second I doubled everything and, out of pure frustration, chucked in a few large black cardamoms.  Made some fairly good, remarkably similar quality curries, with both of these. No resemblance whatsoever to Mick's balti though.  Part 2 will describe my observations preparing the second dud.

I think Paneer with a wild garlic dressing, followed by Balti chicken are on tonight's menu.  Blueberries with Cornish clotted cream for dessert.

Rob

[Kashmiri Bob]

Change of plans, again.  A quick version is a better idea.  Barring accidents, or the forum going down, should have it sorted in a few days.

Rob

[Kashmiri Bob]

Balti garlic chicken (medium, chicken strip)





Balti chicken (medium, fresh chicken)





10/10 magnificence

Rob

[Kashmiri Bob]

The following are my thoughts on MDB MKI, specifically addressing dud batches.  How they can happen and how to prevent them.  In this context a dud is a batch of the base gravy that yields average curries, unless further additions are made during the pan-cooking stage.  Basically, something has gone wrong.  Unsurprisingly, most of this concerns making the Ackni stock.  I will be retracting at least one misleading suggestion I have made in the past on this.  My blurb is based on the results of making 3 recent batches of MBD MKI base gravy, all 10/10.  There will be a fair amount of repetition of what we already know, but perhaps some new things to consider.  At some point soon I expect someone will say, hang on, aren't you suggesting alteration of Mick's Ackni stock recipe?  The answer to this is no.  I am simply adjusting the recipe to account for an identified flaw in my approach.  This may (or may not) account for others inability to get this recipe right.  It's not complicated.  It should really have been obvious to me much sooner.  By way of an introduction, here are a few notes I made over the lasts few months.  This is a short post.  The next will be longer.

Almost all known spices contain essential (volatile) oils.  It is these that define each individual spice's aroma.

For the Ackni stock the cassia is the spice with the highest volatility.

Commercially produced cassia is extracted via dual-phase (oil/water) steam distillation. A closed system.

Making the Ackni stock (boiling whole spices in a pan with the lid on) is also a form of distillation, albeit crude. An open system.

The lowest output on my gas hob does not allow me to simmer the Ackni stock.  The liquid is boiling.  This is a constant (it does not change from batch to batch).  Herein lies the problem.  I have not been following Mick's recipe to spec.

Of all the spices in the Ackni stock cassia (oil) has a unique property.  It is very sweet.  This can be used to test the quality of the cassia, before committing to making the Ackni stock/base gravy.   Taste test a stock made with cassia only.  For each new bag of cassia.

So, for me at any rate,  I have been venting my volatiles.  Most of the aromatics have gone up my extractor fan and into my back garden.  I expect the cassia will have gone first, soon followed by the rest of the spices.  One way or another they have gone.  Increased likelihood of making a dud.

Back soon.  Please do chip in/fact check. Next I will describe how I made my latest batches of MDB MKI, in detail.  The first of these was the most important.  Also, how the testers work and a few curved balls to be aware of.

Rob

[Kashmiri Bob]

Did a couple of short videos depicting my hob setup for making the Ackni stock.  It's actually a cassia tester but comparable to the stock being made.  So, in a 6 inch diameter saucepan I have already heated up the contents (1 pint of water and 20 g cassia) to a boil.  I do this on medium heat so I can keep an eye on it.  It takes about 10 minutes.  The heat is then turned down to the lowest setting.  The videos were taken after a further 10 mins.

The first shows the venting with lid on.  The second shows the boil when the lid is removed.  View just as the lid is being taken off (as this is most representative).

[Kashmiri Bob]

https://youtube.com/shorts/W1xasNtXEQQ?si=L7QlxLeHgU2FyoU2

https://youtube.com/shorts/WztxQ4bYpE8?si=QunvgMPNZY6Ukybu

[curryhell]

I'm enjoying your deep dive into the possible reasons behind "dodgy" batches of the MDB base Rob.  I do admire your conviction to your cause on this.  That doesn't mean though that even with a perfect batch of gravy and cooking exactly as per spec given by Mick that we are all going to think that the MDB balti is the greatest curry we will ever get to sample.  We all have our own ideas on what we think that is.
Regarding your observations so far, given cassia forms the bulk of spice used in the stock, it follows it will have the greatest influence. And yes, its quality will play a part on the concentration in the stock.  Unfortunately, its quality  cannot simply be judged by how fresh it is by the date on bag, so a test run on it does make sense.  Given you've identified that you are losing a lot of the cassia contribution during the simmering process, as well as the variable quality due to its "real" freshness, have you thought about doing the stock in a pressure cooker?  Sorry if i've just thrown in another curve ball for you to work on.  Looking forward to the next instalment