Topic: Can AI help with curry recipes?

[George]

Google just invited me to try out its experimental AI tool called Bard. They warn it may not always be right. I phrased my first ever question to AI as follows:

"I want to make chicken dhansak which tastes like at a good British Indian restaurant"

The response was as follows. I'm not impressed. I know enough about dhansak to think the suggested recipe would taste nothing like at a BIR. What do you think?


Here is a recipe for chicken dhansak that tastes like it came from a good British Indian restaurant:

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch piece of ginger, minced
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground garam masala
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (14.5 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 (15 ounce) can red lentils, rinsed and drained
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup chopped mint
Instructions:

Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute more.
Stir in the turmeric, cumin, coriander, garam masala, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper. Cook for 30 seconds, or until fragrant.
Add the chicken and cook until browned on all sides.
Stir in the diced tomatoes, chickpeas, lentils, chicken broth, cilantro, and mint. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the lentils are soft and the chicken is cooked through.
Serve over rice or naan.
Tips:

For a richer flavor, use homemade chicken broth instead of store-bought.
If you don't have all of the spices, you can substitute 1 teaspoon of curry powder for the turmeric, cumin, coriander, and garam masala.
Add a splash of heavy cream or yogurt to the curry at the end of cooking for a richer flavor.
Serve with rice or naan.

[Peripatetic Phil]

Given Bard's use of "cilantro", I would very much suspect that its putative recipe is derived from American sources.  Try a more focussed prompt, such as "Using only information gleaned from British sources, and ideally from contributors to those sources with a name indicating an Indian, Bangladeshi  or similar ethnicity, create for me the best possible recipe for BIR-style chicken dhansak".  But don't hold your breath ...

[George]

But don't hold your breath ...

I read that people were starting to use AI to cheat with essays, exam answers and similar. I probably need to read up on how AI can help with such tasks to anywhere near the level of a google search by an individual. At present, I don't start to understand. If the response I was given was the answer to a test question on Indian cooking, I don't think it would have gained very many marks.

[Peripatetic Phil]

Some tasked with marking student/undergraduate essays are punctilious in their marking, and they may well spot one or more errors that will lead them to conclude that the essay was written, in part or in whole, by a generative AI system.  But others, perhaps because of pressure of workload, perhaps because of lack of motivation, will be less punctilious, and as generative AI improves it will be easier and easier for a student or undergraduate to pass off an essay written by generative AI as his or her own, particularly if he or she knows with some certainty that the person tasked with marking their work is less than punctilious ...

[livo]

Perhaps simply "I wish to make a British Indian restaurant style Chicken Dhansak".  I doubt you will find it would give a vastly different result.

[George]

Perhaps simply "I wish to make a British Indian restaurant style Chicken Dhansak".  I doubt you will find it would give a vastly different result.

I just input the sentence you suggested. The result might produce a curry something like the worst dhansak I ever tasted, in southern Spain. There are no elements to produce sweet and sour flavours, and no base sauce, of course.

I wish to make a British Indian restaurant style Chicken Dhansak

Here is a recipe for British Indian restaurant style Chicken Dhansak:

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup water
1 cup lentils (red lentils or masoor dal)
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Instructions:

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute more.
Add the cumin, coriander, turmeric, garam masala, cayenne pepper, and salt and cook for 1 minute more.
Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute more.
Add the diced tomatoes, chicken broth, water, and lentils. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the lentils are soft.
Add the chicken and cook until cooked through, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the cilantro and serve hot with rice or naan.
Tips:

For a richer flavor, use chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts.
If you don't have lentils, you can use chickpeas or kidney beans.
To make the dish vegetarian, simply omit the chicken.
Serve with your favorite Indian sides, such as rice, naan, or papadums.