Topic: Undercover Curry - Anyone heard of it?

[Derek Dansak]

Thanks mate.  i guess cabbage is quite watery ,so should help produce a thin watery base, which is good for high temperature reduction/evaportaion. all my best bases have been thin and watery.  the real bir base i tried was quite greenish brown. maybe its similar to your attempt.

[emin-j]

Hi Emin-j,

Would you add the fenugreek as well?

Yes , I would give it a try , anything that's not what you find in the majority of Curry Base recipes is worth a try , I also think your ' dark ' colour was due to the length of time you had it cooking for.

[George]

Thanks mate.  i guess cabbage is quite watery ,so should help produce a thin watery base, which is good for high temperature reduction/evaportaion. all my best bases have been thin and watery. 

Wouldn't it be a lot easier and cheaper to add a drop of water? Nothing is as 'watery' as water. Whatever it is the cabbage is added for (e.g. flavour, texture or marketing/PR) it sure isn't added for its water content.

[JerryM]

wow this is an epic story - stayed up well past my bedtime.

i won't be buying the book at the mo - just timing really for me - i have my next few months planned out. i may think of it towards Christmas.

i do wish the book and the author well - he sounds a good guy from AchMal's post and his passion seems in the right place.

the post is disappointing in many ways to myself as a lot of questions are raised which are already answered in CRO and i'm amazed members have for whatever reason not picked up on them or simply not registered with them at the time.

for me there are a few areas of specific interest in the book:
1) the dipping of the spoons as i know this is how the chefs work. i use a chef spoon which is 4 tbsp (level) 6 tbsp (heaped) and seems to conflict with the spoonful volume stated. until we can get a good handle on what "volume" of each ingredient is used then recipe refinement will be slow process.
2) no mix powder only curry powder - muddies the water a little

i've tried chicken/bhaji oil (fryer oil) before and got a double hit on the taste that i already get. the make fresh idea in the book might just work.

the use of hing is something i've tried - i think it's the only ingredient i've actually put in the bin. if hing is BIR then i must eat something else from the TA. i have only used the black concentrated stuff which i grated and used in v.small amounts - yet it's impact on taste was well OTT. i have never tried it in base but using it at frying stage put me well off. i've had trouble with methi in the past but i never threw it out.

[two-sheds]

I made the 2 litre version of the base in a slow cooker in the garage and although it took quite a time obviously you can leave it and come back later for the next stage and then leave it again ; the result was a very tasty base .next a madras from the book over the weekend.

[Ramirez]

Has anyone created the Tandoori marinade - or rather a scaled-down version? Just wondering what quantities of the ingredients people may have used.

This book drive me mad, as it is just so vague at times. It feels incomplete, to be honest.

[Secret Santa]

This book drive me mad, as it is just so vague at times. It feels incomplete, to be honest.

Multiply that sentiment by about ten and you'll have some idea of my opinion of the book.  :

[tempest63]

    Just had a look at the author's website, and it seems that the style of language used has more than just a passing resemblance to this site. Makes me wonder if he hasn't been a member of cr0. After all, where did the term 'BIR' originate? Anyone else noticed this?
         D.

The term BIR has been around a long time. I remember it from the UKFDI days

[telecaster445]

I got this book recently, after visiting a mate who had just bought it. The base source was very good and I reckon this is because of the oil. some base sauces seems to boil the spices. This really uses gallons of the stuff.

we had Bhuna and Madras. both up to BIR quality.

Also Dave (author) is happy to email.

An addition to the book might have been cooking technique tips. I'm a believer that flames should be involved in the early stages. I can only relate to the pyrotechnics I see at my local haunt. I'm sure this adds to the taste, although care should be taken not to burn the spices.

I recommend this book and look forward to alienating my family by stinking my house out for a week (in a good way)

[Peripatetic Phil]

Just cooked Dave Loyden's pulao rice from Undercover Curry, and was very surprised to find that his "don't wash the rice" method is a complete success    I followed his instructions up to and including the point of adding milk, but was uncertain just how much milk to add (Dave writes "pour in enough milk to make it bubble up"), but that really gave me no idea how much, so I added some (enough to see it bubble up) but nowhere near enough to cover the rice.  I have now sought his advice on this and will report back.  I then added the spices and water (water by eye, not by ratio), brought it to the boil, allowed it to cook for a few minutes and then transferred it a covered pyrex casserole dish and transferred it to the microwave oven, which is how I normally prepare rice.  It needed a further eight minutes on full power, after which I added about a dozen drops of food colouring (yellow, red, green) and then put the casserole dish into the pre-warmed top oven where it remained until we were ready to eat.  The results were excellent, with every grain firm and separate, and a real "pulao" taste/feel/smell to it (my test is to eat it with lime pickle alone : if it goes well with that, it is a good pulao rice).  My wife says that it would have benefited from a little salt and ghee, and I may try adding those next time.  But for those who, like me, have always believed that basmati rice must be washed and soaked first, try this method : I think you will be very agreeably surprised !

** Phil.

P.S. Having now read this thread in its entirety, I am surprised that no-one has yet linked to an image of the author : http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/driver-delivers-the-secrets-of-the-perfect-curry-1.746915?referrerPath=news