Topic: Curryheads "Madras 2011"

[Cory Ander]

It is also worth remembering that some will not get the method right resulting in what they believe to be an inferior curry

It is also worth remembering that some will get the method right and will still believe it to be an inferior curry (measured against their own BIR experiences and expectations)

There are those who will never be pleased no matter what

The pursuit of perfection is not necessarily a detriment Mick 

I am glad that you have found something that works so well for you.

100% agreed, it's great to know that everyone's efforts (like Mick's) creates satisfaction for so many (even if a small number remain...and may always remain...dissatisfied)

[George]

George i only removed oil from the final curry after finishing the cooking. the base was left as per the spec for the entire process.   nothing went wrong, it was a nice meal, but not my best. and certainly not my worst, about average.

I'm sorry I incorrectly thought you had probably removed oil from the base. My conclusion was like yours, before I started making changes, i.e. "it was a nice meal, but not my best. and certainly not my worst, about average."

[Curry Barking Mad]

I apologise for not knowing how to do the multi quote thing....

@ CA,
Ist point...possibly correct but who would know if the method had been followed correctly?

2nd point...absolutely understood already and feeling just a little patronised..

[PaulP]

What to do now then? Has everybody who wanted to tried this and reported back?

I'm out of base but I intend to try the chewy tikka madras recipe when I've cooked another batch of Taz base.

Paul

[peterandjen]

What's all this about spiced oil?. Ok so i removed and saved a fair whack of oil from the fiinished base before starting the fry-up. I know that's what you term spiced oil. I know it'll improve my next curry also, it goes without saying.
But can anybody show me footage of a Bir chef using "Spiced oil", or even mentioning it?.
I have never heard the mention of it anywhere other than here. Is "Spiced oil" just a name people are giving to what they believe to be the mystic missing/secret ingredient?

I had the fortune to watch my local bir chef making two meals and the only oil he used was a melted pot of ghee he had balanced on the back of the oven. Sure there was oil on the surface of the base, pretty much identicle to the oil that floats on the taz base.
A red spice/onion infused by-product of cooking the base sauce.
TA curries have oil in them, red/orange oil. Fast food is usually greasy.

Also some people are trying to reproduce the meal from last nights TA whilst others are trying to reproduce the flavour of a meal they ate 25 years ago.
Achmals hit the nail on the head, we will never all be happy.

Btw im making a Biryani with the Taz base on Saturday so will enjoy having a tinker
I'll let you know how it goes.

[George]

I had the fortune to watch my local bir chef making two meals and the only oil he used was a melted pot of ghee he had balanced on the back of the oven.

The only certain thing there is that it was a tin which used to hold ghee. I doubt if it was ghee he was taking out of it - more likely it was spiced oil, and he just used the tin as a convenient storage vessel.

[peterandjen]

No George, it was just a tin of oil, or ghee, it was clearish, if it had been red/orange or another colour i would have asked what it was. As it was, the chef just took a couple of chefs spoons of it threw it in the pan and said "You add some oil" and then continued to cook.
I mean don't get me wrong here, i like the idea of spiced oil, like i said it has to improve things, but i think anybody new here should be let to know that it isn't a "Given" authentic recipe ingredient.

[George]

No George, it was just a tin of oil, or ghee, it was clearish, if it had been red/orange or another colour i would have asked what it was.

OK, perhaps I ought to ask an open question - what is in such tins marked 'ghee' like you see at the back of many BIR stoves? Are any of us 100% certain? Is it oil, ghee or spiced oil? The spiced oil I made was quite clear because I didn't add anything which turned it red.

[peterandjen]

But my spiced oil, the stuff from Taz's base, is orange, so that answers no questions .
I have to be honest, i just don't think there is a missing ingredient, i have loads of reasons why but its all been talked about before, so many times and there's still no proof.

There is proof though that SOMETIMES just sometimes, people have a one in a blue moon eureka. Using the same recipes they have used many many times before. That is what we would be better off examining.

[Les]

So after 188 posts, What exactly have we achieved here, if anything.
(hope I'm not offending anyone)
Seems to me the only thing that's come out of this experiment is everybody's tastes are different, which we already know.