Topic: New member

[parker21]

hi abdul and welcome to the forum i bought your book yesterday and now anticipating delivery, BIR stands for British Indian Restaurant but the word indian is very broad and covers Pakistani, bangladeshi and punjabi as people do not define their local takeaway/ restaurant but call it "indian"! LOL
i know what you said about vindaloo but in my opinion vinegar is best suited to this recipe having seen demonstrations by 5 different chefs in 3 restaurants and 2 kitchens only 1 used lemon juice. i thought that was supposed to be the sour element in a madras/pathia? i know personal opinions vary just my experience

kind regards
gary

[abdulmohed2002]

Hi Abdul and welcome to cr0.

We have often debated in the past, the ever changing flavour of BIR food, many members indicating that BIR food of the 1980's is not what we get today.  Paste's and other commercial products are being identified as the culprits.

In your opinion, what changes have you seen over the years, and what products are mainly responsible for that change?

Thanks in advance,

Ray

Hi Ray, I do not know what 'BIR' stands for could you please tell me 

thank you

Hi Abdul,

BIR means "British Indian Restaurant" style

Also a simple question but maybe long to answer, what are main differences between Indian Restaurant style and Traditional Bangladeshi?

Hi Ray, thank you for verifying what BIR stands for. The main difference is that Indian Restaurant style is cooked with gravy, marinating, pre-cooked meat, chicken and veg made for the menu. Individual dishes, with seperate tastes, are made when ordered.  On the other hand Traditional Bangladeshi style is homemade pot cooking with stronger flavours than that of Indian Restaurant style dishes.

thank you

 

[abdulmohed2002]

hi abdul and welcome to the forum i bought your book yesterday and now anticipating delivery, BIR stands for British Indian Restaurant but the word indian is very broad and covers Pakistani, bangladeshi and punjabi as people do not define their local takeaway/ restaurant but call it "indian"! LOL
i know what you said about vindaloo but in my opinion vinegar is best suited to this recipe having seen demonstrations by 5 different chefs in 3 restaurants and 2 kitchens only 1 used lemon juice. i thought that was supposed to be the sour element in a madras/pathia? i know personal opinions vary just my experience

kind regards
gary

Hi Gary, thank you very much for sharing your opinion, I will definitely try with the vinegar as I have worked through the UK from north to south and many restaurants have not used vinegar in a Vindaloo. Yes, the lemon juice is for the sour element in the madra, along with chilli powder and potatoes, which I believe makes a  perfect Vindaloo. 
Thank you for purchasing the book, I hope you will not be disappointed, your copy has been dispatched today. If you need any help for preparing anything from the book then please email me. A few important things, you must master the gravy and masaala and get your preperation right before you cook anything from the book.

Kind Regards

Abdul

[abdulmohed2002]

Hi Abdul and welcome to cr0.

We have often debated in the past, the ever changing flavour of BIR food, many members indicating that BIR food of the 1980's is not what we get today.  Paste's and other commercial products are being identified as the culprits.

In your opinion, what changes have you seen over the years, and what products are mainly responsible for that change?

Thanks in advance,

Ray

Hi Ray, I agree that pastes and other commercial products are responsible for the changing flavour of BIR food. I first started working at a takeaway as a kitchen assistant when I was 16 years old, I witnessed how the gravy sauce and curries were made at that time. Comparing the way it is made now, there is a huge difference in that although having these changes may be convenient for restaurants it has however definitely altered the flavour of the BIR food.

Thank You

Abdul

[loveitspicy]

Hi and welcome
I look forward to you sharing your experience here on the site

[Cory Ander]

I witnessed how the gravy sauce and curries were made at that time. Comparing the way it is made now, there is a huge difference in that although having these changes may be convenient for restaurants it has however definitely altered the flavour of the BIR food.

Hi Abdul and welcome to crO.  It is great to have a pukka British Indian Restaurant (BIR) chef here to help us with our BIR curry cooking endeavours 

A couple of questions, if you don't mind:

a)  When was it that you first started as a kitchen assistant?

b)  Are the restaurants that you've worked and cooked in Bangladeshi?

c)  Regarding your comment above (which I presume is directed towards the "gravy sauce"), please could you highlight the most significant things that have changed (to the "gravy sauce") since the 70s and 80s?  Perhaps you could summarise a typical "gravy sauce" recipe from the 70s and 80s and a typical "gravy sauce" recipe from nowadays to illustrate the changes?

My question about "old style gravy sauce" is particularly pertinent to me (and many others here) because it is the curries of the 70s and 80s that I (and many others here) wish to replicate.

Thanks for your help Abdul! 

[Unclefrank]

Hi Abdul and welcome to the forum. I also have purchased your book and have been cooking quite alot of dishes out of it. I like the Chicken Korahi recipe because this can be altered to make nearly all my favourite TA dishes.
Cheers.
Has i type this i am making the Chicken Korahi recipe and turning it into an Achari (indian pickle) curry for a  local college near me, they have asked for me personally through a friend that works there, so hope they ALL like it.

[Les]

Welcome to cr0 Abdul.
Don't have any questions, But would like your opinion on this base gravy if you would please, It is from a bangladesh resturant in Bradford, To me it seems more of the old style of base, but i could be wrong.

http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=1894.0

HS

[abdulmohed2002]

I witnessed how the gravy sauce and curries were made at that time. Comparing the way it is made now, there is a huge difference in that although having these changes may be convenient for restaurants it has however definitely altered the flavour of the BIR food.

Hi Abdul and welcome to crO.  It is great to have a pukka British Indian Restaurant (BIR) chef here to help us with our BIR curry cooking endeavours 

A couple of questions, if you don't mind:

a)  When was it that you first started as a kitchen assistant?

b)  Are the restaurants that you've worked and cooked in Bangladeshi?

c)  Regarding your comment above (which I presume is directed towards the "gravy sauce"), please could you highlight the most significant things that have changed (to the "gravy sauce") since the 70s and 80s?  Perhaps you could summarise a typical "gravy sauce" recipe from the 70s and 80s and a typical "gravy sauce" recipe from nowadays to illustrate the changes?

My question about "old style gravy sauce" is particularly pertinent to me (and many others here) because it is the curries of the 70s and 80s that I (and many others here) wish to replicate.

Thanks for your help Abdul! 

  Hi,

a) I was 16 and now I am 42 (Indian Takeaway in Birmingham)

b) Not all where in Bangladeshi

c) The chefs which I had worked with were from the 70s and 80s and in the early days the way in which gravy was made was that they had placed everything (including the chicken) into the pot with all the necessary masalas and once cooked, the chicken was then seperated into portions and kept away seperately (following food safety regulations) for different dishes (seperate sauce was used for vegetarians).
Nowadays, sauces are made from the onions and different chefs add different flavourings i.e lots of mixed veg. While all the chicken are semi cooked and kept away seperately following food safety regulations.

thank you, I hope have answered your questions

 

[abdulmohed2002]

Hi Abdul and welcome to the forum. I also have purchased your book and have been cooking quite alot of dishes out of it. I like the Chicken Korahi recipe because this can be altered to make nearly all my favourite TA dishes.
Cheers.
Has i type this i am making the Chicken Korahi recipe and turning it into an Achari (indian pickle) curry for a  local college near me, they have asked for me personally through a friend that works there, so hope they ALL like it.

Hi, thank you for purchasing the book and let me know how it went and if you need any help then please email me.

thank you