Topic: breakthrough for 2011

[Derek Dansak]

Hi , thought i would start a new thread for people to add individual breakthroughs or even just odd unexplained findings that could be relevant to achieving the illusive taste.

Here is my highlight of the year.

1) i made a simple traditional curry with generous amounts of tumeric, coriander powder and cumin. and the other usual ingredients, + half tin tomatoes and onion. THEN ADDED DOUBLE THE AMOUNT OF UNCOOKED CHICKEN BREAST.
2) put the slow cooker on for 9 hours.
3) the curry was average , the chicken was suculent and melt in your mouth.
4) However when i came back the following night , re heated the curry in the slow cooker for 1 hour, the curry
was completely different. It had improved 10 fold.
5) It was like a completley different curry than i had the night before.
6) The taste had some of the characteristics of that deep savouy taste of a good bir curry.
7) In 4 years of cooking it stood out as the only curry that came anywhere near that savoury taste a bir curry has.
To me this is a major new line of enquiry. I need to transfer this taste to my bir style curries.
9) It must be due to the chicken juices and the spices relaxing and mellowing overnight. .

[Peripatetic Phil]

4) However when i came back the following night , re heated the curry in the slow cooker for 1 hour, the curry
was completely different. It had improved 10 fold.

Agreed.  A curry on day 2, or even day 3, is often better (more mellow, more rounded, less edgy) than the same curry on day 1.  After that, I think they start to go downhill.

My breakthrough ?  Basmati rice doesn't need washing in order to make perfect pulao rice [1] : bhoon the spices in a little ghee, bhoon some onion, bhoon the rice, then into the microwave oven in a Pyrex casserole with just the right amount of water for 12 mins @ 100%, 20 mins @ 20%, and as long as you like at 10% or in an 80C oven.

** Phil.
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[1] Technique learned from Dave Loyden's Undercover Curry  -- thanks, Dave !

[Stephen Lindsay]

My breakthrough is modest but I've made more curries this year than in the previous three years, averaging several curries three to four times per week for me and my friends. Improvement has been astounding and the most dominant outcome has been that of consistency.

[curryhell]

Well done for starting this thread DD.  It's certainly made me rack my brains  :.  If all regular contributors on this site come up with something, I am sure all of us will discover a golden nugget to take from it.  It may not provide the Eureka moment for all, hopefully for some, but we will all be producing better dishes as a result.

Breakthrough 1

For the last year I've been regularly knocking out 3 to 4 curries, 3 to 5 times per week. My curries have never tasted better and I am reminded of Bruce Edward's last post - this site has everything you need - crack on and get cooking!

And how true this is.  We are all guilty of it  .  Even when the answers are right under our noses, we ignore the obvious or it takes ages for the penny to eventually drop.

Breakthrough 2
I'm guilty of the above.  .  It wasn't until i tried the method in the following thread for precooking veg that i was able to realise the moreish taste that i love in a well cooked bombay aloo  : http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=5537.msg54474#msg54474
This produces absolutely top notch results when combined with a good bombay aloo recipe like Solarsplace's.

Breakthrough 3
The discovery of Asian bay leaves.  How can something something so simple be overlooked?   I managed it and wondered what everybody was on about till i found them in my local asian store.  These little blighters really do provide a different taste, very noticeable in pilau rice, and have an intense aroma compared to the poor european relation.

Breakthrough 4
This is yet to come but i am sure i will glean something when i look at the differences (and they are only slight and i believe turmeric has something to do with it) between the above method and one that i posted and used regularly http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=5568.msg54512#msg54512.

I will keep you posted when this comes .

I look forward to reading this thread as it develops since it has so much potential for us all

[Peripatetic Phil]

It's quite ironic really that I can use Phil's breakthrough as an example of this, no criticism intended but this does serve as a perfect example to us all  .  We all know that Phil is very knowledgeable of the subject of BIR cooking, is very meticulous and always takes a very analytical approach to problems and questions.  This breakthrough was already on the site just waiting to be used.  There are several threads, some early in CR0's beginning, where this gem is there for all to see: http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=2233.0. 

If I failed to cite prior art, CH, I sincerely apologise.  All I can say in mitigation is that I can find no mention in the thread that you cite (above) about dry-drying the rice (I have read it three times, just to make sure), and in relation to our own exchange :

Even in an exchange Phil and I had earlier in the year, I mentioned my method of cooking rice in this thread:   http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=5779.msg57599#msg57599. 

you will, I am sure, agree that your own message saying you do just that was /in response/ to my acknowledging that I got the technique from Undercover Curry, and therefore it was reasonable for me to continue to cite Dave Loyden as my original inspiration for using this technique (which saves me 15 minutes work, on average !).

** Phil.

[curryhell]

you will, I am sure, agree that your own message saying you do just that was /in response/ to my acknowledging that I got the technique from Undercover Curry, and therefore it was reasonable for me to continue to cite Dave Loyden as my original inspiration for using this technique (which saves me 15 minutes work, on average !).

** Phil.

I stand corrected Phil.  You are indeed right.  This was post your rice nightmare days ;D.  Maybe Ast's thread was not the best to quote but the inference is there, of the oil in the cooking process.  Maybe this one would have been better http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=396.0 and there are several others, some buried in other less obvious topics.  My point still being of how easy it is to overlook a crucial method or technique in our search to perfect our dishes which already exists on the site, not to make a personal attack on yourself.  I have now edited the post to ensure i'm not responsible for it going further off topic 

[Peripatetic Phil]

My point still being of how easy it is to overlook a crucial method or technique in our search to perfect our dishes which already exists on the site, not to make a personal attack on yourself.

No offence meant, and none taken    But in defining our personal breakthroughs for 2011, I do think that what Derek had in mind was a stress on /personal/ -- that is, even if the site is laden with references to (say) bhooning the spices and then quenching them before they burn, it is still a personal breakthrough for a member if he/she tried that technique and discovers that it does indeed work (as was the case for me, with the 10-second technique for peeling a whole head of garlic).  So, prior art or not, let's not be too reticent about recording our own personal breakthroughs : if each of us learns just one tip from the thread, it will surely be worthwhile, will it not ?

** Phil.

P.S. Even the new thread that you cite contains, prominent in the very first post, "The rice also has to be thoroughly washed".  This is the received wisdom that I am seeking to challenge -- after all, I have probably wasted several days of my life doing nothing but wash basmati rice, so if I can save just one member that many days I will have done my bit by way of energy conservation !

[curryhell]

P.S. Even the new thread that you cite contains, prominent in the very first post, "The rice also has to be thoroughly washed".  This is the received wisdom that I am seeking to challenge -- after all, I have probably wasted several days of my life doing nothing but wash basmati rice, so if I can save just one member that many days I will have done my bit by way of energy conservation !

You don't have to convince me of this Phil.  I totally agree with you.  I never have and never will wash rice or soak it (other than one recipe i have said i will try just out of curiosity  ).  I get perfect results everytime without this unnecessary process.  Like they're really going to do this in a  BIR kitchen    ;D.  Madmatt was a rice washer until he tried my recipe and he too is now converted to the "no wash and dry fry" method.  Not sure everybody will agree on this though ;D. In fact i'm sure some will positively disagree :.

[Derek Dansak]

Interesting to hear about all your discoveries. What is bhooning?  i assume you mean the technique associated to bhuna dishes, where you reduce the sauce down and fry spices in the remaining oil?  or do you mean something i have missed?   

[Peripatetic Phil]

Interesting to hear about all your discoveries. What is bhooning?  i assume you mean the technique associated to bhuna dishes, where you reduce the sauce down and fry spices in the remaining oil?  or do you mean something i have missed?

This is a very important question, not least because the exact meaning (and spelling) of the word has been a recent discussion topic, and also because the word is now being used in at least three threads.  Let me try to explain what I mean by "bhooning/bhuning", and invite others to do likewise.

For me, bhooning is a process of gentle cooking in ghee or oil; I "bhoon" my spices as the first step, to extract the essential oils from them, and then add something containing water to prevent the spices from burning. This last may be (for example) dilute tomato puree, or base sauce, or it may be chopped onions.  Regardless of what it is, it will limit the temperature and thus prevent the spices from burning.  In a bhuna dish, the same process takes place (it is from the technique that the dish gets its name), but the specific target there is to prevent the dish from becoming too wet, so the amount of liquid added is significantly less than it might be for (say) a Madras.

The following excerpts are from another forum, but they convey exactly the idea I am trying to convey :

But when you bhoon the spices first, then add keema , the keema immediately takes on the colour of the spices and together they all get bhooned for a bit ... hence the keema will not turn dark brown color ... rather it will be a lighter shade of brown and more towards either reddish ( due to tomatoes) or yellow ( due to turmeric )

Oh, and one more thing with keema ... if you over-bhoon it , you will see that it turns more and more brown ... and won't taste as good ... hence you just have to bhoon it enough to cook it , not to burn the nutrients in keema ... In my experience 20 minutes of high heat bhoon is enough for keema ... and then another 20 minutes of covered cooking on lowest fire setting ... that helps cook it within, without burning the nutrients ... Result : tasty keema with perfect yellowish colour rather then dark brown colored dish...

Note that the writer speaks also of "high heat bhoon", so it may be that my own definition is too limited.

Sabiha's kitchen also speaks of "dry bhuning", extended the meaning ever further :

Bhun (Dry)

Bhun is a Hindi/Urdu word for a cooking stage and the concept can be dry or wet. Dry bhun is the process of dry roasting. To dry roast spices, heat a griddle or frying pan to medium hot, add the spices e.g cumin, dry coriander, cloves etc, stir them until they begin to jump and give off a