Topic: Just got my Kushi Balti Book!

[pete]

Hi YF
        Yes you are right
Fresh is the word
This chap has been cooking since the 70's
So he must know the whole business inside out
He could easily write another book on ordinairy curry houses

[Yellow Fingers]

He could easily write another book on ordinairy curry houses

Wouldn't that be nice.?

Maybe next Christmas?

[George]

This chap has been cooking since the 70's
So he must know the whole business inside out
He could easily write another book on ordinairy curry houses

Pete

I'm sure you're right. I hope the chef doesn't come in for too much stick here or anywhere else after he's been good enough to let the book buyers into many/most/almost all of his secrets. From what you say, I'm sure it's sincere and it's unlikely to make him rich. More like a public service. After what you say, I'm now more likely to purchase the book, even before anyone here has tried any of the recipes.

A few weeks ago, I e-mailed them on the question of whether the book covered standard curry house fare (which it appears to) and, moreover, whether there was a different angle of flavour, given it's a balti house. There was an initial reply from Andy and a promise of more info once he'd spoken to the chef, but I never heard any more.

Regards
George

[raygraham]

And don't forget folks the Kushi website has a help and support section where it claims queries will be answered.
Hopefully some of the additional questions thrown up on this site might get resolved if they are directed to the Kushi site??
May be worth a try! My first question to them is to give me a recipe for Jalfrezi which isn't in the book.

Ray

[George]

And don't forget folks the Kushi website has a help and support section where it claims queries will be answered.

That's where my question  was sent. It was never answered.

Regards
George

[pete]

I tried every recipe I could find to try to achieve the taste and smell of bought curries.

I followed the "cracked it" post by Mark J
When I made a curry, using the excess oil from the dave smith's base, it smelt exactly like a bhunna curry I bought to compare.
Not similar, but exact
The aroma comes from the old oil and spice mix
I used ordinairy veg oil, I've not tried ground nut oil yet

[grimmo]

Sorry if this is asking the obvious but in not resusing oil does that you mean you guys are expecting these dishes not to have the taste? Presumably the restaurant dishes do so that leads to the question of how they achieve it?

[slimboyfat]

Well i have sent them the question below...

Hi,
 
 
I have now received my copy of the book and have a question in a few of the recipes you make reference to "curry powder" and "garam masala" which brands do you use or do you make/mix your own ??

[Yellow Fingers]

hi slimboyfat

You could also have asked about the ground black cardamom and ground green cardamom in the masala recipe. Do they mean seeds or the whole thing? I dunno!

[Yellow Fingers]

I followed the "cracked it" post by Mark J

Pete, I've been doing this well before MarkJ posted his results, but it didn't produce the smell or taste for me so I never posted on it.

Most recently I made a KD base, made several curries and added the oil scooped off them into my spice oil pot. Each time I made a curry I reused this oil. When I got down to about 1 portions worth of base left I made a Bruce Edwards base using the oil from my spiced oil pot. When cooked, I added this to the portion of KD base I had left. This then became my new base and the oil scooped of this combination my new spiced oil. It smells and tastes nice, but it is nowhere near the overpowering smell I am used to from restaurant curries.

I just don't know where I'm going wrong. It's very frustrating.

I'm seriously beginning to believe that we may be after a different smell and perhaps taste?

Just as an example, if I have a curry from a curry house and leave the plate with some of the oil on it overnight, the next day you just have to have a sniff, not too close to the plate, and the smell immediately hits you. With my curries there is a distinct curry smell doing the same test, but it isn't the same smell, and I have to really get my nose close to the plate to smell it.