Topic: Takeaway visit with answers

[natterjak]

I visited my takeaway tonight after having a good chat with the owner and thought i would post a few findings having  been behind the counter and questioned them. They cooked me a chicken tikka jalfrezi in full view (in fact they allowed me to cook mine but i wanted to see exactly their efforts). whilst cooking i asked lots of questions about topics recently covered.
1) they gave me their recipe for their gravy (the one i use) but mine looks different so i asked for a taste of theirs and they obliged and it was different, theirs was a deeper sweeter flavour and darker in colour. When i pointed this out they opened another pot which was off the stove and similar in colour to mine. They called this their "uncooked gravy" and told me that would go on later to carry on cooking on a low light for the rest of the evening and would go into curries later that night and tomorrow.

Lesson for me - i need to continue cooking the gravy after the blending stage, i have put some pre-made gravy in my slow cooker for the night to see the changes hopefully tomorrow

2) i asked if they use goor / jaggery in the gravy for sweetness and it was no
3) they don't use coconut cream in the base either

4) i asked about their mixed powder and they obligingly gave me a full takeaway carton of it. The takeaway owner again told me about the bangladeshi chef mixing it in secret and he says the chef even tips the remaining powders into jars so none of the other chefs can guess the quantities left in the bag to replicate the mix. He did however tell me they use rajah spices inc curry powder as he buys them not Eastern Star as ifindforu does
5) they had patak jars all over and when questioned use in chicken tikka etc they said it was a definate.

6) i asked about pilau rice and mine being slightly discoloured compared to the takeaways being brilliant white and they said washing the rice 3 or 4 times is a must as its dirty and to use tilda basmati, they also slightly undercook it to allow it to swell slightly when microwaved for when needed.

7) they cook their tomato puree with garlic before allowing to cool to add yet more flavour.

they use fresh oil in curries not reclaimed / spiced oil.

9) the cooking of the curry was no different to what most of us all ready do. It was on a high heat for all the ingredients adding then low for the last 5 mins.(no pataks or manufactured products added at all in cooking)

10) their naan bread dough was with s/r flour and baking powder not yeast and the texture of the premade dough looked like it was of a bakers standard not homemade ie lumpy, wet or oily!
11) when i got home i had the curry and it was fantastic and better than my version of it.

The key for me was their base sauce as i have their mixed powder. Looking forward to checking out my slow cooked base.

I hope this post helps clear up some recent myths in the forum and gets us nearer our dream curry!!!

Really interesting stuff whandsy. I'm wondering about running my next batch of base overnight in my slow cooker (crockpot) post blending, just to see what happens to the flavour. Can't hurt to experiment.

[Razor]

Hi Wayne,

Superb post mate, and an excellent job on 'interergating' the guy ;D

I like the idea of simmering the base for a long time after blending and I did suspect this went on in TA's and BIR's, so i'll be givving that a try.

Many thanks fella,

Ray

[curryhell]

They did however tell me to cook the onions whole for additional sweetness

Oh no, not that one again  ;D ;D

This adition of oil then very slowly cooks through the onions and veg and drastically alters the colour and flavours.

Do they add used oil or fresh??

Look forward to the report on the slowcooked gravy mate.

How on earth can i gently simmer on an electric hob even with a diffuser

[Les]

How on earth can i gently simmer on an electric hob even with a diffuser

CH can you not stick it in the oven on a very low heat,

HS

[Whandsy]

Hi guys

Yes fresh oil was used throughout.
The good thing was they took me through to the back and I was there about an hour so got good rapport going.

What I would say to any of you guys out there that these shop owners are pretty accomodating and it's not the 1st time I've got my hands on a takeaway spicemix. Just ask the guys behind the counter of your local for a sample , if you know them and you tell them you're trying top rustle up a curry for your friends chances are they'll give you a small tub because they think you'll have no clue as to how to use it, whereas you all know better.

Then you can judge the quality of your curry without worrying about "is it the powder"

Good luck!

[curryhell]

How on earth can i gently simmer on an electric hob even with a diffuser

CH can you not stick it in the oven on a very low heat,

HS

This thought had crossed my mind HS.  Bloody electric stoves .  Maybe i'll just have to use the slow cooker and do it in three batches as mine is only small (and the slow cooker  ;D).

[natterjak]

Look forward to the report on the slowcooked gravy mate.

How on earth can i gently simmer on an electric hob even with a diffuser

Get yourself one of these CH! http://www.amazon.co.uk/Morphy-Richards-48715-Cooker-Stainless/dp/B0000C6WH1/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323341962&sr=8-1

[Les]

as mine is only small (and the slow cooker  ;D).

So you friend told me this morning when I left her ;D

HS

[curryhell]

Get yourself one of these CH! http://www.amazon.co.uk/Morphy-Richards-48715-Cooker-Stainless/dp/B0000C6WH1/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323341962&sr=8-1

Already have one but not the juggernaut version like this one ;D.  It's ideal for what i use it for and to buy a beast like this one purely for slow cooking base would seem a little extragant :

[Stephen Lindsay]

I regularly save some curry for the next day when I'm testing new recipies. It helps re sensory overload albeit that the curry will be different due to sitting for that length of time.