Topic: Another book

[jb]

Found this....

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005GLEQDU/ref=s9_simh_gw_p351_d0_g351_i1?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1AT5ZSMN4FFVZM78K2YG&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=467128533&pf_rd_i=468294

Probably nothing new but then again I think the wife will moan if I get yet another curry book!!

[solarsplace]

Hi JB

Read a couple of reviews, and it unfortunately does not sound very promising

Quote from one reviewer:

I made the Tikka Masala and followed it to the letter. The main problem with this book is lack of any base curry sauce which is essential in BIR curry. Instead most use a puree of onion. I was sceptical but carried on with an open mind. Unfortunately the curry was extremely dry as you would expect without any sauce and just spices.

Cheers

[Whandsy]

I bought it as it was cheap, but the processes were different to what we all associate with BIR so haven't made anything

That's not to say the results don't taste good though

W

[George]

Read a couple of reviews, and it unfortunately does not sound very promising
Quote from one reviewer:

I made the Tikka Masala and followed it to the letter. The main problem with this book is lack of any base curry sauce which is essential in BIR curry. Instead most use a puree of onion. I was sceptical but carried on with an open mind. Unfortunately the curry was extremely dry as you would expect without any sauce and just spices.

I'm sorry to say it's what I've come to expect of you - a near total distortion and misrepresentation of the apparent facts. Amazon shows 10 reviews on 5 stars, 1 on 4 stars and 1 on 2 stars.  So you took a quote from the one on 2 stars!


POST CHECKLIST:
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[solarsplace]

Read a couple of reviews, and it unfortunately does not sound very promising
Quote from one reviewer:

I made the Tikka Masala and followed it to the letter. The main problem with this book is lack of any base curry sauce which is essential in BIR curry. Instead most use a puree of onion. I was sceptical but carried on with an open mind. Unfortunately the curry was extremely dry as you would expect without any sauce and just spices.

I'm sorry to say it's what I've come to expect of you - a near total distortion and misrepresentation of the apparent facts. Amazon shows 10 reviews on 5 stars, 1 on 4 stars and 1 on 2 stars.  So you took a quote from the one on 2 stars!


POST CHECKLIST:
Could this post be construed as negative? - yes - pass
Is it potentially helpful? - yes - pass

Stop bullying me George.

This is not your forum.

You have gone out of your way to troll in this instance. You were actively looking for a way to attack me.

Leave me alone now.

[Salvador Dhali]

I bought it as it was cheap, but the processes were different to what we all associate with BIR so haven't made anything

That's not to say the results don't taste good though

W

Thirty years ago I'd have bought this without thinking!

I'm not one to put something down until I've tried it - but I've already been down the onion puree road many years ago and it didn't lead to a very pleasant place (for me, anyway).

Not to say that there's no place for it; indeed, many traditional Indian dishes call for either a boiled or fried onion paste (some require both), but this will just be part of a recipe that produces a curry with a gravy (either yogurt based, for the likes of korma and pasanda, or tomato based, for basic lamb and chicken curries).

Still, as you say, Whandsy, it's cheap (77p for the Kindle version), so worth checking out.

Let us know how you get on with it. Often useful gems of information can come when you least expect them.

 

[Stephen Lindsay]

Would the Kindle edition be readable by a Sony e-reader?

[chriswg]

Read a couple of reviews, and it unfortunately does not sound very promising
Quote from one reviewer:

I made the Tikka Masala and followed it to the letter. The main problem with this book is lack of any base curry sauce which is essential in BIR curry. Instead most use a puree of onion. I was sceptical but carried on with an open mind. Unfortunately the curry was extremely dry as you would expect without any sauce and just spices.

I'm sorry to say it's what I've come to expect of you - a near total distortion and misrepresentation of the apparent facts. Amazon shows 10 reviews on 5 stars, 1 on 4 stars and 1 on 2 stars.  So you took a quote from the one on 2 stars!


POST CHECKLIST:
Could this post be construed as negative? - yes - pass
Is it potentially helpful? - yes - pass

As I assume you knew that the important part of Solars quote was the bit about using an onion puree as opposed to a base sauce. Assuming the guy has >10 friends there is a good chance a lot of the 5 star reviews are from them. The negative reviews usually give a lot more useful information than positive ones.

[George]

Would the Kindle edition be readable by a Sony e-reader?

I just downloaded the free Kindle reader for PC from amazon.co.uk and it seems to work well. I then paid 77p for the Indian book and have just had a first glimpse. The author's writing style is quite pleasant and the recipes are a fair bit different to any on here, so I don't know what that tells us. Perhaps the 2 star review was the most objective, after all!

All I know is that for 77p one can't go far wrong, which is probably the strategy behind the book. I may get my money's worth from various tips and ideas, rather than from any one recipe.

[George]

As I assume you knew that the important part of Solars quote was the bit about using an onion puree as opposed to a base sauce. Assuming the guy has >10 friends there is a good chance a lot of the 5 star reviews are from them. The negative reviews usually give a lot more useful information than positive ones.

You might be right. Perhaps I was in too much of a hurry to 'get my own back' on SS. Indeed, most of the recipes do rely on cooking one or two onions for a while and then pureeing it to form something like the expected texture of a BIR curry. It means non-use of garlic, ginger, green pepper or any other ingredients commonly found in BIR base sauces. I often make a 'one dish' base sauce myself, at the time of cooking the meal, but I add in the garlic, ginger, green pepper, etc before pureeing it. I'm not confident that using only an onion would be anywhere near as good. The author seems to know a bit about BIR cooking but why/how would he get it so wrong, if indeed he has.