Topic: New BIR e-book, by Dan Toombs

[natterjak]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0096X3S4M/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_ask_ypCIE.0RG48BY

Anyone read this, care to add a review here.? Just wondering if it's worth getting. Would be interested to know if the recipes are distinctly different to anything published on the forums.

[Unclefrank]

Here is his website http://www.greatcurryrecipes.net/

[StoneCut]

Thanks for the tip. I bought this and will let you know what I think of it personally once I get a chance to take a look at it (currently at work).

[currylover40]

Is there a base gravy recipe in his book, seen a video of his making a curry and the base looked really thick, not soup like consistency as most recommend.
Thanks

[StoneCut]

Yes, there's a "Curry Base Sauce" in the book. It looks similar to most other base sauces (judging by the ingredients). Notable "oddities" would be the inclusion of some cabbage and red/green capsicum.

[natterjak]

Cabbage is a feature of chewy's base. 

[StoneCut]

Yes, there are some others that feature cabbage, too, I was just saying what's "special" about it (in some way).

Having now read most of the book I guess I can comment on it - even if I'm nowhere near the expert as others on this forum.


Ok, here's my little mini-review:

You can tell that the book was written over a period of time because for some chapters the author will say something like "here are 4 recipes" but then there are 6 included. He also changes the story about how things (such as how Vindaloo) came to be multiple times - the story's a bit different if it's a Chicken Vindaloo, Lamb Vindaloo and so on. But those are just details. Too bad, though, because I usually enjoy the background stories the most and they seem inconsistent.

The recipes mostly appear to be proper BIR style, even though some ingredients may be more typical for traditional Indian cuisine (such as Asafoetida). In general I'd call the book a mix of Traditional and real BIR recipes - the author points out the same in the foreword, too.

I personally enjoyed reading the starters, pickles and fish curry recipes most - simply because I don't have many recipes for that sort of stuff yet. One chapter that did not seem very good (judging by the pictures) is the "Breads" one - none of them look very good except for the Dosas, which are most interesting to me, anyway. The recipes and the methods in the "rice" chapter also seem very familiar, but I guess there are only a certain amount of ways to do something.

There are some little tips hidden in between the recipes. For example, the author's kids loved the poppadom dip in one of their local restaurants very much and he couldn't figure out what it was. On a slow day, the chef invited him to the kitchen to make a Patia curry (which he hadn't had before) and it turns out that it's the Patia sauce his kids were having the whole time.

One of the things I picked up from the book is that Amchoor (mango powder) is often used as a souring agent (instead of lemon juice, for example) - I think this might be a good ingredient for Vindaloo then. Not sure how BIR that is, though ...

All in all - without trying any of the recipes yet - I find this book a pretty solid BIR collection, but I wouldn't say that there are any new "revelations" in it per se. So far, I'd rate along with C2G's or CBM's books (which are both pretty good!)

For what it's worth - here's the table of contents. If anyone's interested I can probably post a recipe or two as teasers but the book's cheap enough to just buy it, in my humble opinion.

Since I currently don't have any more curry base prepared and don't feel like shopping I will either make a channa or the tandoori aloo recipe from this (or another book) for dinner.

About This Book
Curry Essentials
   Purchasing Ingredients
   A Word About Spices
   Dry Spice Checklist
   Fresh Ingredients checklist
   Garlic, Ginger and Chili Pastes
   Curry Powder
   Tandoori Masala
   Garam Masala
   The Basic Curry Sauce
   Onion Sauce
   Pre-cooked chicken
   Pre-cooked meat
Essential Blends
   Garlic, Ginger and Fresh Chili Pastes
   Curry Powder (spice mix)
   Tandoori Masala (spice mix)
   Garam Masala
   How To Make My BIR Curry Sauce
   ONION SAUCE
   Pre-Cooked Chicken & Meat
Starters
   Homemade Poppadams
   Onion Bhajis
   Fish Pakora
   Lamb Samosas
   Crab Samosas
   Prawn Puris
   Seekh Kebabs
Dhals
   Moong Dhal
   Chana Dhal
   Tarka Dhal
   Black Lentil Dhal
Pickles and Chutneys
   Lime Pickle
   Mango Pickle
   Tamarind Chutney
   Coriander Chutney
   Onion Chutney
Tandoori Dishes
   Tandoori Chicken
   Tandoori Sea Bass
   Tandoori Cod
   Tandoori Salmon
   Tandoori Lamb Patties
   Tandoori Aloo (Potatoes)
CHICKEN CURRY RECIPES
   Chicken Chilli Garlic
   Chicken Dhansak
   Chicken Do Piazza
   Chicken Jalfrezi
   Chicken Korma
   Chicken Madras
   Chicken Patia
   Chicken Tikka Masala
   Chicken Saagwala
LAMB CURRY RECIPES
   Lamb Bhuna
   Lamb and Chickpea
   Lamb Do Piazza
   Lamb Madras
   Lamb Rogan Josh
   Lamb Saagwala
   Lamb Vindaloo
   Lamb Keema
   Mutton or Lamb Biryani
FISH AND SHELLFISH
   Monkfish Curry
   Prawn Bhuna
   Prawn Jalfrezi
   White Fish Jalfrezi
VEGETABLE DISHES
   Saag Paneer
   Saag Aloo
   Bombay Aloo
   Stuffed Brinjal Masala
BREAD RECIPES
   Chapati Breads
   Puris
   Pan Cooked Naans
   Baked Naans
   Dosas
RICE RECIPES
   Perfect White Rice
   Lemon and Saffron Rice
   Rice Pilau

[natterjak]

 Thanks Stonecut. Does the dhansak have pineapple in it?

[StoneCut]

He says that most restaurants include pineapple in their dhansak - he doesn't like it but his daughter does, so he made them optional (juice and fruit).

[Peripatetic Phil]

The recipes mostly appear to be proper BIR style, even though some ingredients may be more typical for traditional Indian cuisine (such as Asafoetida).

I' had always thought that hing ("asafoetida") had a role in BIR cuisine, although as far as I know it is normally used only in vegetable dishes (which doesn't stop me from adding a little to a chicken curry when I want that particular flavour), but on checking KD1 and Dave Loyden I see neither make any mention.  KD2 (The New Curry Secret) glosses it but doesn't list it under the essentials.  What do others think ?

** Phil.