vegetable byriani demo (leave it to the professionals)

[pete]

I have seen a veg byriani demo
And what can I say?
These chefs are absolutely amazing and there is no way you could copy this as well as they do it
Listen to this:-

Vegetable Byriani

This is an odd curry, made in two stages
A sauce, and a sauce mixed with cooked Pillau rice, in a wok
The sauce with the Pillau rice is almost identical to the first sauce

The sauce

Ingredients:-
4 tablespoons curry gravy oil
2 desertspoons of runny ginger garlic puree
1 desertspoon tomato puree (slightly watered)
1 ? dessertspoon spice mix (turmeric,paprika,madras curry powder,,coriander & cumin)
? teaspoon chilli powder
? teaspoon salt
1 ladle of curry gravy
1 tablespoon frozen peas
1 tablespoon cooked chick peas
?  portion of precooked veg
1 tablespoon fresh coriander
1 tablespoon dried fenugreek

Heat the oil for a couple of minutes
Add the garlic ginger, tomato puree, salt, chilli powder and spice mix
Cook a couple of minutes and reduce down
Add a little curry gravy (a couple of dessertspoons)
Cook and dry the mix
Add the peas and stir a minute
Add the chick peas
Cook another five minutes
Then add the precooked veg and the rest of the curry gravy, fresh coriander and dried fenugreek
Cook until fairly dry

This is the second sauce which goes with the rice
It is almost the same

The second sauce

Ingredients:-
4 tablespoons curry gravy oil
2 tablespoons of finely chopped garlic & ginger
2 desertspoons of runny ginger garlic puree
1 desertspoon tomato puree (slightly watered)
1 ? dessertspoon spice mix (turmeric,paprika,madras curry powder,,coriander & cumin)
? teaspoon salt
2 desertspoons fresh chopped onion
1 ladle of curry gravy
?  portion of precooked veg
1 tablespoon fresh coriander
1 tablespoon dried fenugreek
2 dessertspoons of curry gravy oil
1 portion of precooked Pillau rice

Heat the oil for a couple of minutes
Add the chopped garlic ginger
Fry for a couple of minutes the add the garlic ginger puree, tomato puree, fresh onion, salt and spice mix
Cook a couple of minutes and reduce down
Add a little curry gravy (a couple of dessertspoons)
Cook and dry the mix
Add the precooked veg and a little curry gravy, fresh coriander and dried fenugreek
Cook until nearly dry

In a wok heat two dessertspoons of curry gravy oil for two minutes
Stir fry the rice for a couple minutes
Add the second sauce and mix well
Heat right through
In another pan, fry a one egg omelete
Pour rice mix into a carton with the omelette on top
Pour the first sauce into another carton
Serve

I think this only cost ?6 and the kitchen would be totalled, if you did it at home
It's a lovely meal and I'm sticking to buying it
Fantastic!!

[Yousef]

Pete,

I think this only cost ?6 and the kitchen would be totalled

That made me laugh sometimes my kitchen is like a nightmare after i have been let loose on a curry.

Overall another excellent post, i think you are correct there are just some dishes that should be left to the professionals.

Stew

[George]

I have seen a veg byriani demo. And what can I say? These chefs are absolutely amazing and there is no way you could copy this as well as they do it. Listen to this:-
This is an odd curry, made in two stages...I think this only cost ?6 and the kitchen would be totalled, if you did it at home. It's a lovely meal and I'm sticking to buying it

Pete

It's very good of you to report your findings. I can't wait to try these recipes. Why do you say it's an odd curry, though? I look at the normal BIR biryani as two completely separate dishes served together, with only a traditional link between them. Rather like Yorkshire Pudding is often served with roast beef, a vegetable curry is often served with a BIR biryani.

Why, also, do you think these two dishes would be impossible to copy at home, let alone the kitchen being 'totalled'? If they can cook it, so can we!

Regards
George

[pete]

Hi George
               I think it odd, because you almost prepare the same recipe in two pans.
When I saw it done, the chef was a blur of activity
It was high speed cooking!
He eventually used three pans for one meal
It's mainly the mess, why I wouldn't make it at home, but I was gobsmacked by the professionalism of the cook
It was like watching some olympian cooking champion

[extrahotchillie]

This looks like a hell of a lot of work, the prep time alone would make most people give up, somebody is gonna have to try this for sure. Just think of the look on the people you invite around for a meal if this was cooked for them.

Looks like the wife is gonna be annoyed at the state of the old kitchen again. When I get around to it I will post the pictures successful or not.

[George]

Sorry guys, but I still can't see what's different between biryani preparation  and any other two curries in a BIR kitchen in terms of effort, skill and the potential for domestic mess. Pete's recipe is very interesting for me because it pretty much fits what I saw when I bought some biryanis a few months back.

The speed of preparation is always lightening fast for any dish, so what's so special about these? Sure, there are two dishes to prepare but that's no different to ordering or preparing any other two dishes, eg CTM, sag aloo and pilau rice. That would be three dishes and three pans. The low-ish cost of a biryani reflects the fact that the BIRs don't consider it a huge task.

Regards
George

[pete]

Hi George
                 I saw a vindaloo made too
A splash of curry oil goes into the pan, and is heated
A spoon of tomato puree, a spoon of garlic ginger and a spoon of spice followed
Stir for a couple of minutes
In goes the curry gravy, then in goes the precooked ingredients
Job done!
That's what I call an easy meal
(It took less time to type as well)
You do that recipe at home, and it won't be the same
All the meals I have had, from this takeaway, always taste fantastic too
Maybe it's just me, but sometimes when I have totalled the kitchen, I really think is it worth it?
The takeaways I buy,are always superb, and mine frequently, aren't quite as good.
Everyone tells me, they are the same quality, but I don't think so
I sometimes spend three hours making a couple of dishes
The curry gravy takes about an hour and a half, on it's own
The precooked ingredients about an hour too.
I always wanted to get the exact same result, and I just don't believe it possible.
I have been very persuasive and got to see a lot of meals prepared
Honestly, there are no special ingredients
There are no secrets either
It's simply working on a bigger scale, with professional gas cookers used by very skilled chefs
I love to cook curries still, but my goal is no ,longer the same.
I am happy to buy one and cook one too
That way, I get best of both worlds
(including a pleasant chat with the takeaway staff)

[extrahotchillie]

Have somebody to cook a curry for you, using your recipe , I bet you wont be disappointed, somehow when someone else cooks for you it just tastes better.

[pete]

Hi extrahotchillie
                           I think that pobably is it
Sometimes I freeze my curries, and when I reheat them, some seem incredibly good
Thanks

[George]

Pete

I agree with you about the hassle, time and effort to prepare any BIR dish at home, rather than spend a few ?s at the local BIR. It's disappointing to hear that you still don't consider you've cracked it in terms of matching the ultimate quality and taste of their dishes. I wouldn't say I have either. How about other members?

Regards
George