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Author Topic: The life of Oil in a BIR  (read 3,433 times)

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The discussion revolves around the use and lifecycle of oil in British Indian Restaurants (BIR), particularly focusing on how oil contributes to the flavor and appearance of dishes. Participants share their experiences and thoughts on whether BIRs recycle oil, the impact of using fresh versus reclaimed oil, and methods to achieve the desired "BIR taste" without a professional gas setup. A consensus emerges that reclaiming oil can enhance flavor, and several members plan to experiment with this technique in their cooking.

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Offline JerryM

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The life of Oil in a BIR
« on: September 10, 2008, 09:00 PM »

BIR oil is really bugging me.

does anyone know any parts of the life of oil from going in through the door at BIR to leaving?

we already know a lot but i feel a few bits of the jig saw are missing

1) oil is used in the base and also for frying the spices when cooking the dishes
2) some of the oil leaves in the dish and is predominantly red but leaves a yellow mark (turmeric)
3) some oil leaves as waste oil (this is not red and looks more like chip pan oil)
4) chefs put surplus oil from dishes back into the pot

i'm thinking along the lines of:

1) what oil is used to fry the dish - does the red colour in the final dish come from the base or the frying of the spices in the dish or both
2) as the base is kept warm during opening hrs the oil will rise to the surface unless the pot is stirred - is the pot stirred now and again (to keep the oil in the sauce) or does the ladle take some oil on the surface with it as it's lifted from the pot.
3) how is the intensity of the oil taste produced - is it the amount of spice used or some form of recycling

any thoughts appreciated
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Offline joshallen2k

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Re: The life of Oil in a BIR
« Reply #1 on: September 11, 2008, 12:20 AM »
That's one worth asking a BIR chef. I don't think they'd be too put off to explain... as long as you acknowledge up front that "recycling" to one degree or another may be common practice, and key to the taste.
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Offline JerryM

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Re: The life of Oil in a BIR
« Reply #2 on: September 11, 2008, 07:24 AM »
in my fav TA they take it from an old tin of tower puree (still on the shopping list). the trouble is i've not taken notice before of what it looks like. need other views to make sure i've not going barking mad.
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Offline Derek Dansak

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Re: The life of Oil in a BIR
« Reply #3 on: September 17, 2008, 12:38 PM »
i cant swear by this, but i am sure i asked my local bir if they recycle oil and he said no. the madras i saw cooked definately had fresh yellow veg oil in it. they did use oil from the deep fryer for the balti dish though. that oil has lumps of green pepper, onion, popadoms fried in it. is there not a quick way to make reasonable spiced oil ?
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Offline JerryM

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Re: The life of Oil in a BIR
« Reply #4 on: September 17, 2008, 04:40 PM »
Interesting your man uses fresh oil. so does the saffron. the trouble is i don't get anywhere near the same result "BIR taste" using fresh oil c/w reclaimed.

the frying trial conclusion to NOT fry the spices in just oil ie needs free water (in the puree) may be the answer and i intend to try on the next base.

on the next base i'm going to reclaim oil before blending as it is very easy to do at this point and see if i get the same result overall - that would solve the issue for me irrespective of BIR practise.

i have an interesting little number in the fridge (125ml of fresh oil and 155gm of spice). i'm surprised how much taste the oil has taken on in 24hrs. i'm keeping going until the w/e when i'm aiming to make next base.

the only difficulty in making the spice oil this way is i'm not sure (don't think) the whole spices that i feel crucial in the oil (ie cardamom, bay and anis) will infuse without heat and then you're back to making it in the base.

oil from the fryer in the balti though - that sounds real bad to me being of balti origin.

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Offline Derek Dansak

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Re: The life of Oil in a BIR
« Reply #5 on: September 18, 2008, 09:32 AM »
i am now thinking that without the full bir gas cooker setup, we need a 'workaround ' method to achieve the taste. perhaps the reclaimed oil will be a winner. would the oil from the standard safron base recipe be adequate?
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Offline JerryM

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Re: The life of Oil in a BIR
« Reply #6 on: September 18, 2008, 05:40 PM »
i'm still not convinced on the need for the gas setup (following the oil/spice trials) - i need to cook again but i felt there is some mileage in adding water to the tom puree and adding it to the spice mix and frying the lot together - going to try out on the next base.

the saffron is spot on for oil reclaim - it got me going on it in the 1st place as i felt the as spec oil to be too much for the vol of base (after making it quite a few times). the only further thing about the oil reclaim is that it needs to go through at least 2 cycles before it gets to the right intensity. taking it from the 1st base and using it definitely gives good improvement but it?s only when u put the leftover oil into the next base that it matures.

i'm going to try to reclaim before i blend on the next base - this would be much easier than the current method from malacara https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=2684.msg23835#msg23835 which has served me well. i aim to reclaim about 300ml per base and therefore put in 500ml (of which 150 is leftover from the last base)
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