Supposedly based on review rankings plus some kind of expert input. I haven't heard of any of these places. Have you?

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/foodanddrink/news/ranked-britain-s-most-delicious-curry-houses/ss-AA1Kjcqb?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=68aefbd7f5ff4b30a2d2d07c1f97dce6&ei=18

The response was not bad but there's no mention of roasted ingredients such as garlic, chillies and some spices.

You
What ingredients give dhansak its special flavour, as served in British Indian restaurants and take aways?

Copilot
Dhansak, a delightful curry often found in British Indian restaurants and takeaways, has a unique flavor profile. Let's explore what makes it special:

Origins and Variations:
The British Indian restaurant (BIR) version of dhansak is inspired by the traditional Parsi dhansak.
Parsi dhansak typically features goat or mutton and is served with brown rice. It also includes a variety of vegetables like pumpkin, aubergine (eggplant), and potato in the sauce1.
In contrast, the curry house-style dhansak is simpler but still retains the sweet and sour essence of the original.

Flavor Components:
Lentils: Dhansak incorporates lentils into the sauce. These lentils contribute to its rich texture and earthy flavor.
Sweetness: To achieve the sweet element, pineapple juice and sometimes actual pineapple pieces are added. The pineapple juice is essential, even if you skip the fruit chunks.
Tartness: Lemon juice and tamarind provide the tartness, balancing the sweetness.
Spices: A blend of spices, including chilli powder, adds depth and warmth to the curry.
Chicken or Meat: While chicken dhansak is popular, the original Parsi version uses goat or mutton.

Cooking Process:
To create an authentic BIR-style chicken dhansak, follow these steps:
Base Curry Sauce: Prepare a base curry sauce (which can be used for various curries) by simmering onions, garlic, ginger, and tomatoes until smooth.
Pre-cook Chicken: Pre-cook the chicken separately to enhance flavor and speed up the final cooking process.
Combine Ingredients: Add lentils, lemon juice, pineapple juice, and spices to the base sauce. Adjust flavors to your liking.

Serve: Pair your chicken dhansak with plain or flavored Basmati rice, naan, chapatis, chutneys, and poppadoms.

Taste Profile:
Chicken dhansak is often served mildly spiced, but you can adjust the heat level by adding more chilli powder.
The flavors are a delightful medley of sweet, tart, and savory notes.
Remember, while the BIR-style dhansak isn't exactly like its Parsi counterpart, it remains a beloved curry with a unique blend of flavors. Enjoy it with friends, family, and perhaps a refreshing beer! 🍛🍍🌶️

From the amusing channel called 'Rate my Takeaway':

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBmxjLnKnik

The food does look good. I'm sure it's a lot better than at Shababs.

Here's a recent quote from an old thread:

Quote from: Peripatetic Phil on July 28, 2023, 09:45 AM

Quote from: livo on July 28, 2023, 12:36 AM
He initially says that he always uses his base after it has been cooled overnight and blended the following day. He goes on to say that he finds it to be at its best on day 3. However, in the follow up comments he says that he wouldn't use the base once it's been cooled and re-heated.

No !  He goes on to say that he "wouldn't do is re-heat blended sauce that has been allowed to cool" — "re-heat", not "use".  Yes, of course, "re-heating" is implicit in "using" but he was writing in the context of mixing one batch of sauce with another, not of cooking a curry.
--
** Phil .

I noticed Phil's comment after planning to reheat roast chicken which I allowed to cool over night (9 hours) in the kitchen at around 20C. So it was at about 20C for way longer than the 2 hours which buffet food is alllowed to be out for, before it has to be discarded. It was then refrigerated for more than 24 hrs. I wouldn't want to risk making a sandwich with the cold chicken. But I aim to make a curry and simmer the chicken in the sauce for at least 20 mins. If any bacteria has started to develop, will 20 mins of simmering be enough to kill it off? Likewise, where's the risk with base sauce if it's been cooled, then reheated?

Google just invited me to try out its experimental AI tool called Bard. They warn it may not always be right. I phrased my first ever question to AI as follows:

"I want to make chicken dhansak which tastes like at a good British Indian restaurant"

The response was as follows. I'm not impressed. I know enough about dhansak to think the suggested recipe would taste nothing like at a BIR. What do you think?


Here is a recipe for chicken dhansak that tastes like it came from a good British Indian restaurant:

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch piece of ginger, minced
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground garam masala
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (14.5 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 (15 ounce) can red lentils, rinsed and drained
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup chopped mint
Instructions:

Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute more.
Stir in the turmeric, cumin, coriander, garam masala, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper. Cook for 30 seconds, or until fragrant.
Add the chicken and cook until browned on all sides.
Stir in the diced tomatoes, chickpeas, lentils, chicken broth, cilantro, and mint. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the lentils are soft and the chicken is cooked through.
Serve over rice or naan.
Tips:

For a richer flavor, use homemade chicken broth instead of store-bought.
If you don't have all of the spices, you can substitute 1 teaspoon of curry powder for the turmeric, cumin, coriander, and garam masala.
Add a splash of heavy cream or yogurt to the curry at the end of cooking for a richer flavor.
Serve with rice or naan.

There is a youtube channel with the same name. The presenter seems well meaning and the recipes look interesting, not that I have tried any yet. So i decided to visit the restaurant itself. I am rating my experience as really bad due to a combination of two factors: (a) sky high prices, and (b) low quality food, taste wise, at least for the single dish I ordered, with pilau rice.

I would have added meat samosas as a starter but not at a cost of £5.50. I may also have ordered saag aloo but regarded the price of £7.50 as extortionate, for a side dish. So I settled for chicken dhansak. It lacked any of the rich flavours found at many BIRs. At least 75% of restaurants would serve a better dhansak, in my opinion.

Very disappointing. It confirms my guess that if a top notch BIR starts a youtube channel it could have potential if the people behind it know how to create fine flavours. But, the other way around, the chances are against it.

I will almost certainly spend the day and entire period alone, like I did last year, in my cold house. And, no, I won't turn the heating on. For the previous three years, kind friends invited me round to join them but Covid put a stop to that. I will cook a traditional meal for myself, based on chicken or turkey. I prepared a similar meal tonight, using frozen vegetables. It's quick, easy and far more tasty than a festive pub roast I had a few days ago. The pub (part of a UK chain) are quoting almost £50 for a meal on Christmas Day and I can't see how the food will be any better than what I had for £14 for a starter and main. The waiting time was so long, they gave me a free pudding, also. So it became 3 courses for £14. I would never go to a pub, restaurant or anywhere for Chistmas lunch. Would you, or have you?

I agree with scientists who urge caution for anyone thinking of parties or get togethers. But the Government are saying there's no restrictions and to have a good time. I think the Government are being a bit irresponsible, given the risk of Covid infection.

I'd think this was good if served in a restaurant. Recommended.

Quote from: terry on February 27, 2020, 12:20 PM
3 Curry Guy cookbooks,Aldi today. 4.99 each.

Now reduced to

The first time I think I came across this dish was at a Sunday buffet in a small town BIR. The slow cooked lamb dish was delicious even though all the other dishes were mediocre. I asked the owner if it could be ordered off the menu mid-week and he said to ask for lamb bhuna. I never did get around to it and have never ordered 'lamb bhuna' because I very much doubt if a speedily cooked bhuna would provide the same depth of flavour. The next time was at a lunch buffet in the middle of Glasgow. The sauce was devine.  Next, I came across Aldi's bhuna (as in my photo) and, when cooked with lamb, it's something like 75% as good as the buffet offerings. This makes it worthy of recommendation in my opinion. Aldi and Lidl offer a range of curry sauces in jars, topped with curry powder in a compartment on top. None of the others which I have tried are anything special.

Quote from: livo on March 10, 2020, 08:25 PM
George, I've never been to the UK. The only knowledge of BIR food is what I make following the recipes and methods on this site and other resources.  I've had plenty of different Korma dishes over the years and one in particular was among the best Indian dishes I've ever eaten. I've never been able to get close to making it.
I've seen Korma recipes that are ridiculously complex and include ingredients like rose water and kewra water, gold leaf, etc. Some I've made tasted like eating flower petals and were not good at all.  I have also made some successful Korma that have been tasty and enjoyable.
I'm not prone to harsh criticism but this one was truly dull. The base gravy was fine and as you described quite acceptable on its own. The unspiced combination of this gravy with pre-cooked chicken (roast), evaporated milk, coconut and nuts (almonds and cashews) was just nothing. The remaining portion is going in the bin today.
MA, if you are basing your assessment of Korma on dishes similar to this, I understand your view. A Korma can be a delicious dish. This wasn't.

Quoted above is one of the few remaining frequenters of this forum's damning assessment of a perfectly good korma recipe, designed to replicate the type of dish served in British Indian restaurants. The recipe was strongly hinted at by Ghanna in 2005 and I provided suggested quantites around the same time. I haven't made the recipe for at least 10 years but I know from my comments back then, that it's certainly half decent.

What can have gone wrong with Livo's attempt? Plenty. I'm quite sure that if I had been there watching, he would have made big mistakes. But some people will be pleased that Livo has now joined the cult of korma haters.

I suggest it is seriously misguided. I never order korma these days but the fact remains it is one of the top sellers in both restaurants and supermarkets. Many people must arrive here in search of a korma recipe but be deterred by a hostile attitude. It's so sad and hardly in the interest of the forum owner who must be seeking to develop the number of active members.

Worrying.  See here:

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/foodnews/people-who-eat-spicy-food-every-day-have-higher-risk-of-dementia-study-warns/ar-AAEKa75

On the 'new management' thread I asked if our new administrator, Tom, might be interested in meeting a few members. As he lives in France, it might be difficult, he said, Then we have three other members who seem interested in the idea, plus myself, of course. So that's:

Gav Iscon
littlechilie
Madrasandy
George

Anyone else? Even if only four of us turn up, that's one more than the last time.,

When? I suggest a Saturday in July but I could do almost any day,

For anyone who can't think of anything worse, please tell us why.

Some BIRs produce naan breads which must be at least 6 times the normal size.

See here: https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g187069-d796464-r116334103-Akbar_s-Manchester_Greater_Manchester_England.html

Do they somehow manage to squeeze them into a tandoor oven are are they cooked flat in some kind of large oven?

Any ideas?

Someone made the sensible suggestion that one reason for some members losing interest in this forum could be if they can make all the dishes they are interested in. That's xertainly not the case for me, Partly out of laziness - failing to put enough effort into my research - I still can't make at least two dishes which were on my priority list as long as 15 years ago. These are:

1.. The vegetable sauce which nearly always accompanies birianis in the UK. I sometimes think it's litle more than base sauce with a few vegetables thrown in, but I can't achieve a flavour as good as most restaurants,

2. Dry style saag aloo which tastes divine even though there's hardly any sign of oil, let alone base sauce.

Can anyone point me to recipes here or elsewhere which could lead me to ticking off these two dishes?

Which dishes do you find most frustrating?

See here:

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/foodanddrink/foodnews/third-of-curry-houses-could-close-as-tough-immigration-rules-block-chefs-coming-to-uk

BIRs are desperate for good chefs. It seems they prefer to bring over chefs from Asia and, now they can't, the restaurants may close.

But a few people on here seem to consider that they can cook to a higher standard than Asian chefs, so what are they waiting for? They could set up new restaurants. I think the individuals concerned may know who they are. Two of them advised another member, recently, to ignore anything I say about cooking curries so they must think they are more capable than I am , for a start. But are they even 20% as capable as an Asian chef? Personally, I doubt it, and I think these peple have over-inflated opinions of themselves.

I shouldn't have left my pack of MDH Deggi Mirch powder imperfectly sealed for so long. As I went to use some this evening, to my surprise, I saw a maggot of some kind crawling around the top of the chilli powder.

On further investigation I found 30 or 40 of the little devils and I cut them all in half. How on earth, though, can such a creature survive in what you'd think is quite a hostile environment? Some of them were burrowing around deep below the surface where the lack of oxygen might be another problem.

When I buy another pack, I will be sure to transfer it to a glass jar, immediately.

Here are the creatures after being cut in half:

I refer specifically to tandoor ovens, purchased for use at home. How essential are they for producing BIR flavours when making tikka and naan bread? I'm not convinced and it reminds me of my interest in hi-fi a few decades ago. The hi-fi magazines would have you believe it was essential to purchase loudspeaker and phono type cables which were hyper expensive due to the materials they claimed were used for better conductivity and sonic excellence. I now reckon it was all hype, aimed at getting gullible people to spend more money.

Tikka can be cooked to perfection using a domesic grill or barbecue.

Naan bread can be cooked perfectly well using the inverted pan method.

Who needs a bulky tandoor, unless you're primarily interested in the theatrics and to impress guests?

Also, aren't there one or two people on here who are linked to tandoor oven suppliers?

Quote from: Les on April 09, 2015, 08:53 AM

Quote from: Graeme on April 08, 2015, 10:59 PM
Why not send George a "PM" then he can post your PM it in the
forum for all to read. Add that to the selected deleted posts
(they won't be in his log)

I stopped posting a while ago because of this guy.

Is it rude George, OR, is it Fact ? A pm is as it say's, a "Private Message"

It's an interesting question. It may be a year or two ago, but I think I must have upset Graeme by copying a PM he'd sent me, to the main forum. I forget the details but I guess the message was a bit negative or something, and I thought I'd let others know about the type of messages that a moderator can receive. I'd never publish a PM which included anything confidential but Graham's message wouldn't have come into that category. Graeme dragged up this footnote of history yesterday, rather than moving on. He even says it's the reason he stopped posting to the forum. How can that be credible? I ask you.

Anyway, I suggest people should not write anything which they'd be ashamed of, if it's showed to others. What do you think? CH has sent me a few messages with elements which are arguably abusive. Should I copy those to this thread or suffer in silence?

I opened this thread rather than de-rail the off-topic thread. It's my response to the accusations in the quotes above. I seldom start criticising people out of nowhere, but I think I'm entitled to respond to accusations and attacks made on me.

I know there are a few people on here who have spent time out in the Middle East, like myself.

One of many fond memories were street outlets selling freshly made fruit juices. My two favourite flavours were lemon and strawberry. The basic approach seemed to be to throw whole fruits with a fair amount of sugar, plus water and ice into a blender. Whizz the whole lot together, pass through a sieve and serve - delicious.

Yesterday, I tried making a lemon drink for the first time. I found a recipe for 'lemonade' which was simply lemon and the other ingredients as above. Most people seemed to rate the recipe highly, but at least one person said it was undrinkable, and they threw the whole batch away. My opinion was that it was a bit 'rough' as in tart, but I drank it all, anyway. The author said it came from a recipe book accompanying a Kenwood blender, and that perhaps the original recipe included egg.

I have various Kenwood mixer booklets and found a recipe which does indeed include egg, so I tried that, this morning. Wow - what a difference the egg makes. It was a lot more drinkable than the recipe without egg. Does anyone know how raw egg ( including the shell!) would work to improve the flavour and overall appeal?

Here's the recipe which I had success with, as adapted very slightly by myself:

(my recipe removed due to copyright concerns)

See the original recipe here:

http://www.kenwoodworld.com/uk/cooking-with-kenwood/recipes/kitchen-machines-recipes/drinks-smoothies-and-cocktails/kenwood-lemonade