As some of you may know, Bengali Bob and I went on a training course that turned out to be a fiasco. The lengthy post that follows is just a review of the training as offered by Muhammed Ali Haydor at Kushi Birmingham, a well reputed BIR/Balti chef and a little bit of story.

Sometime in October 2013, I called Ali (aka Mohammed Ali Haydor, of the

I've been wanting to purchase an all around versatile and high quality knife for sometime. I have a Wusthof chef's knife which is my main knife, but it's not the top of the line. I do need to run it through the AnySharp every second week. It is a very good knife, but I'm finding it somewhat slow for certain tasks.

I'm looking at Amazon to make my purchase and I'm confused about which to pick (but more inclined towards the first link below) aside from the model number and handle colour, I can't spot any other difference between these two knives that justifies the additional

Had 2 guests (my girlfriend's girlfriend) visiting us tonight, so I repeated yesterday's food, with the addition of bombay aloo.

Pre-cooked chicken (viceroy brasserie)


Bombay Potatoes pre-cooking IFFU method


Bombay Potatoes


Chicken Jalfrezi


3x chicken korma portions

I felt the need for something sweet today!

Just as I had the first few bits, I realized a photo of it plated was in order. As usual, mind my food imagery skills

Pilau rice cooked in pressure cooked using my general recipe with added coconut milk, fried shallots and coconut chips.


So far this is curry nirvana for me. I can't wait til I cook my next curry.

Last night's byriani with iffu's tikka


My presentation/photo skills are a work in progress, but I am not really one to care about the looks, so sorry for the more finicky of you!

How many of you follow (or followed) recipes that these media chefs publish through television shows?

I'm wondering, because I have not been very successful with a few "100% to spec" recipes, from Gordon Ramsay, Jamie, etc. and I was wondering what are your thoughts/experiences?

I've never had a pathia and I've only had 2 baltis that I can remember. What is the main features of these curries? What makes a pathia a pathia and a balti a balti?

Thanks! Just trying to branch out into unexplored territory.

What kit are you guys using for recording your curries?  That is, assuming you don't have an camera assistant. I have tried to film myself twice, once with the phone on top of the extractor fan with a heavy deadweight to balance it out and the another time, but I using a bucket of veg. ghee for height and a 5l bottle of veg oil to balance an ipad2 against the microwaves. I got good results with this method, but not quite enough view into the pan I was looking for. So I'm trying to think of creative ways to make a tripod/stand of sorts for cooking my curries instead of buying the existing ones, as I've read reviews these stands are just as flakey. Thoughts?

I got my bay leaf in east end bags, but it appears they are not the indian variety, but the more common one. They are small, quite dry and break easily. I'm looking to buy the indian/west indian version. Does anyone have any good recommendations on where to source these online?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1QEt1r4p-M

As I've generally always stuck to chicken, this is an area where I feel I need to learn more about. What your favorite cuts of beef/lamb and how do you precook them?

Thanks

Curry

Curry houses, like this one at the end of my street, are a proud part of the British establishment.

Curry is a hot and spicy sauce-based dish that was originally invented in Britain. Along with Spaghetti Bolognaise and Chinese Food, it is one of many British dishes that have become a part of Global cuisine. Today it is enjoyed around the world.

There are many kinds of curry, and choosing the right one can often be a confusing and stressful experience.


Korma

Korma comes from the Indian 'kurma' which means 'for her'. Korma was designed for women who were constantly getting taken on dates to curry houses by their spicy food-loving boyfriends. Experienced curry eaters would advise against ordering korma if you are a man, as it is comparable to ordering a J2O in a rough pub. The only exception is when it's part of an all you can eat buffet, where it's essential that you try everything (after all, it's costing you an entire

I bought a lidl pot of coriander and I would like to move it to the backyard to grow it there, but I have no idea how to do it, as I read around here that coriander doesn't like to be moved around, etc.

Any advice?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3YXuiTwHNkw

I managed to find some saffron in a local store in one of those schwartz type mini jars with 5g of saffron threads at 6euro I still got it just to see what's so special about it and thought I'd use it in some pilau rice. My question is, how much would you use for a 3 mug of basmati rice?

is 5g too little or too much?

I'm dying to find a decent ragu/bolognese sauce/enhanced olive oil recipe. Any advice?

Also wondering if anyone knows of any good forum/blogs/[e]books for italian food

Thanks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5-p5R-Uk0c

I would like to make this an official thread for announcements of cookery courses. As I discussed here earlier, I'm attending a lesson with Atul Kochhar at the Dublin Cookery School, in Ireland. It's an evening track of 2.5 hours called "The spice trail", the site description is enclosed below. However, lately I've been thinking that I would like to take an actual course with an actual BIR in UK, so if you do know of any offers in this regard, please post it here and try to include any reviews, to help making a safe decision.

Quote
The essence of good Indian cooking revolves around the use of spices, not only combining them but drawing out several flavours from a single spice - by roasting, grinding or frying.  This course will show you how to use them in different ways, drawing on recipes from different parts of India.  After a short demonstration we will guide you through each step, before moving into the hands-on area, to ensure you can recreate these dishes at home.

I mailed the school to find out more about this course and I got the information below:

QuoteThe course will cover spices, how to cook/roast them, meat/fish/vegetarian dishes, how to adjust flavours and will give a good general knowledge of Indian cookery.

Thanks

I should start by saying I don't really like lentils or chick-peas, however, a great friend of mine loves chana aloo and I offered to try and make it. I have read a few tips here and there, so far it comes down to:

- soak chana dhal in water overnight before using
- pre-cook using the standard method: turmeric + salt, boil and simmer for 30mins

I have not seen any BIR recipes for channa aloo so far, so I'm sort of wondering what things would you expect a BIR chef to add to make it less bland? I suppose it's not just about finishing the cooking of the dhal and aloo using a few ladles of base?