Called into the take-away again last night,I only popped in to get some food for the wife and I,ended up staying for a couple of hours.If you've ever been into a take-away kitchen on a Saturday night you'll know how busy it can get,but this was unbelievable.Next time you order some food from a place on a Saturday for delivery and it's a long wait spare a thought for the poor chefs,they really have their work cut out.They actually had three chefs as well as two delivery drivers.Even that wasn't enough,I stepped in to take a few telephone orders and helped to sort out the deliveries.Must have been the neatest writing ever seen on take-away carton lids!

It was fascinating to watch the chefs in action,pans everywhere on the go,I think I must have seen them cook just about everything on the menu.Half way through they started on another batch of gravy,now I have the recipe I'll post it in the appropriate section.They also had to do some more pre-cooked chicken,I tried to watch the chef do this as well,quite similar to recipes already on the site.And yes you guessed it I ordered a chicken tikka pathia.

Quote from: littlechilie on December 31, 2015, 06:50 PM
Hi Jb, hope you don't mind if I add this link to your thread as its a great video of you in action cooking BIR  Pathia. https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,12525.msg101591.html#msg101591 would you say cooking a Pathia in the new establishment has noticeable differences or are they both simula but with differing ways of precook and prep?
Regards.

Thanks for that,I'd forgotton that I cooked a pathia in the Zaman restaurant.As you probobly guessed pathia is my favourite curry to cook and also to eat.Still suprised at the ommision of mixed powder though,the chef at my takeaway starts off all his curries in the same way with the usual set of ingredients(apart from massala and korma dishes).He uses chopped garlic at the start,as opposed to ginger/garlic paste.The onions are not precooked,just normal service onions,although he does precook large chunks of onion/pepper for dishes such as dupiaza and balti.These are deep fried in the same oil that the onion bhajis are cooked in,so I guess he gets another level of flavour from doing that.No massala paste in the pathia,all he adds is lemon dressing,chilli and sugar.It's quite funny looking at the video of me in the Zaman,my technique looks so awkward,I guess watching the chefs in action in the new place has helped me a lot.

Quote from: haldi on December 27, 2015, 07:17 PM

Quote from: jb on December 21, 2015, 06:43 PM
A quick picture of the pathia I cooked last night..


As soon as the lid was opened the familar aroma hit me..100% BIR.


There were a couple of other things I spotted.The precooked veg had panch poran in it,and the pre cooked potatoes were cooked in exactly the same way but with some cumin seeds instead.

hi JB
was this the curry you cooked at the takeaway or was this one you made at home?

and the precooked veg and potato info was really helpful

thanks!

look forward to any other "visit" posts you make
great stuff!

The curry was cooked by myself in the takeaway and then eaten at home.The head chef watched me cook it,tasted it and nodded in agreement.It was very good indeed.To be honest though,the pathia I cook at home is BIR standard anyway,for me it's one of the easiest curries to crack.

I have to agree though that what I've posted so far isn't particularly new or revolutionary,however to me it proves that we've been right all along and most of the elements to produce a fairly decent curry can be found on this forum.A good base gavy,mix powder etc and most important to me technique.

I'll continue posting my experiences in the takeaway for the majority of members who are interested.I've built up a good relationship with the chefs,I've been in the kitchen about five times now,I don't see anyone else on here with that kind of access.I popped in last night for a takeaway.I went straight into the kitchen while the chef was in the midst of cooking a large order.He said I could could my own curry if I wanted so I naturally obliged...another wonderful pathia.

I'm afraid I haven't been privy to any 'magic' ingredient or mystery technique that these chefs (and I guess tens of thousands of other BIR chefs are  using but are managing to keep to themselves!) Until then I'll keep cooking my curries at home using techniques and ingredients I've been shown to produce what are,at least in my opinion spot on BIR curries.

A quick picture of the pathia I cooked last night..



As soon as the lid was opened the familar aroma hit me..100% BIR.

I managed to watch the chef make his marinade for his chicken tikka.The tikka from this place is very nice indeed,and the marinade has a couple of unusual ingredients.Apart from the normal suspects such as yoghurt,tandoori,tikka and kashmiri massala paste the chef added a dollop of tomato ketchup as well as some Coleman's mustard.He also added some pre-blended corrinader and chiili paste as well as some blended shatkora.He then added a small amount of sweet chiili sauce.Certainly some unusual ingredients for a tikka marinade,but nonetheless the result is very good indeed.

There were a couple of other things I spotted.The precooked veg had panch poran in it,and the pre cooked potatoes were cooked in exactly the same way but with some cumin seeds instead.

Some of the dishes looked very exotic on the menu,some are listed with 'special sauces simmered with freshly ground spices etc'.In reality,like most places they use an array of pickles and other short cuts.Chicken Dewana,for example is listed as a curry simmered with a special chiil sauce.It is in fact a normal curry with some naga pickle added.The special peanut sauce in the chicken badami is actually smooth peanut butter.They also have a chicken garam massala on the menu,which has 'hot spices and freshly ground herbs'.I've seen them cook this one a few times.It's basically a normal curry with a chef's spoon of shaslik marinade(which is actually different to their tikka marinade).They then add some mint sauce and then suprisingly a dollop of prawn cocktail sauce.Sounds unappealing I know,but If you taste the curry you'll be very suprised how good it tastes.There were a few bits I didn't recognize.For example,the chef adds a paste to his madras and vindaloo.Not sure what exactly it was,but I'll do my best to find out next time.

Just got back from another night in the takeaway,had a great time as usual.It was quite busy so I had the chance to watch the chef cook an amazing variety of dishes.As well as washing the Chef's pans between orders I actually took a few telephone orders when it got a bit hectic...I suppose every budding BIR chef has to start somewhere!!  I think they're quite impressed with me,so much so that they want me to go in every Sunday to help out!!

I helped the chef cook the first part of the gravy,usual stuff...about 30 onions,4 carrots,red pepper,green pepper,salt and turmeric.After about an hour it was blended.They do the bhagar,or second stage the day after,next time I go I'll try and watch them do that.

I also watched the chef prepare a large pot of pre cooked veg,and I also saw them prepare a batch of pilau rice.Under the guidance of the chef I cooked myself a chicken tikka pathia,I got the nod of approval from the chef,have to say it was very tasty indeed!!

I popped into the takeaway again tonight, seven of us ordered a mountain of food at work(over

Had my first evening in the takeaway last night,it was fantastic.I got there about half past four,just before opening and actually left about ten o'clock.It was quite busy so I had the opportunity to not only pick the chef's brains but to look over his shoulder as he cooked the various curries.The normal chef was absent,but he did phone the takeaway half way through the evening,I managed to speak to him and he's actually took my number to catch up and organise further lessons.I'm tempted to ask him to do some one to one lessons in my home like I had before.

There were actually two chefs,one using the tandoor and one cooking the curries.Both spoke quite good English,and both were very keen to show me what they were doing and answer my questions.I actually made a folder full of my curry pictures to show them,they seemed pretty amazed at my results.I managed to name all of their ingreidients they had at their work station which they thought was quite a feat.

There was so much going on at times but I tried to make a mental note of everything as best as I could.The thing that struck me was that eveything was done in much the same way as I've seen in other BIR kitchens.As the chef kept pointing out,there's no right or wrong way in making things such as gravy or mix powder,just a chef's interpretation of doing these things.There were a few nifty little tricks and short cuts he used,and a few ingredients I've not used before,such as kewra water in his massala paste.

The gravy he used was a two stage method.The first stage was the usual boiling of onions,carrot etc and then a bargar was made of tomatoes,mix powder and oil.Nothing spectacular or magical,it just confirms to me that we have been right all along,most of the gravies on this forum follow the same procedure and will give similar results.

The chef used plain veg oil to start his curries,not a drop of ghee or spiced oil in sight.He also used just garlic to start his tarka,as opposed to blended ginger and garlic,also the garlic was quite lumpy still,not the smooth paste I'm used to using.Neither did he flame any of his pans,the curries were just cooked on a fairly high heat and for some length of time.

The big test was when the chef asked me to cook him a curry so he could see if I could cook.After a bit of a panic I calmed down and cooked just a basic chicken curry.No-where to hide doing this,not many ingredients and no pastes or anything to hide behind.Have to say the finished curry was very tasty indeed,the chef smiled and gave me a ten!

Definately making a return visit,have to say there wasn't anything I saw in the takeaway that couldn't be done at home.I think we may dumb our results down somewhat on the forum sometimes,most of what you need to a decent curry lies within here,the big thing is the technique and cooking the curries correctly.

All sorted for next Tuesday,I have high hopes for this.Popped in there last night to have a chat,I have to get there before it opens so I can see them do the prep work.They had their base gravy boiling away while I was in the kitchen.Couldn't see much apart from loads of onions and some carrots,hopefully all will become clear next week.I watched the chef cook me a chicken tikka balti,made it look so simple,no flames or nothing magical but it definately had the taste when I got home and tasted it.

Well,just been back in the kitchen watching my mid week takeaway being cooked.Even had a taste of the gravy the chef was using.Just two guys in the kitchen,the curry chef and the tandoor chef.They still seem quite amazed at what I knew and were keen to have a look at my pictures again.They've offered me the chance to come in when they start at 5pm,my work permitting maybe the week after next.The chef said they make the gravy fresh every day at the start of the service.Believe it or not he said I can watch while he makes it and stay all evening watching what they're doing.

Recently I have had another take-away open up near me.The food is always very good,however the main thing for me is that it has a completely open kitchen.Despite being offered a seat I always stand and have my nose pressed against the window watching the chefs.They always nod and smile,probobly wondering why I'm watching their every move.

After placing my order on Friday I thought I'd ask if I could get a portion of the chef's gravy.The guy looked a bit confused,then said 'Ah you mean garabi?'.I explained I was a bit of a curry chef,have had some lessons etc and I that I would like to compare the Chef's gravy to my own.He peered around the kitchen door,shouted something and then the chef smiled and called me in.Despite having about eight pans on the go he was keen to talk and was actually quite amazed at some of my curry pictures I had on my phone.I think he was even more surprised that I even knew the existance of base gravy,or 'garabi' as he also called it.He offered me a taste of his massala paste,to be honest it was very similar to my own I make.

The base gravy was,as I thought pretty much like other gravies I've been given.Very thin in consistancy and just tasting of a very mild curry,not spicy or hot in any way.Given that the chef was using the base for everything he cooked,from massla and korma to madras,this isn't surprising.The base was remarkably similar to the one I was shown how to cook,and the one I use at the moment.

I said I'd had some lessons and what did he think about doing some for me in his kitchen.He was actually very keen and said to come back when it was less busy and we can sort something.Watch the space guys.