Hi Paul - I was in the same boat as you prior to prepping my own g/g puree with oil. I leave the g/g to fry in the oil with constant stirring/shaking just until it becomes fragrant, then add the diluted tom puree. As the tom puree reduces, I start to notice some of the g/g goes slightly brown. Its at this point I add the spices. From the time I add the g/g paste, through to adding the spices to the tom/g/g mix takes about 45 seconds for me.

So much more predictable than using fresh minced g/g.

-- Josh

QuoteHi SD take a look at these http://www.secondhand-catering-equipment.co.uk/Secondhand%20commercial%20Gas%20Ovens.htm

I wouldn't mind that natural gas tandoor! But I think if I added any more gear to the kitchen to support my curry habit, I'd be relegated to the shed!

Hi All - thanks for the positive comments.

The stove is a Blue Star RNB 366. The main burners are 22,000 BTU, that I had a gas guy modify one to 25,000 BTU, or roughly 7.4 kWh.

First time I fired it up, I leaned over the burner and prompty removed my nostril hair 

Learning to cook with high heat didn't take that long. The madras in the photos was knocked up in less than 5 minutes. I used the step-by-step timing guide from Chewy's Zeera method as a guide.

-- Josh

Hi cr0!

Its been about a year since I've posted on the forum, but I've tried to stay semi-regular in following the goings-on in our quest for BIR! Personal and other issues had meant I wasn't able to give the forum my full participation it deserves, but I'm back now.

Over the last year, my curry quality has improved significantly, due much in part to new learnings on the forum, and the input of some of members, new and old. (And thanks Michael T. for sending some Rajah Premium curry powder over to Canada!)

TECHNIQUE - I think the notion of high heat and singeing spices has been around in different terms for some time. I think the work of the Fleet 5 and the video demos highlighted just how important this was, and input from Chef Az spelled it out for us. About a year ago, I was having good success with the Taz method, which in hindsight was a different way of properly cooking the spices, in a "less scary" way by reducing a small amount of base. After some practice, I feel I've got spice frying well in hand.

BIR STANDARD PROCEDURE - following BIR standard procedures I now believe is also key. Aluminium pans, chef's spoons, premixed garlic/ginger pastes, puree mixes, etc. Moving to high heat with a proper aluminum pan, and moving to a chefs spoon instead of my old wooden one have made the whole experience more authentic, and the quality of the curries have followed suit. For example, I always had a problem with frying my freshly minced garlic and ginger - it burned if I used high heat. Using a pureed mix with a little oil has reduced the chances of burning significantly.

In any case, here's some pics of last night's work. Note the new "home" commercial gas stove. I can't say definitively if high heat is "necessary" to achieve smoky BIR flavour, but this new stove has produced my best curries ever.

Its a Chicken Madras (Chewytikka/Zeera), and King Prawn Tikka Masala (Mick's), Pilau Rice (RobinB's). The base is Julian's Curry2Go.

Cheers,
Josh

Hi Axe,

Which curries would you use this masala in? I'm not sure what a Roshney is. Could you describe it?

Also, how does this paste compare in your opinion with finished CTMs (that is assuming its for use in one!) versus the Dipuraja and CMB ones?

Thx,
Josh

I will be in Edinburgh in April for a few nights, my first trip back to the UK in a long while.

While I'm there, I need a local recommendation for the best curry houses.

Any suggestions?

Thx
Josh

QuoteDid you see my earlier post regarding what exactly constitutes Quick Rise yeast? I'm not certain whether mine does, but I had no problem with the dough rising, and there was certainly no yeast-like taste. What brand do you use?

I use Fleishmann's Yeast. However I'm living in Canada now, so I don't know if this brand translates back to the UK. Quick rise yeast is pellet-shaped and much smaller than the usual round regular dry yeast.

I found the milk-only and yogurt helped. Initially I went for a wet sticky consistency. This produced good naan but was difficult to work with. Notice my original recipe called for oil to make the finished dough easier to work with. Now I add enough milk to make the dough pull away from my fingers and not leave any behind. I should do a milk% calculation like I do for pizza dough when adding water. I also now use bench flour only when flattening out the naan for the oven, instead of oil.

Hope this helps a bit.

-- Josh

Hi Caze,

I've tweaked the original recipe quite a bit since I originally posted it.

First I feel the quick rise yeast makes a big difference. As Jerry noted, the regular dry yeast adds a "yeasty" flavour. The Quick Rise does not.

In terms of the changes, I now omit the additional baking powder, and add 2 tablespoons of yogourt. I also now omit the water, and just trickle warm milk into the mixer until the consistency is right.

Josh

Poppadums: none
Starters: Onion Bhajis - King Prawn Tikka
Main: Madras - CTM
Sides: none
Bread: Buttered naan
Rice: Pilau
Desserts: none
Drinks: Kingfisher

QuoteJust checked my oven and it seems that the max setting is 250c which equates to 482f.

Will this be hot enough?  Hope so, I would really like to give these naans a try.  They are without doubt, the best looking naans on cr0 but I'd love to actually taste one.

I think when we get all the onion bhaji results in, and Chris publishes them, naans are next on the agenda.  So, If you don't mind, I would like to put your naans forward for the group test, but if the heat is crucial to their success, I don't know if all the testers could achieve that kind of temp with their ovens?

Ray - I'm really not sure how much bearing on the end result the oven temperature actually would have. I just baked them at as high a temp as possible to most closely mimic the conditions in a tandoor. But definitely give them a try with your oven as is.

If naan breads are up for group testing, I'd surely like these as part of the test. I have made a few minor tweaks to the recipe, so I'd like to repost the changes before testing.

Cheers,
Josh