Happy Chris had a dream. Something about an e-book!!  :

Quote from: Stephen Lindsay on April 07, 2013, 08:53 PM
welcome guyos

the holy trinity of replicating BIR (British Indian Restaurant) cooking is as follows:

Curry base (or curry gravy)
Spice Mix
Pre-cooked chicken, lamb or vegetables

As spiceyokooko says they are all short cuts to home (traditional) Indian cooking recipes adapted for the hussle and bussle of mass production in a restaurant context.

Welcome Guyos ...............

and without starting a 'war',  you do not need pre cooked meat , veg all the time. I rarely use pre cooked chicken now as it, arguably, adds little and is unnecessary effort unless you have large turnover etc. when you need to turn meals out quick. Many of CA's recipes on here are a good example of cooking chicken from raw and work very well.

Anyhow, make you own mind up and have fun doing it.

Quote from: Unclefrank on April 04, 2013, 03:08 PM
It might be your computer nothing wrong with pictures on my laptop.
I really don't have time to make sure it's picture perfect Rubydoo i do have other things to do, you are a picky little so and so at times 

Picky?  Me?   .... and what is the 'little' all about?   

Seems like Goncalo has been drinking the same hooch as me - similarly out of focus..   

Nice recipes and write ups both. UF your pics give me a slight headache as they are a bit out of focus, or is it my computer. 

Mustard oil on the tikka?  Must try that next time.

Thanks all. I think i will go for the heat straight from frozen option first. I really want to continue doing it in bulk if possible as life is so much easier on 'curry day'.

CT, any reasoning behind leaving for 24 hours before freezing? I always make sure it is cold, infact chilled before freezing but it does not take 24 .

Quote from: DalPuri on April 03, 2013, 12:28 PM
I've never bothered freezing rice, I just dont make enough to freeze, maybe 4 portions maximum and they can keep in the fridge until i reheat.
I wonder if you're reheating for too long a time Ruby?
Rice reheated for longer than necessary by any method will shrink the grains.
A few things you could try is vacuum sealing or even under cooking the rice to say, 80% and freeze that?
Or perhaps reheat in the microwave on a lower setting?

Cheers, Frank. 

Mmmm. Not sure the under cooking is a good plan. Did consider and will try the lower power. Have already tried variations on cooking times at full power.

I normally do 10 good portions , 1kg, rice at a time. Normally use three of those for 4 peeps at a Saturday night sitting. It may come to just pre-cooking saturday morning or Friday in future and doing less. One thing is for sure, the rice is far better when allowed to chill after cooking.

Quote from: Phil [Chaa006] on April 03, 2013, 11:33 AM
I have never found freezing and then re-hearing pulao rice to be really satisfactory :  in my experience the retained moisture in the cooked rice grains expands during the freeze/thaw cycle and causes the grains to crack aross their width.  So for me, pulao rice must either be eaten fresh, or re-heated from chilled; if I re-heat from chilled, I add about two teaspoons of water to compensate for storage losses.

** Phil.

I am starting to think likewise Phil.

Quote from: natterjak on April 03, 2013, 07:26 AM

Quote from: RubyDoo on April 02, 2013, 08:17 PM
Got to dig up this old thread. We have been freezing pilau for some time now but I am becoming more and more unhappy with the reheated result. It seems to me that the grains are shrinking and the end result is a more dried and bitty grain that has lost some of its original plumpness after first cooking. Does that make sense.

The other thing to consider ruby is how long the rice has been frozen for and is the container airtight? A plastic ice cream carton (not airtight) and a long storage in the freezer might be a recipe for the dried out grains of rice you describe.

Never in there for more than 3 or 4 weeks but I do use the one largish portion plastic take away containers which I do not think are airtight. The rice does get a thin later of ice on the top which adds moisture when thawed out. The grains lookmfine when thawed. It is after microwavingbthe issue arises.

Quote from: natterjak on April 02, 2013, 08:25 PM
I freeze pilau into plastic takeaway tubs (into what is probably a large individual portion) then reheat straight from frozen with a 2 min blast at fill power, then a rest of a couple of mins, then either 30 secs or a min at full blast depending how full the portion seems. Comes out great

Yes I am wondering if the thawing is causing this and that it would be better as you describe. Will give it a try but then need to scale up to do 3 or 4 portions in one go.

Quote from: natterjak on April 02, 2013, 07:55 PM
Goncalo, based on watching the video it looks like the milk and water are roughly equal. At least he first pours milk to just cover the rice, boils till that is absorbed, then repeats with water.

Undercover's is only a splash of milk compared to quantity of water.