Quote from: Mikka on October 29, 2009, 06:33 PM
I couldn't really tell it was there to be completely honest.

I'm afraid I share your view. Just tried it now with a Madras. No major change.

Quote from: JerryM on October 24, 2009, 08:27 AM
this powdery taste seems to only occur with some spices ie paprika & chilli (maybe others i don't know). it does not happen with say curry powder.

I totally agree on this point, especially with chili powder. I find it differs greatly from brand to brand. Have you tried putting it in your spice grinder? Worth a shot.

For this reason I always try to get the hottest chili powder I can find. Incidentally, TRS extra hot is not all that hot. If my memory serves, I think Rajah is hotter.

I've also noticed this powdery thing gets worse the older you chili is. Maybe it's just loosing potency so I'm using more...

Cheers

BB

Hey guys,

Although my Pillau Rice comes out ok, it's just not the same as the BIR version. What method do they use to cook the rice.

It's always coated in what I think may often be a combination of veg and butter ghee (IMO butter ghee for the flavour, veg ghee to pad it out and keep the taste subtle, as well as saving money).  Are these added during the cooking process, or at the end. I was at my local BIR last night and I think the chef put some ghee in a pan and put the rice in and stirred / tossed it around briefly. Could they be pre cooking rice in their rice cooker with spices, then finishing it in the pan? I might try this.

I'm aware that some common whole spices in the rice are cassia, green cardomom, bay leaf, cumin seed, fennel seed etc. Which are essential and which are not? I always think green cardomom and cassia are the basics.

How do they get their grains so nice and separate? I've tried cooking the rice aldente then drying it off in the oven with colouring but it's not the same. I notice their food dye is always more subtle than with any method I use.

Thanks for your responses.

BB.

Quote from: Cory Ander on October 08, 2009, 09:59 AM
I have been attempting to make spiced oil and decided to try making it as follows:

Hi CA,

I thought I'd give this a shot with a few changes. I didn't see that onion or capsicum would contribute a great deal , so I omitted them. The same can be said for the panch phoran and sugar.  I decided to add some fresh green chillies since I'm always trying to impart more of a chili flavour into my curries.

I also did not filter my oil as I don't imagine oil reclaimed from a base (if this is what we're suggesting BIRs do, which I believe it is) would be particularly refined.

I also got about a 400ml yield. That last thin layer just makes you end up getting the watery leftovers when skimming with your spoon.

I will try this out tonight. It smells good - quite strong and super aromatic. Hopefully this will that extra something I've been looking for.

Cheers

BB.

Quote from: PaulP on October 26, 2009, 04:19 PM
I meant to ask BB did you use the spiced oil for the madras recipe or just go with fresh oil?

I'm afraid I used fresh oil :/

I did a prawn Bhuna tonight using the same recipe. It was excellent.

Quote from: Cory Ander on October 25, 2009, 11:58 PM
Great pics BB,  thanks for taking the time to try this recipe and reporting back your pics and findings 

You're very welcome - thanks for taking the time to post the recipe.

Quote from: Cory AnderOne of the problems with "scaling down" base recipes, I suppose.

I think this could be the key. I could well have been using too much capsicum and carrot in the past.

Quote from: Cory Ander
I presume you're referring to my Madras recipe, where adding sugar "to taste" is specified (rather than this base recipe, where there is no sugar specified)?

That's right. I went for the 2 tsps, which seemed to work a treat. Next time I will try without. I can't say I really noticed it.

Quote from: joshallen2k on October 25, 2009, 10:56 PM
I take it you followed CA's Madras recipe (plus extra veg). How did you rate the Madras? There was a few things in that recipe I recall (like sugar and tandoori masala) that made me curious.

Hey Josh, hope you're well!

I rated the curry I made following the Madras recipe plus a few extras, very highly. I have often used Tandoori Masala in recipes as a bit of a legacy of the original KD recipes, so no surprise there for me. I was worried about the sugar but it was fine. I can't say I really noticed it but the end result was very good indeed.

Hey guys, well like many of us (given his great curry pictures), I was excited to try out CA's recipes. I actually bought scales for this. Here is my attempt at CA's base gravy and Madras, to which I added a few extra veg ingredients at the curry stage (whole deseeded finger chillies, 1 tbsp finely chopped green capsicum, 1 tbsp finely chopped onion, 1 fresh tomato quarterd and a little extra garlic - you can see in the pictures) to create a Bhuna Madras. Other than the changes mentioned, I stuck exactly to the recipe (oh, I used chopped Coriander leaves rather than stalks / roots - I don't care if it looks green).

Stage 1 base ingredients:



Added spice mix and Coriander



After blending:



Ingredients for curry ready



Finished Curry



Curry and Pillau Rice ready to eat



I had great success with this recipe. The best results I've had in a very long time, possibly ever. This really worked for me. The result was just like my best local takeaway. I'm very happy with the base and think the spice mix suits me perfectly.

Observations

The base is thinner than what I'm used to. It also asks for small amounts of things like green capsicum and carrot - less than most other I've seen. I was dubious about the use of sugar. I've added some to a base before and it turned out to be a bad move. However in the final recipe I did add the 2 tsps which were called for. Worked a treat. My picture of the spice mix didn't come out well but mine looked lighter than CA's. I can't explain this, as I stuck as precisely as I could to the recipe. Maybe just a crap camera?

I'm very glad that I tried these recipes. They are excellent. Thanks very much CA!

Having cooked the base, I have since realised that I should have added the Coriander after having cooked with the spice mix for 5 minutes. I seriously doubt this made any difference as the base gets cooked again when the final dish is getting made, making any argument for loss of freshness of the Coriander or similar unlikely.

Quote from: SKAZE on July 16, 2009, 06:19 PM
Ive just made this and was very impressed, i used chicken instead of lamb and the only thing i added to it was a pinch of sugar which added a little something:

That looks delicious! Especially the last picture. I tried adding some chopped spring onion as they do in one of my locals and found it to be a welcome addition. Improves the appearance and adds a little something!

I hate low sodium salt. It's just not salty enough. I just end up using twice as much, defeating the purpose. Go with the real thing. As long you exercise regularly, my guess is that it's all good.