Hi all,

I think quiet a few of us have seen a curry cooked in a BIR or takeaway.  The thought that a chef is going to put down the one spoon he seems to use for everything and pick up another so that he can use the non chicken jelly base to make a veggie curry is laughable. So I suggest NO to two base sauces.  AND if there are two bases and he doesn't keep changing spoons then the chicken jelly base will "contaminate" the veggie sauce anyway.  What is going on.  I DO NOT BELIVE THAT IN THIS DAY AND AGE FOOD CAN BE SOLD AS SUITABLE FOR VEGGIES IF IT CONTAINS CHICKEN.

BUT, AND I HAVE SAID THIS BEFORE, EVERY CHIP SHOP I HAVE EVER BEEN INTO COOKS SAUSAGES CHICKEN FISH CHIPS ALL IN THE SAME OIL.

I don't understand how they get away with it.

Cheers all,

Blondie

Hi Pete,

So are you saying that the boiled chicken jelly is definately present and is a missing taste in the BIR curry ?

And do we all go along with this AND CurryQueen's assertion that it is definately in the reused oil ?

If both of these are in fact true, I for one will never be able to replicate a BIR curry because I will not be boilling up chickens and won't reusee oil.

Thanks Pete & Curry Queen,

Blondie

Hi Ian S,

I am not with one camp or the other either for or against chicken stock being used in the base sauce, but I do feel sorry for veggies as this would  be totally against thier beliefs.

What I would add may add weight to the discussion but you can make up your own minds.

One takeaway owner I spoke to recently promissed me that they buy in whole chickens, remove what they need, and throw away the rest (I personally find the fact that any restaurant would throw anything that can be hard to believe). I also spoke to a partner in a company who now supply restaurants/takeaways and they said they sell chickn breasts frozen in 10kg blocks to the trade, I know this to be true because a friend bought a batch as they said (at a very good price).

I personally don't think that they throw anything away, but, the stories add up to there not being Chicken stock in the base, but as we know stories are stories and you can believe what you want to.

One thing I feel I should say, & it is disagreement that I had with my veggie daughter some years ago.  Where do you think british chip shops cook the fish? correct. Where do you think they cook the Chicken? Correct. And where do you think they cook the chips? correct.

As far as I know they do not have a seperate fryer which takes into account the veggies, sorry veggies, but no more chips, and in my oppinoin if you are a real veggie you shouldn't be eating fish anyway.

Cheers all,

Blondie

Hi Yellow Fingers,

You won't find foil containers that are microwave safe.  I agrre with Dylan that many places now use plastic containers which are re-useable.  In my area we have a Wilkinsons store which sells both the foil containers and the plastic type but I'm not sure of the price. We also have a Poundland store that sells the plastic type at 10 for guess how much? Yeeesss ?1.

Hope this helps,

Cheers,

Blondie

Hi thomashenry,

I find that over spicing is a frequent problem.  After I have produced a dish from whatever recipe, I often have to adjust the taste to suit my taste or adjust towards BIR and inevitably the dish ends up over spiced.  As you say the best approach is to redo the dish but use a smaller quantity of the suggested ingredients or omitt / add some to get closer to the required taste.

This does emphasise that as much as we love our BIRs, when it comes down to it they do not have a very strong taste and this delicate / froogle spicing may be why we struggle to achieve perfection.

Anyway, keep up the good work,

cheers thomashenry,

Blondie

Hi all,

I'm still here and have been posting, but, with little response.

It is difficult to think up new subjects to keep everyone interested.

It may just be because the site has been mal functioning recently and I don't know about anyone else, but on my return found that my login had been terminated, and on several subsequent visits the same thing happened.

I a pleased to say that everything appears to be OK again now.

IF YOU ARE HAVING TROUBLE WITH THE FORUM TRY LOGGING IN AGAIN..

Hope this helps people to return to the fold.

If you have all cleared off somewhere else, GIVE US A CLUE WHERE YOU ARE.

Cheers all,

Blondie

Hi All,

I am going through a stage of frustration at not getting "THE TASTE" again and wondered if it would help everybody if we all tried to describe "THE TASTE".

Of course the taste will be different for different people, but if wine boffins can describe tastes why can't we?

To me the taste is a mixture of oniony (raw) aniseedy, Mustardy and almost vinegary (but this vinegary taste could be something like lemon and another ingredient mixed). The Sort of smokey taste that sometimes gets a mention is only present from one of my locals.

I do hope someone else can describe the taste better than I have been able to but we need to start somewhere.

Cheers all,

Blondie

Hi Grimmo,

I just happen to have been experimenting with MSG this morning.? This is the second time I have tried.? The first time I decided that on its own it wasn't the answer, but today I have decided that IT COULD BE PART of the answer.

The reason for saying this is that I made a base sauce that was very close in taste to a sample madras sauce from the takeaway (without the heat), that I was determined to try and get that little bit closer.

As one of many experiments I tried, I added a small amount of MSG to a small portion of my base.? It did give a step closer to the takeaway in the respect that it lifted the flavour with a touch of brightness or freshness that I was not able to achieve with any other ingredients that would normally be included in a curry.? IT DID NOT, HOWEVER GIVE THE MISSING TASTE that I am looking for.?

BUT I AM BEGINNING TO WONDER IF WE ARE ALL LOOKING FOR THE SAME TASTE, PERHAPS IT MIGHT BE AN IDEA FOR US ALL TO TRY AND DESCRIBE "THE TASTE"

HERE https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=252.msg1925#msg1925

A SMALL INDICATOR THAT IT MAY BE USED IS THAT IS ON THE SHELF INMY LOCAL INDIAN SUPERMARKET, AND THIS IS NOT A SHOP THAT SELLS CHINESE / THAI INGREDIENTS.? INCIDENTALLY IT IS JUST CALLED FLAVOUR ENHANCER.

Cheers Grimmo,

Blondie

Hi DARTHPHALL,

As the chicken in the Tindaloo tastes even hotter than in the Vindaloo, surely this proves that it isn't actually the chicken (assuming the chicken is prepared the same way for both Tind & Vind) but the effect of the salt from the chicken or chewing action that make it seem hotter, the chicken is actually the same as in milder dishes eg Madras isn't it.

Hope you understand what I'm gettig at or am I missing YOUR point.

Cheers DARTHPHALL,

Blondie

Hi DARTHPHALL,

I think you might find that it is the actual chewing action while eating the chicken that makes it seem hotter and that isn't actually hotter in itself.  You could test this by putting a piece of unspiced chicken that you have prepaired yourself in your next takeaway vindaloo.  But on second thoughts you would probably have noticed the effect in your home made curries if this the case.

Could it be that the takeaway chicken is cooked in SALT and turmeric as mentioned elsewhere and the salt enhances the heat in the sauce while eating the chicken.

I don't really know but I have noticed the same effect.

Cheers DARTHPHALL,

Blondie