Two of my local restaurants offer a tawa on their menu.Although they do them differently,they're both listed as 'spicy curries cooked with whole spices and serves sizzling on a tawa'.I'm afraid I don't have a recipe,although it's a dish I would like to be able to replicate.There's a a couple of tawa recipes on Youtube and other sites,but none are really BIR I'm afraid.

Well done,that sounds like a proper feast!!! Can't wait for some pictures.

Looking good to me I must say.Glad you're happy with the base.

Hope it goes well for you,more importantly I hope my base stands up to the job! Very brave cooking for 12,I've done something similar and it is very hard work,especially when you have(like myself) a five year old to contend with(and a one year old now)...good luck!!!

Quote from: Unclefrank on August 14, 2014, 01:56 PM
JB could you edit the recipe on the first page please because after wading through these pages only to find that the tarka has to be added after the base has been diluted, also how many cloves of garlic are added?

Hi Guys,sorry I've been on a caravan holiday all week.I had a takeaway about 2 minutes' walk away.....I couldn't resist it...ended up in there four nights in a row.They had their sacks of onions behind the counter,it was funny I was trying to get a good look at them they thought it was quite amusing!!!

Trying to catch up on anything I've missed.Definetely not garlic on the tikka massala,just a garnish of almond flakes and sultanas which is common down here in Essex.Will try to get back in the takeaway next week and ask some more questions.Not sure why some are finding the base so confusing.I though my initial description was pretty accurate,the only glitch was the amount of garlic added for the tarka.I just forgot that the chef didn't blend the whole base and only and added 1 clove of garlic,I'm guessing four or five will be ok for the whole base but I will check next time.It does say in my first post that the base is blended/watered down and then the tarka is added.Any questions and I will glady try and answer them.


''Then add 1/4 chef spoon turmeric,tiny amount of chilli powder,1/4 chef spoon cumin powder,1/4 chef spoon corriander powder,1 chef spoon  blended tomatoes.Re-cover and then turn the flame down(so the bottom doesn't catch )and cook for another half an hour,then blend until smooth.''

I actually got into another kitchen the day before I went on holiday.I do a spot of DJ'ing in my spare time,last Saturday I was in a restaurant I DJ regularly,the Manager invited me into the kitchen and meet his staff.He's aware of my cooking skills and invited me back any time I want to help his chefs out.The tandoori chef put me on the spot and asked me to cook a naan bread for them,there was about a dozen staff in the kitchen...all looking at me!!!

That does look a good madras,just a trace of oil round the edges,looks remarkably like the madras I had last night in fact.

Never noticed that before,always had mine in the fridge.I'll ask next time I'm in the takeaway but I'm sure even they haven't noticed there's a difference.

Quote from: Donald Brasco on August 02, 2014, 05:39 AM
A small point of detail which JB might want to check next time he's back - coconut block typically has a big fat layer of solid coconut oil on top. Is it just the coconut block itself which is added to the base, or some of the coconut oil? Or maybe it was actually the oily part of the coconut block which was added?  This would help bring the oil level in this base up, but perhaps as Mick says it's just a feature of this recipe that there's not much oil?

http://www.ktc-edibles.com/shop.php?sec=prod&prod=90

This is the stuff he used,regular coconut block,just cut a bit off really.Not sure what you mean about coconut oil,it's just a solid,hard block,there's no oil,at least there's not in this brand which is the one I usually use myself.

Quote from: chewytikka on July 24, 2014, 01:29 PM
Really good fun JB, did you hang around and get offered any Iftar goodies.

Was this better for you than the Zaal visit, i.e. a one to one tutorial with these cooks.

Just to back up your report about adding a Garlic tarka, which is old school BTW and not a lot of my locals do anymore.
I took a phone pic of a 30lt restaurant base last night, you can see the sliced garlic floating on top of the oil, before the base was blended.



Although you say only one clove of Garlic, sliced and fried (Tarka) to finish,
even in a 3kilo base I would use at least 5 cloves of Garlic to get the flavour into it.

Anyhoo, what level would you rate this TA's curries and have you tried any of their speciality dishes.

Good Post
cheers Chewy

Just re-reading this post and I've noticed something that Chewy and Secret Santa said.I only diluted about a third of my gravy(the rest is in the freezer) and added one clove of garlic.I'll have to ask next time but maybe if you dilute the whole 3 kilo's worth of base then you do have to add more garlic,say three or four,I honestly don't know.If you do have to add more than maybe the BIR smell could even be more intense.However looking at Chewy's picture certainly confirms that some BIR chefs still do this technique.

Quote from: haldi on July 31, 2014, 07:13 PM

Quote from: Secret Santa on July 31, 2014, 04:02 PM
There's something decidedly wrong with you guy's tastes if you think a single tarka'd clove of garlic can have such a profound effect on a 3kg base as you appear to be claiming - you're all barking (or super tasters)!  ;D

I used a single clove in a single portion of base and that gave a noticeable smokey garlic flavour to the base but even that virtually disappeared once blended and cooked into the curry. Something very amiss here and I'm not having it that it's just me!    ;D

It's the base coupled with the tarka
Follow the complete recipe
The only tricky part is when frying the garlic
Get it to a nut brown colour then pour it immediatelyinto your base
Then quickly wash out the pan with some of your curry gravy and put that back into the main pot
Boil the whole thing again

Seriously, this is amazing
I have tried hundreds of base recipes and had loads of demos
Nothing has ever come close to this result

For me the end result is 100% bir gravy

Just a thought
Have you ever had a sample gravy from a takeaway/restaurant?
Maybe you don't know what it should taste like
It also could be a regional thing
Where are you from?
Or maybe you overcooked the garlic

I don't want to rush into any old recipes with this
I shall wait for JB's madras recipe when he can get it
Or try his basic curry
I can't believe I have actually managed to do this
I know it's silly but I've been on an "up" all week because of it

Well pleased for you Haldi,if anyone is in a position to judge if this is good is yourself.I know how hard you've tried to get into kitchens and have demos etc,just like myself.Actually I've been sitting at work all week thinking about this base and what I'm going to ask next time I'm in the kitchen,so you're not alone!!

Of course I will get the recipes for the chef's main courses and sides when I can.The thing is though I watched the chef cooking when I was in the kitchen,all of his dishes were cooked using the usual range of ingredients(apart from the special chilli sauce which I will ask about).So I think you can use any of your usual recipes at the moment,the most important thing is the base,this is where 'that' flavour comes from.