Quote from: krs187uk on July 24, 2012, 07:17 PM
This Base is awesome!!! ...did a Madra's with the same base and WOW WOW WOW It was perfect

Brilliant krs, glad you enjoyed the curries that you made from it! 

Quote from: Clive77I made a batch of this yesterday and tried it out on a Vindaloo...quite honestly it was blinkin' fabulous, the best curry I've EVER made (and I'm not just saying that...). This base is definitely better than the one I've been using. Despite being quite similar in it's constitution, it's the proportions that are just spot on

Hi Clive, glad that you enjoyed the base and your subsequent curries!  ;D

Quote from: Phil (Chaa006)there was a distinct flavour of raw curry powder....the final curry had a definite aroma of raw curry powder....I was personally unhappy with the smell, which took me back (mentally) to the bad old days of British curries, when the average housewife would simply add raw curry powder to a casserole recipe and then serve it as a curry

Sorry to hear that you were disappointed, Phil, and that your findings were so different from others' (again).

I cannot really explain your findings.  I don't really understand why you found "the distinct flavour (and smell) of raw curry powder".  I've never found this.  I've tried many, many, variations (including frying the spices) and have found this method to be the best (to preserve flavours, freshness, etc).

You are anyway frying the spices (and the curry base) when you subsequently prepare your final curries, aren't you?  Or perhaps you're still adding spices to cold oil..... :-X

Again, perhaps your findings reflect your different experiences, different expectations, different methods and/or different cooking abilities....or something else.

Thanks for trying it, and reporting your findings, anyway! 

Quote from: Sojourn on February 08, 2012, 06:06 PM
Awesome recipe, I made this on Saturday and it was perfect

Glad you liked it Sojourn 

Quote from: DieselBut last night and can I just say CA you got the spot on its fab best I've ever made

Glad you enjoyed it Diesel 

Quote from: Aussie MickCooked this tonight........EXCELLENT!!

Glad to hear that you enjoyed it Mick 

Quote from: MadMattCooked this last night(albeit without the spiced oil) and as usual it was fantastic

Pleased to hear that Matt!  ;D

Quote from: ColinGrigsonI tried this yesterday...and it was really good

Pleased to hear that you enjoyed it Colin 

Quote from: s3782Just had this tonight , it was fantastic , so tastey , much nicer than my local indian's chicken madras

Pleased to be of assistance s3782 

Quote from: Phil (Chaa006)Verdict : OK, but nothing special

Thanks for trying it and reporting back Phil 

I can't really explain why your findings are so different than others'.  Perhaps it's different experiences, different expectations, different cooking methods and/or different cooking abilities.....or something else.   

If it was 11pm, and I was "out of it" (not so unusual) the FIRST thing I'd do (and often do) is to take a portion of precooked curry and a portion of precooked rice out of the freezer, defrost it, reheat it and serve it..all within 15 minutes or so...from start to finish.

Failing that, if I didn't have any precooked curry in the freezer, I'd take out a portion of precooked curry base, defrost it, reheat it and cook a BIR-style curry with it.....all within 30 minutes....start to finish.

If I didn't have any precooked curry base in the freezer I'd have cheese crackers.

Isn't this what BIR-style cooking (using pre-cooked ingredients) all about?

I reckon Julian might be better off advocating a similar approach for people buying and using his spice kits?

Quote from: Salvador Dhali on August 17, 2012, 02:27 PM
the whole BIR process is comprised of a series of carefully crafted 'short cuts' designed to enable a chef to get a curry to plate or foil container in 8-10 minutes.

I agree, 100%.  British Indian Restaurant cooking IS the shortcut (to traditional Indian cooking - which is what this video resembles). 

The only other "shortcut" is to cut down on the cooking time for the ("normal") curry base (for example) by making a much reduced quantity (of which there are many examples on this forum...some taking less than an hour to make).

The technique, in the video, is much like that which I (and, I'm sure, many others) employed some decades ago and which is commonly portrayed (perhaps excluding the blending) in the plethora of traditional Indian cooking cookbooks.

You're not seriously suggesting this as a typical BIR (or even a traditional Indian) cooking technique, are you, DP (KP?)?

Now you're off on tangents Phil.

The debate was about cooking spices by adding them to cold oil (traditional Indian technique?  BIR technique?)....and about debating it here (not elsewhere, irrespective of their credentials).

I, for one, do  not consider this forum to be simply a portal to other forums (or books, or private enterprises, etc).  Perhaps most members disagree.....

Ahhh, you're undoubtedly right Phil.  It's probably just me.  I'm sure most members are extremely interested in your blow-by-blow account of delivering the stuff to Josh.

Well, let ME be honest, Phil.  You (and others) can obviously place as much credance as you wish in the statements of whomever you wish.  But, the question, neverthless, remains.

I am sure Ajoy is an accomplished (traditional Indian) chef and I have picked up some great tips from his website.

However, I am  not about to go to his website to discuss it (however receptive he undoubtedly is) because I firmly believe that we should endeavour to develop content on THIS website.

Nevertheless, I would be very interested to hear Ajoy's views on the topic here.....or your's (of course)...

Phil/Josh,

This thread is about Chewy's Chicken Tikka.  Wouldn't it be better if you messaged each other about sending the said tikka paste?  I'm sure most members aren't really that interested in all the details of the transaction! 

Just goes to show, some say it's white, and some insist it's black!

I understand that adding the spices to cold oil (or making a paste of it in water) will help prevent the spices from burning.....but is this REALLY a typical Indian (not even a BIR) cooking technique?  I suspect not?