Hi Emin-J,

Well I went to the Mystirica in Bristol on Wednesday night as planned and what a fantastic experience.

It's good to be able to watch the Chefs in action with the open Kitchen

I opted for the Prawns 65. Delicious fresh water black prawns in a hot and spicy batter. This came with a salad which included olives!! and a mint and mango dipping sauce. The prawns were really succulent and well fresh.

I next opted for the gost do-piaza, which is basically a well spiced lamb stew, with safron baked pilau rice and a plain naan bread. As soon as I tasted the stew, ginger, cloves and cinnamon came through, then the spicy tomatoey lamb which was so succulent and really good quality, then finally the caramalised onions broke through... Not a hot dish, probably around the Bhuna mark but the flavours were awesome and not something I have experienced in a BIR for a long while....

I took some pictures which made the manager come over and I explained that you had been there for a cookery class and had recomended the restaurant on here and we sat chatting for around 15 minutes. he was very friendly and excited that we had discussed his restaurant on here so much.

As I said I have taken some pics which I will try and post on here, but given my last attempt, I wonder if they will come out??!!

Well done and many thanks for recomending this restaurant. I would certainly recomend it to anyone visitng Bristol

Oh! Many thanks to Seekingcurry for finding my images and producing them on here

Hi Paul,

I fry it whole with the onion when i cook it. It gives a wonderful aroma and flavour to the dish. But it has to go in at the onion stage

WOW, my pics finally appeared!!! lol

This was lovely.....

Quote from: JerryM on August 17, 2009, 08:16 AM
tgad2007,

many thanks for the extra advice. i do agree on the importance of the cinnamon coming through.

and yes it is quite different to standard masala made or branded. i feel it's actually wrong to call it garam masala. i used garam in my description so it does not get confused with the infusion spice ball method. i very much like the taste of the finished product. it's just very difficult to know which mix proportions will give the best result in the final curry. i know this would improve as u start to use it and gain experience. i'll call it whole spice masala.

the reason i chucked some of the roast spice away was i had no idea of the initial proportions to roast - i just think i put too much cinnamon and Casia in at the start. my cinnamon and Casia are as u describe "tree bark" like.

i've added in anis and taken out the cloves - just personal preference.

best wishes.

Cassia (Cinnamomum aromaticum) is a close relative to cinnamon (C. verum, C. zeylanicum, or "true cinnamon"), Saigon cinnamon (C. loureiroi, also known as "Vietnamese cinnamon"), Camphor laurel (C. camphora), Malabathrum (C. tamala), and Indonesian cinnamon (C. burmannii). As with these species, the dried bark of cassia is used as a spice. Cassia's flavour, however, is less delicate than that of true cinnamon; for this reason, the less expensive cassia is sometimes called "bastard cinnamon".[2]

Whole branches and small trees are harvested for cassia bark, unlike the small shoots used in the production of cinnamon; this gives cassia bark a much thicker and rougher texture than that of true cinnamon.

I am going to Bristol tomorrow for 3 days working and staying over. I'm gonna give this restaurant a try

Many thanks Parker, I'll look this up and give it a go

Hi Jerry,

I think the link you gave me sent me to the Kashmiri Masala page. Can you send me the one you use for the Base please?

Ha Ha Jerry,

I just seen your Kashmiri Masala, as I could not find this post before. It looks fantastic, I'm definitely gonna give that a go.

Have you made it since?

Jerry,

Many thanks for the post of the base, and Corry yes of course I won't give up trying, sometimes I just get so dissapointed with the curries i have made, that I just revert back to the fresh ingredient ones.

So, I will try this base and let you know how I get on. Besides, this forum has taught me a lot over the past 2 years. My chicken tikka my kids say is to die for and I now have to make regular batches every week, I would also love to produce the perfect Madras as apart from a Lamb Bhuna it is one of my favourite dishes. I also love a Chicken Chilli Masala, but haven't seen any recipes for that on here, but my local BIR does it so well....

All of you keep up the good work, I certainly enjoy coming to this forum