Quote from: Phil (Chaa006) on June 17, 2012, 12:20 PM
** Phil (who far prefers the older 21-point game to this modern 11-point nonsense).

Blah; you'd lose either way! 

Quote from: Stephen Lindsay on June 17, 2012, 12:10 PM
Slightly off topic chaps and descending into a game of ping pong

Perhaps it is slightly off-topic, SL, but wouldn't you agree that it is a very important point? 

Haldi has raised the question as to whether anyone has seen this book.  DP has cited "two nuggets" of valuable (to be taken at face value?) information in it; one of which is this topic.

I think it's a VERY significant question and very worthy of sensible debate (but should maybe be debated elsewhere, granted). 

Haldi has gone to great lengths to make a full size curry base and it seems to have drawn a bit of a blank.  But, perhaps, goes someway to answering some of these questions.

Many members have questioned the issue of scaling up and scaling down. 

Clearly many members have very different opinions on this topic (but, as you say, should maybe be debated elsewhere). 

But let the "debate" continue! 

PS: why are some of you guys so reluctant to debate some of the salient issues around making BIR curries at home?  Because they are contentious?  Sorry, but that is where the true mileage lies, in my opinion.

Weak, Phil, very weak  :

Bum!  Against my better judgement, please name me just ONE area of cooking where you would not double the ingredients if you were making twice the amount (with some sort of scientific, not religious or mystical, rationale)?  I can honestly think of none.

Coffee?
Tea?
Toad in the Hole?
Victoria Sandwich?
Stew?
Casserole?
etc,
etc?

I can also think of no chemical, or physical, reaction where that is the case.

I await your response with acute anticipation (NOT constipation!  )! 

Quote from: Naga on June 17, 2012, 10:48 AM
I made CA's pilau rice yesterday and I thought that I had to add food colouring to make it more visually attractive. Instead of powder, I bought Asda's liquid red, yellow and green natural food colourings from the baking section and, I must say, they worked a treat.

Yes, liquid food colourings (not natural ones, though?  ) are what I use to colour rice; they work a treat! 

What are these "natural food colourings" made of, please, Naga?

Glad to hear that you enjoyed it, Franko and Naga 

Glad that it worked for you, guys 

Great effort and report Haldi 

Where do you think that leaves you now?

I'm sorry, Phil, but when you can drop all the flowery (pretentious) words, Latin, French, etc.  And when you can summarise what you're trying to say, in far fewer, clearer, words, then maybe I'll make more of an effort to try and read and understand what it is that you're trying to say, and respond accordingly.  Until then, I'll let it ride.   

Phil,

It's illogical and unscientific for the very reason I suggested.

If you beg to differ, then some other factors must be coming into play (with your cooking).  Like size of pan, size of heat source, etc.

But, if you really believe that adding a "single portion" amount of garlic and ginger (for example) to a "double portion", gives the same result as two individual portions combined (with, therefore, twice as much garlic and ginger in it as in a single portion), then good luck to you!  But please don't try and convince others of it and try to sell it as an "empirically proved fact"!  :

Quote from: philRather than simply saying "I don't understand this, therefore it cannot be true", why not try the experiment for yourself and then report your findings.  That   would surely be both the logical and the scientific thing to do

I do it all the time, Phil, and what I personally find is that if you want to make double the portion, then double ALL of the ingredients.  If you want to make x times the portion, then multiply ALL of the ingredients by x.

The only caveat, in my opinion, is that, to get the same result, you must have a heat source and size of pan that are capable of replicating the same cooking conditions.