About 20 years ago, I went beating for shooting parties several times. We were given a couple of pheasants as partial remuneration, each session. I recall cooking some the next day and experimenting with hanging for various periods. I also played around with seasoning, sauces and other aspects. But nothing I tried, produced a pleasant flavour for my taste. I much prefer chicken. Pigeon is also tasty.

Quote from: tempest63 on October 22, 2023, 07:23 AM
The BBC is running a story on the current cost of a takeaway curry in various regions of the U.K.

Indian takeaways: Restaurant owners say high prices down to perfect storm https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-67138765

I first noticed they are pricing themselves beyond my price range a couple of years ago. As a result, I have cut right back on the number of times I visit Indian restaurants. It will be sad if nearly all of them close but I can't afford to support my local Indian restaurants, charging £10.95 for a main course dish, when I can get a huge plate of delicious roast food at a Toby Carvery for as little as £4.80.That's broadly similar to ordering a curry, rice and side dish (vegetables) at a BIR but it would probably cost almost 5x more.

Phil - you're a star. Thank you so much for the link. It worked, and I signed up for the same deal which you got. To start, I just watched an 11 min video by Marco Pierre White on how to cook Ragu. There were some approaches I had not come across before. If it results in me improving the flavour of Ragu, then it will all have been worthwhile.

I see £79 for 1 year access to Veneet's Indian course or £120 for access to a range of courses like you are describing for £79. For me, £79 sounds expensive but I guess the BBC needs all the income it can generate to pay some presenters outrageous salaries.  And £120 is extortionate, given so many free videos on youtube, and plenty of cookery books, some by the same celebrity chefs.

I haven't caught Covid, and have had only a single common cold since late 2019. Unlike Secret Santa, however, I am a keen mask wearer.

Quote from: bhamcurry on September 22, 2023, 04:06 PM
My wife and son don't like tarka dal - they find it "too dry".

I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for a lentil curry that I could cook instead of tarka dal?

The best lentil dish I have ever tasted was also the very first and is about as simple as it can get - dal soup, specifically as served at a specific Indian restaurant for at least 40 years. I have been trying to recreate the same delicious flavour at home for almost as long. I can get quite close but it's still not as good.  The starting point is red lentils, which turn yellow. Add pinches of salt and turmeric and not much more.

From the amusing channel called 'Rate my Takeaway':

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBmxjLnKnik

The food does look good. I'm sure it's a lot better than at Shababs.

Quote from: bhamcurry on September 14, 2023, 02:15 PM
... it's way faster than the old fashioned way!

Thanks for flagging up what looks like a very good recipe. But it appears complex. What old fashioned way would take even longer and with what extra steps?

One reason for making return visits was that's included in places where I can get 25% discount through a scheme/app called Gourmet Society. Every listing states you must phone to book in advance but I never do, and I doubt if other people do, either. It's almost unheard of for anywhere to object, except at Shababs. The guy on the front desk sounded like he didn't want to give me the discount. I said if he preferred, I could book for 30 mins ahead, then return. It didn't come to that but I didn't like their attitude. I certainly won't be going back again.

I visited Shababs for the third time, a  couple of months ago. I don't know why I bother returning, really. I've never thought the food was anything special but the Balti chicken somehow seemed quite tasty, before. This time, I thought it reminded me of times at home when things go wrong and I end up with a sub-standard anonymous tasting curry. Even worse was the keema naan bread I ordered. The filling in 95% of places is good but not here. They must have their own recipe for the filling and I thought it was awful.