Quote from: livo on December 07, 2018, 01:48 AM
Just cooking potatoes in general SS.  As you correctly point out, an experienced chef will know what potato to use and when to stop boiling them.  There is also a difference between new season and stored spuds.

While this is probably not the usual method in BIR, it is worth noting that JB did write in the OP that he had watched his T/A chef prepare his evening spuds in this way.

All I can say is that I've spent the last three years or so watching my chef do his stuff and this is EXACTLY how he does his pre cooked potatoes.Quite how other chefs may do theirs I don't know,I haven't been in their  kitchens to find out but this is a genuine BIR method that I've seen many times. Has anybody actually been in another BIR kitchen and saw first hand how a chef does his precooked stuff? It's all very well buying e books and watching Youtube, I bet half of these people have never been in a genuine kitchen to see what actually goes on.

Quote from: livo on March 06, 2018, 07:23 PM
Great reply JB.  Pretty well confirms my thoughts.
A question though, So are you saying here that the garlic should be really fried hard, contrary to the written works? Is that what your actual curry kitchen observations reveal?

It would be explained by the authors not wanting to tell people to burn garlic, which is not a great taste. There is point where we'll done garlic becomes over done. It is probably better to have a less than perfect, but edible dish than something inedible due to a burnt initial stage.

Absolutely,the chef starts just about every curry with a chef spoon of oil followed by chopped garlic which has been sitting in a little oil in a tub.The garlic is browned,and I mean really browned but not burnt if that makes sense.I've only ever once  seen him throw the contents of a pan away,that was when he went to take a telephone order and he actually did burn the garlic.As I've said,just about every curry book I have tells you NOT to brown the garlic too much,but my chef does and I think it's part of the technique of getting the flavour right.Remember the garlic tarka that goes into my takeaway gravy,that's also cooked until its really brown and then added to give an extra depth of flavour.

Slightly off topic I know but I have to mention the quality of the naan breads I made at my last curry feast.A big thanks to Happy4chris(shame he just disappeared).If any one is still in any doubt that restaurant quality naan breads can't be done at home or without a tandoor then you're wrong.They are superb,actually better than some of the limp breads I sometimes get delivered.

A very good question.There is still is a distinctive smell I get when I walk past a certain restaurant close to where I live.It literally wafts through the streets and is wonderful.Having said that,my favourite restaurant,also close by doesn't have the same smell neither does my local takeaway kitchen that I regularly visit.They all produce top notch food so I really don't know why they produce 'that' smell.They're always very busy with punters so maybe it's just a case of the sheer number of curries they are cooking.

As discussed on here before, cooking yourself or being in a takeaway kitchen can really play tricks on your senses.If I cook a curry feast at home after a time I can detect very little aroma or any of that 'BIR' smell,yet if I return to the house later the my whole home smells like a curry house,it literally lingers for days.Imagine a busy curry house cooking like this every day and that's probably where that magic smell comes from.

I think my curries are as good as they're going to get now,I get takeaways sometimes and think I can do so much better.Having said that,I still go to some places and think 'wow' that is superb.All down to the chef,no mystery ingredient or nonsense like that,if there was such a thing I would have seen my chef use it over the past few years I've been in his kitchen.Back in 2010 I was still quite a novice at curry cooking.I brought all of the ebooks etc but there was still something missing,and that was technique and actually how to cook curries properly,none of the books went into this.The best thing for me was actually getting into a kitchen and watching how a proper chef cooks,better than all of the books put together.Not stiring the pan, literally burning the garlic in the initial fry(this is one thing all of the ebooks tell you not to do),all these things come together in a BIR kitchen to produce that distinctive taste and aroma

Hi guys,I still have a couple of new recipes to write up,I'll dig out my notes and get them on here.
I actually made another feast this week for the guys and girls at work,took me about 2 days to prepare and cook and about 30 minutes for it to be eaten.It was a mammoth task,but I thoroughly enjoyed it.Just made the usual variety....12 mains,6 side dishes,rice and naan breads...I should have took more pics but all got a bit hectic !!

Been thinking about that for a while.Unfortunately I'm not really an IT expert so actually producing some sort of an Ebook would be a bit of a challenge for me.If I do manage to do such a thing I would definitely ask my chef for his help and input,he's such a nice bloke I'm sure he would be oblige.

I still visit my takeaway kitchen,there's a few new people in there but my chef friend is still there.I've watched him cook  just about everything on the menu and I've  also been there when he's done his prep work.Another chef has now joined from another takeaway that has recently shut down,he cooks on Mondays and Tuesdays so I'm going in the kitchen when he's there to see how he does things.I always buy a curry at the end of a night in the kitchen so everyone's happy,dread to think how much I've actually spent over the last couple of years,money well spent I tell the wife! Been home alone this weekend with the kids,had a takeaway Friday,went for a sit in curry Saturday and got another Sunday special takeaway on its way.....is that too much curry??

Quote from: George on March 04, 2018, 06:42 PM

Quote from: Secret Santa on July 26, 2014, 04:51 PM
The thought occurs to me that it may be possible, as I have a freezer full of base already, to just add the garlic tarka to some reheated base and then blend. Would it really be that different? Suppose there's one way to find out.

I think it may be better because it will be fresher, rather than have the garlic sitting around in a pot of base sauce for quite a long time. Surely the idea of a tarka is that it's fresh, so that's why it's added to some final dishes, just before serving.

Some time ago I tried the base gravy from the Curry Craft Book,very similar to most of the gravy recipes on here.At the end I added a garlic Tarka and I have to say the gravy was spot on,

Hi guys,I still use my first base gravy,I always manage to get great tasting curries from it.The most important bit is the garlic Tarka,add this to any of the other great bases on here and it will transform a good gravy into one that should taste like your average restaurant gravy.Having said that,it's only a base,remember that the actual cooking of the curries and the technique is also important.The second gravy,from my takeaway chef is quite simple.I've seen my chef cook his gravy dozens of times now,no magic or secret ingedients just a good chef who knows his stuff.

Some of the recipes are already here on the,when I get a moment I'll put the others up..

rezalla..https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=14562.0

garam masala....https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=14444.0

garlic chilli...https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=14298.0

pilau rice...https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=13858.0