As commis said - it's the secretion from the bacteria spores ( Bacillus cereus) that's poisonous    mmmm tasty  ;D

This only happens when rice is left at room temp (the spores germinate in much the same way as yeast).

Cool in a fridge within 1 hour, and make sure piping hot when reheated. DON'T leave in fridge for more than 24 hours.

I used to own a pub/restaurant - didn't want any nasty things going on!!

Just about every food outlet/restaurant will reheat rice. (imagine cooking a portion of rice fresh for every order! the time and space required....impossible)

CC

Not usually one for self diagnosis but this is fairly common after eating large meals.

See this (warning.......don't look if you have hypochondriac tendencies!  ;D )

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactive_hypoglycemia

Also check out Postprandial hypoglycemia in google!

Enjoy  ;D

CC

The in laws live 100 yds from the Curry Corner (the traditional one in Cheltenham) so this was a must watch. We go to Chelt most weekends and the smell at 5 p.m. will set your saliva glands buzzing!!!!

They are what I would consider a "proper" bir. Been there for decades, same family cooking the whole time. Never changes.....fantastic food!

Yep - agree Bobby, interesting to see the paste made like this.

I think it was emin-j (maybe wrong) who previously posted a method similar to this, cooking a curry from scratch. If this is how they do a madras I can tell you it's very...very good.

It was a shame to see the others win. I think it goes to show the traditional/old school  bir will soon be lost to those who think this food needs to be fiery hot and heavily spiced rather than balanced.

Why Do chefs think they need to innovate and try to be flash,  rather than producing what everyone already enjoys? 

Yep - I agree SS - but this time it's not Stein doing the cooking.

He wandering around Asia in this series watching how it should be done  ;D

In this episode, he's in Bangladesh, and seeing as many bir owners/chefs are Bangladeshi the curries they show are the building blocks of what we are looking for!

It's good watching this on Sky+ or Iplayer coz you don't have to listen to his waffle!

CC

Did anyone watch this last night. Rick Stein in Bangladesh.

Interesting to see how they started their curries given emin-j posts.

Iplayer linky:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00m9ysc/Rick_Steins_Far_Eastern_Odyssey_Episode_6/

cheers

Yep - agree CA.

As I've mentioned before, BIRs are a busness and at every step they would have to watch the bottom line.

To use the freshest "just made" ingredients would cost (produce and labour) but this restaurant has decided on a niche market (with deep pockets). Got to justify the extra cost somewhere.

I'm sure the food is excellent but probably not what this site is trying to acieve.

More cheap and cheerful than artsy fartsy. ;D

Been watching Rick Steins latest outing in Asia.

It looks as though most of their curries use the kaffir lime leaves. They just crunch them up and throw them in.

It also looked as though all their curries are made using home made pastes rather than a base of onions or toms. Much thinner consistancies all round.

Never really got into south east asian cooking. South east asian eating for sure but...

Hi emin

Did they let you know what was in their spice mix?

I am sure that dry roasing and grinding fresh spices is key to any good curry. This as well as fresh ingredients has got to produce the best results..obvious really.

As per everyone else...surprised by the lack of base! I'm sure even Bruce Edwards says he makes two bases a week at home. I guess there is more than one way to achieve a good result. But what makes a good result great? Could it be a few beers first ;D ;D

Maybe the oil doesn't need to be spiced (enough in the base/curry?)

Maybe the difference with this oil is the boiling/frying point + oxidisation.

Anyone who has a deep fat fryer can see that chips cooked in it cook "differently" over time.

New oil takes ages to cook chips (used to own a pub with a restaurant). Oil thats a day or two old (commercial cooking) cooks better and the food tastes better.

Is oil reclaimed for this reason rather than for being spiced?

One consideration would be what else has been cooked in the oil. If it's chicken, then animal fat will be present and cooked heavily. If just chips then???

Just random thoughts, but I think this idea of used oil (in some form) could be really move us forward in our quest

I would have to agree with SS. You really do need to know how this "spent" oil has been stored.

The health problems with used oil I am not as worried about. After all, it could have been used hours before for commercial use. That food would have been full of the stuff.

I would prefer to use my own though. I know most chip/kebab/chicken shops would filter their oil to remove debris. This lets them use the oil for at least twice as long! And some I am sure filter much more.

As long as the oil isn't rancid or over oxidised it should be OK. (We won't mention triglycerides or free fatty acids - if we did we wouldn't eat another curry or chip again!!)

I look forward to hearing everyones results (i'll let you lot try it first - if I don't hear back i'll assume the worst  ;D )

Everthing in moderaton....