Balti chicken (Apricot)





Rob

Photo test.



Chicken pakora

Rob

Good innit!

Rob

Al's doing a series of restaurant reviews. Here is the first one in Blackpool.

https://youtu.be/8sAuIbTMpPs?si=u-hHKld2fxeB-tNE

He makes some good observations. The bones though! Not enough seasoning/ingredients. I was half expecting him to take a jar of Mr. Naga pickle out of his pocket and start spooning it in. It does seem to go in most of his own curry recipes.

Rob

Quote from: curryhell on April 18, 2025, 07:25 PM
Any chance of your recipe Rob?  I really am yearning for the taste of a decent reshmi kebab or two    I can then  show you my gadget for creating the egg net to wrap round it then.  Surprised at Din's comments on how they made these in the restaurant back in the day.  My experience of reshmi and shami at my local Bangladeshi restaurant back in the 80's was as per the traditional method and not simply using the same mix as for keema but making a round pate and frying it.  Maybe I was just spoilt.  Obviously, nowadays that is exactly what you're gonna get  due to cost and expedience

Yes, I tried to post it a couple of weeks ago. I was scuppered right at the end adding some helpful prep photos as my text screen vanished. My tablet must have a limit for how many pages are open at one time.

So, coming soon. I know I keep saying this. I will reboot the post from when I made it first. Made a tweak to make the best yet. No additional binder. The Zaatar mix itself will suffice. I have used chick peas in the past, but It's too easy to make the shamis overly dry with them. In Chef Din's video he did seem to be having a little trouble bashing his chana. Mutton mince with no onions, as before. Egg dunk coating. It's there to hold the kebab together. They are so delicate. Gentle microwave re-heat to serve is also essential for authenticity.100 % Manchester Shami clone. Exquisite. The Dog's nuts.

If I can restore my spong it will nice to prep some mince myself next time.

Rob

Found another Mr. Dave's Madras. Remembered they were two for £6. Had half.  For the remainder added a little diluted tomato puree, 3 twists of black pepper, 1 tbsp veg oil and, 1 tbsp MDB MKI balti oil. Voila, a humble ready-made transformed into a top-notch curry.





Earlier, I was scratching my head as to the whereabouts of one of my tupperware base gravy containers. It was in the freezer, with this inside. Dragon basmati. Quite a few keto treat portions, so all in all a good find.





Rob

Found my spong.



It's looking a bit worse for wear, so I have dismantled it and am soaking some parts in vinegar, to get the rust off. It's a fine gadget though. It's the deluxe cream coloured base version with a bright red wooden handle! The cream will match my microwave nicely. A respray is an option, but there is a rather fine gold Spong sticker on it and I would like to preserve this.

CH was right about the rissoles. It was indeed mash, peas & gravy. I am dreaming a lot about crinkle cuts lately. The bread and butter on the side though, oh yes.

Rob

Great to see Julian back on the scene. I remember the Punjab in Rusholme.

Rob

The freezer is pretty much devoid of curry, or anything remotely BIR. I found this ready made. Wasn't bad, wasn't great either.






Ready made BBQ ribs from the butchers. These were pretty good actually.





Anyway. Reckon I need to make some base gravy. There can only be one.

Rob

Remembered another '70's home food classic. This was also fairly regular fayre for us. Rissoles! Made with minced beef and onion. Mum had a Spong gadget; clamped on the work top. It was red. I have one somewhere, must find it. No bread bun or picked gherkins with these bad boys. Served with chips, peas and sometimes gravy. Brown sauce or ketchup, or both. Buttered white bread on a side plate, sliced on the diagonal

Rob