Hi Guys

The problem I had with the Ashoka base was the quantity so I tried to half it which with hindsight was not a good idea, the end results being very greasy, not oily but a bit slimy, ugh. I suppose the proportions of marg and coconut block were way out so adversely affecting the outcome. Has anyone tried chinois (I think) suggestion of replacing the marg with evaporated milk? Might be worth trying here especially if you try to reduce the quantity of base.

Cheers
CoR   

Quote from: Unclebuck on May 14, 2009, 02:26 PM


Sounds like you need a time travel machine not a curry cookery forum huh?

All those interested in forming a time travel group meet here last Thursday...
;D ;D ;D

CoR

Take a look at this

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/news/the-heat-is-on-investigators-discover-that-half-the-basmati-rice-sold-in-britain-is-adulterated-733815.html

Obviously the article is from a while ago and the industry has introduced stricter guidelines but there is no "official" enforcement and nothing to suggest things have improved much. Basically I suppose if it cooks ok and smells ok then it probably is ok but good basmati is never going to cheap.

CoR

The term basmati seems to have become a sort of "generic" term for long grain rice grown pretty much anywhere in the sub-continent, a bit like cheddar cheese here. The T/As and BIRs will I presume just buy the cheapest they can that says basmati on the bag but the difference from the cheapo stuff and the real thing is night and day, just like supermarket cheddar compared to a proper farmhouse cheese.
Real basmati is only grown in specific regions and only harvested once yearly and must be aged before sale to be at its best. Anything labeled "Pakistani Basmati" or "genetically tested (?modified?)" is phoney and will not taste as good as one of the reputable brands.

Have a look here http://www.tilda.com/ for more info.

BTW JerryM, if you don't use it for curries what on earth are you going to use 20kg of rice for??

Regards
CoR

Hi Kris and thank you for the interest in our forum.

I agree that the book reflects the current trends in contemporary BIR cuisine but many here are attempting to recreate the curries of yesteryear which we feel were perhaps simpler but definitely better than the fare dished up today, I personally think they managed to throw the baby out along with the flock wallpaper! That said I don't think we are closed minded at all and welcome any insight into Indian cookery, traditional, contemporary or whatever.
Regarding the base, my comments above were made before I had tried it. Since then I've made it 3 times now and find it works very well but I still don't think you can fry 1kg of onion in just 3 tbs of oil, not sure how much oil I use I just cover the bottom of the pan to about 1/8th inch and find that works well.
Couldn't agree more about the benefit of using top quality ingredients, that's one of the main reasons I got into cooking my own curries at least I know what's in them, not long ago I went to a new purpose built venue, flash interior design and adventurous menu and had the worst meal I've ever had (fish curry and bhindi bhaji both made with frozen ingredients and they had the nerve to charge me nearly ?30).
Back to the book, very nicely presented, excellent photos, really good base and some nice veggie recipes (that cauli keema is really nice, thank you) well worth the price of a take away which is what it cost me, I'd happily recommended it to anyone.

Regards
CoR

Quote from: JerryM on April 24, 2009, 08:23 AM


... could u list out the ingredients of the base (not the amounts)...

Hi JerryM

I think I listed the ingredients to the new KD base somewhere else but cant find the link so here they are again,

oil,onions,ginger,garlic,tinned tomatoes,tomato puree,salt,turmeric,paprika,water.

That's it, I done the base twice now and find it "cooks down" really well. I think it works because it is so simple, definitely worth checking out. Hope this helps.

CoR

1-Madras (nearly always chicken, occasionally lamb). 90% of all curries cooked.
2-Bhuna (madras with less chilli powder + green pepper and onion)
3-Dopiazza (madras less chilli + sauteed onion and frozen peas)
4-Vindaloo (madras extra chilli powder and soured with vinegar)
5-Jalfrazi (madras + fresh bird's eye chilli)

That's it at Chez Cor, no girly korma/ctm stuff and no fancy "contemporary cuisine" either, just good old world style BIR curry made with the best quality ingredients and tasting pretty much like I remember from back in the day, thanks to all info/expertise of the members here. Cheers.

CoR. ;D

Rice and curry stir fried, for breakfast, with a poached egg on top. Heaven.

CoR

Hi JerryM.

The madras and bhuna are my own interpretations of dishes/techniques gleaned from this site, mainly the BE style madras with the addition of chilli and g/g pastes as per the Ashoka recipes and for bhuna chopped (tinned) tomatoes and sliced green pepper added after tempering the spice mix (BE plus chilli powder, to taste, and asatoefida) before adding the base by the ladle full and reducing to the desired consistency.

KD doesn't actually list any madras or bhuna dishes in the new book and for some reason of all the dozens of curry books I've had from the library I seem to have managed to miss her original so can't comment on her take on those dishes, the only recipe I've tried from the book so far is the cauliflower keema which was really nice, not exactly BIR but well worth trying.

CoR

Interesting coincidence going on here. I came across the Gulshan article just after finishing my first attempt at the new Kris Dillon base and the only spice in that is 1 tsp turmeric and 1 tsp paprika (I used deggi mirch instead cos I didn't have any paprika) in nearly 3 litres of finished base. This base is basically just fried/boiled onions and tomato and by far the simplest I've done to date and to be honest I wasn't expecting too much of it, well we had madras on Friday, bhuna last night and I've just made another bhuna for tonite, so I suppose you can say it works for us! The base seems to cook very well when making the finshed dish and if you want to tweak it with extra spices then why not, I think next time I'll throw in some whole spices and remove them before blending, definitely worth a try.

CoR