looks great, i love the Dopiaza, looks very tasty.

have not tried one yet or even tasted one, but looking at your pics i must give it a go soon.

can you post the reciepe, i dont have that book.

Also did it taste as good as it looks?

hello all this is the curry i made with a new batch of base sauce.

pictures here of me making the base sauce (same way new batch)

https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=1894.240

here is the first curry i made with this base sauce

https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=1894.250

for the curry i used BE spice mix, i then added a mix of crushed chillies, cayene pepper, chilli powder, onion, ginger/garlic. with a dash of passata.

i also made some pilau rice, i use the recipe here

https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=1383.0

i add the optional curry leaves and star anise. This rice reciepe is superb, after only 4 attempts im very happy with my results. i add turmeric to the water i boil the rice in, this gives a lovley yellow colour, just half a teaspoon is enough. This reciepe gives rice as good as any restaurant ive ever been to, and ive eating about 2 curries a week for 20 years from all over the country. The rice i dont now need to keep looking at the recipe, which saves time and is nice to feel im progressing.

The curry tasted great, my best attempt yet, even though its only my 4th crack at it ive got it down to a nice taste i enjoy, and not far off the taste of a BIR one.

Im happy with the base reciepe which is why i made a new batch the exact same way, though will probably start tweaking things now to find that elusive bir taste.



everything in the wok

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/7963/20091112curry0015.jpg

just about there



the rice ready



the final article



the close up.

presuaded the wife to have a pizza tonight instead of the usual sunday roast.

here are pics, used the recipe i posted above.

adding the bread yeast to the flour, olive oil, salt. just put the yeast in a glass with warm water and a little sugar and stirred and waited 10 mins.



once kneaded left the dough in a bowl for an hour under a table cloth then took half and rolled out very thin.



laid over the pizza tray.




trimmed the edge, let the dough rest for 10 mins, then put pizza base sauce i made as stated in  recipe in the centre to spread out.

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/2593/pizza4.jpg

loading up the pizza




mozzarelli on and into the oven




the finished article




here's a close up, tasted as good as the best pizza take away.

at the moment lidl is selling mozzarella (the proper stuff in the wet bag) it costs 50p only, and each bag gives just the right amount for a large pizza, i bought  load of them for freezing just incase the offer goes.

would just like to add to above, the dough is much better rolled, my pizzas looked much better than the pics in that recipe. they had that nice pizza edge that they pics shown dont have.

i curled the dough right over the lip of the tray then cut them neat around it with a knife.

hi

i copied this recipe and made pizza a lot better than any shop ever sells, and its so simple. a must is a proper pizza tray though.

just follow this reciepe to the letter and you will make brilliant thin and crispy pizzas.

something i did was roll the dough out real thin, as thin as i could get it withough creating holes. its a little tricky lifting it up into the tray but i manage it fine just gotta be carefull.

http://cook.dannemann.org.uk/mains/pizza/


seriously try it, before anything else. wish i took pics to show the pizzas i made, will next time and post them.

its a doddle and dirt cheap

thought i would start organising my spices better, so today went and bought a few jars, also got some packs of spices from same shop, this works out much cheaper as was using the sharwood type jars before.

anyhow the think im concerned about is dating, some spices im sure i will use less than others such as star anise or cardomon pods, how do others keep a check of dates on spices? i dont fancy having to label each time with date as i top up the jars.

is it just a smell test most use?


heres a pic of my spice collection so far, still a lot of stuff to get as you can see.

i saw this on the bbc news website too.

intresting stuff

hi all

so i had a crack at making a curry with this base, and here is the result. i didint take as many pictures as it was full on work doing it.

couple of points

i was lacking a few things ie i had no garam masala or fenugreek, so i basically used a mix of spices as in the be spice mix and some garlic and chilli powder and tomato puree.

I also made a korma at the same time for my wife, i made a mistake in using a bag of grated coconut, this showed up poorly in the meal, though the taste was very nice.

also shown is my attempt to make some pilau rice, i was missing cardomon for this reciepe, though it tasted just right, and i messed up a bit with my food colouring.



washing the basmati



put the spices in, as i had no cardomon i put a touch of chinese 5 spice in, with bay leave, cumin, salt, sugar, 5 whole cloves. all thrown in on some hot veg oil



here is the rice drying out, i splashed some natural food colouring on. then set aside in the fridge for an hour, before i started the curry cooking.



here is my stuff to make the vindalloo, i had no chillies, and was missing a couple of ingriedents. but used a tub of minced chillies for heat.




At this point it was hectic, i was making the curries and was busy as heck and never took photos, i even forgot to take one of the korma. but i did take this final pic of my curry.




So wasint quite like a bir curry, but it wasint that far off, was very pleased realy with the end result, and ive learned a few lessons and gained some knowledge for my next attempt which will be on saturday.

1. getting the coulour in the rice is harder than i thought, easier to i think make couloured rice in seperate cups then let dry and mix all together before reheating.

2. almonds in the korma, i had a hard job justifying the 1.68 for the small bag of almonds from the supermarket, i bought almond extract instead for 58p a bottle, im not sure what diffrence this made to the overall dish. To me the curry shouldnt cost more than i could buy it for, infact it should cost a lot less, this is one of the main reasons for creating your own as well as the fun involved.

3. the cocunut in the korma should be liquid or this comes through unpleasant in the final dish, i think the milk of a coconut would do just fine next time.

4. i realy must get together the correct ingriedence, this is curtailing my effort, ive been buying all this stuff from morrisons and though ive had to make a huge outlay for spices ect, this will obviously get cheaper now i have so much and wont need much at all except some chicken for quite a few meals.

5. i need to when happy create a spice mix, this will save loads of bother dishing out a spoon full of this and that all the time. i realy need to look into this as it makes it so much easier and also more uniform.

will update how i do on saturday.

by the way both curries tasted realy nice anyway, just not quite what they could have been.

i found this reciepe on natco site main page

The restaurant food enjoyed in British Indian restaurants for generations is very different to traditional Indian food, largely because the majority of "Indian" restaurants are owned and run by Bengalis, Bangladeshis and Pakistanis. In addition, the original recipes have changed to reflect local tastes and available ingredients. This has resulted in what is today identified as the "BIR" or British Restaurant Curry.

There are several web sites devoted to recreating the BIR taste at home and thanks to an anonymous contributor - we have pleasure in presenting what in our opinion is the closest recipe to recreating your favourite restaurant curry.

This recipe has been contributed by a customer who asked to remain anonymous (Thanks again "M"!) who has spent 20 years trying various combinations and recipes - his own personal "Holy Grail" and we reproduce it here exactly as he wishes.

The Basic Curry Sauce

(Tip: have a read of ALL of these pages first - pick a curry and ensure you've got all the things you need before starting).

4 large RED onions, coarsely chopped - yes red onions!
2oz unpeeled fresh ginger, chopped
3oz peeled fresh garlic, coarsely chopped
6tbs vegetable oil
1tsp heaped salt
? tsp sugar
240g tin of chopped tomatoes
1tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder (important!!!!)
1tsp Paprika
1tbs tomato puree
1tsp tomato ketchup

1. Fry onion in 1tbs of oil for 10 mins on a low heat until soft (not browned)
2. Put in the garlic, ginger and salt then add enough water to just cover the top of all ingredients.
3. Bring everything to boil then turn down to a simmer for 30 mins (no lid)
4. While this is simmering, place remaining 5tbs of oil, tomatoes, puree, ketchup and spices into another saucepan - boil then simmer for 10 mins on low heat.

Separately blend both of the above VERY FINELY and combine, then simmer for another 15 minutes to ensure cooked and well mixed. The blending is vital to the flavour/correct texture. Add water if it ever gets too dry during this phase. The end result should should be about 1600ml of gravy - if it's not, add water to this volume now.

The Secret Onion Paste (biggest secret!)
2 lge white onions, chopped finely
4 cloves garlic
3tbs vegetable oil
Pinch of cumin
Pinch of cinnamon

Place raw onion and garlic into blender. Add enough water to come about halfway up the side of the blender and blend until WELL smoothed.

Heat the oil in a pan on a high heat, adding the mixture (it will spit!!!)

Reduce this down until it gets dryer then add the spices and continue frying until it turns into what looks a bit like bread dough. This may take some time but is worth it for the final taste! Be careful not to burn this as it will be ruined. Taste the finished product - tastes almost "soapy" - remind you of anything familiar?

Special Spice Mix (not that special)
Equal amounts of cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala and dried fenugreek. If unsure which brand to buy, try NATCO - especially their garam masala which is superb. I mix up a few tablespoons of each at a time and keep in a Tupperware tub, etc!

The above are a MUST for all recipes and corners cannot be cut in any way.






i have not found on here a base reciepe that asks for cinnamon powder, has anyone tried this reciepe and how authentic is it?. is it the taste we all think is missing?, i suspect thi reciepe is not all its cracked up to be on this site as im sure it would have found its way over here.also onion paste reciepe?