Quote from: mr.mojorisin on March 16, 2013, 06:27 PM
My most humble apologies to all the food snobs/officianados for this thread...NOT

Huh?

Why are you getting all snitty because people have not answered your question with the answers you'd hoped for? As far as I can tell people have answered your question honestly and the reality still remains (however much you dislike it) that most people feel that supermarket bought curries simply aren't worth the money paid for them in terms of quality, taste and value for money. No amount of name calling is likely to change that and if that makes me a food snob, sobeit, that's exactly what I am.

Quote from: mr.mojorisin on March 16, 2013, 06:27 PM
Unfortunately some people cannot cook a curry every time we feel like having one.

Very true, so why not freeze some of the ones you do make so you don't have to be dependent on buying rubbish supermarket ones? Or is that too hard for you to do?

Quote from: mr.mojorisin on March 16, 2013, 06:27 PM
Also, some people simply cannot afford to visit the TA every other day/weekend due to cash constraints.

We are in the middle of a triple dip recession after all...

Also true, but what part of my reply did you not understand where I said clearly in the last sentence ...it works out cheaper? I've just enjoyed a home cooked chicken and potato curry, saag bhaji and pilau rice which I find far more enjoyable than any supermarket bought curry that as a meal works out cheaper than the 2 pounds single dish you're quoting from Asda.

So why are you stressing the point that you can't afford BIR takeways and appear to offer the opinion that a supermarket curry is a reasonably cheap alternative?

Quote from: mr.mojorisin on March 16, 2013, 06:27 PMThe purpose of this thread was to gauge what people thought was a cheaper tasty alternative to both TA and home cooked curry to achieve their "curry fix"

Cheaper and tastier are not two words I'd associate with supermarket bought curries. It's cheaper and tastier to make them at home. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the curries I cook at home are just as good as your average BIR takeaway, why do I want to waste my money on more expensive, inferior tasting supermarket curries that don't even come close to your average BIR takeway despite the fact that they appear cheaper?

I've been using CA's mix powder along with his base for some time with good results but I've recently broken with that and have been experimenting with my own concoctions just to see what influence what is having on the final flavour.

I've just recently made a batch my own base sauce which wasn't significantly different to anything else you'll find here but I wanted to experiment with cooking technique and ingredient ratios, specifically the onion weight to other vegetable (green pepper, carrot, cabbage, tomato) weight and to water + oil volume ratio to solid (onion + vegetable) ratio.

I also created my own mix powder to go with it because I wanted to remove the standard pre-bought ground Madras powder component to see what effect it was having. It was basically 4 parts Turmeric, 3 parts coriander, 2 parts cumin, 1 part paprika, 1 part chilli powder, 1 part fenugreek powder, 1 part garlic powder, 1/2 part ginger powder, 1/2 part cardamon powder, 1/2 part garam masala, 1/2 part mustard powder and 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, 1/2 tsp black peppercorns and 1 star anise all ground.

So far it's not been hugely different to what I've been used to but I've only made once dish with this so far so it's early days.

Quote from: Axe on March 16, 2013, 03:15 PM
I use the IG Spice Mix as the chef has been cooking BIR since the early 70's. The food he produces is the standard by which I judge all others and it is second to none.

Interesting.

Do you have a base and sample recipe that goes with this mix powder? Is it right to assume that most of the individual dish flavour comes from the addition of spices to this mix when the actual dish is cooked?

Quote from: fried on March 15, 2013, 09:53 PM
My folks sometimes buy Tesco's pilau rice when I'm back in the U.K...

Which is a shame in itself as Pilau rice is so easy to make once you get a recipe and technique locked down and made fresh is so much better and more fragrant than the stuff you can buy in the supermarket. I can understand why out of time factors and convenience people might want to buy this at the supermarket but if you have the ingredients to hand at home, it's very easy to make and just as good as you'll get in a takeaway.

Once you understand the basic technique you can vary it with other ingredients, my last batch had a handful of lentils soaked and cooked with the rice which made a nice change.

Mine takes about an hour from start to finish and that includes 30 mins rice soaking time, 10 mins cooking time and 15 mins resting time and this can all be done whilst you cook/prepare ingredients for other dishes. 300 grams of rice usually does for 4-6 portions.

I don't like any of them I'm afraid and over the years I've tried most offerings from various high street supermarkets. They just all taste the same - bland, tomato-ey yuckiness.

I just don't like supermarket processed food and I don't buy any anymore, it's overpriced, too salty and uses poor quality ingredients. I prefer to cook my own with fresh ingredients, I know what's going in it, I can control the salt/fat levels, it tastes better, is more nutritious, works out cheaper and I enjoy cooking it.

It's a no brainer for me really.

Quote from: Axe on March 15, 2013, 04:27 PM...the ones I had seen always required an advertised product like Mr Huda's so and so paste.

Yes I've often looked at the recipes on there but I have so many traditional Indian cookbooks (I seem to collect them!) from reasonably well established authors that I've never bothered with any from that site. Incidentally I have one of Gordon Ramsay's books on Indian cookery and whilst I haven't made all the recipes from it, I've made some and those I have made have been surprisingly good.

Out of curiosity, has anyone ever tried Mr Huda's paste range? I've been tempted to try some but given my past disappointment of any pre-made paste I haven't bothered.

What's interesting about Mr Huda's pastes is that the recipes for them make what is essentially a small portion of what we would call 'base sauce'. The process of making the recipe is remarkably close to the BIR technique most of us have adopted and used.

Anyone tried them? Any thoughts?

Quote from: Phil [Chaa006] on March 15, 2013, 01:37 PMGiven that when I make an egg sandwich with two eggs and a whole tin of anchovies (as I have just done), I still find it necessary to add salt, it would seem that my personal need for salt is perhaps arguably greater than the British average ...

I'm surprised you can taste anything at all!

Quote from: George on March 15, 2013, 01:53 PM
Another reason for having a gas hob. I've never understood why anyone would buy an electric powered hob of any description. Vastly inferior.

I agree. I have no idea how anyone cooks anything on an electric hob. When I turn the heat down, I want it instantly, not 5 minutes later.

Quote from: Secret Santa on March 15, 2013, 01:52 PM
See what happens when you old-heads still think in your pre-metric voodoo! 

Guilty as charged.

Whilst I adapted reasonably easily to centimeters and decimal coinage (let's face it the old imperial systems were not logical) I still can't figure out what a 32.2 degree C temperature is whereas I know instantly that 90 degree F is quite hot

Quote from: Phil [Chaa006] on March 15, 2013, 01:43 PM500^oC, not 500F

Aha! That's more like it, 930F, that puts it in a different light. Thanks for pointing that out.

It's also interesting how it sits on top of a gas cooker.