Looks like another to check out. My main concern, as with Mr Loyden's book, is the existence of recipes for chicken AND lamb Madras, though not having looked at the book they may of course be different. If not I have to say I personally hate the needless doubling up of recipes, which is a sloppy and lazy way of filling pages when a simple note to substitute lamb for chicken if so desired.

Fussy old git, I know...  ;-)

Quote from: gazman1976 on September 07, 2012, 04:39 PM
Hi all yeah the taste is still alive in a few places here in Glasgow, i just visited a new restaurant that opened in charing cross, glasgow called the punjabi, the food was the best i have had and they also do on the bone aswell, if you ever happen to be up this way please check it out, below is their website

http://punjabicharingcross.co.uk/

Garry

Glad to hear it, Garry. If 'the taste' was to ever die a death in Glasgow I shudder to think of the repurcussions!

I may be mistaken, but I have vague memories of visiting a restaurant called the Punjabi in Paisley Road from my time there in the early 80s, but then I have many equally vague memories from untold Glasgow curry houses from that period. (Bar the Shish Mahal, which I haunted regularly.)

Must get back up to Glasgow soon to rediscover what got me into this lark in the first place....

Quote from: Secret Santa on September 03, 2012, 02:10 PM

Quote from: chewytikka on September 03, 2012, 01:13 PM
Worcestershire Sauce is used in old School recipes, like my Madras and Dhansak

We must have gone to different schools.  ;D

Interestingly (or not, depending on your viewpoint), Worcestershire Sauce is also found in recipes for traditional Indian food. (You'll find it mentioned several times in 'Prashad - Cooking With Indian Masters').

As some of the ingredients for Worcestershire Sauce came from India (Lea and Perrins dates back to 1838), and we no doubt sent it over there during the days of the British Raj, I guess that's where its use in Indian cuisine originated - and continues to this day.

As indeed it should.

Bloody good show, I say!

Quote from: Edwin Catflap on September 03, 2012, 01:56 PM
Cheers SD, I'll hold myself back for some scrummy Madras leftovers!!! 

Works particularly well with Chewy's Madras!

Quote from: Edwin Catflap on September 03, 2012, 01:09 PM
Hi everyone, i made some of CBM's bunjarra this weekend and it tastes great. My question is what and when is the best time to put this in a dish and what dish??

Also made some keema peas with Abduls 8 spice mix.......deelish!!! Will be having this again!!

I'm a big fan of CBM's bunjarra too, and find that it's not super-critical when you add it (with the only proviso being that, as it's an adjunct and not a main ingredient, it's probably best not to add it at the beginning).

My preference is to add it about five mins or so from the end (after, say, you've put the last ladle of base gravy in), so it gets the chance to blend in nicely.

And if you can exercise some restraint, do try to save some of the bunjarra enhanced curry for the next day, as the intensity levels multiply overnight.

Online shop seems to be up and running:

http://www.simtom.co.uk/category/online-shop

I might try one or two of their pickles/chutneys and maybe a chilli sauce or two....

Just talking about bhuna is making me salivate, so I'm going to have to give this a go, 967bar.

Sadly, as has been said, what they call bhuna in BIRs these days is a pale shadow of the real deal. In fact the last proper bhuna I had was 15 years ago at what was then the best restaurant in the area (restaurant still there, but original owner/staff/chef/bhuna regrettably not).

Their Lamb Bhuna Gosht was to die for. Deep and savoury with a thick, clinging sauce that coated the palate with layers of spice...

If I knew where that chef was now I'd track him down and beg him to make me one...

Yep - as StoneCut says, it's just the base. As long as it's composed of around 95% onions and contains a bit of garlic, ginger, and the usual spice suspects, etc., it will be great. Of far more importance is paying attention to the details, such as making sure the onions are cooked properly and for long enough, blending to a really smooth texture, and so on.

Hi Booner

Welcome - good to have someone from my neck of the woods on the forum (well, I'm nearer to Chichester than Portsmouth, but I know Portsmouth well).

While it's not my default base recipe, to date I've knocked up a good 40 litres or so of the base gravy in the video you posted (Julian from Curry 2 Go in Chorley) to date (easy to do when you make 15L at a time), and like all decent base gravy recipes it works well if you make it with care and pride. There's no shortage of other great base recipes on here, so you've got a lot to look forward to!

And the great thing is that you'll soon be making curries far (far) superior to those I've experienced in many of Portsmouths restaurants and takeaways.

I've kept out of the Patak's sauce debate because, when I feel the need to use a commercial paste, I prefer to use Laziza pastes, but this morning I went to my local asian wholesale shop (which supplies all the restaurants around here), and had a chat with the owner.

He also owns five restaurants, and freely admitted that they use Patak's pastes - but only in the preparation of tandoori/tikka dishes. This was backed up by the presence of catering size jars of Kashmiri, Tandoori and Tikka pastes on the shelves (all of which I've noticed whenever I've been into BIR kitchens).

He assured me that all the main dish curries were made the standard way with base gravy and ground spices, and having eaten in his restauraunts I have no reason to doubt him.

I asked him why Patak's pastes were used for tandoori/tikka dishes, and he said it was simply down to convenience and, given the huge quanities of tandoori / tikka marinades made each day in his restaurants, it was also about consistency.

He couldn't understand what the fuss was all about. "It has been this way for many years", he said, adding that tandoori and tikka dishes remain amongst the most popular on his restaurants' menus. "Customers like them. Why should I change something that works?"

My take on this whole 'death of the taste' is that, as in all types of cooking and cuisine, it is the skill of the chef that creates and determines the taste and quality of the dishes. If your local restaurant/takeaway isn't delivering the taste, look to the chef and his methods.

I know of two restaurants round my way that recently saw business plummet after their chefs were poached. The food went from stunning to bland literally overnight.

Of the five restaurants owned by the above mentioned wholesaler, I only bother with a couple of them. Why? because those have the best chefs.

Anyway, that's my take on it. It's not anything to do with pastes, but chefs. Always has been, and always will be...