Quote from: SteveAUS on August 28, 2012, 09:13 AM
Edit: So it has me thinking. Isnt frying the onions with other ingredients, i.e. garlic, ginger, spices etc the traditional style of Indian cooking? Thats how ive been cooking for the past 20 years. When did base gravies start being used?

It is indeed - but not too many styles of traditional Indian cookery require the onions to be caramelised so thoroughly over such a long period. The idea of the concentrated bunjarra paste is to add an extra layer of flavour and intensity - it's an adjunct, rather than a main ingredient. (Indeed, if you make it properly, while it tastes fantastic, you wouldn't want to eat too much of it on its own.)

As to when base gravies started to be used, it's hard to put a date on it, but the popular consensus is that it was back when the first wave of Indian (well, mainly Bangladeshi) restaurants began opening in the UK in the 60s/70s.

Quote from: SteveAUS on August 27, 2012, 09:39 PM

Quote from: Salvador Dhali on August 27, 2012, 01:04 PM
To date, the closest I've managed to get to this intensity of flavour has been through the use of a good bunjarra (spicy onion paste). The one I make now combines the best of both worlds from the Ashoka bunjarra on here, and the oinion paste in Mick Crawford's (CBM's) book.

Hi SD - was/is this used instead of the base gravy?
Cheers
Steve

Hi Steve

A bunjarra or onion paste is simply added to a curry cooked in the usual way (using base gravy, etc). So, if you were making, say, a Madras, you would simply add a tablespoon or so of bunjarra half-way through or towards the end (though excactly when it goes in isn't super critical).

Ah... I do like the heady whiff of nostalgia. While it's often tinged by eclectic memories that have, over the years, acquired an enhanced level of idealisation, in the strange case of past vs present BIRs there is no doubt that things are not, indeed, as they used to be.

I suspect that there are many factors which have contributed to this, but one which has come about in recent times is the so-called 'curry crisis', which has received a fair bit of media attention and was brought to light by Julian in the C2G e-book. (For those that haven't heard about it, in a nutshell UK immigration policy changes have resulted in a shortage of Bangladeshi/Indian/Pakistani/ chefs, which means it's so much harder these days for restaurateurs to staff their kitchens with old-school talent.)

But whatever the reasons, it is the death of 'the taste' that continues to drive me ever onwards in the BIR quest. I've mentioned on here before that the Holy Grail for me has always been to reproduce the stunning and super-intense curries I enjoyed in Scotland in the early 80s (Glasgow and surrounding area).

To date, the closest I've managed to get to this intensity of flavour has been through the use of a good bunjarra (spicy onion paste). The one I make now combines the best of both worlds from the Ashoka bunjarra on here, and the oinion paste in Mick Crawford's (CBM's) book.

To those who have yet to try using bunjarra, I thoroughly recommend it. Okay, it's a bit of a faff standing over those onions for the best part of an hour while they slowly caramelise, but you can make enough in one go to fill an old Patak's jar, and as you only use a tablespoon or so in each curry it lasts a good while (keeps for a good few weeks in the fridge).

Do give it a go. And if you like it really intense, try to leave the curry overnight for eating the next day. As many of us have found, this often works wonders for our curries as our senses have had time to recover from the cooking process, but the intensity levels when you do this with a curry made with some bunjarra are off the scale...

Quote from: beachbum on August 25, 2012, 01:02 AM
Salvador, I noted the Paleolithic link there. Are you interested in Paleo yourself? I used to follow it quite strictly a few years ago, definitely an interesting concept and curry is an ideal Paleo dish. I lost about 10k as well.

If made with rendered beef dripping or lard (which should work just fine) then most curries tick all the boxes and if you are prepared to ditch the rice and naan and replace with something like wild rice or even mashed pumpkin as a side dish then it's all within the rules.

I dropped out as I got banned from the Paleo Forum for calling an American member a (moderated), didn't realise that one of the mods was Australian  ;D

Never thought about paleo, Beachbum - my only rule diet wise is that if it's edible then I eat it* - but I'm intrigued by the idea of a curry made with lard or beef dripping. Being from Yorkshire stock I was brought up on the stuff as a lad. Mind you, I was force fed tripe, as well, but that's one thing I wouldn't want to see in a curry...


*With the exception of raisins/currants/sultanas, which are the work of Beelzebub.

Quote from: Phil [Chaa006] on August 24, 2012, 10:26 AM

Quote from: Salvador Dhali on August 24, 2012, 10:03 AM
I'm almost as crazy about coffee as I am about curry, beer and motorcycles, and after trying many bean suppliers over the years I've settled with this firm: http://www.coffee-direct.co.uk/ Service is excellent, but more importantly they roast your beans on the morning of dispatch, which makes SO much difference. Apart from the taste, it's worth it just for the intense aroma hit you get when you open the pack!

At the moment I am paying GBP 3-29 for 227 gm, and buy in bulk because I drink so much.  At Coffee Direct's pricing I can afford to buy 908 gm for GBP 15-99, which works out at GBP 4-00/227gm.  Not over the top if it really is roasted on the day of posting, IMHO.

Incidentally, without wishing in any way to dampen your enthusiasm, are you certain that all their coffees are roasted the same day as they are sent out ?  I ask because this is what I read on their site :

Quotewe roast coffee beans daily and dispatch the same working day (on orders placed before 12pm weekdays). Coffee has a completely different taste when its freshly roasted. Trust me, you will be amazed at the difference.

and if I were a lawyer, I would argue that so long as they roast every day, and dispatch the same working day for orders received before mid-day, then they were in full compliance with their statement even if the coffee that they dispatched had been roasted several weeks beforehand (i.e., just because you are roasting bean "B" on day "D" doesn't mean that when someone orders "B" that day they are guaranteed day "D"s roast -- it may well be that they roast Monsooned Malabar one day, Kenya Peaberry another day, and so on (and if they stock a large number of different beans, that could imply a considerable delay between roasting and dispatch).

Some of us can always see a down-side to everything

** Phil.

It's simply not possible to dampen my enthusiasm for things I love, Phil - though I must admit I hadn't given their claim a thought (and I've been called a cynical old git many times before).

Bottom line is that I'm not certain of anything in life, apart from that I do like their coffee, of which I probably consume far too much (along with salt, saturated fats, etc., etc!).

Now, if I was a real purist I'd be roasting my own beans, but I'm not sure that other residents of Dhali Towers could cope with yet another obsessive activity. That said, the thoght of the combined aroma of BIR and roasting coffee does have a certain allure...   ;D

About a year ago there was a small item on the news about scientists announcing that the latest research on salt revealed that the dangers of consuming more than the government recommended daily amount were not only exagerrated, but that salt is so important to our health that we should be more worried about not consuming enough! (Apologies for posting a Daily Mail link, but I think the news item was based on this: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1383393/Salt-intake-drop-increase-chances-heart-disease.html)

As a lover of salt this naturally piqued my interest, so I conducted some more research. I won't repeat it all here, but it's well worth having a paff around the net as there's no shortage of interesting information (such as this, for example): http://chriskresser.com/shaking-up-the-salt-myth-the-dangers-of-salt-restriction

As with anything health related, we must of course make our own decisions, based on our diet and lifestyle, etc. For instance, if you live entirely on processed packaged foods, then you're more than likely to be getting plenty of salt in your diet, and probably don't need to add any more. On the other hand, if you live on a raw food diet then you'll probably benefit from adding salt to your food.

And so on...

Quote from: Phil [Chaa006] on August 24, 2012, 09:27 AM

Quote from: currylover40 on August 24, 2012, 09:09 AM
Hey Phil. The word monsooned malabar alone is drawing me to this way of making coffee ...

OK, if ever you find yourself in deepest Kent, feel free to call in and I will make you some !  But if you do plan to try some, make sure you get good fresh beans (Waitrose are the best I have found in terms of supermarket coffees, but you can always pay twice as much and have them posted to you by a specialist importer/roaster/grinder such as Steven Leighton's "Has Bean") and grind them yourself; the difference between freshly roast & ground coffee and ready-ground pre-packed coffee is almost as great as the difference between ground coffee and instant coffee ...

I'm almost as crazy about coffee as I am about curry, beer and motorcycles, and after trying many bean suppliers over the years I've settled with this firm:

http://www.coffee-direct.co.uk/

Service is excellent, but more importantly they roast your beans on the morning of dispatch, which makes SO much difference. Apart from the taste, it's worth it just for the intense aroma hit you get when you open the pack!

After trying most of their offerings, this is my favourite:

http://www.coffee-direct.co.uk/barista-reserve.htm

Cosidering the quality,

Quote from: Phil [Chaa006] on August 23, 2012, 05:56 PM

Quote from: Salvador Dhali on August 23, 2012, 05:48 PM
I have, Phil, and it works very well.

I put the chapatti on a grill tray grid and place it over the hob. (The grill tray grid raises the chapatti about half an inch above the hob.) Whack the heat on full (around 30-40 seconds a side), and watch the chapatti puff up like a blowfish.

Excellent, that's GBP 10 I've saved and also avoided the risk of being divorced on herself's return from Abu Dhabi !  I shall try it with a pre-made Elephant Atta chapatti this very evening.  Do you pre-heat the halogen element at all, or turn it on once the chapatti is in position ?

** Phil.

I do preheat the element in an effort to emulate the immediate heat you get with gas, but the usual caution re the different characteristics of different cookers definitely applies (i.e. if your chapatti is instantly cremated and you're left with a small disk of carbon, I absolve myself of all responsibility!).

Quote from: Phil [Chaa006] on August 23, 2012, 03:09 PM
But to be more serious, have you ever tried puffing a chapatti over a halogen hob, and if so, with what success ?

** Phil.

I have, Phil, and it works very well.

I put the chapatti on a grill tray grid and place it over the hob. (The grill tray grid raises the chapatti about half an inch above the hob.) Whack the heat on full (around 30-40 seconds a side), and watch the chapatti puff up like a blowfish.

Excellent point, Phil - and I think you're absolutely right. Although I wouldn't call it a statement - more my personal findings - it is true that it's more applicable to gas than electric.

But whatever the heat source or the type of cookware, achieving good results (in any type of cookery) is about learning to control that heat source to suit the cookware and the type of cuisine you're trying to produce.

I know from trying to cook curries round and friends and relatives' houses that every cooker is different, and until you get to know its idiosyncrasies it can take you well out of your comfort zone.