Thanks for that Ray. Infact I've already got the stuff Pete posted but I think CK has some stuff that hasn't been posted and that's what I wanted to see.

Quote from: Curry King on September 29, 2005, 07:51 PM
Yeah, I can tell the difference, if i come in from the pub I occasionaly whip up a quick curry and just boil it in water to save time

I think that's my point. Even if you were in a hurry, why would you boil chicken separately. If I do a 'hurry curry' I do a normal indian restaurant style curry and the moment there's enough liquid in the pan the raw chicken goes in. Because it is chunks it cooks in 5 mins maximum. Why would anyone ever cook chicken by boiling in water, especially a curry house?

Oh and I think I said waiting for MarkJ's base, I think I meant Woodpecker, sorry MarkJ.

Quote from: Curry King on September 29, 2005, 07:31 PM
Iv'e just been through some curry club magazines that I got of ebay and have 2 of the parts of the Bruce stuff that Pete has already posted plus 3 parts of the original Curry House Cookery which runs through mags 27 - 29.? If this has not been posted I will try and get them scanned in and post.? Failing that I will type them out when I get the time.

You mean there is something in your life that is more important than the dissemination of information relating to Indian restaurant curries? Well not in mine, get 'em scanned man?

Seriously though I would like to see this info.

Hi CK

I can understand that if the currry house suddenly ran out of pre-cooked chicken they would possibly boil up a pot of chicken pieces in water to get them over the shortage, but as a method for pre-cooking chicken for later use, it just doesn't work.

Before I started trying to make my own indian retaurant style curries, (I'm not going to perpetuate this BIR acronym because it's wrong, BPR maybe but not BIR), anyway, before I tried to copy the indian restaurant style I had a few curries that had chicken that tasted 'off' to me. It wasn't until I later tried to copy the curries that I realised that the 'off' taste was just chicken that had been pre-cooked by the boiling method.

But we're getting ahead of MarkJ's anticipated post on the new base, so who know until then?

Mark, I've taken the liberty of pasting the relevant bit of that pdf, I hope this is o.k.



The Curry Club Magazine was a periodical publication produced for
members of a dining club I attended in the late 1980s. The club met above
a boutique in the old Covent Garden vegetable market building. The area
was reinventing itself at that time, and it was possible to see the names of
greengrocery wholesale companies above shop-fronts in James Street, as
builders ravaged within. This extract from an article by Bruce Edwards
for the Winter 1990 issue blows the gaffe on a curry house secret many
aficionados will already have suspected.

The efficient restaurant kitchen has areas dedicated to specific
operations. In the curry making area you will find a catering style
cooker with a huge pot of golden coloured, slightly oily, thick,
soupy liquid simmering gently on it. As the average restaurant
worker will not even admit to its existence, I have no idea what they
call it, probably just the sauce, but curry base seems to describe it
adequately. It is the secret to the restaurant curry sauce from Korma
to Tindaloo, and may be added to some vegetable side dishes also.
The main ingredient is onion, with some garlic, and some spices
can be added too, but I use only turmeric. The flavour is rather like
a savoury oniony soup. When an order reaches the curry chef, he
will ladle some base into a frying pan containing hot oil, add other
ingredients as required, stir it all around, and almost instantly a
curry is made. The recipe that follows will make enough for
approximately eight curries.
Finely chopped onion – about 2? lbs (approx. 20 medium onions)
Garlic, crushed and chopped – 6 large or 12 medium cloves
Turneric – 1? teaspoons
Oil – 6 fluid ozs. (approx.)
Cover with water. Simmer briskly for 1? - 2 hours. Blend to a
smooth paste. Add water, a little at a time, until the mixture has the
consistency of THICK tomato soup.


My initial reaction is that this must have been in the early days of his investigations because it is not too good, is it? There's minimal and there's wrong and I think this is just plain wrong.

Did anyone actually manage to track Bruce down? I know someone has tried to contact him.

Quote from: parker21 on September 29, 2005, 09:00 AM
to precook the chicken

ingredients

chicken
water( just enough to cover )

method

boil for 10-15 mins( should be tender) and ready for currying

that's it

This seems starnge to me. Whenever I have tried to pre-cook chicken this way it always tastes boiled or what I would consider 'off' when used in the final curry. To me pre-cooked chicken is just that, it is cooked before the final curry is made and then stored, either frozen or refrigerated until ready for use. This is the way restaurants do it.

I can't wait for your report to see how this turns out.

I tried to Google it too and there is very little information, however there is a reference to 'dabari yendi' which means ruined yendi, so it could mean ruined rice, perhaps the curry house is having a joke? ;D

However I also found a reference to it as being Hindu for a cylindrical copper or brass cooking vessel. So it would seem it just means rice cooked in a saucepan, which pretty much leaves it open to interpretation.

Quote from: pete on September 25, 2005, 09:06 AM
Once picked, it's unlikely you'll manage it

No, it's definitely doable Pete. See my post above. The more fruit that goes in the bag with the chillies the, the more ethylene gas is produced and the quicker the chillies will ripen, i.e. turn red.

Definitely mustard oil. It is the authentic oil to use for tikka. That said I wouldn't eat it if you turned it brown and called it beer, it's bad stuff. I have a friend who moved from South Africa at an early age and she has family all over the place there. One of her uncles went to the doctor with various ailments, mostly heart related, and the doctor told him to stop his wife using mustard oil and particularly to stop using fried mustard seeds.

The moral of this story:

South Africa is where Britain was in the 50's, only women cook?

Don't eat mustard oil ever, and only fry mustard seeds occasionally.

Quote from: blade1212 on September 24, 2005, 06:28 PM
Is there an easy way to turn green chillis red ?

Well I don't know about easy, but you've probably heard of the trick of ripening avacado by sealing it in an airtight bag with bananas or banana skins? This really does work and the chemistry for chillies is the same. The bananas release ethylene gas which is the ripening accelerator. Chillies work on the same principle, as do many fruits, and although I haven't tried it the same banana in bag trick should work. If you try it you will know within a day or two. Hope that helps.