Quote from: pete on June 16, 2005, 08:13 AM
It's all part of our collective knowledge, in which you have been a major factor.

Mark

Thank you for you clarification. I agree with Pete (above): all information is useful and your reports are up there with the very best. I can't help wondering why the biryani which you saw didn't have any base sauce added to the rice, though. I'm sure most BIRs would use base sauce in a biryani. I'll report back once I've had a try (or two) at replicating a typical BIR chicken biryani.

Has YF or anyone else tried and succeeded at cooking a BIR-style chicken biryani yet, please?

If you compare a chicken biryani with a chicken tikka biryani, I would have expected it to be a case of using either pre-cooked chicken, or pre-baked chicken tikka, with all other elements of the dish remaining the same. But I may be wrong.

Regards
George

Quote from: Mark J on June 15, 2005, 11:37 PM
OK this ones for yellowfingers, I finally got back to my friendly takeaway and ordered the above.
He used 2 pans to cook this one for the sauce, the other for the rice......

Mark

I'm several months late in noticing your message above, posted back in June. The index of recipes has proved useful.

Please confirm -  is your message a series of (very interesting) observations or an actual 'recipe' given to you, or at least talked through, by the chef? I know I found it impossible to ascertain what was going on when I watched a biryani being made, more recently.

Also, have you actually tried out the recipe and, if so, how close does it come to what your take-away actually serves as their Chicken Tikka Biryani?

Regards
George

Quote from: John on December 26, 2005, 11:19 PM
...next time tell them that you really love there food and you want some of there base so you can try to re-create that dish at home...

John

Good idea, but unfortunately there are at least two hurdles in this case! (a) The end result curries from this take away are all about the lowest quality I've had anywhere. Thinking of it, I don't know why I thought the base sauce would be of much interest. One factor, though, is that their curries are swimming in so much oil (even more than normal), that one could perhaps use their curries just as a starter-source of spiced oil! (b) the take-away is near where some relatives live and nowhere near me, so I don't go there very often and don't know the chefs, to be in a good position to ask for any favours.

Regards
George

Quote from: Mark J on December 23, 2005, 08:46 AM
My acronym meant Balti Indian Retaurant 

I'm sorry I may be making myself unpopular around here, harping on about minor points like definitions and level spoon measures, and generally taking things too seriously. It's just that I feel it's useful if we're all talking a similar language. I assumed everyone took BIR to mean British Indian Restaurant. So if you're serious about meaning Balti Indian Restaurant in this case, it's another example of how one thing can be written, but taken as something different by some readers.

In the case of recipe measures or what's meant by "1 tsp fenugreek", I suggest it could make a difference we don't need between how an author's recipe came out - say 95% like a BIR from the author's point of view - and another member's attempt who may feel it's only 75% as good as a BIR.

Chefs have the skill, I suggest to scoop the correct quantity out on the edge of a big spoon. Recipe authors here have subsequently, I guess, experimented with various attempts to come up with a recipe which works. It would really help if they could measure the amount of ingredients actually used in ml, grams or LEVEL spoon measures, before writing up a recipe.

In the case of "1 tsp fenugreek" I can think of at least 27 interpretations, and there are many more combinations:

1 level tsp fenugreek seeds
1 rounded tsp fenugreek seeds
1 heaped tsp fenugreek seeds

1 level tsp fenugreek seeds - roasted
1 rounded tsp fenugreek seeds - roasted
1 heaped tsp fenugreek seeds - roasted

1 level tsp fenugreek seeds - ground
1 rounded tsp fenugreek seeds - ground
1 heaped tsp fenugreek seeds - ground

1 level tsp fenugreek seeds - ground - then roasted
1 rounded tsp fenugreek seeds - ground - then roasted
1 heaped tsp fenugreek seeds - ground - then roasted

1 level tsp dried fenugreek leaves - loose
1 rounded tsp dried fenugreek leaves - loose
1 heaped tsp dried fenugreek leaves - loose

1 level tsp dried fenugreek leaves -  crushed
1 rounded tsp fenugreek seeds - crushed
1 heaped tsp fenugreek seeds - crushed

1 level tsp dried fenugreek leaves -  crushed - then roasted
1 rounded tsp fenugreek seeds - crushed - then roasted
1 heaped tsp fenugreek seeds - crushed - then roasted

1 level tsp dried fenugreek leaves -  ground
1 rounded tsp fenugreek seeds - ground
1 heaped tsp fenugreek seeds - ground

1 level tsp dried fenugreek leaves -  ground - then roasted
1 rounded tsp fenugreek seeds - ground - then roasted
1 heaped tsp fenugreek seeds - ground - then roasted

Regards
George

Quote from: John on December 23, 2005, 12:47 AM
The base sauce that i got from the bir was straight from the big bubbling pot of gravy on the cooker top...

John

Are you sure they didn't add anything to the base sauce, out of your sight, before it was handed to you?

I asked for some base sauce from a take-away a few months back. The container was filled direct from the large pot but then the container was taken into a back room, when I think some fenugreek or coriander was added and who knows what else? Garam masala perhaps, for all I know?

Regards
George

Quote from: Mark J on December 22, 2005, 04:42 PM
Yes indeed, for me the cost is worth it just to read about recipes from a real BIR chef

So if, say, (hypothetically) , Kylie Minogue wrote a book about Rover car maintenance (which she probably doesn't know much about), then the cost of the book might be worth it just to read about car maintenace from a real pop star?

The Kushi chef only claims to be a Balti expert. We don't know if he knows the first thing about BIR style cooking. When I asked them that question, there was no response. I guess he does know a bit about BIR, as it happens, but it's outside the scope of the Balti book, so BIR is almost irrelevant to any assessment of the Balti Book.

Regards
George

Quote from: Josh Rogan on December 22, 2005, 02:39 PM
I like it and would recommend it.

Have you made anything from it yet? If not, how can you possibly recommend the book just because it looks good?

Regards
George

How to make Balti curries is of little more interest to me than how to make English curries (with sultanas and things) or the cuisine of outer Mongolia - actually their dishes may be better. I'm primarily intetested in BIR style dishes, which are different to Balti curries. There are a few clues and indirect hints in this Kushi book which might help, just like in Pat Chapman's books, but all in all it's as disappointing as I expected and predicted.

Regards
George

YF. CK

If I understand you correctly you're suggesting that readers (recipe users mainly) get up to speed by reading some FAQs. Fair enough but my main concern is the other way around - i.e. that too many recipes do not conform to generally accepted recipe book standards of measurement. Even before a FAQ section may be set up, I suggest the forum is crying out for some 'standards' on how recipes are specified and written-up.

Madhur Jaffrey or Delia Smith are good examples. Their books conform to generally accepted principles like level spoon measures and the suggested size of an egg for use in their recipes. Next, the recipes have been proof-read so they look complete. I know beggars can't be choosers. It's very good of anyone posting a recipe to take the time. Positive feedback should increase as confidence goes up in the recipes.

Regards
George

Quote from: Yellow Fingers on December 19, 2005, 10:30 PM
If we must mix measures, for example by using ounces, can I also request that when prices of goods are mentioned that they are also given in pounds, shillings and pence (to the nearest florin) and that weights are also provided in noggins, pecks and bushels.

I agree - for anyone seeking to be cool, to avoid being seen as taking things too seriously or carefully and to have a bit of a laugh. But if the object is to communicate recipes which work, then there's plenty of room for improvement.

Regards
George