Quote from: Mark J on November 28, 2005, 10:13 PM
It is well worth it, loads of recipes (way more than kushi), it has recipes for the full indian menu

I thought David Smith was making a valiant personal attempt at 'cracking' all these recipes just like we are. But there's only one of him and dozens of us, unless he has access to a real BIR chef. Why should his recipes be so good?

EXAMPLE - I tried his base + chicken korma and it was lacklustre to say the least, whereas the MarkJ base + Ghanna Korma suggestions on this forum were 10 times better in terms of emulating a BIR chicken korma.

Regards
George

Quote from: Ian J on November 28, 2005, 08:01 PM
Most Baltis I?ve had are more like a BIR, just sizzled to make them seem more exciting.

Ian

I think it's like Ray said - most BIRs stick the 'Balti' word all over the place these days - on their signs and menus, etc. It's just marketing or may go some way to explain the downturn in average BIR quality these past few years. Some areas of Birmingham have the real Balti thing and when I've had meals there, I'm not too keen, like the way it seems others feel about the Kushi Balti taste.

Regards
George

My guess at the moment is that my original fear may have been justified when I said I had doubts about a balti cook book and would be more interested in a genuine BIR cook book. It seems this book may be true to the restaurant but not to a BIR. They didn't answer my question on the same point, i.e. does this book contain BIR style recipes? Can your cook prepare standard curry house (non-balti) fare?

I'll answer it myself. I'm sure he can but these aren't the recipes in the book.

Regards
George

Quote from: pete on November 27, 2005, 09:39 AM
I am sure this is a genuine book by a genuine chef
There is a lot of usefull information in it too
But you are never going to make anything like a BIR using this base
You might as well use a can of Baxters Country vegetable soup, then add a teaspoon of curry powder.
Sorry George, you were right.

The author cannot cook as this book describes
I don't believe it
I  had a bought veg Balti only a week back, and it was absolutely delicious
It was full of extra tomato & onion and it also had the "taste"

Hey, what's happened to Blondie?
No posts so far on this
He tried a few of these recipes before publishing, didn't he?

I'm sorry if my, and some others, scepticism proved correct but I hope there are sufficient nuggets of useful information, tips and tricks in the Balti Book to add to the huge knowledge base which we have already. I can't start to suggest, though, how we can reconcile the viewpoints, with which I agree, that:

(a) I am sure this is a genuine book by a genuine chef, and
(b) The author cannot cook as this book describes

Yes, where has Blondie got to? The conspiracy theorists might suggest he/she was connected with the book. I'm not suggesting that but it must be a possibility with a likelihood somewhere between 0 and 100%. I hope this slur pulls Blondie back into the debate.

Regards
George

Here's a large tub of the cooking oil I suggest we should all be using. After all, so many BIRs use this stuff, why use anything else if you're after the BIR taste? This particular tub was unceremoniously dumped outside an Indian restaurant I happened to pass in London:



Regards
George

Quote from: pete on November 25, 2005, 12:51 PM
I am tempted to visit his restaurant, and see what flavour he is getting

Pete

Would you go in undercover, so to speak, or declare your huge interest in the book, the restaurant and the cooking, perhaps in the hope of getting invited to see the kitchen? I'll visit, if I get a chance and would almost certainly keep a 'low profile'.

Regards
George

Here's a photo I took recently through the glass window into the kitchen at the Lahore Kebab House, London. This is supposedly a Pakistani restaurant and they are best known for kebabs, so their kitchen equipment may vary a bit from BIR standard. But what a huge 'balti dish'! I don't know any more than you do, from looking at the photo.



Regards
George

Quote from: slimboyfat on November 24, 2005, 11:51 AM
I have now received my copy of the book and have a question in a few of the recipes you make reference to "curry powder" and "garam masala" which brands do you use or do you make/mix your own ??

Oh dear, this could be a serious blow for the book, if your statement is correct. How many of their recipes does it apply to? With Indian cooking, I reckon it's the oldest trick in the book to go no further than specifying 'curry powder' or 'garam masala'. It's essential to know exactly what goes in to these mixes for a recipe to be worth anything. We could experiment by using mixes already specified at the forum but it will be very disappointing if they don't specify exactly what is used at the Kushi Balti restaurant.

Regards
George

Quote from: raygraham on November 24, 2005, 07:13 AM
And don't forget folks the Kushi website has a help and support section where it claims queries will be answered.

That's where my question  was sent. It was never answered.

Regards
George

Here it is (hopefully):



Regards
George