Quote from: Nessa on October 15, 2005, 11:41 AM
I'm inclined to think that the ctm sauce could possibly be bought ready made from a supplier due to it being absolutely identical in almost every restaurant, no variations.

I agree that they are all very similar but I bet it's because they all use the same basic recipe, rather than by using a bought-in sauce. I've seen them make chicken korma from a bit of this and a bit of that, including base sauce and cream, added to the frying pan in take-aways with open plan kitchens.

Regards
George

Prior to selecting Darth's pilau rice for my first attempt, I considered several other recipes. The only other one including star anise was Pat Chapman's in one of his first books, but hidden away and not even called pilau rice!

Anything can be improved but, as far as I'm concerned, pilau rice can now be 'signed off' as perfectly adequate, e.g. if I was aiming to open an Indian take away.

Regards
George

Quote from: DARTHPHALL on October 14, 2005, 07:42 AM
I have found Star Anise in my locals Vindalloo/Tindalloo on several occasions, hope this helps further.

Darth

It makes perfect sense. So why is star anise left out of so many recipes claiming to be authentic restaurant style pilau rice? e.g. no star anise in Kris Dhillon's 'Curry Secret'. I smell a rat!

Regards
George

Quote from: John on October 13, 2005, 09:33 PM
did you use 4 whole star anise in the recipe of "dabari rice" ?

Yes I did, and it's the focus of much of my interest in the aftermath of this successful first attempt. I say that, because the flavour and aroma was so close to most BIRs, that I don't see how you could leave it out. So next time, I will leave it out to prove or disprove my conspiracy theory that any recipe which does not include star anise is simply not honest to the BIR style which we all know and love. If I'm right and star anise cannot be left out of any plausible pilau rice recipe, then what secret ingredients are left out of recipes for base sauce and (stage 2) chicken madras, etc.

Regards
George

Tony

Good find but it looks so ugly, like having a piece of junk in your back yard. Also, I wonder how long a thin flower pot will last before further cracks develop.

I didn't relealise that tandoors have an air vent at the bottom. Do they all have that?

Regards
George

Quote from: John on October 13, 2005, 09:14 PM
Now after trying that method of Darths, i think im gona give his other stuff a try too!

John

Did you see my message, earlier today, applauding Darth's Pilau (Dabari) rice recipe?

Regards
George

Darth

I've just had another great success, thanks to you, your friendly restaurant chef and the presence of this website.

I made your dabari rice last night and it's definitely 'in the frame' as I would put it, for a BIR pilau rice. I left out the coconut (the dabari touch?) for my first attempt at what I hoped would be like pilau rice. It was. My first attempt might not have been the best ever pilau rice, but I've definitely had BIR take-away rice which was worse. The flavouring is near-perfect. It leaves all my earlier attempts at pilau rice in the shade, like from Curry Secret and Pat Chapman.

Thanks again
Regards
George

 

Quote from: Curry King on October 12, 2005, 09:50 AM
I just can't see how you can get anywhere near the "taste" without using obscene amounts of oil and salt.

I'm sure you're right. Some recipes suggest you can cut back on oil and salt if you like, but not if you want to produce a curry like the restaurants do. So when I try any of these recipes, I wouldn't dream of cutting back on anything. But it remains a very unhealthy pursuit, in my opinion.

Can our search for 'that taste' be worth a serious threat to one's long term health? (if you cook and eat too many of these dishes).

Take care
Regards
George

I'm sure that Indian take-away and restaurant food is about as unhealthy as you can get, which is why I am making deliberately slow progress in trying out many of the great-looking recipes on this site, and seldom visit the restaurants these days. We all know how much oil is in it, for a start, and how much you can see in a typical dish served up. It must be like eating a whole slab of margarine in one meal. I also assume the BIRs use very high levels of salt. Those are the two main things, actually, together with sugar and coconut in dishes like korma and CTM.

Regards
George

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/printFriendly/0,,1-58-1677094,00.html

?Azmal Hussain, the head chef at Preem and Prithi (Brick Lane)...is puzzled and repelled by the British taste for chicken tikka masala. His restaurants do serve the dish ? he?s no fool ? but, he says, ?I wouldn?t eat it if you paid me. You have half a cup of almonds, then half coconut, lastly you put cream on it, and sugar? It?s about 1,800 calories. 1,800! You should eat 500 to 700 calories! And three almonds is enough for all day.? ...Hussain runs Monday-night curry cookery classes at Preem and Prithi.?