Blondie

I'm sorry if I've offended you. I tried hard not to, and believe I have never criticised you in the way that you have just criticised me. You said:

- You take everything too literally
- you should try reading between the lines a little
- many people are afraid to post on this and several other forums just because of people like you and your zero tollerance to minor inaccuracies.

Please indicate anywhere where I have criticised you like that. This forum thrives because of different opinions and a lively debate.  I tried hard to support the forum with various suggestions and by frequently clicking on the sponsor banners. Others have contributed far more than me. But I do not wish to cause trouble, so I will take some time off to re-think my position in the interest of avoiding any further conflict.

Regards
George

Quote from: Blondie on July 13, 2005, 03:36 PM
I think perhaps that NATCO may be sniping at the in2curyy (East End) website whent they say that have tried other forums, after all they are rivals.  And as for there being "many" forums and websites that deal with restaurant style Indian cooking, I haven't seen many of them.

Blondie - you suggest a reference to a single forum, yet Natco's text clearly refers to multiple forums, e.g. "MANY forums and links...we have tried MOSTof them..." But as there are only perhaps half a dozen forums, I say again that I would be surprised if Natco (or the recipe author who may have written all the text) had missed this site.

Regards
George

Natco say: "There are many forums and links to sites that have their own opinions about this topic and believe me, we have tried most of them and found them to be lacking." They can't have missed this forum, so it appears they are none too impressed.

I understand red onions are widely used in 'authentic' Indian cuisine, not least since they are closer to the type of onions most readily available in India. But has anyone ever seen sacks of red onions in BIR's?

Notwithstanding any reservations, these are grand claims by Natco, just like all the claims by many rip-off authors before. If these recipes do not produce the 'holy grail' of curries, just what are Natco playing at? Therefore, I am optimistic that they will.

Regards
George

Quote from: Blondie on July 10, 2005, 08:31 AM
In my locality you could easily spend ?15 on a pizza and still be hungry, but BIR food will get you stuffed for about ?8.

And either will have cost the restaurant about 50p to produce!

Quote from: Blondie on July 08, 2005, 06:38 PM
I wouldn't worry about it mate.

Worried about what?

Worried that your fact finding sounds encouraging?

Worried because site admin warned that contributors may not always be everything they seem?

Worried because I said I was sure you don't come into that category?

Worried because other books have all failed to come up to expectations?

Sceptical, yes. Worried, no.

Regards
George

Quote from: Blondie on July 06, 2005, 05:43 AM
I have had an advance copy of a small part of the book to "beta test" for the writers. I have been to the restaurant, eaten there and met both the chef and his co-writer.
I made the base sauce and a chicken balti. On only the second attempt at the finished dish it tasted to myself and my partner exactly like the one that I had eaten in the restaurant.  I say that this book WILL guide you to produce baltis exactly as they taste at the kushi Balti House. I therefore suggest that lessons won't be needed,

This sounds very encouraging.  I recall though, that site admin warned that contributors may not always be everything they seem. I'm sure Blondie doesn't come into that category but it would be fairly easy to arrange a posting identity to support the release of a new book, so it must be a slight risk. No offence intended. The only proof for me will be if several people here all agree that the recipes are fully the breakthrough that we seek. Other books have made equally grand claims and have all failed to come up to expectations.

Regards
George

Pete - capturing analogue video to a PC is more trouble than it's worth in my experience. I've given up in favour of a standalone DVD recorder for the lounge, which only cost a bit over ?100. It makes a brilliant job of copying VHS tapes. The resultant DVD could then be manipulated on a PC down to a smaller file size.

Regards
George

Quote from: pete on June 21, 2005, 10:04 PM
I got a sample and it?s very nice but it doesn?t have the taste
Neither did the curry (although it was really excellent)
I have had curries from this place and they have had the taste, so I guess it must just be a flavour of kitchen circumstances."

Many thanks for writing-up and reporting this recipe. If your dish lacked the taste, just on this occasion, could it be that he left out secret ingredients because you were watching?

Quote from: Mark J on June 16, 2005, 06:51 PM
Sure, but it isnt that easy to get these recipes, Im lucky that I have 2 friendly locals, but having said that I dont take no for an answer

You may not see as much scope as I do, given the membership potential. You may be lucky in having friendly locals who give precise quantities and other information but, in any open plan kitchen, it's possible to observe a large amount of what's going on, and put 2 and 2 together.

Regards
George

MarkJ recently posted a very promising report on how he'd seen the production of "Chicken Tikka Biryani with a Madras sauce". In my opinion, this sort of fact finding is invaluable and much appreciated. I wish I could contribute more myself. Others have rightly suggested the power of a joint fact finding effort by 200+ people. Imagine if there were dozens of reports on how the same dish was seen being made.

But very few people get involved in any way whatsoever. It's such a pity.

Regards
George