I hope you don't mind either Haldi, but I've also copied the following from your "vindaloo at home" thread. 

This also seems to be particularly relevent to this thread and, again, is significantly different to the sequence that I've described above....particularly with regard to the frying of the tomato puree first and the two-stage addition of powdered spices.

Quote
(From Haldi here:  https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=1445.0)

I bought a carton of curry gravy and some spice mix from a takeaway.
I've seen them make vindaloo many times, and wanted to see if mine turned out the same.
I heated 3 desertspoons of veg oil (not curry gravy oil) and cooked 3 desertspoons of tomato puree.
You need to keep this moving round the pan, with the back of the spoon.
Cook for a couple of minutes until it almost burns.
By this time, the oil is quite red
I added a pinch of fenugreek leaves and a teaspoon of spice mix
I stirred briefly, then added half the carton of curry gravy
You must keep stirring
This needs to get really hot and should be bubbling and spitting
If it's not this hot, you won't get the flavour.
With this heat, if you don't stir, it burns very quickly
After a couple of minutes I added some thawed frozen prawns.
I cooked on high,stirring, for five minutes
I added  the rest of the curry gravy, a desertspoon of spice mix, and a teaspoon of chilli powder.
Bubbled away for five minutes, stirring

That was it, and it was a match to what they cook
I had a bought curry with it, and my curry was in no way inferior
The curry gravy supplied was very soup like with no visible oil

Hi Haldi,

Thanks for clarifying those 101 questions Haldi!  

I have to say, the method you described for making Pilau Rice is very similar to the one that I usually use.....cos I'm normally in a hurry (which BIRs generally are of course!) and can't be bothered with anything more elaborate (like frying the spices first and/or using the absorption method)

....except that I often add a few drops of food colour (i.e. yellow) during boiling......and I either serve the rice straight after draining (or maybe reheat it in the microwave, on high, for a few minutes), or I colour it further (e.g. add a few drops of red food colour), cool it (rather than warming it in an oven......though I accept that this is standard practice in BIRs) and freeze it.

Dissolving the food colour in milk is interesting....I've never done that, though I have added some milk during boiling.....too much makes it taste more like rice pudding!....perhaps the method you describe is just enough to add a little flavour to the rice?

Hmmm...sorry Haldi!  It seems that I've gone somewhat off track!  Talking about rice!  This thread is about cooking a BIR Vindaloo!........oops! 

photos:

Photo 14:  Cooked naans ready to eat!

Top:  Naans cooked to revised method (oven/grill) here: https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=1448.msg41835#msg41835

Bottom:  Naans cooked to previous method (tava)

photos (from top left to right, then bottom left to right):

Photo 10:  Dividing & shaping the dough
Photo 11:  The Tava
Photo 12:  Cooking the first side of the naan
Photo 13:  Cooking the second side of the naan

photos (from top left to right, then bottom left to right):

Photo 6, 7 & 8:  Kneading the dough
Photo 9:            Oiling & wrapping the dough

photos (from top left to right, then bottom left to right):

Photo 2:  Sifting the flour
Photo 3:  Adding the wild onion seeds
Photo 4:  Adding the liquid mixture
Photo 5:  Mixing the flour and liquid mixture 

photos:

Photo 1:  The ingredients (from left to right):

• plain flour
• sugar
• milk
• butter ghee (or vegetable oil)
• egg
• salt
• wild onion seeds ("kalonji" or "nigella")
• self-raising flour
• plain (or greek style) yoghurt

Background:

This is my recipe for naan bread.  It produces light, supple and tasty naans, without the use of a tandoor.  It involves cooking the naans on a very hot "Tava" (i.e. flat, side-less, pan).  Although they are not as good as those cooked in a restaurant tandoor, this method, nevertheless, produces perfectly acceptable home-cooked naans.

I have included photographs, to illustrate each step, and I hope that this proves to be helpful.

I have also included variations for Garlic, Kulcha (onion), Keema (minced meat) and Peshwari (almond and sultana) Naans (see note 9 below)........(to follow)

For keema naans see here:  https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=1448.msg41835#msg41835

Makes about 16 (large) to 32 (small) Naans

Ingredients ? photo 1:

• 500g plain flour
• 500g self-raising flour
• 1/4 pint (140ml) milk
• 3/4 pint (420ml) water
• 3 tbsp plain (or Greek style) yoghurt
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp melted butter ghee (or vegetable oil) for dough
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 3 tsp wild onion seeds ("kalonji" or "nigella")
• 200g (approximately) melted butter ghee (or butter or vegetable oil) for brushing naans with, prior to cooking

Method:

1.     Sieve the flours into a large bowl - photo 2

2.     Add the wild onion seeds and mix - photo 3

3.     Add the milk and water to a bowel or measuring jug

4.     Add the yoghurt, salt, egg, 1 tbsp melted ghee (or vegetable oil) and sugar and whisk until smooth - photo 3

5.     Make a well in the centre of the flour and gradually add sufficient liquid mixture (from step 4) to make a smooth, pliable dough - photos 4 & 5

6.     Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead into a smooth, stiff, pliable dough - photos 6, 7 & 8

7.     Discard any surplus liquid mixture

8.     Brush the outside of the dough with vegetable oil and cover with cling-film.  This prevents the dough from oxidising and discolouring - photo 9

9.     Place the dough in a fridge overnight

10.   Remove the dough from the fridge and allow it to return to room temperature (approximately 2 to 4 hours)

11.   Divide the dough into 16 (large) or 32 (small) equally sized balls - photo 10 (back)

12.   Place each ball onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a thin oblong shape of approximately 2mm thick.  Aim for a slightly uneven thickness, by kneading and pulling the dough with your fingers - photo 10 (front)

13.   Form the oblong into a tear-drop shaped naan (if required)

14.   Heat a "Tava" (or a flat bottomed griddle or frying pan), on gas burner, until very hot - photo 11

15.   Place the naan onto the Tava and brush the upper face with melted ghee (or with melted butter or vegetable oil).  Alternatively, leave the naan uncoated

16.   Cook for about 45 - 60 seconds until the naan is blistering and just browning underneath (lift it with a spatula and check from time-to-time) - photo 12

17.    Flip the naan over and cook the other side for about 30 - 45 seconds until it is just browning (alternatively, place the naan under a very hot grill, for a minute or so, until it is just browning and blistering) - photo 13

For revised method see here:  https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=1448.msg41835#msg41835

18.   The naans can be either frozen (and reheated) or eaten immediately - photo 14

Notes: 

1.     Unless stated otherwise, the following measures apply:

a)  "tsp" = 1 level 5ml teaspoon
b)  "tbsp" = 1 level 15ml tablespoon

2.     I'm not particularly fond of the sour taste of yeast and I therefore do not use it.  The dough, therefore, does not need proving and it will not rise appreciably.  I think it is also highly unlikely that BIRs use yeast either.

3.      I add yoghurt for its flavour rather than as a raising agent

4.      Many recipes use only self-raising flour.  I find that this produces naans that are too leavened for my liking.  I therefore use a 50:50 mix of self-raising and plain flour to avoid this

5.      Many recipes use additional Baking Powder as a raising agent.  I find that this can make the naans too hard and I therefore do not use it.

6.      I highly recommend brushing the naans with melted butter ghee (i.e. clarified butter) in Step 16.  It imparts a particularly nice flavour, yellow colouring and a crispness to the surface of the naan

7.     Whilst the wild onion seeds ("kalonji" or "nigella") are not essential, they impart a very nice and distinctive taste to the naans and I highly recommend them accordingly

8.     These naans freeze excellently.  To reheat them, simply defrost and heat in a microwave, on full power, for 1 to 2 minutes, or until they are steaming hot.  However, do not over cook them as they will become like cardboard!

9.      Other options:

a)     Substitute some (or all) of the wild onion seeds with sesame or cummin seeds in Step 2
b)     Sprinkle some finely chopped fresh coriander onto the top of the naans, after brushing with ghee, in Step 15
c)     To make garlic naans, sprinkle finely chopped fresh garlic onto the top of the naans, after brushing with ghee, in Step 15
d)     To make kulcha naans, ...
e)     To make keema naans (see here:  https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=1448.msg41835#msg41835)
f)     To make peshwari naans, ..

Copyright Cory Ander 2006

Hi All,

I've now added instructions for making Plain Boiled Basmati Rice (see note 10) and Pilau Rice Cooked by Absorption (see note 11).

The absorption method should produce a slightly tastier rice but is more difficult to control.

Regards, 

Thanks for a very interesting and informative post, Haldi 

For me, it perhaps raises as many questions as answers!:

• Does this takeaway produce curries with ?the taste? and ?the smell? and ?the appearance? of a good BIR restaurant?
• How would you rate their vindaloo compared to other BIRs?
• How big (roughly) was the carton of curry base?
• How many prawns (roughly) did you add?
• How many people (roughly) does this serve?
• Do you have the recipe for their curry base?
• What does their spice mix comprise of (cumin, coriander, tumeric, curry powder and paprika?)?
• Do you have the recipe for their spice mix?
• When you say that your vindaloo ?was a match? to theirs, do you mean that yours also had ?the taste?, ?the smell? and ?the appearance? of a typical (good) high street vindaloo?  Do you have a photo of it/them by any chance?
• Assuming that both vindaloos had ?the taste?, ?the smell? and ?the appearance?, what do you ascribe them to?  Do you think they are in the curry base, in the cooking technique that you describe, or both?

Regarding rice recipes, I agree (and stated) that the recipe I?ve posted is not the method used by BIRs.  My aim was simply to enable people to get good consistent results without using more complicated cooking (e.g. absorption) and drying techniques. 

For me, the archetypal BIR rice is a typical Special Fried Rice.....slighly sweet, fluffy, slightly oily, fairly spicy, savoury, full of flavour and aroma and very, very tasty.

• How have you seen them cook their rice (by absorption and subsequent microwaving?)?
• What spices have you seen them use for a typical Pilau Rice?
• How would you rate their rice (compared to other good BIRs)?

I have also tried Kris Dhillons curry base (several times) and I?m afraid I don?t rate it at all highly.  The same goes for all the other recipes in her book.  Having said that, I am also of the opinion that a lightly spiced onion/garlic/ginger (plus maybe a few other vegetables) curry base is the way to go.

Sorry for the hundred an one questions Haldi, but your observations are invaluable and greatly appreciated! 

Regards,