Well after the recent takeaway debate i went out and bought some tilda basmati (expensive) as per takeaways suggestion and cooked some for tonights meal (I previously have been using sainsbury's basmati). I washed it 3 or 4 times as suggested until the water was clear and cooked it with some whole spices etc. Was there a difference??

OMG what a difference!! Certainly to what i've been using previously. I have uploaded 2 photo's to show the difference. Both have been taken off my iphone but with no enhancements The sainsbury's one I took last week and the tilda I've just taken now. The colour difference is incredible and the smell as soon I took the lid off was what I've been missing. I WILL be paying extra in the future. For all you non-tilda users I think you're missing a trick!!

Wayne

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Quote from: chewytikka on December 08, 2011, 09:45 PM
Hi Wayne
Good factual post, refreshing after all the recent rubbish advice and spam.
The lesson you learned
'Lesson for me - i need to continue cooking the gravy after the blending stage,
i have put some pre-made gravy in my slow cooker for the night to see the changes hopefully tomorrow'
What they probably forgot to tell you about is the final boil. About 10-20mins.
The final boil and simmer, after blending, is fundamental to a good base gravy. IMHO  ;D

On a rolling boil the base produces a froth, which turns into a bitter scum and is skimmed off as the oil starts to separate.
Then they turn it down to a very low heat ready for service and it sits there on the hob for hours.

Their not cooking it now, their just keeping it hot, so they can add it and make the curries.
So your slow cooker idea, isn't really what its all about.

The points you make in your OP are mirrored in my 3hr base video recipe.
https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=5635.msg55692#msg55692

Just a point about oil recycling.
Many chef's, whilst cooking the individual curries will spoon off excess oil from any particular dish, straight back into the curry base pot.
This is deliberate and just a normal cooking reflex. But quite a bit added flavour, when you think about it.

Looking forward to your Take Away Kitchen adventures
cheers Chewy

Thanks for the tip chewy, well its down to the base and me now, i have the ingredients and i have the powder, the base i have got is a lot darker,deeper and sweeter than previously when i've used it. Im cooking tomorrow so will see if its a) better than previous attempts b) the same (not quite there flavour) or c) exactly what my tastebuds are after, if its not right then i'm back asking questions and trying your base

Thanks again

Wayne

  Sorry but Im gonna disappoint you ray as it isnt that one, it is pakistani though but the chefs bangladeshi ( apparently) you've all got to remember though that i've recently met this chap and am trying to pick his brains about technique etc, not cook an atul kochar style michelin star ruby!!

Haha, no comment!!!

Bloody hell mate theres hundreds of  curryhouses around that'd be a one in a million chance Lol!!, seriously though because i don't live there im not sure of the rd its on but i think its manchester rd leading on from ashton new rd, really sorry pal but this guy doesn't know i'm posting so dont want to compromise him or my position at work as thats how i met him :-X

Hi natterjak,
Its a takeaway not a restaurant and not a large one at that, its near ashton in manchester and the proprietor is a client of mine through work so i cant give specific details as i'm sure you'd understand. The knowledge he's giving me is, as far as he's concerned, is for my benefit, however i truly believe we all have these quality takeaways on our doorstep, i certainly have one close by, but what i'm trying to get for members is the techniques / no "secret ingredient's" etc rather than the mecca of restaurants.
Does that make sense?
Wayne

Reply for george's question about being in  top 20% of curries tried?

Sorry George i forgot to answer your question. Yes the curry was superb, it is local to my workplace, not home, so it's a relatively new find as ive only changed jobs 6 months ago. I have to say that the limited number of curries ive had from there have been that tasty that the takeaway would replace my own local takeaway if it was as convenient as ringing for one when hungry.

Wayne

Hi guys

Yes fresh oil was used throughout.
The good thing was they took me through to the back and I was there about an hour so got good rapport going.

What I would say to any of you guys out there that these shop owners are pretty accomodating and it's not the 1st time I've got my hands on a takeaway spicemix. Just ask the guys behind the counter of your local for a sample , if you know them and you tell them you're trying top rustle up a curry for your friends chances are they'll give you a small tub because they think you'll have no clue as to how to use it, whereas you all know better.

Then you can judge the quality of your curry without worrying about "is it the powder"

Good luck!

Hi all thanks for the positive post comments,

To clarify, for an earlier question. I haven't posted the base on here as I feel it's no different to anybody else's thats already here, Ie lots of onions carrot pepper cortiander stalks tomatoes, oil etc. As I think alreadys been mentioned in another thread the quantity of veg etc, i feel, doesn't really matter as long as the majority is onions so 1 or 2 carrots here or half a pepper there doesn't matter and only adds depth.

They did however tell me to cook the onions whole for additional sweetness and only when the onions and veg are softened then add the spices and oil and again cook for half hour or so before blending (I previously haven't done this). The spices they add in are mixed powder and chilli powder (deggi mirch). A little haldi (turmeric) is added before blending for colour. Enough water should be added if needed so the resultant gravy is of a soup like texture. they didn't tell me any exact quantities because of the size of the pot they use is vast but i feel around a dessert spoon of mix powder for a small cooking pot should be fine. (the colour was pretty yellow)

This to them is what constitutes an uncooked gravy, ie this is when it then sits on the stove for hours on a low light. This adition of oil then very slowly cooks through the onions and veg and drastically alters the colour and flavours. They don't add additional water as the light is so low that it doesn't reduce it just simmers away.

The resultant base did not taste like a curry and you couldn't really  taste the spices. More like a rich soup.

I got some of my yellowish base out of the freezer last night and put it in slow cooker all night and impressively the gravy did turn to that burnt orange colour and smelled a lot sweeter, richer almost caramelised flavour.

If anything mine was slightly thinner consistency than there's so another lesson learnt there.

Can't wait to knock up a curry and try it. Friends round for dinner tomorrow so gonna try and knock there socks off!!

Again hope ths helps

Wayne

I visited my takeaway tonight after having a good chat with the owner and thought i would post a few findings having  been behind the counter and questioned them. They cooked me a chicken tikka jalfrezi in full view (in fact they allowed me to cook mine but i wanted to see exactly their efforts). whilst cooking i asked lots of questions about topics recently covered.
1) they gave me their recipe for their gravy (the one i use) but mine looks different so i asked for a taste of theirs and they obliged and it was different, theirs was a deeper sweeter flavour and darker in colour. When i pointed this out they opened another pot which was off the stove and similar in colour to mine. They called this their "uncooked gravy" and told me that would go on later to carry on cooking on a low light for the rest of the evening and would go into curries later that night and tomorrow.

Lesson for me - i need to continue cooking the gravy after the blending stage, i have put some pre-made gravy in my slow cooker for the night to see the changes hopefully tomorrow

2) i asked if they use goor / jaggery in the gravy for sweetness and it was no
3) they don't use coconut cream in the base either

4) i asked about their mixed powder and they obligingly gave me a full takeaway carton of it. The takeaway owner again told me about the bangladeshi chef mixing it in secret and he says the chef even tips the remaining powders into jars so none of the other chefs can guess the quantities left in the bag to replicate the mix. He did however tell me they use rajah spices inc curry powder as he buys them not Eastern Star as ifindforu does
5) they had patak jars all over and when questioned use in chicken tikka etc they said it was a definate.

6) i asked about pilau rice and mine being slightly discoloured compared to the takeaways being brilliant white and they said washing the rice 3 or 4 times is a must as its dirty and to use tilda basmati, they also slightly undercook it to allow it to swell slightly when microwaved for when needed.

7) they cook their tomato puree with garlic before allowing to cool to add yet more flavour.

they use fresh oil in curries not reclaimed / spiced oil.

9) the cooking of the curry was no different to what most of us all ready do. It was on a high heat for all the ingredients adding then low for the last 5 mins.(no pataks or manufactured products added at all in cooking)

10) their naan bread dough was with s/r flour and baking powder not yeast and the texture of the premade dough looked like it was of a bakers standard not homemade ie lumpy, wet or oily!
11) when i got home i had the curry and it was fantastic and better than my version of it.

The key for me was their base sauce as i have their mixed powder. Looking forward to checking out my slow cooked base.

I hope this post helps clear up some recent myths in the forum and gets us nearer our dream curry!!!