My prayers and condolences for the family and friends of Simon.

I wasn't going to contribute until I read Ghoulie's post and it reminded me that on the Pyramid of Predators, we are only ranked 5 (top) because of our ability to use tools, other than that, in the natural environment of other predators, we are barely a 2.

Sobering thought.

Quote from: Peripatetic Phil on February 17, 2022, 08:43 AM
Also (a more serious point), has anyone ever encountered a recipe book in which reasons are given for each ingredient and for each stage in the cooking process ?  I ask because I used Constance Spry's recipe for my cottage pie, and after softening the onions she says to "add [one teaspoonful of] flour [and] allow [it] to colour".  Now why would one add flour to the onions ?  I understand why one would want to brown it if one had added it, but why add it in the first place ?  What is it intended to achieve ?

--
** Phil.

Phil,

My grandmother, mother and so consequently so do I (it was how I was taught) always used to flour mince when it came to adding it to the pan.  I only do it for cottage pie though, never for sheperd's pie, bolognaise, chilli or anything else that uses mince (my grandmother would likely never have heard of them, let alone "...made that foreign muck" I can hear her saying).

There are many opinions and reasons given for the practice I have just found but I will let you do that search yourself; personally I suspect that quality and quantity is probably the original reason.

Or even just 'Marketing Speak' for.... Pay more.

Quote from: bhamcurry on December 10, 2021, 01:10 PM
a small observation on the "restaurant food tastes better" comments:

restaurants use a lot more salt than you think

restaurants use a lot more sugar than you think

restaurants use a lot more fat than you think

because salt, sugar, and fat make everything taste better, because we're programmed to crave them all.

Hi,

I am not sure about more but maybe more concentrated?

We used to (when I was a child) make family stews... not a lot of meat but lots of vegetables.  Each day, servings were taken and the pot would be added to with more vegetables and maybe some meat. I continued this when I left home in my teens as a cheap way of having a meal.

I have had a few attempts recently where I have lost track of time and have left the base on a low heat for extended times, causing it to reduce substantially... but then when cooked with, the oil of the curry has really taken on the flavours, having been much more concentrated and I preferred in my lamb, madras and bhuna dishes.  I find it hard to get this flavour into chicken, so again, in the curry sauce that the meat sits in, it works, mostly.

Is it therefore a possibility that takeaways produce the base and that over hours (days or from the increased power of the burners) it reduces and liquid is added for consistency but the flavours are already there from the reduction that we do not get at home from smaller scale production?

BAJ

Quote from: George on November 03, 2021, 05:22 PM
Back to the main thread topic, the lack of any response to my post, or many others, seems really indicative of how participation in this forum has fallen to what may be an all time low. It's so sad. Does anyone have any ideas of how we could re-generate some interest? The group tests done a few years ago were not a bad idea. I am guilty of not posting about things I have done over the past year or two, like buying quite a few curry tree plants and having them all die, before buying some more recently, to try again with a different approach. Maybe someone here knows about how to grow curry tree plants, for example.

I am guilty of not posting also.

Phil's recent discovery that lunchtime is the best time to prep. didn't need any further comment, imo, as I assume 99% of commercial BIR is prepared during the lunchtime/afternoons before evening service begins as cleaning after could run into the early hours?

I have not been keeping up with growing chilli's the last few years as my wife took a liking to succulent's called 'Japanese Money Trees' (aka Jade Plant - Crassula ovata) and my front window is full of the darn things without any space to get seedlings started over the winter/spring months and even then, my old greenhouse is all but a frame and a certain Pandemic put pay to replacing it with the larger one I wanted (as well as other issues).

My photo contribution has similarly been lacking as I am unlikely to inspire.  I know what I like, I try to cook what I like and that tends to be the same old recipes to be honest.  By the time I get home and to cooking something, I usually just want something quick and that involves going to a very short list of dishes I think I can cook passably/good.  The 'Josephine' thread was always inspiring for me.

As for 'real' BIR, I am not sure there is any left any more, particularly where I live.  It all seems to be Pakistani or Bangladeshi, with hundreds (I jest not!) of Fried Chicken offerings, so no real way to compare my production against Traditional/expert offerings.

Regards,
BAJ

Excellent CH, I wasn't sure if you would have them, I didn't.  The only reason I took a screenshot was because it has several elements to it and with short cooking times between each, I was getting tired running between rooms from the Kitchen to the computer and back.

@Onions: That will be the 2 Tbsp of almond powder + Tsp of Coconut powder + 1.5 Tsp of Sugar.

@Livo:  Got me thinking about the food colouring... not sure if it loses potency over time but I have to say the stuff I have is over 20 years old and was from when I used to bake cakes and pastries (sometimes in the sponge or the Iceing) and as you said, a pin heads worth was enough, so a 400g jar lasts forever!  That might explain why I have to add so much more of it these days?

Eastern Tandoori Chicken Patala

Ingredients:

- Portion of cooked Chicken Tikka
- 350 ml portion of heated curry base
- 2 Tbsp Oil
- 2 knobs of butter (each approx 1 Tbsp when melted)
- Rounded Tbsp finely chopped Onion
- 2 Tsp Garlic (ginger) paste
- 0.5 Tsp Meethi leaves
- 0.25 Tsp Salt
- 2 Tsp Tandoori Masala powder
- 1 Tsp Mix powder
- 0.5 Tsp Chilli powder or to taste
- 1 Tbsp Tomato paste already diluted 1 part paste to 2 parts water
- 2 rounded Tbsp ground Almond (or Almond powder)
- 1 level Tsp of Coconut powder or dessicated coconut
- 1.5 Tsp Sugar
- 2 Tsp Tomato Ketchup
- 1 Tsp Lemon juice
- Half a Tomato cut into quarters
- 3 Tbsp single Cream
- 0.25 Red Food Colouring
- 1 Tbsp chopped fresh Coriander

Method:

- Add 2 Tbsp spoon of oil to your curry pan and place on medium heat
- Add the finely chopped onion and first knob of butter and fry till they start to take on a little colour
- Add pureed garlic/ginger and fry until the sizzling from the puree subsides, about 30 to 40 seconds
- Add the meethi leaves, salt, tandoori masala, mix and chilli powders, pre-diluted tomato paste and fry for 30 to 45 seconds mixing well with the pan contents – DO NOT BURN
- Add 2 chef spoons of the heated curry base and stir in well and fry for 30 to 45 seconds
- Add half of the remaining curry gravy, almond and coconut powders followed by the sugar
- Give the pan a good stir ensuring all ingredients are well mixed
- Add the chicken tikka and stir
- Leave for 3 to 4 minutes to cook, checking occasionally, do not let it burn
- Add the remaining curry gravy, tomato ketchup, tomato quarters, lemon juice, stir and cook for 2 minutes
- Add the cream and food colouring and stir through the curry
- Reduce heat and leave to thicken to a normal curry consistency
- Add the coriander stirring it through the curry
- Add the knob of butter folding it in to the curry until it has melted
- Garnish with a sprinkle of fresh coriander




Tandoori Masala Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons Ground Coriander
3 Tablespoons Ground Cumin
3 Tablespoons Garlic Powder
3 Tablespoons Paprika
5 Teaspoons Ground Ginger
5 Teaspoons Mango Powder
5 Teaspoons Dried Mint
3 Teaspoons Chilli Powder
1 Teaspoon Red Food Colouring Powder


@Onions: I had already typed it up but not printed it for some reason.  There are some Capitalisations that are not in the original and I had put it into a standard format I like to use but the qty's are all correct.  I have some scribbles on my screen print, where I have used 1 Tbsp of Food colouring in the Ingredients to get the brilliant red colour in CH's original photo's.   I hope this helps.

I can retype the recipe from my screenshot if that would help?

And there you have it, Onions has it and Phil is correct, it doesn't come up in the Search, even with correct name.

It was last week but as I intended to post it then, I will now.

Large Garlic Naan with Chicken Tikka (plenty of gravy).

Someone helped themself to my PC during Lockdown part 1.

No idea how they hit a time when nobody was in except three of the household are essential workers, so just me.  Took me a while to get up and running again.

So I decided to start back at the beginning, recipes from 2005, a little slow going... now, I wish I had done more when I had the time... not got to Syed's yet but I have been reading all your posts recently, thank you.

Regards
Bob

P.S. Admission of guilt, I had taken a screenshot of CurryHell's Eastern Tandoori Chicken Patala (including their mix for Tandoori Masala) and printed that before Covid but without any Base recipes and only a memory of what was in the various different recipes, I didn't get close to the original more than once or twice by accident.