Hi PaulP, another great post in reply to this thread.
Today I bought a Casio 23cm ali pan(5 quid), which in comparison, regarding the thickness of base etc, to the 26cm pan I've been using, is a piece of nonsense. The shape & size of the pan when used on the biggest burner I have however is  significant. Of note **this is a non stick pan**
What I can do with this pan on full heat, is concentrate the heat I have , to the ingredients over a smaller area. On the 26cm I was constantly having gather everything into the middle of the pan. The results I've had today, without sounding like a complete k**b, I would put up against loads of 't/a's', they are my best yet by miles. I've posted before about this, but I think I have found an almost full proof method of creating the bir taste, if the first home attempt fails, which I'll stick up tomorrow

Regards
ELW

Turmeric is the flavour I'm always trying 'kill' now. I find it really bitter it's tells me if it's cooked properly. Can't say about Eastern Star as I've never seen any, but it does look very yellow compared to the shelf brands, either indicating more turmeric or of a darker spice.  Razor recently mentioned this as he was looking to improve the colour of his chinese curry paste.

Quote from: emin-j on March 10, 2012, 12:09 PM

Quote from: curryhell on March 10, 2012, 11:03 AM

Quote from: gary on March 09, 2012, 10:25 PM
Proper BIR really.

If you don't get these brief moments in the fry pan right I think all the rest of the stuff is wasted,

Gary

QuoteGreat to hear you're getting the desired results Gary.  I love the "scrape and shake".  It goes well the singeing ;D

I feel a song coming on shake and vac style ! ;D

"......it's all you have to do"  ;D

Good post SL, I haven't ventured much further than Madras & basic curry for exactly the reasons you've mentioned. It's a test of this Maillard reaction/caramelisation, wok hei, or just plain singe/quench, which we now know to be crucial in achieving the taste. I'm not sure too many chefs would really understand exactly whats going on here either as it not something visual. I'm sure the hot pans have an effect on not just the oil /spice/GG/tomato, but the gravy also, & not by just plain reduction. The flavour changes I can get now & again over just a few seconds really are strange.

Although bland in comparison to the rest of the menu, the basic curry from my local has the taste in abundance, so using this as the control I've been attempting to replicate it.
I can't detect tomato at all, as in their bhuna which has plenty. The colour is almost the same as any base I've made, maybe even going towards yellow, which again may hint at no tomato paste. Ginger I'm not entirely sure, but definitely garlic, salt & methi.The exact spice mix is unknown. Coriander garnish. No other visible ingredients. I've also been trying out GM in place of MP, with tomato paste & methi, with some decent results

"rectum wrecker"  ;D, I remember someone on here saying they "cut the chilli amount in half as they had work the next day"  ;D That made me laugh, although I'm not sure it was a joke 

Regards
ELW

Hi MM, are your gravies being added in full portion amounts(300ml) as per bir average gravies  or in chefs spoon paste amounts?

@stock  ~ yes that makes sense, lamb &chicken karahi from the same place here can be completely different, both in colour & taste. Lamb dishes can  have a lamb stew like flavour & brown in colour whereas chicken can be red & more jalfrezi like

ELW

Another great rundown Gary, I can't get the flambe on my cooker, but full blast gets me results of a sort

QuoteIf you don't get these brief moments in the fry pan right I think all the rest of the stuff is wasted,

It's become my mantra, the really hot pans in a commercial kitchen are taking care of this with minimum fuss.

ELW

looks very good Dalpuri, I've got so many recipe's I want to try that the new one's are pushing the old one's outta my tiny brain. The notes are always good to read on the end of a recipe, as I frequently think I botched something

regards
ELW

Quote from: Salvador Dhali on March 09, 2012, 06:09 PM

Quote from: ELW on March 09, 2012, 05:51 PM
I like 'curries' full stop. whether bir or not, but I have to disagree on which tastes better. The flavour hit from the best  Indo/Pak restaurants ,regardless of how they're achieved, is something fairly unique. This forum is proof enough of that. I've had homecooked curry in a Pakistani home, where the womenfolk cook all day every day, very tasty, very fresh, yes, but nowhere near as tasty to my palate as the bir version. The food critic & Peter from Family Guy lookalike, Charles Campion, once wrote "tikka masala was created for the ignorant". God knows who he was talking to to but no one was listeing to him thats for sure. Catering for Western palates? They are after all true entrepreneurs.
Looking at the whole bir process & the seemingly oblivious chefs, what we like about bir may simply be a by product of a fast, hot commercial environment 

How does not using a base gravy make it a curry from scratch?

Regards
ELW

"Family Guy lookalike, Charles Campion..." Lol...

"How does not using a base gravy make it a curry from scratch?"

Good point, ELW.

For instance, I've just made up a quick 'micro base' (a diminutive version of the Zaal base) to cook tonight's vindaloo, and it contained garlic, ginger, onion, red pepper, tomato, cumin, coriander, turmeric, chilli powder, Asian bay, cassia bark, green cardamoms, etc....

Sound familiar?

Next, I'll be preparing and cooking more of those essential ingredients to add to some of the base to complete the process.

The fact is that I have prepared a curry 'from scratch'. I know because it's been ongoing for the last 2 hours.

The essential difference between 'traditional' and 'authentic' is surely one of style and technique.

Good post &  pretty much how I see it

I would add spices/mix powder  in there CCL, chilli will determine the heat.1/4 to 1/2 tsp may make it medium dep on chilli powder used, its hard to say exactly
I use GG,no tomato paste/ 1.5 tsp any mix powder thats handy, methi, salt  & base. I'm sure my local doesn't use tomato paste in a basic curry. It's almost the same colour as a  base gravy, thats why I do it. You'd be as well trying one with & one without tomato, you'll have 1 more curry that needs to be eaten then which always a good thing 

ELW

Soaking them is mentioned in some of the cookbooks I've seen. I've never done it. Theyre may be a chance they cook a little too quickly & turn bitter as they are very dry