Quote from: jb on February 23, 2012, 08:31 PM
Well Summer's here(well almost) before I embark on a massive curry feast inspired by the recent lesson I thought I'd give my new oven a try out.On the menu chicken tikka,tandoori chicken and naan bread.



Tandoori chicken goes in.....



Followed by the chicken tikka.....



Oooops one naan bread gone!!



chicken tikka....



Tandoori chicken.....



Ready to eat!!!!



A fantastic bit of curry kit I have to say.The flavour it gave to the food was incredible.Not sure if I've got any hairs left on my arm though,those tandoori chefs make it look so easy,and the thing gets so damn hot.The naan breads went a bit pear shaped(it was my first attempt at them).The mix itself was spot on both in texture and apperance,however by the time I was ready to slap them in it was pitch black in my garden(I'd had a few beers by then).I dropped two in the ashes and the third one was a bit underdone.Never mind,next time I'm sure they'll be perfect.

My tikka now feels like the guitarist who comes on stage after Jimi Hendrix

ELW

Quote from: mr.mojorisin on February 23, 2012, 10:23 PM
i've been to about 20 asian food stores in Glasgow and have yet to see Kashmiri Mirch.
my quest continues and one day I'll eventually find it
i'm off to KRK this weekend to see if they have some
see it on fleabay and also online but I'm a miserable sod and I ain't paying 2 quid for a box with 4 quid delivery

Superasia, in Pollokshaws Road@ Eglinton toll has Kashmiri Chili powder, Eastern brand (orange box)

ELW

it's pure brinkmanship with those spices 

looks like a Ipac Grandi Cuochi 26 cm Aluminium Fry Pan if i'm not mistaken SD 

ELW

Quote from: villaboy on February 22, 2012, 08:08 PM
Hi all. Just joined the site and i'm looking forward to picking the brains of all you experts 

Hi villaboy. welcome to cr0, I'm rank amateur, but I'll help if i can as wil many others

Regards
ELW

Quote from: Jeera on February 22, 2012, 06:50 PM
Salt, that's a very interesting point... I too believe this is critical for the right balance.

I used the Ashoka base in my singed AZ method curries and it definately was BIR spec (I'm a glasgow curry lover). The ashoka base has LOTS of salt... in fact I reduce the amount of salt in the base by 25% as I find it too much in the final dish.

Therefore with no added salt to the final dish, maybe this make this combo works that little bit better. It definately works for me and my experiments going forwards will be about  tweaking mix powders/garamasalas.

Good to hear you've had results Jeera, slightly off topic, but regarding salt. I did a side by side a while back with my own Chinese curry sauce & one of my local's. The salt level in the t/a could have sent me to coronary care, it was unbelievable , whether it was from salt or the salt in the msg, I don't know, but salty it was.....sisde by sides are great, but can be a real eye opener

ELW

Quote from: haldi on February 21, 2012, 08:22 PM
I honestly believe that I singe the spices, as being described, in previous posts
I have been doing this for some time
but still feel there is a missing element to my curries
If singing the spices, turns a curry to BIR standard, then homestyle curries would taste the same
Homestyle employs similar spice frying methods
I have many Asian friends who give me curries, and I can assure you, that homestyle is not the same
Extremely good, but not the same
Singing is important, but clearly not the only factor in making a takeaway curry

Hi haldi, if I compare, on paper  a homecooked to a bir curry, it looks like every element of the bir process is set up for mass production, (mix powder as opposed to differing amounts of spices, pre cooked meat, garlic & ginger mixed together in a paste etc) After that initial stage of cooking a bir curry, it  & the homecooked version more or less become the same thing, a boiling mixture, you could chuck anything you like in after that, even a boiled egg!. For example The addition of say,Ashoka Banjarra paste, which is just stirred in after the gravy doesn't make it bir, it makes it Ashoka.

The aim for alot of novices on cr0 shortly, I would imagine, will be to clone their favourite t/a stuff, which will simply come down to recipe. Thats what I'll be doing! The first couple of minutes cooking, creates what we have all been describing as 'the taste'. the rest are layers of flavour. Of this I'm sure. I hope Julian has picked up on this for his new books, as it's a waste of time without it   

Quote from: Stephen Lindsay on February 21, 2012, 07:44 PM

Quote from: ELW on February 21, 2012, 07:13 PM
I don't think I'll be able to stop myself trying to recreate some of my fav local bir dishes, once I can knock out the classics time after time. Some of the special dishes here have crushed chillies/coriander seed etc tempered in oil poured over the dish, they are the business!! There is no end game really, now that I know the road
ELW

ELW - would love to see you post some recipes on here, especially some of these special dishes!

Yes Stephen, once I've got the favs down properly , I'm going to try to clone some of my local's versions & dishes, thats going to be a tall order. It's still a bit hit & miss at the moment.
Tried 2 x  madras last night, dumping 1 x heaped TBLsp kashmiri powder in with 1.5 tsp Az mix powder, quick burn, then in with the paste & gravy...maybe flinched a bit, but the powder was catching quickly - not right, raw spices coming through.

I sometimes get the aroma, but not the taste, which I think tells me the most of the aroma comes from the oil,g&g,tom & base gravy

Some posts should be white font on a white background 
ELW

Quote from: JerryM on February 21, 2012, 05:39 PM
for clarification the 3% i see and have seen for many months is being able to produce the full range of BIR dishes to top notch restaurant standard (CA's words are better but mean the same). the 3% has not changed over the last week and i don't see a need for any changes to what i do already.

it really is down to how high a bar you're aiming for.

if you're happy with what you produce then you have no gap and no missing %. i very much hope and expect that the fleet 5 have achieved this for most members.

for me personally i think the last 3% lies in: recipe refinement, sauces & pastes, mix powder

Same, but I have overcame a huge hurdle only this week. I don't think I'll be able to stop myself trying to recreate some of my fav local bir dishes, once I can knock out the classics time after time. Some of the special dishes here have crushed chillies/coriander seed etc tempered in oil poured over the dish, they are the business!! There is no end game really, now that I know the road

ELW

Sorry I should have made that more clear. Yes I used 1TBLs salkim tomato paste to 4TBLs water. I was trying to find out what was causing the bitter taste.

At first I thought it was the paste(not puree), causing bitternes.

Now I think it's from undercooked spices. A spot of raw mix powder on the tongue, catches the palate & tells me it's the mix powder causing it. It's still there in the badly cooked curries.

Az's tom paste in the vindaloo video, looks much thicker than 1:4. The pan in that vid looks also much 'wetter' regarding the oil, than mine, which is 26cm ali & can suffer from a few dry spots? A slightly smaller pan would definately be easier to do this.

I would suggest for testing purposes to use a fair amount of oil, more than you'd be comfortable with & try both hot singe & long fry...thats where I'm going next

Regards
ELW