Thanks GE, I was genuinely surprised at how good they looked too. I was expecting a step forwards, I wasn't ready for the finishing line though!

Another couple of quotes from that book that concern me:

?There?s no such thing as chicken tikka masala in traditional cooking,? she says. ?Literally, it just means a piece of chicken in a masala, which is onion sauce. Vindaloo is completely made up and we do not have this macho custom of trying to compete with each other about eating the hottest curry. A korma to me does not have yoghurt or cream in the sauce.

?And we would never, ever eat poppadums. They are Indian, for a start, not Punjabi"

I've never heard of masala described as onion sauce before.

Save your money. Did you see the pic of the veg pakora? I don't imagine for one second that book would tell us anything new.

Quote from: emin-j on March 26, 2010, 09:35 PM
Chriswg Potatoes eh !! ;D

Even our resident critic has to smell the roses. ONION BHAJIS HAVE POTATO IN!!!

I'll start with the 8 - 10 minute cook time and work backwards. I imagine the oil is at 160 when they go in but must drop right down to around the 125 mark with all those added together, it will then slowly make its way back up again.

I like the similarities between this method and Dipurajas. The idea of salt last, only adding a coating of batter and not squeezing too hard to allow a network of air holes throughout (not to mention the addition of potato!!!) all come through in both recipes.

Out of interest, you mentioned the onions were sliced the day before and left in the fridge overnight. Were the aniseed / fennel seeds in the onions overnight too or were they added literally just before they were brought into the kitchen? I think to do a proper test I'll slice some onions this evening ready for tomorrrow.

Looks like you got a bit too excited!

Axe

BRILLIANT POST - for me this is the best post I've ever seen on any forum. I genuinely cant wait to give these a go.

The temperature can't have been 160 degrees if they cooked them for 8 - 10 minutes, they would be black. I think the optimum temperature must be between 125 degrees (any lower and they wouldn't crisp at all) and 150 degrees. I'm happy to try out a range until I get them just right.

Looking forward to rolling up my sleeves this weekend!

Axe - Your recipe is very similar to mine. I'm happy to give it a go next time I make some but at the moment the method is more important than the ingredients. On the first taste I thought the Dipuraja method was awful. I ended up with a big mouthful of raw potato. But the second batch was much better.

Jerry - I think you have to ditch the long marinate method. With the onions that soft and a wet batter the bhaji gets too dense and the hot oil cant penetrate all the way to the middle for long enough. I had just about decided on this after last Saturdays effort, and then Dipuraja's video went online which backed up my suspicions. You need to keep the onions hard with just a coating of gram flour so when you gently form the balls there is lots of air inside the bhaji which the oil can penetrate into and cook from within. Think birds nest for consistancy.

Once I get better this should facilitate being able to cook massive bhaji's to perfection. At the moment I'll stick to palm sized ones.

Hi hopeful,

From what I have heard the reason that the 60's and 70's taste has been lost is primarily down to health and safety regulations. Oil has to be changed regularly, raw food can only be marinated for a certain amount of time e.t.c.

I think that taste has probably gone forever but with it has gone the amount of food poisoning cases that used to be synonymous with Indian takeaways.

As Domi mentioned you aren't alone in your quest. Lots of people want that 70's / 80's taste. I hope for your sake my theory is wrong.

Axe

Can you ask them about this on Thursday while the Bhajis are cooking? It could be another small piece of the jigsaw if it turns out the BIR's cook spices into their tomato puree.

Ta

Hi Mick

Did you see them taking it out ofthe tub and into the curry? The kitchens I have seen usually have a plastic tub of puree which could mean it has been modified.