Quote from: haldi on March 19, 2016, 08:12 AM
I had a go at this base but mucked it up
Not enough water with the onions, I think
Don't know exactly what happened but the flavour was odd
It's hard to do something when you don't know exactly what your aiming for
Have you made a version at home yet JB?
Have you thought about giving lesson?

No,not made it yet,hopefully making a curry fest soon so I'll give it a go.It does seem so simple,very few ingredients indeed.I've seen the chef make it loads of times now,he does it the same every time and I know there's definately no magic or mystery stuff going in it.Actually he adds very little water himself while cooking the first bit,he thins it out afterwards.I still like my other takeaway base,though,once the garlic tarka is added the smell hits you,just a different chef and a different base gravy.I showed this chef my recipe for the other gravy,he was impressed.Lessons? not sure about that!! I'll keep reporting back on the forum don't worry.Will be visiting again tonight so standby for any little nuggets I can obtain.

Quote from: Secret Santa on March 16, 2016, 08:27 PM
jb how is the onion bhuna cooked? Reading the Curry Crunch thread it seems this isn't a bhunjarra so what's unique about it?

Actually, does anyone have the Curry Crunch onion bhuna recipe? It seems the book is out of print now.

I wouldn't say there's anything unique about it,it's just the place has got so busy that the chef uses precooked onions instead of raw services onions.It may not seem to matter too much but when he has about 8 different orders on the go I guess anything that can speed up the cooking process is a great help.He said it does add a another bit of flavour but as is curries were top notch anyway it's not a 'magic' ingredient in any way.A bunjarra(correct me if I'm wrong) is a slow cooking process to caramalize the onions to a sort of paste which is then added just for flavour.His 'bhuna onions'(and I think the Curry Crunch one as well) was not like this at all.

It was a particularly busy night in the takeaway on Sunday night.Usually they have a steady trickle of orders but it was very hectic indeed.As usual the chef did a very good job churning out a multitude of dishes,all of which I was able to see him cook at first hand.They're certainly doing something right here,the place has only been open a short while but they have a a lot of returning customers.In fact they have hired a third chef now.He seemed quite intrigued with my appearance in the kitchen.The guys explained I was 'trainee chef'(as they like to call me),the new chef asked if I could cook gharabi and seemed really suprised when I said I could.I guess the fact that they have an open kitchen helps,although I do get some funny looks from people who are probobly not used to seeing a white English guy peering over the chef's shoulder.

They were so busy they were runnng out of most of the precooked stuff,I stayed until they closed so I made sure I could watch everything.

I noticed last time that the Chef had changed the way he prepares his service onions.Before they were just simply finely chopped white onions with small slithers of green and red pepper.Now however he pre cooks them,he had a big tub on the side which was nearly empty so I managed to see how he did them.No real suprises or 'magic' ingredients,just a bog standard mix of slow cooked onions and the usual mix of spices.The chef called the cooked mixture 'bhuna onions',and explained they he now precooks his service onions just to save time when they have loads of orders on the go.If I recall the Curry Crunch book also called their precooked onions 'bhuna onions',indeed the recipe they give is pretty much the same as the takeaway one.Actually,the more I revisit the recipes in this book the more I realise that a lot of the stuff in it is pretty much how it's done in my takeaway.

The tandoor chef began to run out of naan bread dough so I was able to see him make up a new batch.No real suprises,pretty much like any other naan recipe on the site.Everything was done by eye,he used whole milk,self raising flour,yoghurt,eggs,salt,sugar,water and kalonji seeds.He seemed quite amused that I could identify kalonji seeds.The only suprise for me is that he added yeast as opposed to baking powder.I'm really not into baking in any way but I always thought BIR's used baking powder as yeast in naan breads would make the dough rise too much if they were left in a hot kitchen.

Also managed to get a masterclass in onion bhaji making.Again,pretty standard ingredients although he did add a few slithers of potato,green pepper a sprinkle of orange daal.If I remember the inclusion of potato and pepper has been a bit controversial on the site before,but this chef definately uses them.Have to the say the bhajis here are excellent;small,round,crispy and full of flavour.Nothing like the greasy tasteless ones that some places seem to offer.

Guys,I normally stay out of this rubbish but.....Let's try to be nice to each other eh? The forum is a great place for anything BIR,better than any 'authentic' cookbook that's out there at the moment.I don't care much for the non BIR posts or pictures of last night's dinner either,but if that's what people want to post then so be it.

The forum has become far from boring in the last few months,I have been given full access to a genuine BIR takeaway kitchen from which I have posted numerous recipes and observations,which I will continue to do for those who are interested in BIR cooking.Hopefully other members may get access to kitchens themselves and do the same instead of just causing arguments.

Cheers JB

So,I ordered my book from Amazon,I really shouldn't buy any more BIR cookbooks,I have far too many and I always seem to be disappointed when I get a new one.Full marks to the author for actually producing a cookbook though,if I had the time and resources I should gather all the information I'm learning at the moment in the takeaway and produce a book myself.

The book itself is ok,anyone starting out in BIR cooking would find it contains a lot of good information,if I had had this book twenty years ago it would be a goldmine of information.To be honest though all of the information(and a lot more) can be found within this forum.

Probably the most interesting thing in the book is the recipe for seasoned oil,or 'niter kibbeh'.I was sure this had been discussed on the forum before.After a bit of searching I found it,a post by Ghanna way back in 2005 (wonder where she is now?)

https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,190.msg1078.html#msg1078

Quote from: curryhell on February 22, 2016, 09:04 PM
Wonderful account jb.  Obviously no secret or magical ingredients in this.  One question though.  The food colouring, was this a chef spoon, tablespoon or tsp?  I was quite gob smacked at the minimal amount of mint sauce added (1 tsp) versus the rest of the ingredients.  And did the chef give the tamarind block  a good squeeze out to exteract all the flavour, or simply pour off and use the liquid?  I think i'd really struggle to begin to scale this one down    All great stuff though.  Nice to see the naan balls resting and waiting for the evening service  ;D
This also begs the question re. the tomato puree tin.  What does he use this for as most if not all you've posted, he uses blended plumb tomatoes??  Keep up the good work Jason 

The red colour was definately a chef's spoon.It sounds a lot but you need a lot to keep that distinctive red massala colour.If I remember the other takeaway chef put in a bit of yellow in and not as much red,he said the yellow somehow brings out the red colour more.He didn't really squeeze the tamarind that much,I guess it was soaking for about an hour.After he tipped the liquid in he threw the rest away.

I'm not sure about the tomato puree,well spotted.It's definately just blended plum tomatoes he has on his worktop,I actually watched as he blended some and then started using them.

Almost forgot,I cooked this while the chef was busy with an order...chicken garam massala,one of the chef's special dishes.Some unusual ingredients but nontheless a very tasty curry,the guys tasted after I cooked it and said it was spot on.

Managed to see how my chef makes his massala sauce last night.I actually went into the kitchen on Saturday and observed the usual hectic service,if I arrive early before the place opens on Sunday I get to see more of his preperation work.

I was actually quite satisfied with the massala sauce I was shown at the other takeaway here..

https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,13137.0.html

However,this was always a scaled down version of what the chef said he used in the takeaway,whereas this is a full sized recipe(which I guess is easy to scale down anyway) and once he made the sauce he began using it in customers' orders,so I know it's an authentic massala sauce he showed me with no other supposedly 'magic' or mysterious ingredients.

First,in an empty yoghurt pot he put in two ladles each of blended plum tomatoes and yoghurt together with one ladle of mango chutney.The ladle looked quite a big bigger than the normal one he uses for putting gravy into the curries.He then blended this with a hand blender.Then in a big pot he put in about five chef  spoons of butter ghee and added one of blended ginger and garlic.After this was cooked for a while he then added the contents of the first yoghurt pot.Then he added one and half chef spoons of white sugar,one kashmiri paste,one tikka,one and a half tandoori and 1 heaped spoon of red colour.This was boiled for a bit and then he put in one whole carton of uht cream.He had already pre soaked a whole tamarind block in hot water and the liquid from this was also added to the pot.He then measured out some coconut flour and almond powder.He used one full tin of coconut and two of almond.He actually measured both out in an old tomato puree tin shown here..



This was put into the pot along with a teaspoon of mint,and the sauce simmered for a bit.Whereas other massla pastes have onions in them they need blending,this doesn't contain onions so no blending is needed.To make a tikka massala is simple,into a pan he put two chefs spoons of the paste,some gravy,uht cream,pre cooked tikka and cooked on a high heat,without stirring for about five minutes.

I think it's actually Coleman's mustard powder.I may be wrong,and I'll ask next time.He does use the prepared Coleman's mustard sauce in his tikka marinade.Hopefully I'll be in when they make up a batch of mix powder soon,they're pretty cool about me watching them do everything else so it shouldn't be a problem.I think mix powder is just a small part of the whole cooking process,along with the gravy and also technique.Every chef in the country no doubt does it in a similar way,but with their own tweaks here and there.

Quote from: ELW on February 06, 2016, 09:48 PM
Great post jb.
Do you know why he uses a veg ghee/oil blend as opposed to one or the other?

ELW

Don't know why,but that's definately how he does it.I've seen the large drums of veg oil in the kitchen.I've also seen him melt some ghee on the stove top and then pour some into one of those cans every kitchen seems to have next to the gravy.I know when tv chefs use normal butter they always add some oil to stop the butter from burning.Considering the high temperatures that are acheived in the kitchen could this be the answer?

Here's how my Chef does his garlic chilli chicken.Alongside chicken tikka pathia it's one of my favourites that he cooks.It's actually cooked in a similar way to the pathia,the initial stages(as with all of his savoury curries)are identical.As with the pathia the cooking technique is paramount,keep the pan hot and don't be tempted to over stir the curry.

In a pan put a chef's spoon of mixed ghee/veg oil.Heat then add about a teaspoon of chopped garlic,brown and then add a chef's spoon of service onions.Stir then add about a tablespoon of mix powder,a tablespoon of blended plum tomatoes,teaspoon of chilli powder,tiny bit of salt and methi leaves.Cook the spices out then add a ladle of gravy.Add the chicken,a couple of green chillis,small piece of tomato and red pepper and a heaped teaspoon of garlic pickle.Let the pan bubble away and then add a second ladle of gravy.

Here it is cooking in the takeaway...





And on the plate...





This was the garlic pickle the chef used...