Back again,
I was pondering the theory of the vinegar, worcester sauce and additional theories and practices this morning. Then I had a thought that may tie in with what we all seem to think is involved in "The taste & Smell" What about some sort of pureed Indian Pickle added to the dish? We know the Indians are big on their pickles and chutneys in India etc We also know mango chutney is added to various dishes. All my locals do and Achari or pickle curry. Has any of our forum noticed large jars of Indian pickle at their local cash & carry? Has any of our intrepid investigators noticed any in a BIR kitchen?
I have found over the years that so much information can be gleaned from multiple sources and many a time I have cracked one problem or another via books I already have at home. I just couldn't see the Forrest for the trees at the time. For instance I was having "Another" Puree a week ago and got the distinct taste of coconut which I hadn't picked up before and I have used this TA quit a few times. Instantly I thought of the paste given to Annam in his base sauce post. It fits like a glove in to this theory of pates and marinades added at the end of cooking. Ta and restaurants do goof up at times and add a bit too much of something. I have had several sweet and sour sauces over the years that have been very lemony. They haven't changed the recipie just goofed up while making it!!!   

Hi all,
Here's my take on it as I cook both Chinese and Indian food. I think technique has a lot to do with it but there are tricks of the trade too. Take Chinese fried rice for instance. I tried for years to get an acceptable restaurant style fried rice and in the end I cracked it.....by buying an electric rice cooker! The key problem was always too much moisture in the rice and in no other way could i get a "dry" rice other than using a rice coooker. My point here is if you follow most recipies for fried rice you can make it work using a rice cooker. Boil it as most do and things go pear shaped but most books don't tell you that!  i am sure out of all the base recipies here that at some time if not most, sources have been telling the truth about the recipies but they are using commercial equipmemnt to cook it. Also in the Curry secret KD mentions that some chefs add a teaspoon of Tandoori marinade to add extra flavour at the end of cooking. I know this to be true as I found it floating in my Lamb Karahi one night! The Lamb Poori I bought last night definately had vinegar in it, probably about a teaspoon full and also strong ginger overtones. So i believe there are certain twists at the end of cooking. Most tikka starters or chaats are seved with a slice of lemon. How many of use squeeze it on without thinking possibly not knowing that we are adding an essential ingredient ourselves - wouldn't that be something? As for the smell of your local BIR when you walk past. As has been said before. You are out on fresh air then all of a sudden you are hit by this heady aroma of spices etc. It is going to seem more intense. Let's not forget as well that what you are smelling is being thrown out buy a commercial extractor system so you are getting a mix of absolutely everything going on in that kitchen at the time, not just the curry. As for msg. I saw a chinese chef throw about dessert spoon full into the wok before cooking a chow mein one night but i also know the same restaurant buys in their noodles prepacked and "wet" from company in Manchester so again technique, ingredients and flair? MSG does add flavour to Chinese cooking but I feel Indian spices may be too strong to allow the, enhancer as it is, to make much difference. I would possibly suggest that what we may be looking for is a simple ingredient, maybe even vinegar, that cuts through the smooth oily spices to give the dish an extra dimention. It has been said elswhere that smoked paprika probably isn't used but I would dissagree. I am convinced my local carryout uses it but only in their Chefs Specials dishes. The thing about this stuff is it's hot too so you don't have to add extra Chilli powder. Corry put up a mignificent post about flaming his curries on his burner which looks like it has been wrenched off the wing of a Beoing 747 and says it makes a marked difference to his curries. Could this be because he is cooking outside in th open air? Less dulling of the smell senses? In total I think you are all being a bit hard on yourselves as I am convinced that the curries you guys are producing would sit alongside a hell of a lot of BIR curries and probably beat few as well. Just one last thing about the cooking temprature. If you look at most domestic cookers, hobs and even ranges the output is about 3.5 to 5 or 6 (can't remember if it's Kilojules or what)on the wok burner, a Chinese commercial wok burner runs at about 17! You will not find a domestic range with much more as it is rated to match a domestic canopy or extractor! what I used to do before i got a cannon range was remove the cast iron diffuser on the ring and let the flame come through straight onto the bottom of the wok - not suggesting that you do do the same ofcourse!!!  ;D       

Hi guys,
Imo it has all really been summed up by the previous post. I personaly think that there is nothing better than the surprise for want of a better word than eating out and sampling a new taste. The competition among carryouts and restaurants is bound to be fierce and the owners must be continually striving to come out on top with the best offering that people will pay for. As chefs/cooks call us what you like we all like to be heroes and the buzz comes from putting a dish infront of your guests or family and seeing the utter surprise and enjoyment as they taste your food. One of the ultimate complements being " You buy this in then???"  Me can cookum you think to yourself!!;D
Indian Chefs as any Chef I am sure are no different, as one thing we all have in common is we love food and we love to cook. Another consideration as pointed out is cost. Personally I feel if a chef can make a larger quantity of sauce using cabbage or carrot or whatever that is acceptable to the paying public and cheaper to the restaurant then this may also be what has moulded the latests base sauces. One other theory I have is that books like KD's Curry Secret are presenting us with tasty dishes but in some recipies Old Technology , that is to say current restaurant recipies have moved on a bit. Let's be honest who would want to incur the wrath of all those restaurants and curry houses buy telling absolutely all. Same goes for Chinese Cookery Secrets. This book doesn't for instance give you the authentic Sweet & Sour sauce recipe posted elsewhere on this forum. One more point is you get cheap eateries and expensive ones as anywhere. This will directly effect the ingredients and skill of the chef. One theory I have to disagree with however is that all base sauces should be simple and everything is best put in at the end. The addition of an ingedient at any stage will have marked effect on the outcome. I think is plausible enough that any reasonable sized takeaway or restaurant may have 2 or 3 base sauces adapted for each type or should I say style of dish. For instance I made Annams base last night and I have KD's base in the Freezer and I know that the same curry made from each base will taste markedly different. However KD's base would maybe be more suited to a Korma,where as Annams to a Bhoona or Vindaloo. These bases would not taste the same nor the resulting curry if the same ingredients or should I say their different ingredients were added in at the end or near end of cooking. Another thing we need to be careful of is upscaling and downscaling recipies. On another of my forrays I learned to my cost "as Usual" that ingedients are not always directly proportional. I think I was upscaling the KD base and I found that instead of just double, quadrupling etc that in some cases I had a better result by adding say 1 tsp more of spice for each multiplication rather than adding 4 instead of two if you know what i mean. Again as I have seen mentioned elsewhere on this forum a skilled chef will have a feel for what is right. In summary
all hail the necky ones who have gotten into an BIR kitchen, All hail the chefs who have given us the recipies and finally all hail those that have made the efffort and posted recipies , pictures etc

Hi,
Just made this base myself last night and the house smells brill this morning. It's a winner!!

Cro where have you been all my life? Put a stone on just reading these recipies!! I thought I was doing well with the curry secret by KD!! Looking forward to exchanging info chaps. I do a bit of Chinese cooking aswell if anyones interested.