I've never seen it or tried it but I'd give it a go. Must be a regional thing I guess.

You ramble away all you like. Its the best way for us all to learn. I bought a thermometer just for bhaji cooking and I usually aim for 140 degrees. This is quite a lot cooler than most suggest but for me it works well. I can do the first fry for 5 mins without any hint of burning on the outside. The final cook I may go as high as 150 degrees, but I think any higher and those spices burn in about 30 seconds.

Hi Chilli

We are both solving the same problem in very similar ways. You are pre-frying then adding to the batter. I am adding to the batter and then pre-frying. I am certain that the BIR's use my method as it is quicker and easier for cooking in bulk. For small batches at home then maybe your method works as well. I did once try the pre-fried onions and I personally wasn't satisfied with the results.

Next time you make some try combining a couple of ideas on here by adding the dry spices to the chopped onion (and finely matchsticked potato) and leaving for a few hours to draw out the water from the onion. Dont use too much salt though or the results wont be very nice. Then add the gram flour to make the batter with no extra water unless needed. Then give them a quick fry. Leave to cool for a few hours. Then give them a final cook when ready to eat.

It sounds like a lot of work, but it really isnt. you just need to start the first stage either early in the morning, or the previous night.

Not the best picture ever, but the bhajis tasted excellent.

You should be able to click on the picture for a bigger version.

I finally got round to trying the 'leave the bhajis for 8 hours after their first cook' idea. And I must say I was very pleasantly surprised. I cooked them in the morning for only a couple of minutes to get the batter set and a slight golden colour, then the went on a plate in the cupboard (room temperature) for the rest of the day. At curry time they got another quick dunk in the hot oil to heat through.

The was much more mushy on the inside and there wasn't any hint of rawness to them. the outside was nice and crisp with a lovely fried onion taste. Cooking them like this also ensures none of the spices got burned at any time either.

It sounds fairly obvious now I have tried it. Every BIR in the country pre cook their bhajis, normally at least half a day, sometimes 36 hours ahead of their useage. Everyone should give this a go and see what a big difference it makes.

Those Naans look brilliant, I'm going to have to try those myself next time.

Madras for tea - will post pics once made if I remember.

Its a very common problem and isn't one that has (IMO) been satisfactorily answered. How do you cook the onions so they are very tender while getting the fried onion taste AND not burning the batter and spices? I think they are cooked 90% of the way in medium hot oil (around 140 - 150 degrees) then left for 5 or 6 hours before being used. I think in this time the onion continues to cook while it cools and it probably released the rest of its water resulting in that soft inside texture. Has anyone properly tried this? Its on my list and will be the next thing I try.

Has anyone had a curry lesson from a BIR that has used old / spiced / recovered oil? Every post I have read from member lessons (including my own) has only used fresh vegetable oil.

I know people have seen webcams where they might have been skimming oil for use in the base etc, but that isnt conclusive evidence. They might just as well be skimming it off to bin it when cool.

I'm pretty certain this is the wrong track and the BIR flavour can be found elsewhere. Most likely it is a result of cooking vast quantities of base rather than the relatively small amounts we do at home. I also think it is a large part to do with the big commercial burners they use for the final cook. Those lucky people with big burners at home report a much improved savoury / smokey / toffee aroma / taste.

I bet if any one of us cooked a meal in their kitchen on their scale it would taste as good as theirs.

I think most use Double concentrated Tomato Paste. It comes in a can from Indian restaurant favourites KTC. the trick is watering it down correctly, I think it should be around 4 parts water to 1 part paste, or 2 parts water to 1 part puree from a squeezy tube. The puree / paste tastes a lot more savoury than ketchup so works better for most curries. For something like a CTM a squeeze of Ketchup would probably go quite well.

Beware though that Ghee can RUIN an otherwise good curry. I had some friends round a few months ago and we put Ghee in everything using it like you would butter and the result was appalling. Everything taste cheesy which was a shame since everything from the base to the bhajis had it in. Maybe I had a rotten batch or maybe I jsut used too much but I know I wont use it again!