Quote from: DARTHPHALL on April 16, 2005, 02:14 PM
I`m wondering if they do i the authentic way to a point & boil in the first batch then fry in the second.I have done this & this is were i get my best take-away clones my young apprentice.Anyone else done this ??

Most times I have to fry onions at the start of a curry, then I add the curry gravy.
Or do you mean fry the onions in the curry gravy for a while, then add water and boil.
There are recipes like that, by Pat Chapman.
It's the kind of thing that you can go round in circles on.
If you can get in to see it it would be brilliant.
The curry gravy demos I have seen all boiled the onions.

Quote

This raises an interesting point. If you look at the restaurant style recipes posted here there is rarely if ever any whole spices included. But I often find whole green and black cardamom, cloves and the like in retaurant curries. Hasn't anyone else noticed this?

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I have found green cardamons quite a few times.
It comes from the pre-cooked ingredients
see:-

https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=108.0

reply number 1 ,? part2

Quote from: ghanna on April 16, 2005, 08:13 AM
Hi
It is the smell of TARKA? DAL? ?cooking
They start cooking it when they arrive at 4:00 pm
Of course every one know what? TARKA? DAL? consist of
Thanks
ghanna

Ghanna
          I have seen tarka dhall being made at one of the demos.
Here it is:-

Tarka Dhall

Spoon of oil from the top of the curry gravy
Add enough chopped garlic (which was blue) to cover the base of the pan
Fry for about a minute
Add a large spoon of precooked lentil (yellow and stodgy)
Straight after add ? breakfast spoon of spice mix (yellow) and salt
Cook a little and add chopped fresh coriander
Add ? cup of cold water
Heat a little then add more lentil
More water
A teaspoon of dried methi
Add a teaspoon coriander/cummin mix
More lentil
Cold water

Total cook time 10 minutes

I make this quite a lot and it is very good.
People say my kitchen sometimes smells like a restaurant.
I never think that when I am cooking.
I just can't tell.
Curry King said the same.
The predominant smell from Tarka Dhall is the spiced oil, fenugreek and frying garlic.
A very nice smell too!!

Quote from: DARTHPHALL on April 16, 2005, 08:18 AM
I also got the impresion when i ate the potato? that they use potatoes in the gravy wether its in the first stage or second i don't know,what do you think ?
& one of the waiter`s did say it is difficult to duplicate the same taste if only cooking for one, but i told him i make a batch for 10 curries, he thought we should be able to get "the taste". Again he said use fresh only when cooking at home as he does.
He also said method is very important & to keep a good eye on your cooking, Onions should only be fried till they are turning golden no longer.

The Bengal Cuisine Curry Gravy recipe I got, uses potato (that's got the Kashmiri Masala in too)
see:-

https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=118.0

This frying the onion til golden intrigues me though.
If you are an indian chef using a wacking great pot (60cm diameter) with a sack and a half of onions in, how on earth could you stir the onions as they cooked.
I suppose you would have a litres of oil in.
It might be easier than it appears.
I really wish I could see that.
I hope you do.
You may well be on the right tracks!
You seem on good terms with them.
You've got to go in again Darth.
Do not give in to the dark side.

Quote from: DARTHPHALL on April 16, 2005, 12:46 PM
Been rooting around the second portion of Vindaloo & found Black Mustard Seeds,some whole Cumin seeds & ground Black Pepper along with the usual spring onion & potatoes.
There is more salt in than i though(tasted it cold as you are able to taste things better when cold).
Thinking about putting Potatoes in a batch has anyone done this ?
The curry has that smell, plus it smells like one other recipe i use which i was going to stop using (NOT!!).

Potatoes are a standard ingredient in a lot of curries.
Certainly I have had vindaloo and madras with them in.
This is part of the post from about six weeks back:-

Ingredients: -

A couple of large spoons of oil taken from the top of curry gravy
2 teaspoons of chopped onion and green pepper
(I think it was fresh, although it could have been pre fried)
1 teaspoon of salt, dried fenugreek and balti paste
1 teaspoon chilli powder
3 teaspoon of the spice mix
2 large ladles of curry gravy
2 very large spoons of pre-cooked veg which included carrots, cabbage, brocolli and peas
A couple of chopped bits of pre cooked potatoes (almost a grey colour, not yellow)
Chopped fresh coriander

The gas ring was on maximum
Heat the oil from the curry gravy and add the onion and pepper.
Fry for a minute
Add the salt, dried fenugreek, balti paste and stir a little, mixing in (thirty seconds)
Add the chilli powder and spice mix and stir this in as well for about a minute.
Then add a quarter of the curry gravy.
As the pan dries, add the same amount again.
Then add the pre-cooked vegetables and stir
After a minute add the potatoes and the rest of the curry gravy.
Bring the whole lot to a rapid boil.
The oil is on top of the curry and bubbles like mad.
Stir occasionally and after about four minutes add the fresh coriander mixing in.
Turn off the gas and leave a minute

the full post is at:-
https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=147.0

What is the recipe you do with the same smell?

Quote from: grimmo on March 17, 2005, 04:07 PM
First up he got the pilau rice on the go.? Into a big casserole sized pot.

1.5 ladles of ghee (call it four dessert spoons - 4DSP).
Then 3 DSP of onion
1 TSP salt

After 2 mins of frying in went the pre-washed rice
Then 3 bay leaves (3 three veined variety)
4 cloves
2 green Cardomons
Cassia Bark/Cinnamon Stick (couple of inches)
And something that I thought he called ?Gultri?. Not sure what it was but it was a round flat spice about the size of a two pence piece. Any ideas what this was?

This all went in together and then was fried for 2-3 mins.

He then added water to an inch over the rice and he said ?boiled? for 5 mins with the lid on. I?d actually say simmered as the heat was quite low.
?

Hey Grimmo!!
I tried the rice recipe
Lovely flavour but it came out a bit soggy.
I dried it out in the oven.
Really good!!
I used black cardamon as the unsure ingredient.
I think (judging by the flavour) that it's right.
I soaked the rice overnight in a jug of water.
I only used 8 oz of rice but still covered it by an inch of water.
I needed maybe half that.
Soaking the rice makes it really soft and fluffy and reduces cooking times.
You can do the same for lentils

Quote from: DARTHPHALL on April 15, 2005, 09:45 PM
.Are you ready for it "Kashmiri Masala ".
? Another guy also told me you can get the same taste unless you cook in large quantities(we have heard this also).
And that onions should only be cooked till they start to go golden.

Darth, I am really pleased you have asked some questions but this Kashmiri Masala is in the base I posted from the Bengal Cuisine demo I had:-

https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=118.0

The recipe is there but here again is the main bit:-
The Onion Gravy

Ingredients:-

2 large onions sliced
1 green pepper sliced
1 medium potato sliced
3 tablespoons Garlic ginger puree
1 carrot unpeeled chopped
1 cup of vegetable oil
? cup vegetable ghee
1 desertspoon salt
2 desertspoon turmeric
2 desertspoon of Pataks Kashmiri Masala
2 green chillies chopped
2 whole tomatoes from a can
Water equal to half the volume of the above
i.e. if the above comes to half way up the pot, then add a quarter of a pot of water

Boil the above for only ten minutes.
This is until you can see the sliced onion wilting
Now add:-

2 desertspoons of curry powder (rajah)
2 desertspoons of ground almonds
2 desertspoons of coconut powder
2 tablespoons of condensed milk

Cook another five minutes and then blend
The mixture is bright yellow
Add enough hot water to make it very runny
About half it?s volume again
This doesn?t look like your finished oily curry gravy but I was told with more oil, and longer cooking, it would.

Believe me the addition of Kashmiri Masala is not the missing ingredient.
I thought it was too.
I have heard from many sources that cooking in quantities can change the flavour.
I don't understand why, but may have to accept it as true.
They cook in a such a large quantity that you couldn't do it at home.
The pot is as big as the whole top of your cooker.
So we will never know.
The cooking the onions til golden sound interesting.
Most curry gravy recipes, on this ?site, boil the onions.
Please post any more findings

Thank you everyone for all your poppadom advice!

You may have noticed that my poppadoms curl really badly out of shape.
Hope do you get them nice and flat?

I searched the entire spice range at one of my Asian Supermarkets.
I could find no Kachri powder there.
I asked a chef and he said he might know the spice by smell, but not by name.
These supermarkets supply the restaurants so if they don't have it, then I doubt the restaurants use it.
I would have expected to see it in large catering packs even if you couldn't buy it small.
You should see the size of their jars of Pataks and Ghee!!