Good pics and good presentation.  Very good separation in the sauce, and very good texture.

Keep up the mission!
and Happy Cooking
C P

Never cheap beer in Canada surely?!  But I never really cared for it as it was a little to dry for me.  But hell, any port in a storm!

Happy Drinking
C P

How do you thing competitive restaurants discover what is going on Layne?  Yes they do use all or some of your list.  It depends on the chef, the area the outlet is based (social needy, middle class, wealthy), i.e. they have to be both price conscious and therefore moderate their costs versus profit accordingly.

We seem to be getting very hung up on purist points; the holy grail thing.  As I have said before, you need to learn the cooking techniques used in BIRs and adapt them (if need be ) to your own cooking environment.  The ingredients are not always that important to a BIR, it is the quality of the Chef and what he or she chooses to use to make the mark.  I not that some of the 'Old Hands' here consistently remind members of these points.  It is practice, practice, practice; I got my confidence when I started to get Asian friends asking me for my recipes, and paying me compliments rather than the other way around.

Be patient and practice your techniques and happy cooking
C P

But what the heck, this is a great debate, and I have been part of the global bit since I originally started curry making back in the 60s.  I got a little worried at one time because I thought it would take precedence over beer, but thankfully beer won!!

Quote from: Dai on October 03, 2006, 08:49 PM
Hi Nessa

I suppose it does not look that bad after all, it looks cooked at least, when you have chicken from a BIR it is so tender and succulent not with burnt edges, should this be the same when you make a ctm as the burnt effect is a little lost when the chicken is covered in sauce.

Chilli Prawn - I am on my way to hints & tips.

Cheers.

Yes the burnt bits do have a very distinct effect whn in a CTM; they give the flavour depth and reduce the need for seasoning.

Happy Cooking
C P

Well CC you are replicating the function of the Tandoor to some extent when you use a BBQ, and your advice is spot on.  I know that in Canada BBQs are used regularly for every day cooking throughout the year (my family over there do even in thick snow!!!!).  You can get similar if you flash fry in a Wok/Kharai.   When I get around to posting my CTM recipe in full you will see the method I use for production runs.  Thanks again for your input.  These are the things that could really be individual topics in a sub-forum though, so that they can be searched on more easily.

Happy Cooking
C P

Ah Ha, this is the old 'customer demand' thing CC.  I never used Methi or Coconut originally, but my customers asked me to because a lot of the BIRs do.  I sort of stuck with it to keep them happy (my wife loves it as well and she is my partner in crime with this business).  Personally I am not keen on dried methi leaves (except for very specific dishes), and neither are most Indians.  It should be fresh and fresh only, but they are not easy to get where I live (I have to go to the mainland - England).  However, Methi is like the bread & cooked food aromas etc. they push out in supermarkets to make people buy, and our punters think that is the norm even if they haven't the foggiest idea about what Methi is!!!!

Happy Cooking
C P

Hi CC. I see you are quite close to my philosophy, but hey, I have to make a living.  One thing though is that I will not sacrifice quality and flavour, my business is built on this and is retained even though I am more or less an a par, price wise, with the BIRs.

On the point about PC and his books.  He was an original pioneer in this area from way back in the early 70s, and some of his early works provided some good info to newbies.  On principal I would not use his stuff, fo the same reason you have provided, but of late I have tried and modified a couple of his recipes to see how they perform; and they do.  Anyway PC has retired and someone else has bought & taken over his Curry Club.

Happy Cooking
C.P

PS My Brother in Law and Sister in Law live in Canada; Ottawa & Vancouver respectively.  I am told by my wife and family you are fortunate to have some very good Indian restaurants there (big place I know!).  Went to one in Montreal but not impressed.

Absolutely !

Happy Searching
C P

Hmm, we seem to have a good quality debate on our hands.  CC has a very valid point and one close to my heart, but as was pointed out by CK this is a site dedicated to the mythical holy grail of the BIR curry secrets. I am afraid that in my experience a lot of the cheap BIRs do use OTS (off the shelf) ingredients, I shop at the same wholesale stores and observe what they buy.  I would say CA that inferior oil isn't (can not) be used for lots of good reasons, similarly they do not usually skimp on the quality of their rice and meat. 

Very good upmarket BIRs usually take a very different approach to everything; processes, ingredients, storage, as do the sweat shop suppliers (ethnic cafes) at the other end of the scale.

Let's face it, if anyone does find the holy grail, and it is the complete answer to all BIR curry production, they will be a multi-millionaire within weeks.  But it is fun, like Monty Python, searching for it!

Happy searching
C P

I make my own Jalfrezi (the name means fried left overs, like our bubble and squeak  by the way).  So you can add anything you like.  However it used to be the way to use up stock items that were coming to the end of their storage life in in a lot of BIRs!!!!

I use my prepared Chicken Tikka sometimes or just plain prepared chicken

I fry my fresh sliced (1/4 inch) onions, fresh chillis cut in thin strips, and coarser strips of Capsicum peppers (same as onions) in very hot oil for 1 - 2 minutes (depends on amount used).  But you want the peppers to be cooked to just before they become al-dente, so that there is some crispness in the finished dish.

Add some chopped fresh (preferred) dry Methi leaves or Methi powder (leaves = smell, powder = taste). 

Add some standard base, and some CTM base. 

Add some coconut cream block, and dessicated coconut (the latter can be fried at the start just before the onions if you want a deep nutty taste).

Add salt and black pepper to taste. 

Add some milk (preferred) or water, not yoghurt or stock.

Add some quarters of ripe tomatoes, briefly fry, and serve. 

It is the quickest and simplest dish we do, because it is the last of the batches we cook and we use up the remaining bits and pieces and sauces.  It freezes well.  Don't try and be precise, this is not the idea for this dish.  This is a regular favorite with our customers, and I only did the first one as a bit of a wind up on a friend!

Happy Cooking
C P