Quote from: George on April 12, 2013, 02:50 PMBut it's still way ahead of the worst BIR dross, except you don't agree.

I don't agree either.

I'm even amazed you're attempting to make this case. I've never had a supermarket curry that even approaches the worst I've had in a BIR restaurant or gets anywhere near what I can produce at home which is essentially why I stopped buying them.

Neither do they represent particularly good value. For about 3 quid, I can produce three portions or more of a home cooked curry that knocks any supermarket curry into a cocked hat.

Just because they're cheap (in comparison to BIR's) and convenient (you just pick one off the shelf) does not mean they're good or tasty, because they're not. At least not to anyone who knows anything about Indian cookery. And that's not intended to be sideswipe at you personally, this is just my personal opinion.

They're bland, all generally taste the same, smothered in tomatoes and full of preservatives and chemical stabilisers.

Quote from: goncalo on April 12, 2013, 10:58 AMFor a first post, a link to an online shop with expensive skewer suggestions is likely to be seen as dodgy at best  :

He also needs to be a bit more transparent about being the owner of that site too.

Quote from: DalPuri on April 11, 2013, 10:39 PMPlease list your current favourite supermarket curry/curries

I don't have any because I don't buy them as I don't think they represent particularly good value for money. I've bought many in the past in blind faith hoping they would improve but they never have. Plus I don't generally like processed supermarket food.

Quote from: goncalo on April 12, 2013, 12:09 AM
I made a korma for myself tonight.

Looks good to me Goncalo, I think the photo perhaps makes it look darker than it should be, but you know me, I don't care too much about the colour of things - it's what it tastes like that matters.

I rarely to never make Korma, or Chicken Tikka Masala I'm just not really into creamy mild dishes like those, I like mine with a bit of welly to them. Not searingly Phall like hot, but around Madras strength is about right for me.

But your Korma looks the business and plain boiled rice very nice as well.

I think you're knocking out some pretty decent dishes in the short time you've been here.

I think some here have used these people -

http://dadibhais.com/index.php/kitchen/cookware/frying-omelette-pans/aluminium-omelette-pan/alumininum-omelette-pan.html

I haven't and so can't verify if they're any good.

The ?5 price is pretty sharp but the ?7.14 delivery is a bit of a killer, might be worth getting a couple as ?8.50 each isn't too bad.

Quote from: Phil [Chaa006] on April 11, 2013, 06:49 AMYes, I have encountered garam masala being used in both forms, but never panch phoran, so I was interested to learn in which dishes you would advocate its use in ground form.

I don't generally use Panch Phoran or any other whole spice seed mixes but when I do the whole seeds would be fried in oil, left to cool and ground up in a pestle and mortar and used as a paste tempering for a Dal.

As you know, I don't generally hold to the opinion that this name has to mean this or that, Panch Phoran to me just means a five spice mix, what those spices are and how you use them is up to the individual to decide as and when.

This is supported by the view that you'll struggle to find two people who'll even agree on what whole spices should be in Garam Masala or Panch Phoran for that matter.

Quote from: Axe on April 11, 2013, 12:42 PMCrispy okra sounds much more appealing though.

Well I think so!

I always remember the Bhindi Bhaji of old, many years ago being these long slim green things floating in a sauce that felt slimey when you ate them! Although I liked the taste, the texture put me off them.

I read a few recipes before cooking these and the concensus seemed to be to fry until slightly crisp, so that's what I did! I'll cook the modified to BIR style recipe a few more times and if I'm happy with it I'll post it for people to try.

I think pre-cooking vegetables in BIR's is almost soley down to expediency in order for them to produce finished dishes in a short time frame.

To properly fry onions for example can take anything from 10-15 minutes, most BIR's will have turned out a whole dish in that time frame. So to speed it up when fried onions are required they pre-cook them or pre-boil them or whatever they do so they can cook them in the finished dish much faster.

Does pre-cooking vegetables add anything to the flavour of the finished dish? Probably, if they're being pre-cooked with spices, but no more so than if you were to fry whole spices in oil first before you add your onions to be fried.

Experiment with it yourself, pre-cook some onions before frying them off in your finished dish and let your taste buds decide what difference is being produced.

Quote from: goncalo on April 11, 2013, 12:02 PM
Excellent looks spicey! I would love to give that one a try. I've never tried okra or beef in a curry. I like beef, though I'm posh when it comes to dark meats and would rather not use it in a curry for fear of wasting it.

As I mentioned this was leftover beef from a Sunday roast but I know what you mean.

Pick the cheaper, tougher cuts of beef to curry like stewing steak and trim off the excess fat and simmer it in whatever pre-cook sauce you use for a couple of hours till tender. Then add as normal. I think Beef and Lamb can produce some really intense flavours in BIR style dishes that you just can't get with chicken. I think this is down to the fat in the red meat being the flavour carrier in a similar way that oil carries the spice flavours. This is why I've moved away from using chicken breast chunks as I find they can get a bit dry, I prefer to use chicken thighs on the bone which carries some fat on them.

Quote from: goncalo on April 11, 2013, 12:02 PMAs for okra, what does it taste like?

Good question!

As CH mentioned earlier it's quite a distinct taste and as such somewhat acquired. I'd describe it as being somewhere between a green bean and a courgette. A lot of people get put off Okra by its somewhat slimey, mucus feel as a fresh vegetable and to get round that in cooking I believe it's best fried till slightly crisp. That's why the sauce is so dark, in frying the onions first then the Okra the onions caramelised producing a lovely rich intense sweet flavour with the crispy Okra. One benefit of Okra is that it's packed with nutrients.

I'm also really into Caribbean cookery and Okra is used quite a lot in that as well as sweet potatoes and sometimes they cross over into Indian food

Gav, Ramirez

Thanks for the heads up on the Nishan purees.

I'm not a big fan of processed food generally and much prefer to make up my own from fresh as I believe you will always get a better flavour that way. However, I'm open minded to new things and thought I'd give these a try.

I'll certainly report back on how I get on with them.