I find it amazing how many bozos on these forums are quick to dismiss any and every observation from BIR kitchens as "nothing new" or "already tried that" as they search in vain for the mystical new "secret" which will suddenly magically fix their substandard cooking.  What people should be doing is putting all the elements together, in the right balance, and then BIR authentic results are available to any who pay attention to the forums (without being distracted by those whose subject titles scream about the "ultimate" this and the "cracked it" that, etc.)

Must be a posh joint. Most of them will just cook it in bulk in a big pot then portion into takeaway tubs to be whacked into the microwave when an order comes in.

It's you. It's a white plate you dingbat!

Hi Linda. Not sure what tales have been spun to you but it's not credible that BIRs use charcoal plonked into their pans and liquid smoke is just not the kind of ingredient a penny pinching restauranteur would have on the shelf. Bir is about cheap ingredients cooked to extract maximum flavour.

Tarka dhal's distinctive flavour, common to all good BIRs is simply from the unsubtle approach taken by the average time pressured bir chef towards frying garlic.

Murder your garlic and dump it into the lentils and you'll find the flavour you're seeking.

Majeed, you may be unfamiliar with what a curry base is - no shame in that if you're a beginner. A base is the "body" of the curry. It's not a complete curry in itself, nor should it be used without being reduced on a high heat until thicker.

Check out some of the recipes in the sub categories such as madras, vindaloo, house specials, etc. All have a similar format. You start with oil, fry  garlic and ginger, spices and tomato paste then add the curry base and reduce it to thicken. So the base you've made is just one component in a finished dish.

I do agree with Mr Onions though, this recipe is far from "state of the art".

It can get expensive employing illegal immigrants:

http://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/restaurant-to-fork-out-50k-32505/

They are indeed schooled in traditional cooking. However they are, crucially,
cheap, meaning BIRs who employ the illegals don't tend to skimp on the pre-cooks in the way that those who are having to pay minimum wage have to. The result is far better flavours in those places which use the cheap immigrant labour (as can be seen from the ongoing disappearance of "the taste" as more places lose their illegal chefs).

Quote from: Phil [Chaa006] on November 02, 2015, 10:01 PM

Quote from: Donald Brasco on November 02, 2015, 06:32 PM
Chicken chaat starter already down my neck and that was quite pleasant.

Can you describe the chicken chat please, Donald, and in particular (a) was it served hot or cold; (b) was it served with cucumber; and (c) did it in any way at all resemble tandoori chicken or chicken tikka ?  And slightly more subjectively, were you able to distinguish tamarind among the flavours ?

** Phil.

No.

Well the Bombay aloo had a good flavour to it but the dhansak really wasn't good, and portion sizes were small. The rice was fine but the naan had been stretched so thin before cooking that it was dry and flaky and just not good at all. Everything about the food screamed death by a thousand cuts, as the naan had clearly had gram after gram shaved off the doughball and was still stretched large for appearances sake. The bombay aloo inexplicably had random sweet corn kernels clinging to the potato chunks (doubtless the spuds were pre cooked with other veg then fished out). The dhansak was a small portion by anyone's standards.

Service is, as mentioned, woeful to the point of open hostility. I've done nothing to these people. Only a restaurant which automatically adds 10% service to the bill and doesn't rely on customer goodwill for tipping could have such charisma free, distant waiters.

Overall I'll give it 3/10 on this visit. I returned thinking last time was an aberration. It wasn't. This place just doesn't try hard enough.

Old style BIR still run by Mitu Chowdhury (20+ years and still going strong). He's been done at least twice for using illegal immigrant chefs but don't take that as a bad thing, imho it's a strong indicator of good BIR food.

Still apparently using the old recipes as I enjoyed a lovely oily vindaloo with "the taste (tm)" tonight. Pilau rice was competent but the meat vindaloo was highly enjoyable. Three pieces of potato which seemed a bit cost-cutty but that's splitting hairs. The sauce was glorious.