Cheers YF, i actually got found this review https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=561.0

Ashes

Anyone bought this book? Or tried anything from the Harlequin Restaurant Chain?

http://www.harlequinrestaurants.com/indian_food.htm

Funny name though  ;D

Ashes

Yeah its hard to stir that base sauce with a white jacket that buckles up at the back

Welcome Geoff!

We havent all been committed yet, although most of us should have been years ago. 

Enjoy the  site!!

Ashes

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/135939/i_want_a_curry_and_rice_girl/

A rare moment of levity 

I didnt realised this, George was right.. about boiling, i always assumed it was because the more steam you produce the more flavour you lose (although as i said i have produced fine stocks with boiling). Cloudiness doesnt matter so much if you are making a sauce with say bruri mani ( or whatever the spelling is) style? a technique where you melt butter and add flour to make a thickening agent. A technique that the "old" masters used which isnt so popular anymore  .. but sure works well.

Talking of making stock here is what Anthony Bourdain has to say about making dark stock:

"Take as many veal bones as you can fit into your largest heavy-bottomed pot or pots, wash them in cold water and dry them. If you want to cheat , as many of us do, throw a wad of tomato paste on top of the bones, sprinkle a handful of flour over them and mix through.

place the roasting pan in a preheated 350 f / 180 c oven ... avoid burning..etc etc

Stock has a place in the right dish.. it can improve a dish (including) a curry no end, but it wont produce a BIR style curry - because I dont believe that western style stocks are used in typical BIR cooking. Pat Chapman said in one of his books.. the water in which the meat is cooked in, is "incredibly", thrown away (unquote)

Curry sauce (on the whole) is a vegetable dish, a very good one too, but it wont have meat stock in it unless the chef wants it to 

Ashes

Cool post 

Im not against you George, ive actually made some very good stock from boiling, it works!! So i know youre right, the techniques i was taught by a friend and have read about by professionals have been different. As you said "whatever works for you" is definately the right approach. In the end its all academic, very few folks here even use stock and i dont believe its used much in BIR cooking.. more likey Akhni stock or Yakhni is used..  ive tried this and it hasnt improved my dishes.

I value your input George, you always have something interesting to say and youre never too scared to disagree with someone or ask questions if its not totally clear.

Anyway, lets get back to more important stuff like where do i buy a packet of secret ingredient  ;D

Kind Regards Ashes

Thanks CP i suspected you knew a bit about spices ;D

Layne, nope ive never done demi glace    but it tastes amazing, usually alcohol is reserved for drinking purposes only ;D but Pat Chapman suggested wine could be used instead of stock in his quick curry book.. i have never tried this and doubt i ever will..I respect PC for his knowledge and experience and his pioneering in the curry world but i have never tasted a PC curry that is like  typical BIR.. although i have done some mighty tasted dishes from some of his books.. My favourite is "Favourite Restaurant Curries" thats the second book.. its got a wealth of information but not about how to create the BIR flavour we are all after. The recipes can always be adapted to the tecniques we already use..

Regards Ashes

The only thing i would add is that spices should be ground very finely, infact the finer the better... there is nothing worse than tasting a gritty curry. According to Kris Dhillon the chef will rub the ground spices between his fingers to test whether they are prefectly smooth, she also said that for home cooking this wasnt so important..  :-X

If BIRs actually do this i have no idea.. i would imagine some spices are bought pre-ground and others are ground in small batches. If you are going to grind your own spices be careful that the blade of your grinding machine doesnt get too hot as it can burn the spices.. after saying that.. my grinder has got too hot and ive never known it to affect the taste.

There is some superstition surrounding spice grinding.. some "indians" believe that you can only get the most from the spices it they are hand ground.. and apparently some restaurants  have several people whos job it is to grind the spices for the day. They wont use machines.. i started grinding by hand and moved quickly over to a spice grinder..
nothing is better imo than an electric grinder.. it sure takes alot of effort out of grinding and saves alot of time.

Ashes