Quote from: CurryCrazy on June 21, 2009, 11:02 PM
Well done emin-j

When did the base go in? Before or after the curry powder/salt/lemon juice?

Also..are you sure it was salt or could it have been MSG?

Just grasping at straws really coz this does sound simple!!!

Cheers

PS...I wonder what that curry powder had in it. I'm sure the variations in garam masalas have a huge impact on the finished dish.

Hi CurryCrazy ,Yes he defo said Salt ,1 ladle of base after the Spices were added then another during the remaining cooking time.

Hi all,
Further to my tour of the kitchen of  my fav T/A last week I popped in yesterday and ordered our food and asked if I could watch the Chef cook our Madras Curries  The guy who takes the orders said " I will ask the Chef " he was gone a few minutes so I thought it was going to be a " Sorry, No " But he came from the kitchen and asked me into the kitchen  ;D I didn't write anything down or take photo's as I didn't want to seem to be probing too much  ::)The amount of spices etc were difficult to judge as he used the Chef's spoon to ' dip' into his Spice containers.
I was talking to the Chef all the time he was cooking and asking questions.

He had a 2.5 ltr saucepan on the right of the hob half filled with fresh oil and the make of oil was Taj Mahal ( yellow container )I asked if they use any residual oil and he said no only fresh oil ** with some Butter Ghee melted into it ** :)he would use his Chef's spoon to put the oil into his cooking pan , he did not use a Wok more like a Omelet Pan deep enough to take a single T/A serving of curry.At a guess it was probably about half a tea cup of oil so a fair bit !
He then added a very small amount of Methi ( the dried variety )then about 2 teaspoons of Garlic Paste then 2 - 3 tablespoons of Tom Puree ,this was then fried for a minute or so and then 2 - 3 teaspoons of Chili powder was added plus some Salt , a squirt of ** Lemon Juice ** a small amount of Salt then his 'Chefs Special' Curry Powder.They wouldn't tell me what was in it but it looked like your usual Curry powder  :-X he continued to cook for a couple of mins then added Pre Cooked Chicken and finally about 1 good tablespoon of fresh Coriander ,this was cooked for another minute or two then poured into the takeaway container and garnished with a sprinkle of fresh Corriand er a a slice of Tomato.
I asked about the Curry Base and the Chef said " Onions,Green Pepper,Carrot,Ginger,Green Chillies ( small amount ), and fresh Coriander.** The Chef did add " If the Curry Base is not right the Curry will not be "**
I did notice there was no Ginger used in the Curry .
He also had a container of water to the side , I would guess to get the consistency of the Curry right - if he needed to.
I think I have given the basics of what I wanted to know  but as to exact amounts you will have to experiment .Oh ! and our Curry was lush
If you have any questions I might have the answer  ;
PS - forgot to mention  :-[ the Curry Base : 1 ladle went in just after the Spices and a second ladle went in just after the pre - cooked Chicken.

Quote from: JerryM on June 18, 2009, 05:20 PM
had a further thought on the subject as follows;

a "wish list" complied by the members would be good in terms of general interest and mutual help.

it would also serve as a good starting point for identifying what we don't know and potentially give an idea of priority.

for example i'd love to know how much spice goes into a BIR curry. i appreciate there will be variation across the dishes but what's the ball park. i use 2tsp per 200ml finished. this question becomes a tad complicated as u then need to know the same for base spicing to maintain the overall balance.

a more simple example would be to establish what part if any garam masala plays in BIR.

some members may already know the answers which would enable them to be eliminated without troubling the external help. a short list would then focus our minds on the real needs of us collectively.

JerryM,do as I did and show interest in Indian cooking and then ask casually about ingredients and methods,I will probably be going to my T/A tomorrow and hope to have a taste of their Curry Base and maybe even do a bit of cooking 

Quote from: parker21 on June 15, 2009, 05:21 PM
hi emin-j
it's a great buzz and it feels totally surreal, doesn't it! you can't really take it all in especially on your first visit. you should ask if you can film him making the food, you never know! but i know how you feel you can't stop thinking about it. good luck for your next visit mate.
regards
gary

Thanks gary , yes I didnt know where to look first 

Quote from: Curry King on June 15, 2009, 11:41 AM
Great stuff, if you do go back make sure you take a pen and paper for some notes 

Got to be carefull he might think i am a spy 

 ;D Dropped into my favourite T/A last night ,it's over 12 miles from home but we pop in when traveling in that direction ,anyway ordered the food and was sat waiting ,the guy behind the counter although does not speak very good English is a friendly sort and so I started talking about making a Madras Curry .I asked how much Garlic and Ginger he put into a single serving and he pointed to the tip of his finger and said 'tiny bit' I said ' a teasoon ' 'No ! he said 'Garlic and Ginger very strong 'what he was basically saying was 1 teaspoon of Garlic and 1 of Ginger is too much and would spoil the flavour of the Curry,interesting then I asked about Curry Base and he replied ' what,Karahi ? I think that his what he said  uh yes  would you like to see mine  he then invited me into the kitchen whilst our food was being cooked WOW ! I couldn't believe it , a dream come true  ;D he then showed me a massive ...saucepan full of Curry Base Yellowy/Brown colour just simmering on the hob I asked what was in it and he said Onions,Carrot,Fresh Coriander,plus blah blah blah I couldn't understand some of what he said due to his not so good English. When I walked out of the kitchen I jokingly  said ' I'll pay you for some lessons '   He said NO  ...Lessons Free  ;D ;D I will soon be taking him up on his offer and report my findings ..watch this space 

Had a Madras from our local T/A last night , can be a bit hit and miss tho ,and it was a miss  Almost flavourless other than being very Tomatoey  Cant wait til Saturday to make a 'proper' Curry.

And bring on a Heart Attack instead !!

Hi JerryM, yes definitely Cassia Bark , it still had enough flavour to compare with the Cassia Bark I have at home.The only thing was when I broke the cooked Cassia Bark open it was a Pinky/Red colour inside but I would think that could happen during the cooking process.
Changing the subject slightly ,watching some of the Restaurant Video's I noticed when the Chef adds the spices he uses the Chef's spoon to 'scoop' the Spices out of the container ,comparing my 'teaspoon' measurements they must be putting a lot more than a teaspoon of each Spice in for a single serving.

Just as a follow up to this thread , the wife and me had a Madras from our most favourite T/A on Saturday and I asked her to note any obvious flavours or anything out of the ordinary in her curry , Nothing  I did though in mine , I had a Cardamom Pod and a piece of Cassia Bark about 1 1/2" long x 1/2" wide , the Curry was good . ;D