Quote from: Bobby Bhuna on December 31, 2007, 02:26 PM
This is next on the to-do list. I currently use food colouring in powdered form but find it quite hard get concise drops onto the rice - I'm going to try using a small straw I think. Would I just be better off buying the liquid food colouring?

Hi Bobby

I use a little syringe (without the needle) which we got from the vet (our dog's annual booster).
;D

Quote from: Admin on December 31, 2007, 08:48 AM
This maight help

http://www.plantcultures.org/plants/ginger_grow_it.html

Stew

"Best grown as an annual in the UK. Cannot be grown outdoors even in the hottest part of summer: minimum temperature around 28?C"

Think I might give that idea a miss then !

I read somewhere that if a two inch piece of ginger root is planted in sandy soil it will grow into a plant (indoors on the window ledge). Whenever a piece of root is required, just cut a piece off. It keeps growing - apparently.

Anybody tried this? How long does it take to grow? Is it worth doing? etc etc ..

Regards
SnS

I think it's Mace as well but the photo is little out of focus to be sure

SnS

Quote from: Bobby Bhuna on December 30, 2007, 06:28 PM
Hahaha, that has to be the smallest portion of curry I have ever seen!

I think he's served it on dustbin lid Bobby. Enough rice to feed half of Peking there!

Quote from: mick707 on December 30, 2007, 03:47 PM
i am planning to cook a curry for ten people,chicken balti or buhna, it needs to be fairly simple as i am a novice.
can anyone help with ingredients and preparation?

thanks mick707

Hi Mick

Wow that's a bit ambitious! Cooking for ten!!!

Firstly, as you are a complete novice, I strongly suggest you start by cooking a curry on a smaller scale (for two). You will need to select one of the many base sauce recipes (gravies) available on this forum, together with a suitable curry recipe to go with that particular gravy ... but keep to one of the simple gravy recipes. A batch of gravy will be enough for a number of curries - so you will have plenty to experiment with.

Write down exactly what you do so you can duplicate or modify the recipe later (or better still get someone else to scribble down the notes as you're cooking). Pay particular attention to the timing of the various stages. When you're 100% happy with the results then you are ready to cook for your guests.

You will probably need to make two batches of the same curry gravy which will keep in the freezer until your big day.

Your meat can be prepared in advance and kept in the fridge.

Prepare all the other ingredients well in advance and make up a masala (spice mix) enough for the 10 curries (extra chilli can be added separately).

Don't be tempted to make the curry (for ten) in one pot. You will achieve better results if you use 4 small frying pans or pots simultaneously. This will also allow you to vary the hotness of each batch.

If all else fails, get an extremely large dose of curry from the local Indian takeaway one hour before your guests arrive!

Regards
SnS ;D

Members might find this useful

The Smoke Point (degrees C)

Safflower         265
Sunflower        246 
Soybean          241 
Canola             238 
Corn                 236
Peanut             232 
Sesame            215
Grapeseed       200
Virgin Olive       190 (depending on purity) 
Ex Virgin Olive   160 (depending on purity)

Ghee (butter)     190 to 250 (depending on purity)
Lards              183 to 205 (depending on purity)

Each time you fry with oil, the smoke point is lowered - irreversibly.

Regards
SnS

Quote from: underwurlde on December 28, 2007, 09:44 AM
I did not use Ghee, I only ever use sunflower oil (as in this case) or olive oil.

Hi Andy

Glad the Korma went okay for "the wife".

Just a small point - avoid using olive oil.

1) It can cause the spices to lose their individual flavours
2) It tends to burn easily at higher temperatures
3) It's more expensive than other "off the shelf" oils

Try to use vegetable or butter ghee, peanut oil, grapeseed oil, mustard oil, groundnut oil, sunflower oil or cornflower oil .... but avoid olive oil.

Best regards

SnS

Hi Andy

Welcome to the forum and happy Christmas to you (I hope the curry wasn't the Christmas dinner)!

It sounds like you've burnt the tomato puree and maybe the spices and garlic as well. Perhaps the oil was a bit too hot (was it ghee). Why fry the tomato puree - it don't need it? Try adding a little water to the spices to make a paste before plunging into hot oil. This wont stop you frying the spice to release the flavours, but it will help to prevent the spices from burning if the oil is too hot.

This is a copy of what I sent Ast (new member) earlier this week which may be of help.

A proper BIR gravy does not have an array of different vegetables in it - or it is unlikely to give you the true BIR taste. What you'll get is a chef's adaption of a base gravy which may be better or worse than the average BIR. Your preference to what you add to the BASE gravy to suit your particular needs is based on personal taste. This can be only judged through experience, which will only come through trial and error.

It is better to start your experiments with a true base gravy and work from there.

A true base gravy (also known as DAAG) consists of onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, oil, salt and a number of spices, primarily coriander, cummin, turmeric and chili. The cooking process of the Daag will vary, as will the amount and the timing of the spices added. Each method will result in different taste. The daag may also contain some fresh sweet peppers, chillies and coriander.

If you want to try a simple base gravy (that can be later adapted to your taste), my advice is not go for a complicated one. Stick to the proven methods.

Although my gravy recipe is not exactly high-tech, it is simple to produce using basic ingredients, not overspiced and does give you the opportunity to create a variety of tasty BIR curries.

https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=2189.0

In my opinion (and I hope others won't take this the wrong way), the base gravy should be very mild and bland and not in the least bit like a curry. Often I see base gravy recipes that have far too many spices added and I wonder whether there is confusion between a curry and base curry gravy.

CA also made a posting about this a little while ago, a lot of what he says makes good sense!

https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=2219.msg18770#msg18770

Rule 1 - Keep the base gravy simple!!!!

Best Regards
SnS :

Quote from: Jethro on December 27, 2007, 08:56 AM
I would not buy seeds from Ebay, you can never guarantee if they are the real thing.

Sorry Jethro, but I disagree with you. I have bought many chilli seeds off e-bay from different suppliers which have all turned out to be exactly what the seller advertised them to be.

In fact, early last year (2006) the ONLY place I could get Dorset Naga seeds was off E-bay.

As with all purchases on e-bay, there are crooks, but there are also a lot of very honest people. Only buy seeds from those with an exemplary feedback score and I'm sure you'll get the genuine chilli plant seeds ..... and anyway we're only talking of a couple of quid - so it's not really a great risk is it??? :


Regards
SnS