Hi extrahotchillie
                           I think that pobably is it
Sometimes I freeze my curries, and when I reheat them, some seem incredibly good
Thanks

Hi George
                 I saw a vindaloo made too
A splash of curry oil goes into the pan, and is heated
A spoon of tomato puree, a spoon of garlic ginger and a spoon of spice followed
Stir for a couple of minutes
In goes the curry gravy, then in goes the precooked ingredients
Job done!
That's what I call an easy meal
(It took less time to type as well)
You do that recipe at home, and it won't be the same
All the meals I have had, from this takeaway, always taste fantastic too
Maybe it's just me, but sometimes when I have totalled the kitchen, I really think is it worth it?
The takeaways I buy,are always superb, and mine frequently, aren't quite as good.
Everyone tells me, they are the same quality, but I don't think so
I sometimes spend three hours making a couple of dishes
The curry gravy takes about an hour and a half, on it's own
The precooked ingredients about an hour too.
I always wanted to get the exact same result, and I just don't believe it possible.
I have been very persuasive and got to see a lot of meals prepared
Honestly, there are no special ingredients
There are no secrets either
It's simply working on a bigger scale, with professional gas cookers used by very skilled chefs
I love to cook curries still, but my goal is no ,longer the same.
I am happy to buy one and cook one too
That way, I get best of both worlds
(including a pleasant chat with the takeaway staff)

Hi George
               I think it odd, because you almost prepare the same recipe in two pans.
When I saw it done, the chef was a blur of activity
It was high speed cooking!
He eventually used three pans for one meal
It's mainly the mess, why I wouldn't make it at home, but I was gobsmacked by the professionalism of the cook
It was like watching some olympian cooking champion

Hi CK
           your pictures show you to be the professional you are
Brilliant
They pics could go on a menu, and do it proud

Pete

I have seen a veg byriani demo
And what can I say?
These chefs are absolutely amazing and there is no way you could copy this as well as they do it
Listen to this:-

Vegetable Byriani

This is an odd curry, made in two stages
A sauce, and a sauce mixed with cooked Pillau rice, in a wok
The sauce with the Pillau rice is almost identical to the first sauce

The sauce

Ingredients:-
4 tablespoons curry gravy oil
2 desertspoons of runny ginger garlic puree
1 desertspoon tomato puree (slightly watered)
1 ? dessertspoon spice mix (turmeric,paprika,madras curry powder,,coriander & cumin)
? teaspoon chilli powder
? teaspoon salt
1 ladle of curry gravy
1 tablespoon frozen peas
1 tablespoon cooked chick peas
?  portion of precooked veg
1 tablespoon fresh coriander
1 tablespoon dried fenugreek

Heat the oil for a couple of minutes
Add the garlic ginger, tomato puree, salt, chilli powder and spice mix
Cook a couple of minutes and reduce down
Add a little curry gravy (a couple of dessertspoons)
Cook and dry the mix
Add the peas and stir a minute
Add the chick peas
Cook another five minutes
Then add the precooked veg and the rest of the curry gravy, fresh coriander and dried fenugreek
Cook until fairly dry

This is the second sauce which goes with the rice
It is almost the same

The second sauce

Ingredients:-
4 tablespoons curry gravy oil
2 tablespoons of finely chopped garlic & ginger
2 desertspoons of runny ginger garlic puree
1 desertspoon tomato puree (slightly watered)
1 ? dessertspoon spice mix (turmeric,paprika,madras curry powder,,coriander & cumin)
? teaspoon salt
2 desertspoons fresh chopped onion
1 ladle of curry gravy
?  portion of precooked veg
1 tablespoon fresh coriander
1 tablespoon dried fenugreek
2 dessertspoons of curry gravy oil
1 portion of precooked Pillau rice

Heat the oil for a couple of minutes
Add the chopped garlic ginger
Fry for a couple of minutes the add the garlic ginger puree, tomato puree, fresh onion, salt and spice mix
Cook a couple of minutes and reduce down
Add a little curry gravy (a couple of dessertspoons)
Cook and dry the mix
Add the precooked veg and a little curry gravy, fresh coriander and dried fenugreek
Cook until nearly dry

In a wok heat two dessertspoons of curry gravy oil for two minutes
Stir fry the rice for a couple minutes
Add the second sauce and mix well
Heat right through
In another pan, fry a one egg omelete
Pour rice mix into a carton with the omelette on top
Pour the first sauce into another carton
Serve

I think this only cost ?6 and the kitchen would be totalled, if you did it at home
It's a lovely meal and I'm sticking to buying it
Fantastic!!

Sorry the late reply
Butter is fine, in fact I have started using it myself

Hi gary
            I did make it and it was ok
It wasn't good enough to make again
These are Pat Chapmans recipes
They aren't like the Phall I know
Sorry

Hi Merry
             The one you are using is the recipe given to me by an ex chef.
This is a brilliant full flavoured base
The link points to a home demo I had from a chef
It's very good, but is not the same
It all depends on what you are trying to match
Most of the takeaways round here, are now using a very simple base

Quote from: DARTHPHALL on April 29, 2006, 03:33 AM
He said that you wont get it right using recipe books because they tell you to use the same Spices again & again, he said that it is the variation of Spice mixes that give Take-away meals that difference in flavor

Hi Darth
             In all the kitchens I have been in, they DO add exactly the same basic spice mix, to each meal.
They vary it by also adding chilli powder, dried fenugreek, fried garlic, fried onions, fried peppers and fresh (or fried) coriander.
Every meal has some curry gravy in too
Perhaps it is a regional difference, but I think the curries do all taste, more or less, the same.
There is a heat difference and a main ingredient difference too, but really the same thing
But it's a flavour to die for

I was talking to one chef and he said that potatoes are precooked seperately to the carrots, brocolli, cabbage.
They aren't cooked in water either
They are done in oil, tomato puree, spice mix, garlic ginger puree and salt
The potatoes effectively cook in their own steam
He showed me the pre cooked potato plastic container
Like so many other BIR things, there was about a half inch of red oil with it
Bombay potato is one of my favourites, too
I can't do it anywhere near as well as a restaurant