On one of the really hot days recently, thought to try a home delivery from a balti house that I haven't tried yet. It's just under 4 miles from me. It gets the thumbs up from Andy Munro and I watched a couple of YouTubes on the place. It's in Selly Park, a suburb of Birmingham. Quite smart and they serve their chicken shashlik to your table on a skewer, hanging from a hooked stand. A black iron sizzler with fried onions underneath. This actually looked a bit daft, I felt. Anyway, went to book online. They have their own system for this. Decided on a seekh kebab starter, balti chicken and a naan. Payed extra for "madras" strength. I also asked them for a menu. Wondered if they would throw in a papadum and dips Was ready to pay, but then saw instructions on "minimum order". Screen shot. I have removed my details and theirs. To order I would have to order something else that I didn't really want. £40.00 plus for a home delivery curry, for one, from a balti house? Pay the tip in advance? What? No thanks. Although not exactly comparable, the lunch service at Opheem in Birmingham city center (two michelin stars) can be had for £75.00.





Am I being unreasonable?

Rob

I seem to be craving fairly hot currys in the hot weather. Having another this evening,

Rob

Guess Dave is just finding his way with video making/editing. He posted this video inbetween.

https://youtu.be/WVh_2EZZ6OI?is=S87ZVPHJFlDyTiYX

The absence of whole spices in his balti recipe surprised me a bit though. Will have to see what follows.

Noticed several of the more established YouTubers do seem to be adopting a simple (and quick) approach to cooking curry these days. Presumably to attract a wider audience, in search of the all important 100K subscribers milestone. The from scratch 30 minute curry "revolution" comes to mind.

Rob

Almost two years on and reckon I have mastered the TP approach.

Old school BIR Chicken madras








Rob

#2

Tinda pathia.

https://youtu.be/4HG4nwMFzwY?is=8JhOciwggRhT5vm3

Rob

Hi Martin. They were lovely. Still have a couple left in the freezer. Hoping to get over to Farmfoods on Friday, for some LA Diner doner meat. Should be able to get a whole bag of it in one wrap, rolled up. Guess the bread is another where they are cooked traditionally over pebbles. Amazing how they managed to find so many exactly the same size.

Rob

Being trying a couple of new additions at my local Persian/Iranian bakery.

Looked up the first one and it's much lighter than a typical naan. So, it's basically a diet naan.

They get the other one in from another bakery; delivered fresh every day. More expensive. £2.75 for a pack of 4. One is shown leaning up against my micro. Look good for wraps. Thinking Sherpur doner kebab.

Rob

For anyone interested in the poached chicken. New for me. Apparently a method used a lot in early Chinese takeaways. This guy often swears a lot. Not sure if I agree with his 20 % water content ideas. Good method though. Works a treat and very easy.


https://youtube.com/shorts/0flxWVZIJiE?is=wH_VMgsa8HKmlhR9


Rob

One from before the heatwave. Made with poached chicken breast. Using this for now in place of rotisserie. Not willing to pay £8.00 for a medium sized supermarket effort. I will cook them myself, when the electric is cheap.

Been thinking back to the two visits Jerry and I made to Adil's. I think the first time we got there before doors. Jerry brought a friend who was apparently starving, so we popped into a nearby cafe. Jerry's friend, Andrew, I think, ordered a burger. Interesting place inside. One wall (could have been two actually) was stacked end to end and high with rotisserie ovens. A whole chicken cooking in every one of them. The baltis we had later at Adil's were amazing. Occured to me at some point that the cafe could be where they got their chicken from.

For context, this is the photo from the 3Bs thread showing some of the sample "pre-cooked chicken" I got much later, from Adil's. I am assuming this is actually rotisserie chicken, with their base gravy poured over it.





Our second trip was when Adil's had moved back to their newly refurbished original location, on Stoney Lane. Jerry bought along another friend, Richard (Misty). Our baltis weren't up to scratch this time. Jerry mentioned this to the owner as we were leaving. He said something about how they had to change (or reduce) the tandoori masala powder; some customers complaining about the amount of red food colouring.

Rob

I sent you some mix powder? Some good Bangladeshi BIR kitchen footage in this fairly recent video. See the head chef here mainly, but I think I can hear Moike's voice in the background. Could be; small world.

https://youtu.be/qO_ZRqaGyH8?is=xezwWTINB9RHdtsb

Rob