Topic: Three baltis

[Micky Tikka]

Well done Bob
Does look good    Shame about the naan  ;D

[JerryM]

Begali Bob,

that made Balti chicken (madras hot) looks really top notch - well pleased and impressed.

did you do anything different to get the red colour closer.

looking forward to ideas on the recipe too.

ps

to get anywhere close to the Adil will be real achievement. i felt it was crackable in time but not an easy challenge for sure.

over new year was in west mids and tried Bangladeshi balti in a curryhouse i've known for years - very poor yet the Bangladeshi meals are 2nd to none. quite an eye opener. in fact showed how far we have collectively travelled.

[chewytikka]

Balti looking good, great colour on the ASDANAAN

Haway then Rob, shake a leg
Put the Bl++dy recipe up and put an end this Balti Quest/Saga.

otherwise it'll be like another UB's Naan fiasco or H4ppys ebook : :

Its got to be something simple

waiting, waiting ......  ;D ;D
cheers Chewy

[mickdabass]

Looks the business Bob. Looking forward to the recipe too

Regards

Mick

[Kashmiri Bob]

Jerry's recipe and method.  Added a slug of soy sauce.  Kashmiri mirch. 


Tonight's effort:


Pre-cooked duck breast.



 



Balti garlic duck and mushroom (madras hot)







Luxurious.


Rob 


Will post some thoughts/blurb on the recipe.

[Micky Tikka]

Very nice Bob
Fancy a glass of port before I finish it off 

[JerryM]

this is the very revised recipe that i've tried once and passed onto Bob.

it's still in work - i've not even typed it up pukka. the colour was not red enough for me. i felt it was close to the adil but still some way off. i was going to try blended tin toms on the next make. the lamb dish "meat balti" is my (i think our - the balti 3) ultimate objective though. am sure it had stock in it which worked a dream.

oil 60ml
balti mix 0.5 tsp 2.5 ml
adil gm 0.5 tsp
chilli powder 0.5 tsp
tom puree in water 2 tbsp (30 ml) (8 tbsp inc water or 2 chef 120 ml)
garlic powder 1 htbsp (~45 ml)
base 300 ml

the "adil" gm is the same status - i've made 1 off batch. it's close but not quite there. hence the need for the 100g scales.



forget the decimal places. column 1 is full batch and column 2 a quarter batch which was the size i made. i quickly realised there was too much error in my 5g scales and measuring spoons were not much help either.

overall was well pleased and hopefull. looks very much like Bengali Bob has moved it on with very pleasing pics

[Kashmiri Bob]

Very excited about progress on the Balti after trying Jerry's recipe/method for just two dishes. The first was made using Adil GM made by Jerry.  The second used Adil GM made by the chef at the restaurant.  Not much between the finished results taste/quality-wise, in my opinion.  I'll be able to do the comparison again, but this time both will be Balti chicken.  Didn't have any chicken to use the other day.  I haven't tried the garlic powder addition as yet. Interestingly, although perhaps not so surprising, both of the dishes didn't quite match the Adil.  But this matters not, it's still early days and matching a dish precisely to a restaurant will indeed be no mean task.  What is significant is that the dishes so far are without a doubt 100 % Birmingham balti.  So had they been ordered from another balti house I'd have been well-pleased.  Everything was there, common to the dish everywhere I tried where it is made authentically. The fresh flavours, aromas, layers, and textures.

Consequently, I do feel Jerry has reproduced/nailed arguably one of the most elusive (and tricky) dishes out there.  Of course it's still rather subjective, as few of us on here have even tried a Birmingham balti, and won't know what the "fuss" is all about. However, their popularity (in Birmingham) is a given. As mentioned elsewhere, the Birmingham balti is completely different to a BIR one. They just ain't the same thing.  That said from the right place, and on the right night, both BIR (except balti) and Balti are both fantastic.  Does that make any sense?  Anyway, I'm already thinking there are elements of the Balti I'd like to have the option of introducing to some of my BIR efforts.  In particular the smokiness.  Jerry mentioned the Balti meat (lamb) from the Adil is probably what we're working to, and I'd agree with that, solely on the remarkably smoky flavours, presumably imparted via the stock used.  Top end smoky BIR and Birmingham balti dishes. It would be nice to master both. 

The key to the Birmingham balti I feel, as identified by Jerry, is how lightly ground whole spices are cooked (see Jerry's posts).  Sure enough, when Jerry acquired some of the Adil GM from the restaurant, it turned out to be very lightly ground/coarse, possibly just rubbed.  How the GM and other spices are cooked and for how long defines the unmistakable Balti taste. I did as Jerry indicated, frying briefly and then quenched with diluted tomato puree.  Bingo! Ingredient-wise cumin and ajwain are surely fundamental to the dish.  The most obvious aroma of the Adil GM (it's very pronounced) is actually cumin. I first felt that the amount of lemon dressing fired into my balti efforts as per the recipe was going to have a disastrous effect.  It didn't.  When I made the second dish and tried it before serving, I immediately knew I'd left something out.  I'd forgot the lemon.  Another important thing is that the Birmingham balti can be made with a standard BIR base.  One thing that has been holding me back is the notion that a special gravy is needed.  It seems not.  Nice one Jerry! I'll add more later.

Rob 

I've been thinking of ways to increase smokiness by adding some extra ingredient.  Soy sauce, Maggi liquid seasoning, smoked paprika etc., molasses, black cardamom, for example, many of which it seems are used in Balti/BIR cooking, at some point, according to the books available.  But I'm not so sure. My progress in BIR cooking has been helped, I feel, by not using overly-complicated recipes.  The chef's I've watched also invariably keep it simple in terms of ingredients, which again points to technique being vital.  With that in mind this link is quite interesting.  Applicable to all things curry perhaps, including the Balti?

http://www.splendidtable.org/story/8-ways-to-extract-unique-flavors-from-whole-spices             

[Peripatetic Phil]

With that in mind this link is quite interesting.  Applicable to all things curry perhaps, including the Balti?

http://www.splendidtable.org/story/8-ways-to-extract-unique-flavors-from-whole-spices

Acrabat picked up on that one in mid-2013, Rob.
** Phil.

[Kashmiri Bob]

With that in mind this link is quite interesting.  Applicable to all things curry perhaps, including the Balti?

http://www.splendidtable.org/story/8-ways-to-extract-unique-flavors-from-whole-spices

Acrabat picked up on that one in mid-2013, Rob.
** Phil.

Yes, so he did. Didn't create a great deal of interest.  Is it old hat?  I've ordered the book anyway. 

Rob