Topic: What was this ingredient?

[Ader1]

I had an evening a few nights ago in an Indian restaurant.  On one of their shelves were these little 'blocks' of something or other.  They were about the size of pebbles and in all shapes.  Maybe they were about 2 cms across and in length but varied because they weren't square but irregular.  I asked what they were and the owner couldn't give me their name.  I was given one to eat and fistly, they washed off a covering they had.  Then you just stuck it in your mouth and chewed.  One of them said it was a kind of 'sweet'.  They said it would be 'hot'.  But I didn't think so although there was a tingling sensation.  It was pleasant and I helped myself to another later.  There was what I would imagine to be a stone as in a seed in the middle which you had to discard from your mouth after suching and chewing.  Anyway, there was a powdery substance next to their cooking station and I asked what it was and they said that it was what I had been eating but ground up.  They were putting this into at least some of their curries.

I've been asking the owner for a long time to give me some lessons and this week he's allowed me to come in.  I get the impression that he's not being that helpfull and he's mentioned that on Friday's and Saturday's he would like me to do some car delieveries between 6 and 9 pm and I'm thinking that this is the reason he's allowed be to join them.  I asked him if I could be there when they make their master sauce / vegetable prep etc and he said that I could but he didn't know when that would be.

I asked him about another powdered stuff which they put into most of their curries and he said that it took him 3 years to come up with it.  It's a mixture.  He mentioned ginger powder, mango powder and cumin powder.  But there's already a pot of cumin next to it so I'm taking it with a pinch of salt (or should that be cumin?).  He said that I can't know everything from day 1.  I'm really not sure how productive this is going to be.

[Les]

I could be totally wrong here, But I don't think that you are going to learn much from this guy, He is looking for a delivery driver for busy weekends, But take a note book with you and try to jot down some of the things that you see.

Les

[Ader1]

Les,

I'm going to try again tonight and see how it goes.  Have you ever done this?  If so, did you find openess and an enthusiasm to teach or impart some knowledge?  He won't say anything directly.  He said that 'We have to start with the washing up.  Then with pereparation.  Then the tandoori and then lastly, the main chef.'   It will take me about years to learn anything since I'll be delievering during the busiest times.  When I was there, it was really quiet.  The only thing I got to do was peel the garlick and wash some dishes.  I don't want to get in the way.  At the moment I'm a bit dissapointed but I'll try again.

[Les]

Hi Ader1
No, I have never done this myself, But there are a few guys on here that have, so maybe one of them might like to impart some info your way, In most kitchens be it Indian or English, you always start at the bottom and work your way up, but how fast you learn will depend on who's teaching you, if the person teaching you seems keen to teach then all the better, but not so sure about this guy, He may well just give you little snippets of info that at the end of the day mean nothing to you.
Like you said, give it another go, Best of luck

Les 

[Ader1]

Regarding the ingredient I mentioned, I'm wondering if they were Tamarind pods.

Edit to say that I've just google tamarid pods and no, they don't look anything like what I saw.

[Kashmiri Bob]

I've been asking the owner for a long time to give me some lessons and this week he's allowed me to come in.  I get the impression that he's not being that helpfull and he's mentioned that on Friday's and Saturday's he would like me to do some car delieveries between 6 and 9 pm and I'm thinking that this is the reason he's allowed be to join them.  I asked him if I could be there when they make their master sauce / vegetable prep etc and he said that I could but he didn't know when that would be.

Hi Alder.  I think asking for lessons is rather a big ask to start with.  My first experience in a BIR kitchen was just watching my curry (which I had paid for) being prepared.  In return for opportunity to "hang around the kitchen" I offered to do some menu leafleting.  Just a couple of hours here and there, unpaid.  I have also done some occasional paid delivery driving.  Check your car insurance policy details if you go down this route.  Also be aware that in some places you can easily cover 50-70 miles each night, and you will be relying on tips to cover the fuel.  I rarely bother the lads in the kitchen at weekends.  It's always very busy and I'd just be in the way.  I find it's much more relaxed during the week, especially Mondays.  Then there is time to watch, and watch some more. You will learn many things, even though often you won't be exactly sure what you are looking at.  Give it time. Rome wasn't built etc. Try not to bombard the chef(s) with questions.  They hardly know you yet anyway.  You could offer to help out with packing takeaways occasionally?  I couldn't be bothered with peeling garlic or onions, or washing up. I suppose it depends what you want from your experience.  Chefs do indeed start out as kitchen porters.  I just wanted to improve my home efforts, pick up some tips, and told the lads the same.  In my experience some chefs can seem reserved (or perhaps shy) at first, but this is just like any place of work.  Just give it time and you may make many friends.  Get them talking about trad food.  They love talking about it, endlessly!  Staff curry?  Hope things go well for you.

Rob         

[Ader1]

I found out what those things with stones are.  Prunes!  But they'd obvioussly been spiced up somehow.

And the powdered stuff that they were putting into curries which I thought contained the prunes but I now don't think so is Chat massala.  They were a lot friendlier tonight.  And I got a bottle of wine for Christmas and a 'staff curry' which was great at the end of it.  I've only just got home.  But I'm happier that I was this time last night.

[Graeme]

Great stuff Ader1

ha ha  Prunes!  : 

"But I'm happier that I was this time last night" great stuff :-)

[Ader1]

Over the last week I've been there 5 times so around 30 hours.  Last night, New Year's Eve was hard.  I cut salad; went up and down the stairs to collect supplies of all sorts; peeled potatoes; cleaned K prawns; helped with takeaways; drove 20 miles to deliver 3 orders; helped wash up and finaly brushed and mopped the floor.  I finished just before mid-night.  I was exhausted.  And the boss came to me and said "Here's something for the petrol and a drink for you" and he stuck something in my pocket.  It turned out to be a tenner.

I have asked the boss if he'll let me know when they prepare the base and other things.  But nothing as yet.  It's a one-way street at the moment.  Having said that, I am learning some things such as peeling and preparing the k prawns and how to chop things up etc.  So I'm sticking with it for now.

[curryhell]

Admire your tenacity Ader1.  Keep going.  Here's hoping it'll be worth it in the end.  I'm sure you're keeping your eyes peeled the whole time watching what's going on other than when you're being kept busy  ;D