Curry Recipes Online

Curry Chat => Talk About Anything Other Than Curry => Topic started by: foureyes1941 on June 05, 2017, 10:41 AM

Title: Undercover, an insiders expose of British Indian restaurant cookery
Post by: foureyes1941 on June 05, 2017, 10:41 AM

Hi, was wondering if anyone has this book or an opinion on it, it's  advertised at the whopping price of

Title: Re: Undercover, an insiders expose of British Indian restaurant cookery
Post by: Peripatetic Phil on June 05, 2017, 08:50 PM

Yes, I have a copy Anita.  Would you like it (for considerably less than Amazon/Ebay are asking) ?!  Or you might like a copy for only

Title: Re: Undercover, an insiders expose of British Indian restaurant cookery
Post by: foureyes1941 on June 05, 2017, 10:45 PM

Firstly Phil, is it worth having and secondly if it is, how much?

Title: Re: Undercover, an insiders expose of British Indian restaurant cookery
Post by: Unclefrank on June 06, 2017, 10:08 AM

You could look on Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/cka/Undercover-Curry-Insiders-Expose-British-Restaurant-Cookery/0956525709

I have the book and i really enjoyed reading it, it's not like the "normal" recipe books where it gives specific amounts etc..
This book, to me anyway, looks like it is written from the Chef's point of view, with a "dip" here and a "dip" there, which is the measurement guide the book uses. I found the book to be very informative and well worth the buy.
Only advice i would give is read the whole book first then try the recipes. It's the technique that interests me.
I still use a few recipes from there to this day.

Title: Re: Undercover, an insiders expose of British Indian restaurant cookery
Post by: Peripatetic Phil on June 06, 2017, 10:19 AM

Well, the very fact that I am willing to let you have my copy for next to nothing suggests that I don't rate it very highly ...  I had a few online exchanges with the author when I first received my copy, particularly w.r.t. the use of milk in pulao rice, and he initially seemed very open to discussion and input, but when I asked him whether he really thought that (for example) replacing the word "chicken" on page 77 by the phrase "beef or lamb" really justified adding two pages to the text and a concomitant increase in price, he went very quiet.  Of course, Dave Lloyden is by no means the only author to pretend that (for example) "Beef or lamb achar pall" is a totally different recipe to "Chicken achar pall", but the amateurish typesetting made it only too plain that in his case at least, it was a clear case of "clone pages 76--97 as pages 98--119, replacing all instances of "chicken" by "beef or lamb", and thereby pretend that your book is far longer and more impressive than it really is".

** Phil.

Title: Re: Undercover, an insiders expose of British Indian restaurant cookery
Post by: foureyes1941 on June 07, 2017, 11:19 PM

Still looking on Ebay when I came across this little 'gem'

1960 THE FRAY BENTOS CORNED BEEF COOKBOOK IN GOOD CONDITION CALCUTTA CURRY

Title: Re: Undercover, an insiders expose of British Indian restaurant cookery
Post by: Peripatetic Phil on June 08, 2017, 05:42 AM

But does it have a recipe for corned beef hash ? Now that is a dish I love ...

Title: Re: Undercover, an insiders expose of British Indian restaurant cookery
Post by: Les on June 08, 2017, 09:00 AM

Quote from: Pedantic Phil on June 08, 2017, 05:42 AM

But does it have a recipe for corned beef hash ? Now that is a dish I love ...

Agreed Phil, Nowt wrong we corned beef hash

Title: Re: Undercover, an insiders expose of British Indian restaurant cookery
Post by: DalPuri on June 08, 2017, 04:31 PM

Good with fresh ginger too.  :)