Curry Recipes Online
British Indian Restaurant Recipes - Main Dishes => BIR Main Dishes Chat => Topic started by: CaliforniaTaffy on August 04, 2010, 01:35 AM
-
I met my first curry back in a small town in Wales back in in 1963, Ha, the Beatles, everything seemed simpler back then.
The first Pakistani restaurant (The Bagladesh) in Merthyr Tydfil , Wales, was a great new experience for me, a 17 year old apprentice stonemason and his best pal.
I remember going there after the last call at the pub (used to be 10:00 pm) and every Friday night challenging other inexperienced assorted work buddies telling them they couldn't dare eat a Vindaloo curry, remember, they didn't even know what a curry was.
Well their beer induced pride got the better of them and it ended up as a bet, if they couldn't eat the same curry as we ordered, they will foot the bill, if they could eat it, we would pay up.
By now I was friendly with the waiter and would wink to him as I ordered for our table, he winked back, he knew the preordained sign and ordered a normal Vindaloo for me and my accomplice and a triple Vindaloo for our unsuspecting guests, by the way, the chefs always enjoyed watching our victims suffer, peeking around from the kitchen door.
The triple Vindaloo had 3 times the hot of a normal Vindaloo and you can probably guess the result, after 1/2 hour of nose runs, eye watering and the occasional sob they gave up and paid the bill.
OK we were charlatans, tricksters if you will, but we were 17 year old apprentices earning 2 pounds, 50 shillings a week and they earned 4 times our pay. I don't have any guilt, I figure they were just happy to be introduced to something other than a fish and chip night, so there.
The chef was a friendly man and walked me around the kitchen one mid week night.
I only remember the huge pot of simmering base.
He put a ladle into it and I saw the familiar red oil floating on top, mix downward with the yellow cats eye colored mixture below.
I live in beautiful California now, the (not top class, just local) Indian restaurants I have ate at and talked with the owners, just add more curry powder to make different curry, (i.e) 2 tsp of powder for a Korma= 3 for a Madras= get the idea!
They say the American customers don't know the difference, they are probably right, but I cook curry my own for our family at least twice a week, my family are getting to be curry experts.
I am a ex-patriot curry head and have tried to make that same Vindaloo curry taste all of the rest of my life, but have never got close until I tried this:
I medium chopped 4 yellow onions, put them in peanut or grapeseed oil and caramelized them until they melt (whole pieces, no blender, that just makes a onion puree and no oil) and then all is left is the onion oil (not a lot at a time or they will just boil) and just kept taking the onion oil out and adding more onions to the pan until they melted away (be patient with very low heat) and I ended up with a whole 1/4 pint of onion oil, this will probably take 3-4 hours, you can adjust the amount of onions just to to test.
I added the usual generic base to a curry and added 5 Tbls of the onion oil, it gave me the old taste I remember, it may not work for you, but I don't see this in any other posts, maybe this is the taste you old guys remember, or maybe??
I am getting ready to make a homemade tandoor oven as the websites show out there.
I live in Somis, California, my business website is www.venturacaststone.com (http://www.venturacaststone.com)
-
Nice post Taffy
I'm sure that with the information on this site you will soon be producing top notch curries.
Matt
-
added 5 Tbls of the onion oil, it gave me the old taste I remember
Hi CT
Well flavoured/spiced oils are being discussed quite often at the moment. The bunjarra seems to be quite common which is a fried mix of onion/tomato/spices.
The oil only thing you suggest is new though I think? I've used well cooked onions as a puree complete with the oil, and while I liked the added flavour it didn't give me that BIR taste I was after. I think I'll try the oil only though as it can't do any harm and might just do some good.
-
Hi Taffy, I loved your post, thanks for taking the time to let us in on your approach. I have been away from the site for some time and only this past weekend came back on to get my recipe for Bunjarra and other critical components for a Glasgow tasting curry. It was the sixties when I first had a go with a curry too. I got the recipe for this particular onion paste full of oil from one of the best restaurants in Scotland and by the Chef himself. It is the critical and missing ingredient that I was searching for for over 30 years. Many on the site poo poo the idea of the paste and have only confirmed my long held belief that there is significant regional variation in curry up and down the UK. This is down to the background of the chefs and owners. So If back then in Wales the chef came from the same part of the Indian sub Continent then the good chance is we were tasting similar food. I was not surprised by your onion oil and absolutely know that it will make the difference. Bye the way God help all those nationalities who never taste the real thing. I have travelled extensively and nowhere can put out a curry on the table like Glasgow and maybe from what you have described Wales too. good luck to you and enjoy the site though it can become a distraction to life, that's why I now have to go easy on my visits. Cheers Panpot
-
there is only one test for me. does it release the strong odour of real bir curry. If not then it does not pass the acid test. the real bir flavour i am after smells like nothing I know. The car stinks of takeaway. if i put my curry in my car in a silver container it would not smell anything like this. (not that i tried lol ;D ) Down the south of england they reprodue this taste in 1 of 3 curry houses. less so in london, where i can match the typical takeaway taste.
-
Glasgow !!!
-
Derek, I have struggled with the smell thing too. I believe it is impossible to truly taste and smell a curry if you have cooked it. The chefs at The Ashoka confirmed this as our taste buds and seems of smell Gets quickly acclimatised as we prepare and cook the stuff. I ask my wife or guests especially those arriving form outside and they claim that my Ashoka efforts are spot on. They are certainly the best I have tasted outside a curry house in over thirty years of searching and cooking the stuff.
-
Hi Panpot, i have made the ashoka korai bhuna over 50 times !! so i need no pursuading on its quality. In fact i am making some new ashoka base as we speak ! In london i find many good bir that dont have any special smell, and are similar to ashoka and the glasgow type taste. its strong tasting, concentrated, and dark, and rich. However in the south of england they do it very differently. Its very light, sweet , and lightly spiced gravy sauce. It has a certain aroma. The ashoka kit is spot on at reproducing the london and glasgow curries. hopefully one day we will gain more insight into replicating the south east taste. I know this is the taste the forum is most concerned with. Maybe its just a different style of preparation we are not privy too. I doubt its a missing ingredient, but a missing process. Hey its a shame the southern bir chefs are not so open as the ashoka chefs ! cheers DD
-
Thanks Derek, I would be grateful for you suggesting what I might order next time I eat out to experience what you are talking about. I live in the Rye area of East Sussex and would enjoy being part of the quest for what you guys are looking for.
-
Panpot, and everyone else, thanks for the reply.
I am sure that what I was looking at in the large pot in the Pakistani Restaurant kitchen was mostly onion oil floating on top of the base.
It smelled of onions and I did reproduce that smell and color and the final taste in the curry's I make, again, I let the chopped onions fry down to nothing and didn't puree them, pureeing adds air to the oil and it seems to taste completely different after cooking, and pureeing the onions before frying doesn't let the onions fry to that red color, they just boil in their own liquid.
Reducing the chopped onions down to liquid produces a red oil which also gives the curry a red color, and that great look of the separated oil floating on top.
I am going to try adding it to the base as a regular base ingredient, it just takes so long to reduce down, but I think it is worth the time.
-
Nice post Taffy and good to see you back on the forum Panpot as I have continued to make curries using the Ashoka recipes since you did your mega post.
If I am reading your post correctly Taffy, you are frying 4 onions only, nothing else, no spices etc. and you are frying them down on a mega low heat until they are caramelised right down and then spooning or sieving off the remaining oil?
How much oil are you starting with or using up over the 3/4 hours?
-
hi pp if you are in rye then you are only 12 miles from tenterden and st michaels where Mouchak is my fav restaurant and /or the raja of kent, st. michaels ( voted kent best restaurant 2009 awarded in 2010), the oldest of 3 brothers owns the 4 restaurants chain 1 works in Mouchak as chef 1 in the raja as the chef ( i drive past the raja everyday and the carpark is always packed even monday nights). but mouchak was where it all started though just as a takeaway then after 2-3 years and constant requests from the customers it became a restaurant and now they own 4 of them the best in kent ( raja of kent, st michaels) , the largest in kent (raja of kent in maidstone) seats 288! 1 in dartford and MY favourite MOUCHAK! well worth the trip i think could even meet up for a ruby. ;D
regards
gary :)
-
Stephan, I use mostly grapeseed or peanut oil, about a 3-4 tablespoons to start the chopped onions with, without overcrowding the onions, I use 3 med onions.
The oil doesnt evaporate much so the grapeseed oil gets infused with the onion oil, when the chopped onion dissapears to almost nothing pour into the curry base or into a bowl, then start another batch, and repeat until you get tired of keeping a eye on it.
Just dont let it burn or as you already know, there will be a bitter taste.
Jerry Griffiths
-
cheers Jerry
-
Cheers and lot's o hot belly burn.
Jerry
-
Reducing the chopped onions down to liquid produces a red oil which also gives the curry a red color
Could you explain that a bit more please? What do you mean by cooking down to a liquid? I can't envision that.
-
Hi panpot, i often buy good curries from the bir restaurant in rye nearest the train station, on my way through rye back to hastings. I like their bhuna, and rogan josh. Some days are better than others, but when the head chef is on form, they are very good. Try the madras also, and jalfrezzi or balti . They do what i call above average south east curry, with the taste ! Nothing like the london curries I sampled recently. Cheers DD
-
Gary and DD, its amazing you are both so close. I am well aware of the Raja of Kent having passed it on the corner on a number of times and have always wanted to go there. I have never been in the one on the main road through Rye but have enjoyed food in the one up on the shopping street up the hill. Gary I have a good mate down here who will be back from his holidays in a couple of weeks and would be up for a jaunt with me up to the Raja if you fancy sharing a meal and pointing me in the right direction with the food. Perhaps DD if its not to far for you we could make it a foursome and who knows maybe another out there on our doorstep could join us too. Just a pity Jerryand maybe Stephen and Secret Santa couldn't join us too?? cheers Panpot.
-
sounds fun Panpot, I always assumed you were living near glasgow ! And here you are, practically on my door step lol ;D
-
I'm too far away unfortunately Panpot but I would definitely have enjoyed this.
-
I'm probably too far away being in Dundee but thanks for the invite Panpot, it would be good to meet up with guys from the forum.
-
Secret Santa, I did forget one thing, as the onions are frying slowly, the onions will shrink in size and the oil will get deeper.
After the caramelized onions have given up their oil and are just brown and limp, I empty everything into a blender and normally use some of the liquid with mustard or peanut oil to start a strong curry.
Jerry