Hi all,

Just as a matter of interest this is supposed to be the biggest curry house in the world.

http://www.aakashrestaurant.com

It is not far from me in Cleckheaton near Bradford.
It really is massive, built in an old chapel it can seat hundreds. Not a place for a romantic evening.

I have never been but a few people I know say it is very good, although a bit on the pricey side ( ?15 for an all you can eat buffet ).

Ray

Hi Folks,

Here is a recipe for Parathas from Mridula Baljekars "Complete Indian Cookbook".

325 gms / 12 ozs Chapatti? Flour ( Atta ) plus a little for dusting
1/2 tsp Salt
125 gms / 5 ozs Softened Ghee or Unsalted Butter
125-150 mls / 4-5 fl ozs Warm Water

Method

Makes Four

Sift Flour and Salt together
Rub in 50 gms / 2 ozs Ghee / Butter into flour and mix thoroughly
Gradually add Water and knead to a soft, pliable dough
Divide into 4 equal balls and flatten them between the palms of your hands
Dust each portion and roll out to 8" diameter
Spread on top with 1 tsp Ghee / Butter
Roll up the dough into a tube shape then roll this tube into a coil shape
Roll out again into an 8" disc

Spread on top again with 1 tsp Ghee / Butter
Roll into a tube and coil again, dust with flour and roll into an 8" disc

Heat a Tava or Frying Pan on medium heat
Dry Fry for about 30 seconds then flip over and brush with Softened Ghee / Butter
After a further 30 secs flip and spread 1 TBSP of Ghee / Butter on the top side and flip again
Turn heat down
Press down with a spatula and spread a further 1 TBSP Ghee / Butter on this side
After a minute flip again and repeat the pressing action
Cook for a further minute
Continue to cook and flip over frequently until both sides are uniformly light brown

Ray

Hi all,

Couldn't resist this. Nothing to do with Curry but a laugh just the same!
Get Santa drunk but mind he doesn't step on the electric railway line!

It's one for the kids............................big kids too!!

http://www.banditos.info/speles/sobersanta2.swf

Ray

Hi All,

I contacted the Kushi Restaurant via e-mail about the question of the use of re-claimed oil in the final curry dish.

I have asked a number of questions since recieving the book and each and every one so far has been very promptly answered so I can only say "Thank's Kushi" for that!!
I also sent them a photo of the finished dishes I made which I also posted here and they have added them to their website.

My latest question has been about the use of re-claimed oil in the final dish and they have written their answer below. I think it makes an interesting read so have included all they have written to me.

My original e-mail said...................


Hi Andy and Mohammed,
 
I have just seen my Balti and Patia photo in your help and support section and it looks great, thank-you for using it.
 
I do have a further question which I hope you may answer.
 
It is " when you cook in the restaurant do you use fresh oil in each dish or do you use oil that has been taken from previously cooked dishes that has the flavours of the curry infused in the oil?
I have heard that oil added from previously cooked dishes gives a more authentic restaurant style flavour and wonder if I save some oil back from a previously cooked meal or from the base sauce this might enhance the flavours of the next dish I make. Can you offer any advice for me? I am going to try another two recipes from the book this weekend.
 
Regards
 
Ray Graham
 
Keighley, West Yorkshire

The reply was..................


Dear Mr. Graham,
 
Thanks for your email - and thanks again for the photo, which is great!
 
In terms of the 're-using oil' question, we've had a couple of other queries about this - as it's clearly a technique used by some curry restaurants.? However, it's not a technique Mr. Haydor uses in his restaurant due of customer demand.? One of the hotly-debated differences between Balti and traditional curry cookery is the issue of Baltis being "fresher" - and using 'clean' oil gives that end result.? (Although there are, no doubt, Balti restaurants, which DO use re-use oil.)? Below, I have copied part of a reply which we sent to another reader who asked just the same question about oil re-use, which I hope is useful to you.?
 
Having said that, there's nothing wrong with trying it yourself (using extra oil in the base sauce or finished dishes), and keeping some back for future dishes.? You may find it makes the result even better for your particular taste.?
 
I know that's not the most complete reply in the world, but I will look into this more over the coming months, and I'll let you know what I find out.
 
I hope that helps - (to a certain extent!)
 
All the very best, and good luck with future dishes.
 
Kind regards,
 
Andy Holmes
Authentic Balti Curry
 
 
This is the extract from a separate query about using extra oil to re-use in future dishes..............

"The technique of using a lot of oil in base sauce is not one which Mr. Haydor uses in his restaurant, simply because of customer demand, and that?s what we?ve tried to reflect in the book. It?s also a technique which rather pre-dates the Balti culture, which is a comparatively new restaurant cookery technique.
From personal experience the use of this technique varies from restaurant to restaurant, and in various parts of the country. Because of the fact Mr. Haydor doesn?t use this technique in his restaurant, it wouldn?t be right for him to recommend how to do it ? but what we would recommend is that you experiment with it ? just to satisfy your own curiosity.
It sounds like you?re quite a confident cook, and it?s the best way of learning!"

So there you have it folks. Hope this sheds a little more light on things for us all.

I don't know who this last reply was sent to but I wouldn't mind betting it was one of us from the cr0 site!

Anyway, I have sent a thank-you to the Kushi for their advice who seem on the face of it to be fairly willing to offer some help and advice.

I think it now perhaps clarifies for us that re-claimed oil is certainly used as a "taste enhancer" in some restaurants. It also clarifies that "Balti" varies in tastes and techniques from the "BIR" methods and should now be accepted as having it's own deserved? place in the recipe books in it's own right.
The Kushi Book is a "Balti Book" and as such has differences to the taste's we want to achieve.
It suggests there are variations in taste dependant on style and location so our site members may all be experiencing different tastes to one another which make's the task of finding the answer even harder, if indeed a general answer exists.!

But whatever the answers are it is clear that the curries we all enjoy are so very diverse in their preparation, methods, techniques and tastes that we have all got such a lot of information to go at and a lot more to come before we are all satisfied we have reached that ultimate goal!

Definately "food for thought" !


Regards

Ray G

Hi All,

As an experiment today I decided to make a batch of re-claimed oil using the base sauce from the Balti Kitchen Video.
I have had a bit of trouble getting sufficient oil from a standard base so thought of using an amount of cooked base and an amount of oil to generate spicy oil specifically for use.
As you are probably aware I quite like the Balti Kitch recipes and have had a lot of success with them but wanted to see if anything could be added with the use of re-claimed oil. It does miss that elusive taste but don't they all!
Perhaps this is a way of injecting the missing ingredient into the sauce!

I made the base as per the recipe below.

STAGE ONE

2 ? Lbs Onions, peeled and roughly chopped
1 Bulb Garlic, peeled and separated into cloves
1 Dessertspoon Salt
2 ozs Ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
2 Tbsps Vegetable Oil
2 ? Pts Water

METHOD

Put Ginger and Garlic Cloves into a blender with 1 cup of the water.
Blend for 30 secs.
Put Onions in a large heavy pan. Add Garlic, Ginger puree.
Add the Oil, Salt and remaining water.
Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
When cool blend a little at a time until it is a smooth creamy texture (important!).
Ladle off TWO cupfuls and set to one side. ( Used in pre-cooking method ).

STAGE TWO

INGREDIENTS

1 Small Tin ChoppedTomatoes (200 gms)
1 Cup Vegetable Oil
1 Tbsp Tomato Puree
1 Dessertspoon Paprika
1 Tbsp Turmeric
1 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
1 Dessertspoon Garam Masala

METHOD

Into the Onion Mix add the Tomatoes, Oil, Turmeric and Tomato Puree.
Place back on heat and bring to the boil. Add Paprika, Black Pepper and Garam Masala.
Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.
Remove any residue that rises to the surface and stir frequently.

........................The resultant sauce is a little more spicy than most with Garam Masala and Pepper so felt it would produce an oil with an equally spicy depth.

I ladled about 400 mls of sauce into a wide frying pan along with a handful of fresh chopped Coriander. To this was added an equal amount of Vegetable Oil and the resulting mix simmered and stirred for about 15 mins.

The oil was easy to spoon off if you tilted the frying pan and became dark, sweet and smokey tasting.
It's smell was an instant reminder of how a BIR smells as you first walk through the door so I knew I had got somewhere near what I was after.
The taste of the oil on it's own is spicy, smokey but with a sweetness ( maybe the Garlic ) that is hard to describe.

I then used this oil as per the recipes to make a CTM and a Chicken Balti and the results were remarkable to say the least.

The only difference to what I would normally do is the addition of the re-claimed oil in place of the fresh Veg oil the recipe demands, everything else being the same.
The difference in taste is so marked it is hard to believe that just this alteration can make such a difference to a dish but it does.

I discarded the base sauce I had used but felt if I added more oil to it I could easily have made a further supply of oil from the same pan of sauce.
I ended up with about 300 mls of clear dark oil without too much base in it as it was very easily separated.

I had some pics to show but don't know how to get them onto the site any more! Any ideas?

Having read a few postings where folk have experimented in re-claimed oil I can now back up their claims with my own findings.

This oil I am sure is a key in the search for the elusive taste of the BIR curry. I have tasted some pretty uneventful dishes in my time but the ones with the "taste" stand out a mile and I believe these are the ones from restaurants using re-claimed oil.

Maybe they generate the oil from using the mild base sauce as the catalyst ( just guessing! ), so this way any curry mild or hot can be made from it.

One thing I am now more sure of I shall be using this method again as the difference is so remarkable and that much nearer to the taste we all strive to achieve. It may not give an exact replica of the taste we want but I am so pleased I tried this as I am that much nearer to the goal and can only recommend others give it a go.

Regards

Ray