Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Messages - romain

Pages: 1 ... 5 6 [7] 8 9 ... 15
61
Traditional Indian Recipes / Re: Karai Chicken Lahori
« on: March 27, 2020, 03:37 AM »
Nice one MA! Looks and sounds great to me! Will give this one a go while I still have some nice fresh green chilies in the fridge assuming I can get my hands on some ginger. For some reason I'm having trouble sourcing it at the moment. Still trying to understand why that is. Toilet paper I can sort of understand. Ginger though???

62
Talk About Anything Other Than Curry / Re: What
« on: March 27, 2020, 02:20 AM »
Always loved this game.

This is what happens when you take leftover Bengali dhansak (traditional) and think to yourself - I love dhansak and I love dal palak. Why don't I add some frozen spinach to my dhansak as I need to get my vegetables in and I'm not supposed to go to the store?

Lesson learned - if you add too much spinach all you taste is spinach. Not very good at all...


63
Lets Talk Curry / Re: Naan bread
« on: March 26, 2020, 11:07 PM »


I also highly rate the School of Artisan Food naan.  It is different to the UK deluxe naan but just as good in my opinion.

Thanks Livo,

You've given me a fine project while in what is effectively lockdown...

64
Lets Talk Curry / Re: Criticising recipes
« on: March 26, 2020, 08:46 PM »
I suppose what it really comes down to is whether the criticism is constructive or not? Constructive criticism has to be allowed in my opinion.
100% correct Santa and it helps if it's delivered as being such  :smile:

Also agree 100%.

"The first time I made this recipe I followed it to the letter. The second time I tried adding a couple whole black cardamom because I think a tarka dal really benefits from a hint of smoky flavour. That really made it sing. Of course that's my personal taste so YMMV." is worthwhile feedback and helps everyone evolve their cooking.

"This recipe is just rubbish" is somewhat less helpful and can lead to people feeling bullied or intimidated to the point where they simply refuse to post anything for fear of public ridicule.

65
Lets Talk Curry / Re: Criticising recipes
« on: March 26, 2020, 08:38 PM »

A bir chef who showed me a learning method which works to get bir flavours told me that " A good bir cook can get good results from a poor recipe but a bad cook will not get a good result from a good recipe.
Whats occuring with some here is frustration so only response is.
It must be the recipe

If I post the method I was taught on this forum will it be subjected to the same condemnation ? Yes I believe so

NobleOx - your chef friend is a wise man. I, for one, would love to hear what else he told you. I am here to learn.

Livo - I would also love to hear your naan secrets.

I'll be waiting hopefully for a PM at least.

And I will share (although I think I've already shared this one). I am a big fan of blooming spices in oil. It takes more attention to what you are doing but I find that powdered spices in hot oil really makes a difference. I always go with lots of oil, followed by the whole spices and then the big chunks (onion, pepper). I add the garlic ginger paste next and fry it until it stops sizzling. After that all the ground spices at once and bloom for around 30 seconds, then I add the tomato and finally the first ladle of base. The trick is to make sure you have enough oil in the pan so by the time you get to the powdered spices they fry rather than stick or clump up or worst of all burn.

Of course not all ingredients are in every recipe but I do stick to the overall flow. I find adding powdered spices after the liquid (base, tomato paste etc) results in a less developed flavour (boiled spices) and sometimes even a gritty texture. You can get away with it if you use a LOT of oil and evaporate most of the liquid of course but I find it easier just to go with the workflow above.

I do this for anything that calls for dried spices in any serious quantity - restaurant style Indian, traditional Indian, Mexican etc.

YMMV of course - that's just how I do it...





66
Lets Talk Curry / Re: Criticising recipes
« on: March 26, 2020, 07:37 PM »

Which is it? I'm still waiting for any evidence of your credentials BTW. I have put mine forth. Where are yours?

Actually, please disregard this last comment. Someone (Phil, Yousef, other) will point out this I have been fueling a flame war that is not aligned with the goals of this forum and they will be right. Yousef - I apologize for bringing this mess to your house...

67
Lets Talk Curry / Re: Criticising recipes
« on: March 26, 2020, 06:47 PM »
So the forum is moving towards a ban on saying anything the slightest bit negative or critical about recipes which they've tried and weren't very keen on?

Here's two recent examples (compare and contrast):

1. Livo recently tried a recipe which I posted in 2005 from an outline kindly drafted by Ghanna for chicken korma. Livo was very critical and said he planned to throw it in the bin. I was disappointed but there you go. Nobody sent me messages of support, like they worried I might be devastated.

2.  A few days later I tried Romain's recipe for chicken dhansak. I said I thought it was poor compared to the dishes served by a half-decent BIR. Should I have lied and said it was delicious? Romain went ballistic and started laying into me. He said he'd received numerous messages of support, presumably suggesting he ignore me because my opinion counts for nothing.

I don't know who all these long standing members are who criticise any recipe published here by a newbie. I suggest it's nonsense. It can't include me because Romain's dhansak was the first recipe I've tried and commented on from this forum in several years.

Conclusion - everybody needs to feel like a winner. No negative comments whatsoever are allowed from now on. If so, this forum has lost the plot.

I did not go ballistic on you. You would know if I went ballistic on you. You seem to pride yourself on being forthright and calling a spade a spade so I am going to take the same liberty here. Not ballistic. Just forthright.

This started because Dee posted a couple links to recipes on my blog that he(she?) felt were the best they had ever tried. You were quick to judge one of them as poor without having tried it. You are free to like or dislike my recipes. Everyone is. That's the nature of the internet. People who contribute nothing hide behind their keyboards and take shots.  You want to play in the open you have to expect and accept that. There's a name for people like that and it's easy to tell who they are.

Calling me out as pretentious, highly irritating and unknowledgeable is what started this. I'm sure you did it secure that it would just be another case of you pontificating on the state of the universe for the benefit of one and all. And it would have been except I am here.

Interestingly several people (public and private) tried to help me (the newbie) understand the source of this opinion. And, as you noticed, people didn't come to your defence here or in your previous example. You really should pause a moment to consider why that is. It certainly cannot have anything to do with me. I don't know these people. I have been here for a very short time.


I dislike a few people here as much as they dislike me. The reason I don't post recipes, or even cooking techniques here is that I'm not prepared to let these people into what I regard as significant discoveries.

OK - sounds to me like the argument of a child but sure, why not.

I've been thinking about this after one or two people correctly pointed out that I don't post recipes on this web site, or anywhere else, actually.


I could do that, at risk of getting into serious legal trouble for copyright infringement.

That is just nonsense. Research recipe copyright law before you hide behind arguments that simply don't hold water.

Which is it? I'm still waiting for any evidence of your credentials BTW. I have put mine forth. Where are yours?

68
Pathia / Re: Dhansak/Pathia
« on: March 24, 2020, 12:03 AM »
Secret Santa - I use Diamond Crystal because I only stock one type of salt in that rough grain size.  I prefer it for salting for two reasons. I find iodized salt to have an odd background smell I don't detect in DC. That's the reason I got into the habit of stocking DC years ago. Now, as my sense of smell deteriorates with age, the main reason is that it is less salt by volume. I salt to taste and I find it easier to avoid over salting. That and the shape of DC salt makes it easier to salt by hand. If you have the chance and inclination to buy some you'll better understand what I'm talking about.

It is not religion for me certainly and I never expected to get flamed here for using it. It's just what I am used to. YMMV. I like salty but only to a point. Over salted is one of my least favourite things to eat so I am particular about my salting methods.

Salt is only slightly more expensive than dirt so I don't worry about it.

69
Pathia / Re: Dhansak/Pathia
« on: March 23, 2020, 05:56 PM »
Looking at the dhansak recipe, I was trying to figure out where the sweetness comes from as we all know BIR dhansak is sweet and sour in flavour and he clearly states just tamarind (or, actually, tamarind sauce). It's only when I read the addendum that I see he means a sweet and sour tamarind based sauce such as Maggi's Tamarina. If people make this with just tamarind sauce they're going to get a sharp surprise.

The main ingredient in Tamarind Sauce is sugar. The tamarind is only 15%. They also add chilli and a few other things to give it more flavour.

When I looked at the Glebe Kitchen dhansak recipe, I was trying to figure out why Kosher Salt is specified. Absurd, if you ask me. I may try the recipe this evening but, to be honest, I don't have high expectations. It's missing ingredients which I firmly believe need to be in a half-decent dhansak. The author speaks with the tone of an expert but I don't accept he knows as much as many of the people here.

The author is here. The author is half Indian. The author has over 30 years of advanced cooking experience and about 50 of eating Indian. The author has been to the UK many times. The author has eaten curries around the world. The author has been in Indian restaurant kitchens. The author worked in restaurants while going to university. The author has 3M visitors to his blog a year and that number continues to grow. If you google pathia or dhansak (or many other Indian restaurant dishes) you will see the author's work in the top results.

Can you point me to something that demonstrates your credentials? I searched back through your posts for 3 years and I couldn't find a recipe. Perhaps they are further back? I admit I didn't look as hard as I should have. I did see a lot of criticism levelled at others though...

70
Pathia / Re: Dhansak/Pathia
« on: March 23, 2020, 04:11 PM »
Den - I am glad you enjoyed them! MickyP - hope you liked it as well.

I use kosher salt. Diamond Crystal to be specific. You can use whatever salt you want. Just know that kosher salt has a granularity that is generally coarser than table salt and is therefore less NaCl than an equivalent volume of table salt. By mass it is the same - by volume it is not. I specify because otherwise people will wind up making something saltier than I have tested.

To those that feel I am pretentious or are irritated by the fact I say that you can make a tarka and put aside a bit of lentils for when you make a dhansak please just get your recipes elsewhere. I am sure you will be much happier for it.


Pages: 1 ... 5 6 [7] 8 9 ... 15

  ©2024 Curry Recipes