I went out on our late Christmas works do at the Noor Jahan, Mansfield Road, Nottingham
Here's a link
http://www.noorjahan.co.uk/menu.html

What can a say but five stars, superb
Anybody saying you can't get curries like you used to, should visit here
Fantastic

The place has a white lady taking the orders from people
I assume she is married to the owner
She seems far more than just a waiter
Everybody was addressed as sir or madam, and with a welcome smile

I had a chicken tikka starter
Now, the tikka I make has a far more intense than "proper" tikka
I'm requested to make it that way
But this was really lovely tikka
An orange colour, moist, subtley spiced, skewer holes served on a bed of lettuce and lemon
There was also an accompanying tray of pickles and raita
The lime pickle was so salty and spicy
Beautiful!!

For the main course, I had a vegetable vindaloo
It was old style and delightfully hot
The accompanying pillau rice was soft and flavoured with cardomon.
The only downside to the meal was the naan
It was a little biscuity and dry
I would highly recommend this restaurant
I'll be going again!

Apart from curry, I also enjoy cooking pizza
I had never had a perfect result and got a bit fed up
I researched a bit and finally bought this
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pizza-at-Home-Maker/dp/B000GH3QIU/ref=pd_cp_kh_1
You can make brilliant pizzas
They are so good
I'm not sure if it's a bit overpriced, but I am really happy with the results
The pizza base is amazing and the top is all melted, browned and gooey
Fantastic

Before I got this I tried a Marks And Spencers equivalent model
It was cheaper but underpowered
It was so bad that I took it back

My only problem is locating Italian 00 flour
That's what you need, to make exact pizza clones
Noone seems to sell it in a reasonably small quantity
I don't really want 25KG of the stuff
I reckon the flour might go off before I use it all

Old Oil Curry Gravy & Veg Vindaloo



I have finally made a curry that I am 100% happy with, and I know I could do this exactly again
Here is how it happened: -

Last night, I went out to get some old oil
I was lucky at the first place I called
It was a kebab/KFC style/chip shop
I had an empty one and a half litre container, and asked for some old oil
Happily I was given all I could take, and charged nothing
They wouldn?t accept any money
This oil was really dark, almost black
But it didn?t smell bad
It had a used savoury smell, with no outstanding qualities

Now the mistake I have been making, is to create a curry base with too many spices, but still lacking a subtle but wonderful flavour
In short, this is what we have been describing as the ?taste?
Despite numerous demonstrations, and posts from other people, something was definitely missing.
I respect other people?s views, so those who have achieved their desired curry taste, I say well done.
But until tonight I hadn?t been satisfied

So, now was the easy part
I simply followed a scaled down base recipe, and curry I had seen made

I?ll bore you with the details, but exact quantities are unnecessary
Take ten small onions and roughly chop them
Place in a pot with half the onion?s volume in water
Add 1 peeled garlic clove, 1 rounded teaspoon of salt, 2 level teaspoon of turmeric, one rounded teaspoon of spice mix, and half a tomato
Simmer this for an hour, checking that nothing catches.

Then add 4 desert spoons of old oil, along with the same quantity of new oil
As soon as I had done that, there was an aroma I recognised
BIR magic!
Simmer this pot, on very low, for another two hours, with the lid on
Keep checking, that nothing sticks
After the two hours turn off and leave to ?settle?
Now, scoop as much of the oil out

Blend the onions finely and add about a third of it?s volume in cold water
Simmer this for about an hour until some of the oil separates out
This improves the base flavour

Ok, so now the base is made
Here is the curry I made
It?s a veg vindaloo
(I?m sure that I have posted this recipe before)
This undermines another idea I had
You don?t need to do a fancy precook ingredients, if your curry gravy is right
I just used frozen veg and a left over baked potato (sliced)
I?ve seen BIR?s use frozen and canned veg many times, with no detriment to the finished curry taste
Boiled chicken pieces with turmeric and salt would also do for a precooked ingredient

Heat two tablespoons of salvaged oil for a minute
Add one and a half tablespoons of tomato puree and spread around the pan
Add a pinch of cumin, a pinch of coriander, half a teaspoon of salt and a pinch of dried fenugreek
Stir for another minute
Add two ladles of the curry gravy, and the main ingredients and turn the heat up high for about two minutes
Add a desert spoon of spice mix and cook another two minutes
Add half a desert spoon of tomato puree
Add a little water and another ladle of curry gravy and boil hard for another five minutes.
You may need to add a little more curry gravy or water, to get the right texture.
Serve

Without correct curry gravy this recipe won?t work
You will just have a ?nice? curry
Also, remember that this is a copy, of a certain restaurants base and curry
It?s probable that your local is slightly different
But this shows you how to get that missing underlying flavour
I believe that it is illegal for takeaways/restaurants to dispose of old oil by pouring down the drain.
Someone official comes round and collects it
So if you wanted to get old oil then find somewhere that cooks chips and fried chicken, but not curries
If they made curries, they would be using the old oil themselves
Make sure they don?t cook fish in it
I?ve tried oil like that, and it?s a disgusting result

You cannot make used oil like this
The quantities of chips, fried chicken cooked in it, are simply not practical
Believe me, I have tried
But it should always be possible to get this oil
Places simply want to get rid of the stuff!
I have enough old oil in my freezer, to probably last a year!
The curry gravy is where nearly all the ?technique? lies, and I made it exactly
However, I would add, that I seriously doubt the hygiene and safety of cooking like this
It?s enough to make you cook home-style curries, isn?t it?
I feel so happy at achieving the last hurdle, and yet, a little sad the journey has ended.


 

Has anyone else used this book?
I've had it years and not really given it a fair go
I tried two recipes tonight
Both were actually starters, so I'm still a bit peckish
I made the "Empires balti fried king prawn"
I have never cooked with "uncooked" prawns before
It felt odd to see them so grey
But what a difference!!
I have never had prawns so fresh tasting in my life!
The recipe calls for a lot of garlic
I mean a LOT of GARLIC
You marinade the prawns in 3 bulbs worth, then you cook it
You are supposed to eat it all too, but that was taking things a little too far.
The aroma was amazing
I'm sure we will have that "aroma" for the next week!
Very tasty and I will cook again

The other thing I tried was "Mokham's garlic aloo potato tikki"
This is mashed potato, spices and rice flour, deep fried in little flattened balls
Hands up who's cooked with rice flour before?
Not me.
Anyhow these were excellent too
But Goodness! there is a difference between eating them fresh and four hours later
These lovely, crispy treats turn very soft
Still tasty, mind you
But not as nice
Look at my plate in the photo!
It's a bit empty isn't it?
I might need to buy a takeaway later
Happy Curry Cooking everyone!!

I've been cooking loads this weekend
I made a really good four onion base then prepared two meals.
I don't actually know the real name for this chicken tikka dish, but it's probably the most common thing cooked at a takeaway I go to.
I've seen them cook it dozens of times and my version is 100 percent accurate
Heat some oil and fry a sliced onion for about four minutes, stirring
Add a desertspoon of tandoori spice mix powder
Stir in for a minute
Add precooked chicken tikka
Heat thoroughly with stirring for about five minutes
Add a desertspoon of lemon juice and serve with a sprinkle of fresh coriander.
Absolutely delicious
There is never any left on a plate

The other pic is a korma sauce, I've seen made loads too
Heat some curry gravy in a pan (cover the base with it)
When it is bubbling and oil is starting to seperate (2 minutes maybe) add a desertspoon of spice mix
Stir in and leave still for a couple of minutes
Add two desertspoons of coconut powder (my bag is about two years old!!) and a desertspoon of sugar
Stir well in and add enough curry gravy for a single portion
Heat through then stir in 75ml of single cream
Heat another couple of minutes
The sauce is now ready
Really delicious