Topic: So which BIR style dish have you cooked that comes closest to your local BIRs?

[Stephen Lindsay]

Stephen

Can't say I'm a great fan of aubergines! I don't dislike them, but it wouldn't be high up on my list of dishes to make, I tend to stick with spinach.

I agree 100% with experimentation being the key to creating great tasting dishes, which is one of the reasons in my opinion many of us home curry cooks actually produce dishes that may not necessarily be exact clones of our local BIR's but in their own way taste just as good if not better.

I also think it's great fun once you've mastered the main techniques to take common ingredients and start creating unique dishes from them. I made a potato and dal dish yesterday that tasted great but you'd never find on any BIR menu!

spicey I'm no great fan of aubergines either but the brinjal bhaji is just so tasty, in past because I think the brinjals soak up the curry sauce and so they become little nuggets of curry greatness!

[spiceyokooko]

Rob

Are your local BIR take-aways particularly bad ones then? 

Just kidding.

But I do think people's experiences will vary somewhat given there's good and bad BIR's out there. All my home cooked dishes would beat the bad ones, none would better the best BIR's I've been to. Somehow the best ones manage an incredibly complex depth of flavour I've never come close to achieving at home. But I put that down to the many layers they add to a dish - I'm just not prepared to put that much work in.

I think Cory's whole suite of dishes, base, mix powder etc are pretty hard to beat and set a very good bench mark for anyone wanting to create these kind of dishes at home.

My own BIR style dishes are based on his base and mix powder modded slightly to my own personal tastes. I generally add more fenugreek and garlic powder and less salt and fenugreek leaves than his recipes.

[meggeth]

I've had a few successes which are pretty much as good as the better TA meals I've had -
Chicken Korma (recipe with  carnation)
CAs chicken jalfrezi
C2go chicken mogul
Chicken Tamarind balti (cook4 one)
C2go takes dhal (spiced up a bit!)

One meal I wish I could produce is a chilli chicken bahar from my local TA - fantastic tasty spicy dish which I have no idea how they make! Anyone know this recipe?

[spiceyokooko]

Meggeth

I'm glad I'm not the only one that gives dal a bit of wellie!

Chilli chicken bahar, I've never heard of before. Have you checked the main dishes section of the forum for a recipe? Chilli chicken is a fairly common dish, what's the bahar aspect of it? I'm sure with a bit of ingenuity you could probably reverse engineer it!

[Peripatetic Phil]

Glossed here as "Apna-style dishes" :

20. Apna Style Dishes:
Hot & spice cooked with green chili, green peppers, coriander & methi.

Chicken Chili Bahar -

[meggeth]

Spicey - yes I think it adds to the flavour. For a good size portion of dhal (4-5 portions), I add half tsp each of spice mix, chilli, and methi, plus a touch of lemon juice to taste. Oh, and I've tried one of the garlic chilli recipes on cr0, and it was very good, but not as good as the bahar.

Phil - not heard of apna before, but it is one of the best Curries I've had anywhere. It is quite a thick sauce - love it. Just wish I could cook it!

[Salvador Dhali]

For me it's CT's Madras, which more often than not (depending on pre or post pub production) is way better than the rubbish served by many BIRs these days.

For that true 1980's Glasgow style intensity and depth of flavour, it's CT's Madras with the addition of a good bunjarra paste (I use my own, which is a fusion of the Ashoka and CBM's recipes).

For those with a slightly sweeter tooth it's CA's Ceylon (with a bit less sugar and more chilli for me).

As for sides, as mentioned above it's hard to go wrong with tarka dhal and saag bhaji (my own and others' recipes) and CH's mushroom bhaji.

There are others, but the above are my staples...

[Peripatetic Phil]

Depending where you look, "Apna" is glossed as "home style", "house style", "Bangladeshi style" or "extra spicy" -- take your pick !

** Phil.

[meggeth]

Did find this for a bahar recipe, probably not like my local BIR, but might give a few ideas of what to try....

http://whatanindianrecipe.com/east-indian/bhetki-begam-bahar-recipe.html

One thing I have never tried yet is onion paste (bunjara?) in my cooking. Does this add anything to a good curry?

[Kashmiri Bob]

Rob

Are your local BIR take-aways particularly bad ones then? 

Just kidding.

But I do think people's experiences will vary somewhat given there's good and bad BIR's out there. All my home cooked dishes would beat the bad ones, none would better the best BIR's I've been to. Somehow the best ones manage an incredibly complex depth of flavour I've never come close to achieving at home. But I put that down to the many layers they add to a dish - I'm just not prepared to put that much work in.

I think Cory's whole suite of dishes, base, mix powder etc are pretty hard to beat and set a very good bench mark for anyone wanting to create these kind of dishes at home.

My own BIR style dishes are based on his base and mix powder modded slightly to my own personal tastes. I generally add more fenugreek and garlic powder and less salt and fenugreek leaves than his recipes.

The TAs local to me mainly range from shockingly bad to OK after a few pints.  A couple are fairly good. I can get much better if I travel a bit though.

Rob