Topic: Another Demo Bengal Cuisine, Brick Lane

[pete]

? Chef said that if I need to know anything at all about the lesson to email him and he would get right back. They were all very helpful.

Could you ask the chef if they ever put chicken stock into the curry gravy?
Maybe you could also ask for the quantities of ingredients when making up a big pot.
I emailed them after my lesson and got no replies.
Thanks cq

[adamski]

well I cooked a curry using this gravy and I must say it's not a patch on Pete's 600ml oil one.

God I can taste carrot, yuk.

[Mark J]

Pete you have brought up something I meant to mention a while ago, try adding chicken stock instead of water to the base, I would make sure it contains MSG (could be called a number of things on the packet like flavour enhancer)

[Yellow Fingers]

I don't know if chicken stock is used but if I were a savvy curry house owner I would waste nothing. On this basis the 'stock' that the pre-cooked chicken is made in would go straight into the base sauce pot, so there may be some mileage in the chicken stock idea.

I feel sorry for the unwitting veggies if this is so however, tucking in to their veg massala curry not really knowing why it tastes so good.? ?
But that may very well be why the chefs are so reticent to fully demonstrate or even explain their base sauce in full.

[Blondie]

Hi all,

I have read a couple of times before that takeaways / restaurants use chicken stock in their curries. The type used was said to be the powder type that smells like chicken crisps and not the oxo cube type which is quite salty anyway. ?I dismissed the inclusion of chicken stock on the grounds that they wouldn't use it because it wouldn't be suitable for vegetarians. ?Having said that, I have thought many times that tarka dahl from my local takeaway has an underlying taste of chicken

The one type I bought to try and never really gave it much of a go was Knor granulated chicken stock which does smell like chicken crisps.

Cheers,

Blondie

[Yellow Fingers]

Hi Blondie

I have noticed a chicken stock flavour in some of the curries I have had but it doesn't have to come from the use of chicken stock.

When I first started into making restaurant style curries I used Kris Dhillon's book (didn't everyone?) and I followed the recipes to the letter. One of the curries, and only one, had this exact same chicken stock flavour, but if you read her book there is no actual chicken stock used in any of the curries. Unfortunately I can't remember which one it was, other than it wasn't one with cream or yoghurt in it, but it may well have been the dahl now that you mention it.

So the lesson is that that chicken stock flavour, which I really like BTW, doesn't necessarily imply the use of real chicken stock or cubes!

Damn. I wish you hadn't mentioned this, I'm now going to have to 'do the Dhillon' again!

Also that particular stock that you mention; do you have a brand name?

[Blondie]

Hi Yellow Fingers,

I said in the post above that the ready made stock that I found to have the Chicken Crisp flavor, which is what I had read was needed was Knorr chicken stock granules.

Cheers,

Blondie

[Yellow Fingers]

Thanks Blondie.

What I meant was, did the article you read suggest a particular brand, even if it is no longer available?

[Blondie]

Hi Yellow fingers,

Knorr is the brand name.

Cheers,

Blondie

[curryqueen]

Hi Pete,

I have already tried to email them and guess what!  No reply.  I don't know why because they were so full on and attentive during lesson.  It can't be where they are so busy, because before lesson I emailed them loads.  I'll try again though.