Topic: Darthphal's Trip to the Takeaway & Questions!

[DARTHPHALL]

Right, as promised i went to my local take-away , ordered 2 Vindaloo,2 Pilau rice & 4 Keema nan.
  I thought of the best approach to get as many questions answered for us.
  So i took my recipe for base mix & Vindaloo & asked why i cannot get mine to taste like theirs .
  2 things have been mentioned before(Curry Kings visit by a chef) which was carrots & green peppers.
  The third is an ingredient i`ve never seen mentined on this forum or in any book, but it gave me insight to the dishes cooked at
  my local take-away .Are you ready for it "Kashmiri Masala ".
  Now kashmiri cuisine is known for its bright orange/yellow colour & subtle but not too harsh flavour(just like the Vindaloo/Tindaloo)
  Although they are hot their flavour is quite gentle & not as savoury as a Phall.In the province of Kashmir they use Ratan jot(Alkenet  root) which gives a vibrant red colour to their dishes & they use nuts in many of their authentic dishes.
 Another guy also told me you can get the same taste unless you cook in large quantities(we have heard this also).
 He also told me only use green chillies if using fresh.
 And that onions should only be cooked till they start to go golden.
 He also said a large percentage is in method ,"watch what you cook ".
 I inquired that cooking lessons would be good,"we might be able to do this Mr Doug".
 On my next visit(2 weeks time im going to see if i can book a lesson a few hours before they open).
 My local take-away surprised me how open they were about method/recipes ect..i`ll see how far i can push my luck,but they all know me by name so it may make it easier for me.(wish me luck).
 If anyone has any questions please post, i`m going to pursue this root via my local take-away until i get what i want or they tell me to piss-off.
        All the best curryheads..... DARTHPHALL........     

[George]

...an ingredient i`ve never seen mentined on this forum or in any book, but it gave me insight to the dishes cooked at my local take-away .Are you ready for it "Kashmiri Masala "...

Thank you for being so bold as to question them in such depth. They must suspect something is going on, though! I fear their responses may be the normal run-around but I hope I am wrong.

I see Pataks do a Kashmiri Masala paste. Perhaps they use a drop or two of Kashmiri Masala but did you assess the significance of this particular ingredient?

My questions in the past have normally been posed by stealth, as white lies if I'm honest, so they don't suspect that the real objective is to steal their recipes. And normally at restaurants well away from home, where I'm not known. I'd order a dish I was interested in (e.g. CTM) and ask if it included a specific ingredient (like coconut), saying I was allergic to it or can't stand the taste. But this approach is slow and not totally revealing.

[DARTHPHALL]

I told them i can copy all their recipes but the vindaloo/tindaloo ,i told them not to worry as i would always come to them for my take-away curries, i told them i make 4/5 a week for work & that it would be too expensive to get all my curries from them.Even one of the waiters wanted to give advice (He was very open on how he cooks at home as well, & was receptive enough that i know if i asked him he would give me cooking lessons), i`m not a fool his body language & vocal tones ect gave all the indications of truth.
 I`m sorry but there is too much paranoia on this forum & at the end of the day it`s only a curry ,look at Curry Kings thread i believe that the chef told him the truth,all the way down here in Cornwall & the recipes nearly identical.
There is one other factor in my favour ,having done weight training for many years & at 5 foot 10" & 15 stone people perceive that I'm not to be f****d with, but on the contrary i`m a peacefull & very friendly  big guy(DARTHPHALL is very fitting  ;D ;D), over the next few months i am going to try for a lesson in their kitchen/or get into the kitchen saying "that recipe you gave me, i don't seem to be able to get it right have i missed something",reverse psychology "perhaps i need a lesson from a professional as I'm looking at it from a western point of view".The mind is a very powerfull tool & confidence is key to success.
 "THE FORCE IS STRONG WITH THIS ONE "!

[Mark J]

There is one other factor in my favour ,having done weight training for many years & at 5 foot 10" & 15 stone people perceive that I'm not to be f****d with

We've tried the peaceful and friendly approach, I suggest you try another approach and threaten to beat the s**t out of them if they dont tell you  ;D ;D ;D

[DARTHPHALL]

Peace first or i could go in & say "give me that recipe cos you`ll look pretty stupid with that chair sticking out of your head".
No i`ll go for the non violent approach first  & see what else i can get.
 "PERHAPS I NEED TO FIND NEW WAYS TO..MOTIVATE THEM "! ;D

[ghanna]

Hi Darthphall
Well done
Waiting for more information.
I think you can do it
Please keep trying
Thanks
ghanna

[pete]

.Are you ready for it "Kashmiri Masala ".
? Another guy also told me you can get the same taste unless you cook in large quantities(we have heard this also).
 And that onions should only be cooked till they start to go golden.

Darth, I am really pleased you have asked some questions but this Kashmiri Masala is in the base I posted from the Bengal Cuisine demo I had:-

http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=118.0

The recipe is there but here again is the main bit:-
The Onion Gravy

Ingredients:-

2 large onions sliced
1 green pepper sliced
1 medium potato sliced
3 tablespoons Garlic ginger puree
1 carrot unpeeled chopped
1 cup of vegetable oil
? cup vegetable ghee
1 desertspoon salt
2 desertspoon turmeric
2 desertspoon of Pataks Kashmiri Masala
2 green chillies chopped
2 whole tomatoes from a can
Water equal to half the volume of the above
i.e. if the above comes to half way up the pot, then add a quarter of a pot of water

Boil the above for only ten minutes.
This is until you can see the sliced onion wilting
Now add:-

2 desertspoons of curry powder (rajah)
2 desertspoons of ground almonds
2 desertspoons of coconut powder
2 tablespoons of condensed milk

Cook another five minutes and then blend
The mixture is bright yellow
Add enough hot water to make it very runny
About half it?s volume again
This doesn?t look like your finished oily curry gravy but I was told with more oil, and longer cooking, it would.

Believe me the addition of Kashmiri Masala is not the missing ingredient.
I thought it was too.
I have heard from many sources that cooking in quantities can change the flavour.
I don't understand why, but may have to accept it as true.
They cook in a such a large quantity that you couldn't do it at home.
The pot is as big as the whole top of your cooker.
So we will never know.
The cooking the onions til golden sound interesting.
Most curry gravy recipes, on this ?site, boil the onions.
Please post any more findings

[joe2]

I've been using Kashmiri Masala on and off for years(it's just curry paste), it will certainly add a little something, but before anyone gets too excited, it is not a secret missing ingredient.

[DARTHPHALL]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAA ;D  but if you`ve read my post`s you`ll see that on occasion i have got it 99.9% right, 3 times in the last month,
 Have faith or failing that make yourself a Razor blade Vindaloo  , then tell me we wont get there in  between digesting your own throat  ;D ;D ;D ;D.hehehehehehehehe !!!
    Darthy`s gone silly again "must find chainsaw"!