Topic: Hello and thanks

[ast]

Hi Everyone,

Just joined the forum as I found it by accident when looking for some restaurant style Indian cooking (I thought I had my recipes with me on hols, but it turned out I didn't).  I've had a look around at some of the posts, and I'm pleased so far with what I've seen.  I'm anxious to try some of the Phall recipes, as I had one recently on a trip to London and thought it was brilliant!

I've noticed that loads of people here have been trying to hit the "BIR taste" for many years, so that makes me a certain newbie.  I've been a fan of restaurant Indian food for a while now, and my favorite is a really, really hot Vindaloo.  I've always been afraid to try it at home because the recipes I found just didn't look quite right.  Up until recently, I worked very near a place that I frequented (at least 2 times a week) for lunch that I got to like quite well.  Since I'm no longer based near the restaurant, I decided it was time to give it a try.

A friend of mine gave me the Kris Dhillon book, and I've been pretty pleased with the results so far.  Neither the wife or our friends have died, and, for Ireland at least, it turned out much better than your average takeaway or restaurant (but considerably different than the place I mentioned above).  In fairness, except for the curry base, I tend to improvise a little, using the recipes as more a guide than following them to the letter and I've really only focused on the medium/hot chicken/lamb curries and the "normal" Naan.

From doing some reading of the search results about the KD book on the forum, I can see there are mixed opinions about it.  Still, given the variety of tastes I've experienced between the US, Canada, Portugal, New Zealand, London and Ireland--including restaurants only up the road from each other, the variety of the curry bases (and corresponding opinions) doesn't surprise me that much.  I didn't figure KD was the end-all-be-all, but I thought it was a good way to understand the mechanics of how things worked in restaurant cooking.  I look forward to trying (and, of course, adapting) many of the recipes on this site.

One question having to do with the site organization:  Is there an index (or, failing that, a way to do it) of recipes by submitter?  When I was trying to have a snoop around to see what was here, I came across many people who posted a bunch of recipes, but there didn't seem to be a good way to find all of them easily.  Am I just missing something?  An automatically generated index by author might be something worth considering.

Again, many thanks for the forum.  I'm sure I'll try lots of the recipes and techniques, but I'm not sure how much I can actually contribute to the general knowledge pool.  I'm here mostly just to read, learn and experiment.

Cheers,

ast

[SnS]

Hi Ast

Welcome to the forum - you're obviously a bit of a chilli head (like so many of us).

I'm sure you'll find the site interesting and be contributing your own Phall recipes shortly!

As far as indexing, I'm sure one of the site moderators will provide you an answer (you can always use the SEARCH button for a specific recipe)

Regards
SnS ;D

[Bobby Bhuna]

Welcome to the forum. I'm sure you'll love it and I can promise that it will improve your indian cooking. I too st?rted out with the KD book after trying a chicken bhuna recipe on google then looking a for a good book to purchase. I've been making curries most nights for around 6 months and so although relatively inexperienced when compared with the spice gods on here, I can knock up a tasty curry!  

I agree that The Curry Secret is a great start and indeed some experienced members stick by the KD base. My main issues with the KD base are these.

Too much ginger. I think it should be 2:1 garlic - ginger at the most.
Adding Garam Masala at the base stage is far too early, I think it's better added at the end.
The base is too thin and so you end up boiling off water for ages to get the correct consistency.
oh, and I like way more oil  ;D

[Yousef]

Hi Ast,

Welcome to the forum, just use 'Advanced Search' http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?action=search;advanced

Enter in the username of the person whose topics you wish to find and hit go.

Stew

[mike travis]

Hi Ast,  welcome to the family. Seasons greetings. Look forward to hearing how you get on.  ;D

[ast]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for the welcome and the search tips.

Bobby:

As I said, so far, I'm happy enough with my results with the KD base, but I'm not opposed to trying different ones.  I think its interesting that many of the other bases include carrots.  I was thinking of cooking Indian food while we were visiting my parents for Christmas as they've never really had much of it before.  Unfortunately, my mother's allergic to carrots, so any base including them wouldn't be a good idea.  I know not all of them include it, and you could always omit them, but it got me thinking/wondering about how "safe" trying to take them out for food here might be.  I think I'll introduce them the next time they come over to Dublin instead.

I do agree with you about the time it takes to reduce the sauce--especially after the stage 2 sauce has been frozen.  I made that mistake the first time I used the frozen batch and didn't end up reducing it enough because I was more-or-less following the timings in the book rather than paying attention to the consistency.  Still, most of the time I don't mind leaving it cooking for a while as it allows me to get other parts of the meal ready and clean up the intermediate mess.   Personally, I don't mind the ginger, but I guess I'm going more for a "feeling" rather than actively trying to replicate a particular restaurant taste at the moment.  The next time I'm in the one I mentioned in the first part, I might ask the Chef about their base, but I haven't seen anyone I know in there the last couple of times.

I must admit, I don't quite understand your comment about adding the garam masala at the end of stage 3.  From an efficiency point of view, if it's in every dish, then to me it makes sense to add it to the base sauce rather than as an extra step in making everything else.  Since most of what I make amount to Madras/Jalfrezi/Vindaloo, I was even thinking of adding a bit more of the spices from that recipe to the base just to make things a bit simpler to remember.  It might change the taste some, since some of the additional reduction happens before they're added if I remember right, but it might be worth trying.

Anyway, Happy Holidays to all and thanks again for the warm welcome.

Cheers,

ast (Andrew)

[SnS]

I think its interesting that many of the other bases include carrots.
Unfortunately, my mother's allergic to carrots, so any base including them wouldn't be a good idea.

Hi Andrew

Welcome to the forum and seasonal greetings to you.

Regarding the use of carrots in the base gravy, I've got to say I find this quite unnecessary.

A proper BIR gravy does not have an array of different vegetables in it - or it is unlikely to give you the true BIR taste. What you'll get is a chef's adaption of a base gravy which may be better or worse than the average BIR. Your preference to what you add to the BASE gravy to suit your particular needs is based on personal taste. This can be only judged through experience, which will only come through trial and error.

It is better to start your experiments with a true base gravy and work from there.

A true base gravy (also known as DAAG) consists of onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, oil, salt and a number of spices, primarily coriander, cummin, turmeric and chili. The cooking process of the Daag will vary, as will the amount and the timing of the spices added. Each method will result in different taste. The daag may also contain some fresh sweet peppers, chillies and coriander.

If you want to try a simple base gravy (that can be later adapted to your taste), my advice is not go for a complicated one. Stick to the proven methods.

Although my gravy recipe is not exactly high-tech, it is simple to produce using basic ingredients, not overspiced and does give you the opportunity to create a variety of tasty BIR curries.

http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=2189.0

Best Regards
Sns :

[Bobby Bhuna]

I must confess, I insist on adding Garam Masala nearer the end of cooking because an experienced member told me that it is correct practise. I can only assume that it adversely alters the taste when added earlier on. The same goes for methi. If anyone knows the answer please tell me!

[ast]

Thanks for all the additional info.

SS:  Your base is on my short list to try.  It looks promising.

BB:  Based on what I found today, I'm inclined to agree with you.  Still might try it once to be sure, however.

[extrahotchillie]

Hello & welcome look forward to your input