Topic: ++++MDB’s Birmingham Balti Gravy 100% Clone Al Frash Balti Restaurant ++++

[Peripatetic Phil]

A chopper, Santa — real "burr" grinders start at about £23.

[livo]

No doubt you could optimise the cooking of the gravy. Debatable if the garlic ginger 15 minute fry in oil is really necessary, because it's going to be a second pot if it is, unless you do it first and remove from oil to add back in later.

I've got a KitchenAid coffee grinder (blades) and it does a pretty good powder even from cassia and cinnamon. Passes through a fine sieve no problem. The KichenAid has a separate attachment for spices (mine is the coffee version), but again not available in Australia and KitchenAid USA refused to supply me one. I've always wanted to get one of the choppers you see in the videos from India, but I've never seen one over here. They look like a jug blender and really go.

[Onions]

Just one thing: who is the moderator for this page as I would like to tweak my recipe slightly ie rounded tsp powdered spices and breaking up cassia into 1" max lengths ?

Mick

Done that for you MDB, apologies for delay 

[mickdabass]

Thanks Onions  - thats great

Kind Regards

Mick

[livo]

I made a really nice curry (Balti) with this gravy following similar method and ingredients as recommended, with the raw chicken breast. I made it about 3 - 4 times the quantity using 1 1/2 breasts (probably about 400g), 1 whole tomato and a good handful of diced red and green capsicum.  To give it some flavour I added a good 1.5 TBSP of my home made Balti paste and a heaped tsp of Madras curry paste, along with a bout half a cup of Tomato Passata.  Finished with some Kasoori methi.  Lovely.

2 chopped onions into oily pan  (2 TBSP)
add 2 large cloves crushed garlic
Add pastes and fry briefly adding a little water followed by tomato puree and then some gravy
Add chicken and capsicum
3 stages of reduction / more gravy with tomato going in on the last one. Ended up using about 600 ml of gravy.
Kasoori methi just before finishing.

[livo]

Is this a Birmingham Balti?  If it isn't I don't know what is!!!
No way I'm going to get that heat on my cooker.  I could on the 3 ring propane camp burner (maybe).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAd5dM0u7Ss&t=406s

[mickdabass]

Thanks Livo

Glad you enjoyed it!

Kind Regards

Mick

[mickdabass]

I tried to do a one pot special last night. The g&g paste worked ok but had to be added early on in the cooking process - say within the first half hour or so to cook out the rawness.
I put the whole spices in a muslin cloth about the size of a bed sheet lol and buried it in the stewing onions, stirring it regularly. I added the powdered spices and chopped tomato towards the end of the hour, then the  fresh coriander immediately prior to the blitzing.
The final results were so disappointing - bland ,tasteless and lacking any depth of flavour at all
I ended up having to boil up the contents of the muslin bedsheet in a dreaded third pot and make an akhni stock as per the original recipe.
Final result - 100% Brummie bir!!!
I was on bookface the other day on the balti club page and admin was cooking a Chicken Pathia Balti (Madras hot) in a £28 (probably including commission) birmingham balti bowl.

I asked him if he classes his curry as a balti because its cooked in a balti bowl and he said yes so I think that sorts out all these bastardised baltis then. Cook a crap curry in a pressed steel bowl and voila...you have created a balti 

[livo]

Mick,  Firstly, I didn't have any issue with the 3 pot gravy, especially considering one was just water based (stock). The second one was a small pot with G&G cooked in oil.  You don't want to burn that one so no issue there either.  If you can't do 2 or 3 pots at once, get out of the kitchen. The thing is that I knew it was going to be a good gravy and it is, really good.  Excellent in fact.  The first attempt at cooking with it was a bit bland (for me & Santa anyway).  Up the ante with some flavour and it's a great curry base.  Considering I used mainly Balti paste (could have left out the Madras kick, but it was good), it produced what I can only consider to be a first rate Balti dish.

Don't give up on it Santa.  Plus, considering it was a 1 hour base gravy (even though it was 3 pots), it's still a really quick dinner without the requirement of pre-cooked chicken.  It's a winner winner chicken dinner for me.

Try some pastes (or balti masala spices) in it next time.  You won't be disappointed.

[Secret Santa]

Is this a Birmingham Balti?  If it isn't I don't know what is!!!
No way I'm going to get that heat on my cooker.  I could on the 3 ring propane camp burner (maybe).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAd5dM0u7Ss&t=406s

Yes livo that's the real deal from Shebabs in the balti triangle where balti was first concocted. I have to say I've never seen that much flame before though. You probably can reproduce it if you use a substantially smaller pan on the highest flame you have and probably a much smaller curry portion. I've had flame like that, although not sustained, in a normal frying pan on a normal hob so it must be achievable at home. But most hobs at home have an extractor not far above them so I'm not sure it'd be a good idea safety wise. Your camping burner in the open should easily be able to do it I would think.