Topic: Undercover Curry - Anyone heard of it?

[Curry Barking Mad]

I mentioned the use of used bhaji frying oil over a year ago and do this regularly,

Mick, I've been using reclaimed oil since before this forum existed and it's been mentioned on this forum not long after it started some six years ago, so it's not a new idea.

SS,
Thanks for this,
I only said I mentioned it on here a year ago, I didn't say that was the length of time I had been using it,
I also know its not a new idea having seen it used in a couple of kitchens years ago, not so much recently though,
SS, when you say "reclaimed oil" are you referring to reclaimed oil from base making or what i would call "burned bhaji oil"?
Mick

[chriswg]

I really like the look of the base recipe. It includes most of what we know to be true about restaurant bases but includes a few new ideas. I also like the huge amount of onions involved and the fact its cooked in a litre of reused oil with only a couple of cups of water. I've never been convinced that a good base can be achieved by filling the pan with water until everything is covered. Fried food always tastes better than boiled!

The spices are pretty hardcore too. I've never seen any recipe use more than a pinch of Asafoetida!

[solarsplace]

Hi

So, anyone else planning to make the base in the near future?

I have 3Kg's of onions all ready to make it tomorrow!

[George]

I really like the look of the base recipe. It includes most of what we know to be true about restaurant bases but includes a few new ideas. I also like the huge amount of onions involved and the fact its cooked in a litre of reused oil

Why do you like the idea of using an industrial quantity of onions? The cost alone must be a downside, unless you're running a restaurant. The quantity of onions can't have anything to do with the final flavour, as long as all the other ingredients are balanced pro-rata. If his 'special' ingredients and spice mix lead to a great flavour, then fine, but I can't see that the quantity of onions is a factor.

I have some further, serious criticisms and doubts about the book lined up but I'm going to hold off until some reports come in on what a few of these recipes taste like, and I've tried one or two.

[emin-j]

I really like the look of the base recipe. It includes most of what we know to be true about restaurant bases but includes a few new ideas. I also like the huge amount of onions involved and the fact its cooked in a litre of reused oil

Why do you like the idea of using an industrial quantity of onions? The cost alone must be a downside, unless you're running a restaurant. The quantity of onions can't have anything to do with the final flavour, as long as all the other ingredients are balanced pro-rata. If his 'special' ingredients and spice mix lead to a great flavour, then fine, but I can't see that the quantity of onions is a factor.

I have some further, serious criticisms and doubts about the book lined up but I'm going to hold off until some reports come in on what a few of these recipes taste like, and I've tried one or two.

George , I read a recent post on here which said a view into a restaurants kitchen showed their Base Gravy container overflowing with Onions  surely if they weren't needed they wouldn't use them 

[George]

George , I read a recent post on here which said a view into a restaurants kitchen showed their Base Gravy container overflowing with Onions  surely if they weren't needed they wouldn't use them 

Of course they are needed by a restaurant, if they expect 100+ diners sitting down in the next few hours.

[Secret Santa]

SS, when you say "reclaimed oil" are you referring to reclaimed oil from base making or what i would call "burned bhaji oil"?
Mick

Well I've tried it all ways. The most promising for me was the 'burned bhaji oil' just based on the smell of it. However, when I used this as the oil for making the base it lost all of its potency and I gave up using it after that.

I used to use reclaimed oil from the base to start the curries with but I now use reclaimed oil from each curry to start the next one.
The biggest issue seems, at least in my experience, to be that whatever spiced oil is used, if it's used in the base it loses its potency.

[Malc.]

The quantity of onions can't have anything to do with the final flavour, as long as all the other ingredients are balanced pro-rata.

I don't know so much George, from what I have experienced so far bulk cooking can and will have an affect on the finished product. How much of an affect is where I think the question lies. I certainly wouldn't make up a quantity of base similar to a BIR, I wouldn't be able to store it or use it enough to warrant this.

Despite the argy bhaji of base recipes etc, I still think we're pretty close. I ordered a meal for the wife and I from our local decent TA (not IG) which contained Lamb Do Piaza  Mushroom Rice, bhaji's, pakora, Prawn Puri and a bread and I have to say that apart from the Naan the rest of the meal was no better than my best efforts using recipes from this site.

So this book is going to have to go some to make impression for me on the BIR front. Does it mention what restaurants were used for the undercover recipes. I'd certainly like to know if they are the modern style BIR or old school restaurants.

[Mikka1]

As a side note on the volume of onions mentioned frequently surrounding this new book.
I know its not BIR, but most dishes requiring sauce in traditional cooking use a fair amount of onions per dish, in fact its surprising really.

I'm also really interested now in the Bahji oil. I think I've said on here a couple of times. If my Main meal were as good as they are, I'd be really happy. They have a pizazz about them, that other element that I think is the missing factor between my main cooking and the food from a restaurant.

I wouldn't even have a clue how to incorporate them other than drop them in the base and let them get happy perhaps?

Very interesting.
Thank you.

[George]

Does it mention what restaurants were used for the undercover recipes. I'd certainly like to know if they are the modern style BIR or old school restaurants.

He mentions that the first place where he went 'undercover' was the largest Indian restaurant in Aberdeen at that time. I don't think there are any other clues but he speaks as if he's been inside dozens/hundreds of BIR kitchens which seems unlikely unless you're Pat Chapman, perhaps. Anyway, all of this information is in the introduction and seems to be quickly dropped when you get to the actual recipes. In terms of recipe options and introductions, you'd think he'd say something like his favourite tastes for a specific dish were between two of the restaurants where he worked, and where one used spice X and one used spice Y. But there are no comments like that, which doesn't fill with me with confidence that the opening text ('undercover') is anything more than a fairy tale. He makes blanket claims like all/most BIRs do this, that or the other as if he's some all-seeing, all-knowing individual.