Topic: Undercover Curry - Anyone heard of it?

[solarsplace]

Hi

Well, made the base and a monster portion of it too!
Russell

An interesting read
Did you use fresh oil?

Hi haldi

I did not use fresh oil. The book makes it absolutely 100% clear to the reader, that in order to get that BIR taste you must use the oil that has been used to cook the onion bahjis in. This is the oil that I used as per the authors spec.

FYI - I also made a mistake regarding my statements about how much tomato pur?e the author specifies for the Vindaloo.

The author does not specify 4 chefs spoons. He says 1 to 1.5 curry spoons.

The measurements are as follows:

1 curry spoon standard dip = 3/4 teaspoon

1 level curry spoon (scraped level, not tamped) = 4 teaspoons

1 curry spoon scoop = 10 teaspoons

So my previous post did the recipe a severe injustice and I apologise for misleading anyone.

This also means I put waaay too much tomato pur?e in my Vindaloo - but it still tasted really nice!

[emin-j]

solarsplace , the book states ' The recipes are for 3 - 4 person portions ' that would explain the amount of tomato puree etc.

[Curry King]

Thanks for the info solarspice that makes more sense combined with, as emin-j points out, they are for 3-4 persons.

[Secret Santa]

solarsplace , the book states ' The recipes are for 3 - 4 person portions '

You have to ask yourself why would someone who has gone undercover in so many BIRs, who would have seen for himself that each dish is made individually, would opt to give quantities for 3-4 people?    :

[Secret Santa]

you must use the oil that has been used to cook the onion bahjis in. This is the oil that I used as per the authors spec.

Does he say what quantity of bhajis have to be cooked to achieve the required flavour?

Also did you use the vinegar and if so what effect did you think it had?

Either way I think your efforts certainly look good.

[Fi5H]

mine arrives tomorrow.. waiting with mixed feeling.

[solarsplace]

Hi Secret Santa

With regard to the onion bhaji's

I know what's coming.... I can feel it....

The book provides as listed a recipe for.... wait for it.... a recipe using 4Kg of onions to produce 120 bahji's.

You know it, I know it, this is totally impractical for the home cook.

EDIT: The specific quantity required to achieve the BIR taste is not specifically stated. I would say it is implied by the first recipe quantity, but THB who knows. I would be guessing.

Instructions are provided to scale the recipe down, basically the gram flour weight should always be 1/4 the onion weight.

I massively scaled it down to produce around 12 bhajis and cooked them in around 3/4 litre of oil which was just enough to make the portion of base that the wife an I had to spend ages working out how to scale down.

But they were very nice. Although you could save yourself the bother of the scale down and just make the 'Covent Garden' ones from this site - can't now find link?

Vinegar? - In the Vindaloo?

Yes I did.

I think less is more, especially with the use of Vinegar. The author only specifies to use a cap-full for the whole portion and that is actually working very well.

I really think we need to get someone else with a little more experience than I to try some of this stuff now! I think the group will benefit from some more thoughts and opinions.

Thanks

Russell

[emin-j]

Secret Santa , This book really needs to be read to understand the way the author has put all the info into print , as he says ' It's a book of techniques not a Curry Cookery Book ' it's not a ' teaspoon ' recipe book either it's as you would expect it to be written from a BIR kitchen way of cooking . It's an excellent read and I am on my second read of it to make it all sink in 

[Secret Santa]

mine arrives tomorrow.. waiting with mixed feeling.

I hope you and mixed feeling aren't disappointed when it arrives!  ;D

[TyeNoodle]

Hi, I've enjoyed reading my copy so far and am looking forward to trying it out this weekend. Going to try for a curry a night this weekend, especially after reading the 'Curry is Healthy' thing in the back! The only thing I really do want to try is the onion bhaji/oil thing but dont really fancy cooking 150 of the buggers so will have to scale down a little using the guide.

On the whole, for someone like myself who doesnt have the time to be cooking all the time, trying out all the different tricks and tips on this site, I'm hoping it'll be ideal. I'm not expecting to get it the same as the local BIR, it takes many,many years of experience to get to that stage after all..

Going to make a big base up, cook a load of chicken and try some of the curries