The Spice Tailor ‘meal kits’ are awesome
Discussion
Turn7 said:
RobbieTheTruth said:
Turn7 said:
KingofKong said:
We’ve tried a few of these, and as above nothing comes close to a real curry house.
These kits are ok, but no better than a typical supermarket Indian ready meal.
I think the kits just edge the likes of Tesco's Ding meal.....These kits are ok, but no better than a typical supermarket Indian ready meal.
I faff with coffee but believe I can create an almost perfect cup.
I can faff around with a Spice Tailor kit but the end result is always going to be what it is really.
RobbieTheTruth said:
Did it help?
I read about trying to create British Indian Restaurant at home. People saying they are 90% there, just looking for that extra 10% and believing used, seasoned oil was likely the key.
I also think you get a bit desensitised during cooking. Like if you're chopping onions, frying spices etc for 30 mins, then you sit down and eat the curry, it's a different sensory experiene than opening one up thats been done for you.
Agreed.I read about trying to create British Indian Restaurant at home. People saying they are 90% there, just looking for that extra 10% and believing used, seasoned oil was likely the key.
I also think you get a bit desensitised during cooking. Like if you're chopping onions, frying spices etc for 30 mins, then you sit down and eat the curry, it's a different sensory experiene than opening one up thats been done for you.
Yes I would say using seasoned oil helps. When I open the bottle lid I get the smell of Indian takeaway.
The bhajis I make are one of my few curry success stories (along with pasanda curry) where they taste 100% exactly the same as takeaway/restaurant bhajis, and the oil then gets poured into an empty bottle for when I make curries.
Edited by LeadFarmer on Tuesday 16th February 10:46
LeadFarmer said:
RobbieTheTruth said:
Did it help?
I read about trying to create British Indian Restaurant at home. People saying they are 90% there, just looking for that extra 10% and believing used, seasoned oil was likely the key.
I also think you get a bit desensitised during cooking. Like if you're chopping onions, frying spices etc for 30 mins, then you sit down and eat the curry, it's a different sensory experiene than opening one up thats been done for you.
Agreed.I read about trying to create British Indian Restaurant at home. People saying they are 90% there, just looking for that extra 10% and believing used, seasoned oil was likely the key.
I also think you get a bit desensitised during cooking. Like if you're chopping onions, frying spices etc for 30 mins, then you sit down and eat the curry, it's a different sensory experiene than opening one up thats been done for you.
Yes I would say using seasoned oil helps. When I open the bottle lid I get the smell of Indian takeaway.
The bhajis I make are one of my few curry success stories (along with pasanda curry) where they taste 100% exactly the same as takeaway/restaurant bhajis, and the oil then gets poured into an empty bottle for when I make curries.
noopets said:
Go on then Chuck a recipe up..
Haven't tried in years! My subcontinent cooking is a bit more authentic and predominantly from the South so very different from your typical BIR experience.Next time the missus fancies it I'll see if I can get something down on paper. I never use written recipes and the only thing I use scales for is my strange obsession with carefully weighing out rice and pasta.
LeadFarmer said:
RobbieTheTruth said:
Did it help?
I read about trying to create British Indian Restaurant at home. People saying they are 90% there, just looking for that extra 10% and believing used, seasoned oil was likely the key.
I also think you get a bit desensitised during cooking. Like if you're chopping onions, frying spices etc for 30 mins, then you sit down and eat the curry, it's a different sensory experiene than opening one up thats been done for you.
Agreed.I read about trying to create British Indian Restaurant at home. People saying they are 90% there, just looking for that extra 10% and believing used, seasoned oil was likely the key.
I also think you get a bit desensitised during cooking. Like if you're chopping onions, frying spices etc for 30 mins, then you sit down and eat the curry, it's a different sensory experiene than opening one up thats been done for you.
Yes I would say using seasoned oil helps. When I open the bottle lid I get the smell of Indian takeaway.
The bhajis I make are one of my few curry success stories (along with pasanda curry) where they taste 100% exactly the same as takeaway/restaurant bhajis, and the oil then gets poured into an empty bottle for when I make curries.
The only problem with making the bhajis is the oil used then can't be used for anything else, other than making curries. If I carry on making bhajis then I'll soon have too much seasoned oil to be able to use, which will be a a waste.
I'm guessing you use new oil for base, then seasoned oil as you do each individual dish?
LeadFarmer said:
The only problem with making the bhajis is the oil used then can't be used for anything else, other than making curries. If I carry on making bhajis then I'll soon have too much seasoned oil to be able to use, which will be a a waste
Sounds like the solution is to make even more curry... 
Bacon Is Proof said:
RobbieTheTruth said:
I'm 100% only interested in that British Indian takeaway taste, and I know I can only get near that by creating a big base gravy, then cooking a curry from scratch the next day using a ladle of that gravy - so I can't be bothered.
Then we are in agreement.FWIW I can cook pretty damn close to your typical BIR type curry, from scratch (no fridge freezer so a base gravy goes out the window).
Most people who fail are simply missing butter...
I've never gotten close. I thinks it's the onions.
Curry is basically a spiced onion/oil blend, then made into an individual curry from that.
They cook those onions in that oil for hours, then puree it, then cook it more. Then it rests overnight. Then it's cooked the next day at a very high heat with the rest of the curry mix added.
I don't think the onions cook down nearly enough any other way.
Bacon Is Proof said:
LeadFarmer said:
The only problem with making the bhajis is the oil used then can't be used for anything else, other than making curries. If I carry on making bhajis then I'll soon have too much seasoned oil to be able to use, which will be a a waste
Sounds like the solution is to make even more curry... 
LeadFarmer said:
Robbie, I've sent you an email
Thanks. That Passanda looks absolutely bang on!!I've considered doing this for years and always decided against it. Very tempted though.
Do you think Indian Takeaways have gotten progressively downhill over the last 20 years (very generally)?
I remember when a Korma was a rich, nutty, sweet but also savoury dish, really complex. Now it's basically custard in some places. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy a think, sweet, yellow Korma but it just seems dumbed down.
I thinks it's likely to do with all of these places now being second/third generation. The cooks maybe not as passionate, maybe cutting corners for cost and speed. Things like 'seasoned oil' a thing of the past and more reliant on pastes out of the cash and carry.
On the whole, they are still delicious. They just seem diluted a bit, as more and more pop up.
I've heard people talk about the 'Glasgow style from late 80s' as the holy grail.
RobbieTheTruth said:
Do you think Indian Takeaways have gotten progressively downhill over the last 20 years (very generally)?
Maybe so. When Covid is over I intend to get on my motorbike to Manchester and visit some of the little curry cafe establishments they have, Julian on the Curry Academy channel has done videos on them, they look like the real thing.In fact im taking the wife to Manchester next week, if one of the cafes is open for daytime takeaways I'll definitely visit.
RobbieTheTruth said:
Do you think Indian Takeaways have gotten progressively downhill over the last 20 years (very generally)?
I think there has been a divergence.A lot of places are going cheap and nasty, others are going high end. I'm in Cambridge and we have a couple of places that do full on fine dining tasting menus (Atithi and Navadhanya, both excellent if anyone gets the chance). There's also the Taj that as well as doing modern classics like chicken 65 does amusing things like cheeseburger and chips (shamee lamb burger, grilled paneer, onion bhaji, ghee toasted brioche, chillinaise and tamarind "burger sauce" and masala chips
).Probably not to your taste though.
Then there are the 101 standard places that, much like most of the Chinese restaurants, all have pretty much exactly the same menu. Only one or two ever get my business.
Bacon Is Proof said:
RobbieTheTruth said:
Do you think Indian Takeaways have gotten progressively downhill over the last 20 years (very generally)?
I think there has been a divergence.A lot of places are going cheap and nasty, others are going high end. I'm in Cambridge and we have a couple of places that do full on fine dining tasting menus (Atithi and Navadhanya, both excellent if anyone gets the chance). There's also the Taj that as well as doing modern classics like chicken 65 does amusing things like cheeseburger and chips (shamee lamb burger, grilled paneer, onion bhaji, ghee toasted brioche, chillinaise and tamarind "burger sauce" and masala chips
).Probably not to your taste though.
Then there are the 101 standard places that, much like most of the Chinese restaurants, all have pretty much exactly the same menu. Only one or two ever get my business.
Madras - A popular Indian masala which is just plain hot
Word for word! That (and the other curries) description is word for word on a load of places that do kebab, curry, pizza nad fried chicken.
The sort of place that does a meal deal of 2 poppadoms, 2 currys, rice, chips and a bottle of drink for £12.
They are not bad either. They generally offer 6 basic currys - tasty enough and nice tender meat.
Just odd that they have the same description. Like they all get the pastes/recipies from the same subscription.
RobbieTheTruth said:
There are hundreds (literally) of pizza/kebab/curry places here with the same menu. Their descriptions are exactly the same, for example:
Madras - A popular Indian masala which is just plain hot
Word for word! That (and the other curries) description is word for word on a load of places that do kebab, curry, pizza nad fried chicken.
...
Just odd that they have the same description. Like they all get the pastes/recipies from the same subscription.
Googling that they all seem to be in Liverpool (and there aren’t that many). Which suggests to me either the same ownership and/or they’ve gone to the same ‘build a menu’ template.Madras - A popular Indian masala which is just plain hot
Word for word! That (and the other curries) description is word for word on a load of places that do kebab, curry, pizza nad fried chicken.
...
Just odd that they have the same description. Like they all get the pastes/recipies from the same subscription.
RobbieTheTruth said:
bigandclever said:
Googling that they all seem to be in Liverpool (and there aren’t that many). Which suggests to me either the same ownership and/or they’ve gone to the same ‘build a menu’ template.
I googled it too and it only brings up a fraction of them
I always thought the difference was ghee.
Gassing Station | Food, Drink & Restaurants | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff