Spot on, I spent my late teens and early twenties traveling around India (1990 and on) as soon as anyone attempted a meat dish it meant a week on the toilet but stick to Veggie esp Thali's and you was in for a treat.
In london now we tend to stick to Tayaabs/Lahore and Needo all around the whitechapel area and all BYO these places server the most amazing tandoori and Lamb Chops are their specialty.
I'm off to Manchester this summer and really want to check out curry mile, does anyone have any recommendations?
So how would you judge something as authentic when you have no yardstick but your opinion?
Not using fresh tomatoes is common amongst UK indians, I don't know anyone who does, it's always tinned supplemented with puree. Ghee isn't widely used either, occasionally it's used for making some indian sweet dishes. On the whole people use sunflower oil and increasingly olive oil. Home made curries aren't sweetened and are less creamy than you find in restaurants and they are also more subtle. There's a massive variety that can be made, with restaurants concentrating on meat dishes. I find meat curries boring and only make them a couple of times a month. I mostly make curries from vegatables, lentils, pulses and beans. People don't know what they're missing.
What you have to bear in mind is raw meat isn't properly stored and refrigeration can be haphazard because there are frequent power cuts. Another tip is not to eat salads or fruit you can't peel because they use 'black soil'.
Four opinions for the price of one, my wife (vegetarian!) and both kids tried Ayub's homemade chicken curry yesterday.
Really not what I was expecting. Certainly nothing like any of the Asian restaurants in Bratfud sell! Much milder than them. Very subtle flavours though, which weren't overpowering in any way. Very tasty though. Ayub's homemade chapatti's were very good too, again nothing like MumBarKhan's.
We discussed several eateries in Bratfud, the most popular (and famous) ones. Agreed that they were poor. Obviously selling what people's expectations of a Bratfud curry should be. They're all worth millions though, so they must be doing something right. Perhaps it's the poor hygiene ratings and the number of illegal immigrants working for them.
Very nice Ayub, we all enjoyed it. Cheers!
G.
That G, that dish was a Pakistani variant of the Chicken curry. That particular cooking technique employed is unique to midd Pakistan around the NWFP region (tribal) further up north around the Khyber pass, wazir area the dish becomes a little less chilli powder and balanced with more garlic and green chille.
Once I'm in my feet, will send you a Khyber style chicken curry which needs assessing. Oh and good review, feel sore at the moment do wife helping me out.
Thanks for the kind words.
Ayub.
Have you got a website for online orders and deliveries data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
I'm a little sore at the moment, otherwise would of made a few dishes.
I will try the Khyber chicken curry, do remember they are authentic to the area only and not "authentic Indian cuisine " etc.
These are the types eaten in the home as a staple diet, I.e little more than a balti and not a stew.
As for the website, no it's simply a midlife crisis I'm dealing with.
This is a really sound idea, wish I'd thought of it or been told about it ages ago!
Looked up the most dreadful places we've had food from:
Food Standards Agency - Search for food hygiene ratings
Food Standards Agency - Search for food hygiene ratings
It doesn't look like "Archi's Diner" in CV1 was ever inspected - my own review got removed due to allegations of food poisoning (obviously all the other bad reviews were absent at the time) - Archi's Diner, Coventry reviews & online ordering - hungryhouse
Found this quite funny though! - Food Standards Agency - Search for food hygiene ratings
I know plenty of good resteraunts in Mumbai ( Indigo Deli is good for a steak even by UK standards , Hakassan is as good if not better than the London equivalent). Oh Calcutta is great for Bengali food but its not licensed , the rest are meh.
Hygene isn't a problem ( mumbai looks worse but I don't think its any dirtier than your average UK resteraunt, I travel all over and as long as you stay away from buffets , salads , cut fruit and only drink bottled water you are fine.
Touching on something captainarchive mentioned about Gurdwaras.
Anyone can walk into a Sikh temple and stuff their faces for free on Indian food all day, every day. It's made to a good standard, varied meals (all vegetarian) and food hygiene is very important.
I'm pretty certain 100% of Sikhs wouldn't bat an eyelid if random people just wandered in, ate and left. The food is made for everyone.
I'm surprised more people don't do this. I would if there was a Gurdwara local to me.