A Scottish Chef

Close, but no Monica.

I'm very lucky in that I have a butcher two shops down from mine so I get good meats as fresh as possible. For lamb I'll usually use best end, and for beef it is always sirloin. The butcher even trims and cubes the meat for me...bartering lives! However, since the problems we had with CJD and BSE neither is anywhere near as popular as they once were. I'd say chicken, prawns and vegetable dishes cover nearly 90% of demand these days. Of course many Indian restaurents do not serve beef as the cow is sacred to some. I'm not constrained by this consideration as I feel strongly that if it moves and tastes good then it's fair game. When I cook the basic curry sauce/gravy it takes about 1.5 hours and so the sauce is largely broken down anyway. I always blend in a blender as the stick blender I had never provided smooth enough results. Once cooled, I keep it in the fridge ready for use.

Not me, and I cook to order in a takeaway. I'll use my 'Indian' chicken (perhaps Suvir will give me a proper name for this) as an example. Lets say you order chicken dopiaza. Every day I make some of this chicken and have the chicken in the fridge marinating overnight to use the next day. It's a simple marinade of greek yoghurt, some ginger garlic paste, a little salt, a little sugar, a few drops of seasoned oil and a pinch of haldi (turmeric). You order, I place the chicken on a baking sheet and bake it for 7 minutes, during which time I make the dopiaza sauce. The base of the sauce is a very mild curry made from onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and some creamed coconut, water and salt. All the other ingredients are cooked into that base as the customer orders. But thats me. I know of a restaurent in Glasgow who make nearly all their dishes in the moring, pack them and reheat in the microwave to demand in the evening. There is really no need to pre-cook the meats if you are using good ingredients. Some do require a good while for marinating however.

In my thirst to develop as a Chef I often think about my weaknesses and how I might best improve them. Currently on my mind is menu creation and how to create a fine meal. I have looked over the dinner thread on egullet with a great sense of envy at the knowledge displayed, but I just don't know where to start learning this skill well. I don't want to be ok at it, I'd like to be excellent. I can refer to books and take ideas from there, but I'll be honest and confess I don't really know why the Chef sets the meal out in the way he chooses. If I had a beef dish for the main course, what would be an ideal starter? Would the choice of vegetables with the main course be influenced by the starter and what would follow? What about pudding? And why/when would I call it dessert or sweet if at all? If I had a hot starter, how would that impact on my choice of main course? Should it at all? As for wine, I know nothing. Again, I'm desperate to learn how and why wines are chosen for courses. At home, when cooking for friends or family, I usually go with what I can do well or what people will enjoy most. I think thats a good idea in itself, but not even once can I say with confidence that I have planned a meal so the whole dining experience flows from start to finish. My ambition currently would be to learn how and why a three course meal would work well. I would happily take on board any advice offered about books that would help me as well.

Perfect sense. The result is what matters.

Suvir, I bought a Bhelpuri mix in Glasgow to have a go at your recipe. The man in the store assured me all I needed was in the pack. Well, now I have opened it I not it has no chutney inside at all. It does have a packet of dried herbs/spices that it advises I soak for five minutes before adding to the rice mixture along with chopped coriander, onion, potato and green chillies. Should I wait until I can make or buy the chutney's you suggest or would you know if this would still provide a good result? The brand is Haldiram's and is made in New Delhi. Curiously, they are a member of the Snack Food Association of Virginia? Someone shrank the world when I wasn't looking P.S. Bhel Poori or Bhelpuri? Are these spelling variations simply a regional difference due to India's vastness?

Feel free to suggest anything you like about our disUnited Kingdom. I still do not think your assertion is true. Not at all. As an example, I have never met anyone who proclaims they have no interest in good food. Also - you are "very tired of having to listen to some twits banging on about the 'cruel and disgusting fox hunting' " and yet you are concerned about "chickens raised for six weeks in hellish conditions and fed on Christ knows what" ? Hmmm...odd. Still, to answer your original question, I don't think your level of interest in food is elitest. Not at all Indeed, I am glad we have people like you who care passionately about food. Every little helps. I don't believe people have what you call a 'shallow' interest in food for any greater reason than prioritisation. That may include budgetary concerns (and for many thats an absolute truth) and it may include expectation and time limitations, but none of these would suggest to me that a desire for good food is absent or unimportant to most.

Gulp. Where do you get that idea? What an astonishing conclusion.

Firstly, Suvir, is there another name I could use for drink? I mentioned my attempts at this dish to my friend Asif this afternoon, and he told me it wasn't a complimentary way to refer to someone drinking. Is it more of a putdown? Or even a reference to a drunk? Secondly, the resulting taste of adding whisky to the curry was quite odd. I tried with Glen Moray (single malt aged in chardonay casks) and whilst it was ok, I didn't think it great. I'm going to try again using a good blend with a fuller flavour, perhaps the Antiquary. Whilst it didn't go well first time, I did think it warranted at least another few tries with different whisky as there seems to be potential for a good result.

I don't know if it's formal training you seek or simply to exend your knowledge in any way you can. But there are many ways you could learn more. I recently asked the head chef at the best local hotel hereabouts if I could work for him one night a week - free of charge - so I could learn more about modern techniques, presentation, thinking etc. He was delighted to talk with me and has agreed to accomodate my request. I am really looking forward to it. Who needs a life outwith cooking anyway?

In my search for new items to add to this years menu for my takeaway I spoke today to my friend Kayani from Glasgow (he's going to have a look at egullet after our discussion) and he suggested a dish they have called Sharabi. Apparently the word itself means drink and the dish is created by adding a glass of whisky to the finished curry. I don't know how much but I aim to experiment with varying amounts this evening. I'll let you know how it turned out if you are interested.

I know the feeling. I barely know how I find the time for TV after a hard day hunting haggis in my kilt whilst wildly drunk on whisky with my bagpipes catching in my raucous red hair. Cliche's, eh? Doncha luv 'em?

I'm going with the Lahsuni suggestion, Suvir. It's distinct enough from Lasan to indicate a difference but similar enough to draw attention to a dish I intend to generate further interest in from those already keen on Lasan. I have the menu set out so each curry dish get's it's own heading then I have a small space to describe the curry. For example, the current Lasan is set out as follows - Lasan Medium hot dish with ground almonds, grond coconut, cream, extra garlic and fresh coriander leaves. Thank you for your help All I need to do now is figure out a way to indicate the similarity of Lahsuni to Lasan but with garlic and black pepper butter...

Just a wee joke I picked up from Southpark. Not a joke, I should add, that one particular Canadian customer was impressed with. Can't please everyone, eh?

English. Our local asian/black/chinese community curently totals a big fat zero. We do have an ever growing band of Americans and folks from downtown Canada though.

I'm in the process of creating my 2003 menu for my Indian Takeaway and need some new dishes. All the usual UK takeaway suspects are there, the Bhuna, Dopiaza, Madras, Patia, Karahi etc and a few I made up. One of them I called Lasan which I understand means garlic. Anyway, it turned out to be very popular and I'd like to extend the choices with slight variations on the dish. Aside from the ginger garlic paste and extra crushed garlic I use in Lasan, I have tried adding some garlic and black pepper butter just as the suace is finished to enrich the end result. It's worked rather well although the garlic flavour is pronounced to say the least. No matter, some customers like that so I'm fine with it. Would it be accurate to call the dish Dolasan? I'm under the impression that Dopiaza just means double onions so would pre-fixing Lasan with Do be accurate? One of my Indian friends suggested I simply call it Chicken Garlic but I'm not convinced it sounds as attractive as Chicken Dolasan.

Oh. That's alright then. Just the £225 for one meal? £450 would have been absurd, but £225 is perfectly reasonable...