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Phill Bernier

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  1. Thank you KayB. I'd never heard of Latkes before. I gave them a shot this morning and they were a hit with everyone ;-)
  2. Wow! Some amazing images here - I particularly like your breakfast flatbread blue_dolphin. A bit of a naughty breakfast for me this morning. Perhaps unspectacular to many, but American hash browns are a recent discovery for our family, a world apart from their triangular, mushy potato cousins of the same name in the UK. Since our return from the US last Christmas I have been on a mission to find the best method of cooking these and have found that the trick appears to be to wash the grated potato then squeeze the bejeebers out of them using a clean tea-towel until they're completely dry. Fried in a bit of rapeseed oil with a good sprinkling of salt and I'm getting close to my idea of perfection. They're not quite as golden as I would like but I think my aversion to cooking cooking oil might be to blame...any tips always welcome :-)
  3. Thank you for all of your comments, it's great to meet you all. I love the 'atmosphere' of this community - I have looked through others where members seem to really enjoy a bit of a fight! Okanagancook, your reference from Prashad was invaluable - very much appreciated :-) CDH - small world huh?! Winchester is a teeny tiny city in a bit of a bubble. Thanks again everyone :-)
  4. Thank you guys that's great - personally I'm much closer to an understanding than I was yesterday :-)
  5. Hi, First many thanks for approving my membership. I'm not a massive 'forum go-er' but I am passionate about understanding and cooking food. In particular I appear to be drawn towards Indian cooking. Living in Winchester in the UK it's quite hard to connect with cultural diversity and so I find myself here in the hope that I can, perhaps, contribute in some way and improve my understanding and knowledge through people who know better than I. Thanks again for having me, I look forward to many pleasant interactions. Phill
  6. Thank you cdh, your response is much appreciated. I had already read this post which actually made things a little more frustrating for me. BBhasin and Suvir Saran are not talking about Bhunooing, they are refering to it in a discussion about oil separation. Their references suggest that knowledge of the process is common knowledge among Indian chef's which is perhaps why it's so hard to find a succinct definition - perhaps everyone understands bhunooing apart from me! A re-read of the article did, however, answer one of my points:- 1. The first time I tried this, the onions absorbed all of the oil. Answer:- I didn't wait long enough for the oil separation to occur (thanks BBhasin), I will try again today with more patience I also notice that the spelling is slightly different here and that googling "the Bhunao method" brings far more results than my original spelling. I will research further and for those, like me, who are uninitiated I will share my findings. Thanks again cdh :-)
  7. Hi There, I came across this term, Bunooing, which I'd never heard before. I had a look around to try and understand the method behind it, but came across a number of inferences on what bhunooing is and how it works, some of which were conflicting and a little confusing. I would be very grateful if someone could clear this up for me and perhaps answer a few questions. This is my understanding of bhunooing so far:- Essentially, this is a method of releasing essential oils that are cooped up in your dry spices and leaves too. The types of spices used are the hard spices such as cumin seeds, cloves, cinnamon, mustard seeds etc. As I understand it powdered spice can be added, but nearer the end of the bhunooing process. The thinking behind this method is that spices take on moisture over time which dilutes the essential oils in the spices. By slow frying the spices you are gently evaporating the water and releasing the concentrated essential oils from the spice which enhances the power of spice, giving it more punch. The bhunooing process can be used to make a vibrant base for your gravy. To do this, heat a good amount of oil on high and then bring it down to a medium heat. Add your spices and onion and slowly fry until the onion turns a light brown. At this point add your liquid/ gravy. Some questions that I have are:- Why heat the oil to hot and bring to medium? Why not just heat to medium?Does bhunooing always have to include onions?The first time I tried this, the onions absorbed all of the oil after a while - is this okay? Or does it mean that I used too much oil?Is this the same, or does it have any relation to the bhuna?I have come across articles and recipes that refer to bhunooing and suggest that it's (perhaps) just the process of slow cooking ingredients on a flame/ hob - is this correct?How long should I be frying the spices for?I would be very grateful for any help you can provide. Thank you in advance Phill
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