Make restaurant-style Balti curries at home with the long-awaited book:
Frequently Asked Questions
- FAQs 3
- Contents
- Index
When will the book be available?
How many pages does it contain and how much does it cost?
Will I be able to replicate restaurant dishes EXACTLY?
Is it suitable for vegetarians?
I'm a beginner! Is it easy to follow?
I've tried making restaurant curries before and have got quite close - how will the book help?
Aren't the ingredients going to be difficult to find?
How is it different to other curry cookbooks on the market?
How did the book come about? What's the story?
"Authentic Balti Curry : Restaurant Recipes Revealed" is aimed primarily at the complete beginner to the style of Balti restaurant cookery - although ideally with some cookery expertise. As you may know, it involves the pre-cooking of a base sauce, base meat (or vegetables), and a special combination of spices. These, when blended together on the night of your Balti curry dinner party, produce a restaurant-style dish. Because this method of cooking will be new to most people, we've tried to keep it as simple as possible, using logical steps and colour photographs to illustrate them. In short, we've tried to make it as simple and as foolproof as possible.
How many pages does it contain and how much does it cost?
The RRP is £11.00. This is the price which will be charged by other retailers - but as authors, we are able to offer a discount to customers who buy through this website. Our price is £8.99 + P&P.
Will I be able to replicate restaurant dishes EXACTLY?
We hope you'll get very very close. The book uses the ingredients and procedures of Mr. Haydor's "Kushi Balti House" in Birmingham - and is essentially the cookery book of his restaurant. As with many curry houses, his chefs and kitchen staff have had years and years of experience in making the dishes enjoyed by so many people today. The book shows the same recipes and procedures they follow, but there's no substitute for this amount of experience. We hope you'll be delighted by the results, but as Mr. Haydor says in the book, don't expect perfection the first time you try. It may take several attempts - but while the book lists the "science" of cooking the dishes (i.e. the ingredients and method), no book can convey the "art" of cooking. Don't forget that all curry houses are different, and the results may be different to your local! It's a bit like DIY - you can have a good go at it - but there's no substitute for a professional job. Remember, we're here to help - if you've made a dish, and want more advice on it, you can contact us using the "help and support" section of this website. See also the terms and conditions.
Is it suitable for vegetarians?
Yes. The book works on the traditional method used in restaurants where three base ingredients are combined together to make a delicious curry. There is a base sauce, and a base spice which are both suitable for vegetarians. The third element is a pre-cooked "meat". The book shows you how to make base chicken, base lamb, base prawn - but most importantly for this question - base mixed vegetables. This is, obviously, suitable for vegetarians and the recipe is flexible enough to be tailored to your own preference. Like the meat dishes, the vegetable dishes can be made into any of Plain Balti, Balti Bhuna, Balti Rogan Josh, Balti Dopiaza, Balti Pathia, and Balti Dhansak. There are also other vegetarian recipes, including traditional Dhal, Chana Chat and breads.
We have posted a copy of our index page here
How will I be able to get hold of a copy?
The book is available from ourselves, by clicking here. It'll also be on sale at the author's restaurant, the Kushi Balti House on Moseley Road in Birmingham, UK.
I'm a beginner! Is it easy to follow?
Although the recipes are those of highly experienced chef, Mohammed Ali Haydor, the book's co-author, Andy Holmes was a complete novice when it comes to Balti cookery until they started writing the book. Now, even HE can make a Balti Lamb Pathia to rival Mr. Haydor's. The book is designed to be as easy to follow as possible, with photographs and diagrams to guide you. The book teaches you the procedure of making restaurant style curries as well as the recipes themselves. Once you understand the procedure, the recipes are simple to follow. The only thing that we ask, is that you read the page marked "please read this page" - as it tells you what to expect, and makes the whole thing childs' play.
I've tried making restaurant curries before and have got quite close - how will the book help?
If you've tried making restaurant curries before - you'll be familiar with the techniques involved. As we say above, the book is aimed at the complete beginner - especially in terms of explaining the method. If you're familiar with this, then you may find its approach rather simplistic - BUT... Chances are they you'll have already tried various recipes for base-sauce and base meat, and got close to the real thing. The recipes in this book will be more to add to your collection which, using your experience, you can mix-and-match until you find the combination that's right for you. If you're reading this section, it's probable that you are searching for "the one" recipe that's right for you. However, it's highly likely that you won't find it in any single book - but like the chefs who work in Balti houses up and down the country, you'll gradually be able to use your experience (including the recipes in this book!) to get closer and closer to the real thing. We hope you'll be delighted by the results, but as Mr. Haydor says in the book, restaurant chefs cook thousands of dishes a week, and it takes them years to attain that standard. Restaurants may also use different raw ingredients that you can easily get hold of. A notable example is the recipe for the mint sauce dip. Depending on the brand of yoghurt you use, you get very different results. Our aim is to get you as close as possible to the restaurant flavour - for all the dishes - at home.
Aren't the ingredients going to be difficult to find?
We'll be the first to admit that your local supermarket may not stock some of the spices you'll need, but they are becoming more and more available. To help out, we've included a chapter on how to get hold of the ingredients you'll need, as well as the alternative names they may be labelled as. We believe that actually going out and buying the ingredients is as fascinating as cooking the dishes themselves, so the chapter gives a guided tour of a typical ethnic suburb. We're also hoping to be able to offer the ability to buy spices direct. More details on this will follow.
How is it different to other curry cookbooks on the market?
Mr. Haydor is constantly asked by his restaurant customers how to make the dishes they enjoy on a night out. Many say they've had a bash at making them at home, but they're never anything like those you get in a restaurant. We hope to change all that. "Authentic Balti Curry : Restaurant Recipes Revealed" is co-written by a chef of three decades experience, with the aim of showing you how to get that restaurant taste in your own home.
How did the book come about? What's the story?
Coming soon
©2005 Authentic Balti Curry Partnership