Curry Recipes Online
Curry Base Recipes => Curry Base Chat => Topic started by: Invisible Mike on February 19, 2014, 07:26 PM
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Hi all
I was talking to a Bangladeshi BIR owner earlier and cheekily when he was off guard asked him what goes into his base gravy. I could tell I'd made him uncomfortable but he reluctantly reeled off a list of spices - garam masala, chilli, cumin etc but then came out with an interesting one - gram flour. I understand how it might be used as a thickening agent but would its flavour add something. Has anyone heard of this as a base gravy ingredient before?
Cheers
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No. I suspect that the addition of gram flour would lead to the very sort of sauce that I detest, and which characterises many supermarket/mass market ready-made curry sauces. Like a good sweet-and-sour sauce, a curry sauce should be fundamentally clear, with partial opacity coming from functional ingredients rather than farinaceous thickeners.
My EUR 0,02.
** Phil.
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Opacity...farinaceous... you should be a lecturer of science Phil! :-) For what its worth this curry house is the real deal!
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I do not dispute the authenticity of the curry house, Mike; my disagreement is solely with the suggestion that adding gram flour can benefit a curry sauce. But perhaps if you have one of these (http://www.topatoco.com/graphics/00000001/won-wizardry-pack.jpg), anything is possible ...
** Phil.
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Lol. I don't see any need for its use either as a thickener but having made bhajis and tasted raw gram flour straight from the bag it has got a taste to it that is sort of savoury.
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There is only two restaurants local to me that use gram flour in their bases and they dry roast it first.
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Cheers Frank that's encouraging to know its not just a one off. And I guess the dry roasting it would give an even deeper flavour too. Have you ever made a base with gram flour if so what sort of quantities are we talking and what were the results taste wise?
Thank You
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I haven't made a base with gram flour but have used a couple of mix powders with it dry roasted first just adds a slight nutty flavour.
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Cheers Frank. Thanks for your input.
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There is only two restaurants local to me that use gram flour in their bases and they dry roast it first.
It sounds like MushroomMike may have been on to something, then.
Your comment suggests it must be worth trying.
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I thought gram flour might be the "missing" ingredient
I tried it in several bases but couldn't really notice it
I also tried putting in old poppadoms, after I had ground them
To be honest I have all my hopes, of a breakthrough, with Chris's ebook
I want to know what that fried mystery ingredient is, that he adds to the base
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Opacity...farinaceous... you should be a lecturer of science Phil! :-)
No, a real science lecturer would have written "turbidity", not "opacity" :)
** Phil.
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I thought gram flour might be the "missing" ingredient
I tried it in several bases but couldn't really notice it
I also tried putting in old poppadoms, after I had ground them
To be honest I have all my hopes, of a breakthrough, with Chris's ebook
I want to know what that fried mystery ingredient is, that he adds to the base
Gram flour in mix powders is really suited for certain dishes.
A couple of local restaurants/TA by me Haldi have a slight taste of keema in their dishes but can't find any keema in the actual dish, also a very intense flavour in some locals too and a thick consistancy to their sauces.
I do like the idea of the poppadoms, have you tried just the oil the poppadoms are cooked in, not a big fan of poppadoms and we don't fry them if we have them at home.
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I thought gram flour might be the "missing" ingredient
I tried it in several bases but couldn't really notice it
I also tried putting in old poppadoms, after I had ground them
To be honest I have all my hopes, of a breakthrough, with Chris's ebook
I want to know what that fried mystery ingredient is, that he adds to the base
Couldn't agree more Haldi,wish he'd hurry up.He's adamant it's something that's never been discussed or shown before,I just wonder what it could be?
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Tomato sauce?.........oh wait, that was the last great breakthrough ;)
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No, I've seen an e-preprint of the long-awaited H4ppy B00k and in fact the secret ingredient is CURRY POWDER. Preferably Sharwoods, or any supermarket brand, mixed with water and then added just before the dish is served. Absolutely guaranteed to remind you of the sort of curries your mother used to make, particularly if you add a few sultanas for extra authenticity. Serve in the middle of a ring of boil-in-the-bag Patna rice, with some lovely Cross and Blackwell mango chutney. DEElicious :) Best washed down with a Double Diamond or two.
** Phil.
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No Schwartz spice, I'm not interested!
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Oh Phil, you've ruined it now.
I was hoping it would be Vesta and Breaker.
All kidding aside though, H4ppy Naans made it worthwhile joining this site.
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have you tried just the oil the poppadoms are cooked in, not a big fan of poppadoms and we don't fry them if we have them at home.
Yes I used oil from frying about 50 poppadoms
That was my last serious curry experiment
I couldn't eat most of the poppadoms, and ended up chucking them away
That's when I thought "this perfect curry search, has gone a bit too far"
I was spending about five hours preparing a curry that wasn't as good as a bought one costing a fiver
I also had a freezer full of various curry gravies that didn't produce what I wanted
These last few months I have got some of my old enthusiasm back and I bought the "The Glasgow Indian Takeaway Recipe Book"
The base requires 4 kg of onions
That's a lot of onions
So I'm making half measures
The author claims that the "secret" to takeaway flavour is the length of time you cook the onions
That theory is consistant with Julian's base recipe
But it rather flies in the face of the majority of others on this site (including one's posted by me)
If I could make a madras to curry house standard, I would be happy
Time will tell
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Gram flour in a Garabi, ;D ;D A complete wind Up. ::)
But you could try some of this mix ;D ;D
(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/a0baca149bbc0f23dc9db3122349fd40.jpg) (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/#a0baca149bbc0f23dc9db3122349fd40.jpg)
cheers Chewy ;)
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Red Herring tikka madras .... bring it on :)
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Gram flour in a Garabi, ;D ;D A complete wind Up. ::)
But you could try some of this mix ;D ;D
(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/a0baca149bbc0f23dc9db3122349fd40.jpg) (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/#a0baca149bbc0f23dc9db3122349fd40.jpg)
cheers Chewy ;)
Are you into carping Chewy??