It may be worth mentioning about the slivers of onion. a while back there were some videos of currys being cooked live on a webcam,  I think we all had a look and crashed the server! sorry I can't remember the thread, however at one point in the video I noticed that one of the chefs seemed to have a wok with something that looked like onions deep frying, they were not brown but pale in colour, he then added them and the oil to the large pan of boiling base.

Just thought I would mention it.

Martin

I have just finished making this base. I have to say it looks great, it's a nice orangy colour with a pleasant aroma, a mild taste with a good flavour. It's the first time I have had the oil seperate from the base like this, I have used this amount of oil before yet I did not get anywhere near the seperation.

At the second stage of simmering the blended sauce, a few spots of oil began to appear, I removed it from the heat, and whilst cooling the rest of the oil just came to the surface.

I have made the mix powder, got my Kashmiri chill powder, got beer and on Friday I am gonna be up to my nuts in curry, can't wait!

Martin.

Happy new year to all.
I posted this recipe because it works for me, it suits my taste, It has few ingredients, takes little time to prepare and has, in my opinion, a great flavour that does not diminish after blending and re-heating. The fact that some BIR?s may or may not use cauliflower or broccoli in their base is neither here nor there, if it works then it works.

I am not saying that it?s any better or worse than any other base recipe posted here, I have made quite a number of them, Darth?s was one of my favourites, I simply wanted to produce a base that gave great flavour with less ingredients and less time consuming. I even made the full recipe version from the Under Cover Curry book; however, I have to say that it was very poor, but that?s just my opinion.

I am happy with this base for now; it gives me what I want, so I thought I would share it here, I shall think carefully before I post another recipe, just incase it?s not what a BIR would do! 

Quote from: guitarmanguitar on November 11, 2010, 08:56 AM

Just a thought, but would it be better if you were to weigh the spuds, & cauli, just to give us a more accurate recipe, or is that a silly suggestion?

Once again, thank you.

Carl...

Hi CArl

No it's not a silly question, next time I make it I will weigh veg and change my recipe accordingly.

In the meantime I would say that the potatoes are about the size of a satsuma and the cauli, broccoli are small florets about the size of a ping pong ball.

Cheers

Martin

Quote from: guitarmanguitar on November 08, 2010, 04:49 PM

Have you made a curry with it yet?

Martin
[/quote]

Not yet Martin no.
I think I may need to make another batch, & allow the Veg to cook a little more.
I think maybe it was a little too under done.

Sorry mate.

CArl...
[/quote]

Hi CArl

That's a bummer, if you pm me your address and what you spent on the ingredients I will send you the money, I want this to be a success for you.

Try using smaller potatoes and cutting them smaller, perhaps use a non floury variety or new potatoes, also did you use dried methi?

Cheers

Martin

Quote from: guitarmanguitar on November 08, 2010, 12:50 PM

It does seem to have a very strong taste of potato, almost like a starchy sort of a taste.
Should I be getting this?

I followed your recipe to the letter, but the Veg seemed to be very under cooked, & the sauce seems to be a little on the thick side.

CArl...

Hi CArl

No, I do not get strong taste of potato, I have just checked my recipe as posted just in case I had missed something, but it is ok. Also, it should not be too thick once you have added the 3 pints of water at the second stage of cooking, in fact it makes it quite runny, slightly runnier than tomato soup.

Two medium potatoes should not dominate the flavour considering all the other ingredients involved.

The veg should all be firm, but not hard after 30 minutes of simmering with the lid on, you can always add a little more water at the second stage if it looks too thick.

Have you made a curry with it yet?

Martin

Hi JerryM

I also have not found any difference by removing the froth.

I found that adding the water on the second stage aided in the separation of the oil as it cooled in the fridge, the following day there was slight puddle of oil on the top.

Cheers

Martin

Quote from: guitarmanguitar on November 05, 2010, 02:15 PM
Thanks Martin,

Gonna give it a go tomorrow, just got all the ingriedients in, so I'll give an honest opinion on Monday.

CArl...

Thanks CArl good luck with it and I hope you enjoy it!

Martin

Quote from: guitarmanguitar on November 04, 2010, 01:09 PM
Thank you Martin.

In your first post, when preparing the first part of your base sauce.
You specify not to stir the mixture.
Is this important, & if so why?

CArl...

Hi CArl

In my opinion it is, the onions sit at the bottom in the oil, they seem to gently fry almost, sounds daft I know. Also I put the spices near the top before I put in the 2 cups of water, I want the spices to gently cook and disperse in the base as it's simmering rather than being murdered in the oil. You will notice that when the first stage is finished all of the oil will be at the top and all of the veg etc will be below it almost. The short cooking time ensures that the vegetables are not overcooked retaining their full flavour.

I hope this helps and I appreciate you trying this.

Martin

Quote from: guitarmanguitar on November 04, 2010, 10:23 AM
Hello Martin,

I'm certainly gonna give it a go.
Thanks for posting it.

When I make my curry with it.
What spice mix ( or whose) would you suggest I use?

CArl...

Hi

I don't use a spice mix as such, my usual curry is a king prawn madras and I like to keep it quite simple in the use of spices, here my recipe:

1 Teaspoon cumin
1 Teaspoon Pure chilli powder
1 generous desert spoon ginger garlic paste
1 desert spoon tomato puree that has been watered down to the consistency of loose ketchup
Juice of ? a lemon
? Teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
Raw king Prawns (as many as you want)
5 tablespoons oil
1 Teaspoon Kasoori Methi
Chopped coriander
Some base sauce

Method:
Heat oil in pan, add ginger garlic paste and fry briskly, add the tomato puree and do the same. Add the prawns, cumin and chilli powder and fry until the prawns change colour. If it gets too hot add a ladle of base. The oil will be separating from the sauce, add more base sauce and stir, add the salt and sugar and stir, add the methi . Add more base as you like, just allow it to reduce to your liking, finally, add the lemon juice and coriander, let it bubble , the oil will begin to separate. Then remove from the heat and cover, allow it to rest for ten minutes before serving.


Let me know how it goes.

Martin