I have been living in Nottingham for a while now, but my local is back in Watford where I have known the owners for a long time. I was sure that the next time I went in, if I asked, I would be told what was in the curry gravy. But Wow, when I asked them the response I got amazed me. I was told that only the Chef knows the recipe and that he would not tell anyone even them.

All I was told was they do not freeze the gravy (because they cook so many curries a night), and they DO use Thyme and Basil in the base. Other ingredients, as we all know were onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic. They would not tell me in what proportions, or let me watch.

Another interesting point was that the owner remarked that when the chef was off (one day a week) the curries tasted different. But he insisted that the curry gravy used on this day off was the same as all week. So the secret may not be in the gravy.

Cheers

Steve

I boiled first so that the skins just fell off. Also most of the flavour and good stuff is under the skin. I know this from making tomato soup. I always roast tomatos, onions and garlic unpeeled before blending. This intensifies the flavour. I figured boiling will be similar and also preserve the oniony goodness in the water which I can then use in my base.

Never visited in2curry.com before. Only found this website on a whim while trying to cook a Kalia. Now i'm hooked. Have been reading posts for well over four hours now. My head hurts from too much input

Hello there,

this is my first attempt at a curry base. I used a slightly modified version of the KD base, and the Cracked It base.

Firstly I boiled red onions garlic and ginger unpeeled for 45 mins. This produced a blood red sweet smelling liquid that was very bitter in taste ( shown in second picture, also in first picture - top right hob)

I then peeled the onions and garlic but left the ginger unpeeled. I deep fried the boiled onions for 15 mins until caramilised, I then added the garlic and chopped ginger, plus half a stick of cinamon and three slices of lemon and continued feep frying for 5 minutes  ;D ;D ;D.

From then on, I pretty much followed the instructions for the 'Cracked It' base, but used the red onion/ginger/garlic stock instead of water.

The jug contains my skimmed spice oil which I plan to reuse. (there was alot more once I had completely finished skimming, I took the pictures early on and simmered for around 45mins)

I shall be using the base tommorrow to make my first BIR curry. I will let you know what the end result tastes like. Going by the smell and taste of the base I can't wait 

As above,

I am making a base right as I type. But have an urgent question.

Can any base be frozen after adding the tomato stage, or does it have to be before? How long can the frozen base be kept? and how long can the spice oil be kept safely?

Thanks

Steve

Do you keep a stock of this base sauce?

I have seen a few recipes that require curry gravy? Can this be made from scratch, as I like to make everything from scratch. The only things I usually make and keep in advance is garam masala and ghee.

Steve