The Veg Gravy for example is used for vegetarian dishes and contains besides a different spice mix, some whole seeds, (cumin, mustard, kalongi, fenugreek, fennel seeds) which are added at the start, along with some other whole spices. This adds a different depth of flavor as there is no meat/chicken stock added to the final dishes.

this offers some hope for me
Most of the curries I cook are veggie
I've not made a base with this combination of spices
I also note that fenugreek is amongst them
We were discussing that missing spice in another thread
Also fennel is there, that gives an aniseed flavour
Star Anise was  mentioned as a missing spice for a madras recipe, some pages back

Quote from: haldi on April 10, 2018, 07:36 PM

In fact I've had it in a few curries where it was almost too strong a flavour

In that case, it might be cumin -- that can be quite over-powering if too much finds its way into the final dish ...

I have tried so many recipes and don't think it's cummin
That's prominent in the Glasgow Base and that's missing something too (but it is very good)

I think the problem may be that we are all talking about slightly something different
Perhaps we  are even chasing something totally different to each other
Wouldn't it be good, if we could assemble the finest curry minds in the uk, (that's us by the way) and finally sort this?
Maybe someone has already done it
We would need a place where we could meet and cook for a day.
Definitely a gas cooker and a microwave
Microwaves are brilliant for testing the aroma of a curry or curry base!
We would need to bring a curry sample of the taste we are after
and also bring sample bases we have cooked oursleves

I don't think this forum is finished, because it's always good to talk about curry.
But perhaps it has gone as far as it can to find this missing 5%
Something different needs to be tried

Quote from: haldi on April 09, 2018, 07:52 PM

My curry was good but (really hate to admit it) not as good and missing that aroma

What use (if any) do you make of fenugreek ("methi"), Haldi, either in its powder or leaf form ?  I ask because to my mind, fenugreek is the aroma that I associate with BIR cuisine, and I think it is not only me on whom it has that effect.  When my wife came in this evening, she immediately said "the kitchen smells of Indian food".  Now the only Indian-related activity that had taken place in the kitchen that day was transferring some kasoori methi from a screw-top jar to one with a better seal, and a few fenugreek leaves were still lying on the working surface.  So if I were looking for the missing aroma and not using fenugreek/methi, that is probably the first thing I would consider.

** Phil.

It's in the curry, as dried leaves
I've not used it as a ground spice as part of the spice mixture

I must admit that fenugreek as a ground spice, is not something I've used much.
I haven't seen it as part of the spice line up, in any takeaway
You know how they have those metal tubs full of all sorts of spices

Maybe I should just put some in the base gravy?

what's the recipe for Brinjal Bhaji?

Hi

Jb you the Man the inspiration for me to start up my engine. Is an ebook available from You?

I'd buy one