A bit of a boast this, but was given to me by a friend who is an English chef who had the good fortune to work in one of our local high class Indian restaurants for a few years (and was highly regarded by the owners and patrons).  Anyway if you try this make sure your kitchen door is closed, the extractors on, and the windows are open because it is very smelly, you have been warned  :

THE ULTIMATE CURRY BASE! Version 2 (updated 27/02/07)

(A genuine Indian Restaurant Recipe)

Introduction

This is how the Asian restaurants and take-aways prepare the base for all their curry sauce based dishes.   There are many variations, and it is those variations that make curries individual and set Asian chefs apart (the good, the bad, the tasteless).

The base will be bland when finished, but this belies its flavour burst and flavour depth when combined with other spices and ingredients that make up a specific dish.  So don?t go trying to make biased towards any particular flavour, this is similar to the base sauces all Asian chefs use in their kitchens.

There are no specific measurements as such, so experimentation is recommended until you find the base you want that will make your ultimate curries unique!

The recipe calls for two bases; a vegetable stock and a spice paste, which are made separately and then combined after a period of a few hours (overnight).

Like most Asian food patience is required and plenty of time on your hands for cooking.  You must pay attention to detail, keep your eye on the cooking process (don?t let things burn unless you are specifically asked to do so).

This recipe uses large quantities; sufficient for about 6 litres of base.  You can increase this amount by just increasing the quantities give here, but it is not viable or economic to make a smaller batch.  You should be able to freeze the base without experiencing too much deterioration in texture or taste, but it will definitely not be the same!  Better, if you plan to make some Indian dishes in the same period and then freeze the end products.
Some Golden Rules


Always use wooden or plastic utensils

Always use the highest heat initially and reduce to simmer later

NEVER ever use utensils that have been used for meat when mixing or serving the base sauce, or it will go ?off? almost immediately. Keep each utensil for its own purpose, i.e. meat or vegetable only and make sure you thoroughly wash them in a dishwasher after use

Keep stocks, base in the fridge when not in use, the base should keep for about 5 days from initial production.

Always add stock, or any other liquids like milk or yoghurt, to spices a little at a time to let them absorb it and allow the oil to rise.  Water is rarely used unless combined with other ingredients.

Be aware that one of the reasons for the restaurant taste is that the ingredients are cooked on a high heat in lots oil and with lots of salt; this what explodes the flavours. So don't cut back on these unless you have a dietry requirement.

Never let things burn unless it is required by the recipe; keep your eye on it!

If it doesn?t work, or doesn?t taste right; ditch it and start again.  What is wrong will follow through to the final dish.

Patience is a virtue and economically sound!

Vegetable Stock Base

For this you will need a 22 pint stock pot.  These amounts are only approximations; you do not have to be too accurate and you can experiment with them.

Ingredients

English Onions - Enough to almost fill the pot to about 4cm from top when combined with the other ingredients about 5 kilos (unpeeled weight) will do the job. Don't get hung up about the amount as you can always add onion base pulp later to top up and make it milder.

Capsicums   Four large, colour doesn?t matter, deseeded and quartered.

Garlic   Four to five whole heads, core removed and unpeeled
Mooli   One large root will do, washed and coarsely chopped
Carrots   About five large ones unpeeled, heads removed, coarsely chopped
Leeks   About three large washed ones  sliced (use all the leek)
Ginger   One large root unpeeled, washed, and coarsely chopped
   
20   Bay Leaves (large sizes)
20-25   Green Cardamom lightly crushed (use husk and seeds)
12g   Fennel Seeds
12g   Cloves
12g   Cassia Bark broken up
1 tsp   ground Methi seeds (Fenugreek)
   
400g    Tomato Puree single concentrate (not fresh or tinned or Passata)
115g    Butter Ghee preferred, but veg oil will do
100g    Knorr Vegetable Bouillon catering paste approx weight ? don?t make too strong!
   
1 tsp   Black pepper (use more or less to taste)
1 tblspn   Salt (use more or less to taste)
4 litres   Water (approximately ? see recipe process)

Process

Peel and chop onions in halves
Break up the Garlic heads and remove the stalks but DO NOT PEEL the Garlic cloves
Clean and wash all other vegetables and prepare them as directed

Heat Ghee/oil in pan on a low heat until melted
Add all vegetables, salt, pepper, and spices and mix to coat with oil ? do not fry!
Check salt
Add sufficient water to just cover the onions, no more no less - about 5 litres
Add the vegetable bouillon slowly (and regularly check strength over the whole cooking process)
Mix everything one more time
Turn heat to high
Boil for one hour (keep stirring)
Simmer for a further half-hour (keep stirring)

Allow to cool and keep in the fridge or cool place overnight.
The following day bring stock back to the boil
Remove from heat allow the stock to cool down slightly.
Blend EVERYTHING to a very fine puree; use a stick blender or Magimix, a blender might work.

Leave to stand for one hour while you cook the spice mix.

Spice Base

This must be prepared tyhe day before i.e. while the stock is cooking, and left overnight to infuse. The following day both mixes are combined slowly to produce the final base product.  You will need a large pan, e.g. the one used for the stock.

Ingredients

40g   Garam Masala powder
40g   Mild Curry powder
40g   Coriander powder
40g   Cumin powder
40g   Paprika powder
40g   Turmeric powder
20g   Chilli powder (standard mild - not hot)
20g   Cayenne powder (optional this will make the final base hotter)
   
250 ml   Oil 1 - Vegetable or groundnut oil marinating
   
Extra oil   Oil 2 ? frying, Sufficient for about half an inch in a large pan

Process

Mix all spices together with the Oil 1 and leave to stand overnight.  Do not refrigerate

Pour sufficient of the Oil number 2 to cover the bottom of the pan to a depth of about half and inch or 1-2 centimetres.

If the spice mixture or spice/stock mixture start to catch or stick, then remove the pan from the heat immediately and keep stirring until the mixture has cooled.  Then return the pan to the low heat.

Heat oil on low flame and when hot add all of the spice paste
Reduce heat to very low
Cook/fuse for about 5 minutes stirring continually.  You should see the mixture separate and start to gloop.
Do not allow sticking or burning as this will completely ruin the paste, if it does ditch it and start again.

Then - on medieum heat

Add about ? litre of stock puree and stir in and allow the oil to rise
Add another ? litre, stir and allow oil to rise
Do this until all of the puree has been added
You must keep stirring this mixture all the time during this process

Then

Cook the mixture on a very low heat for one and a half hours.  Check it is not sticking and stir regularly.

The curry base is now ready to use.  It should be a very smooth sauce infused with lots of oil and taste very bland.  Note the oil should rise to the surface and protect the sauce.

You can store the base in a fridge for about 5 days, and it may be frozen for up to 6 months

When using the base, heat it up first before you start making the curry dishes. Keep it warm throughout all the cooking.

REMEMBER - DO NOT CONTAMINATE THE SAUCE BY USING IMPLEMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN OR ARE BEING USED FOR MEAT PRODUCTS.

You use the base as follows.  Heat a lot of oil in a pan until smoking, add your meat, add spices required by the recipe, add any tomato base/puree if required, and then add a small amount of base.  Add water (not my preference) or milk or yoghurt to thin out the sauce to required consistency.

Happy Cooking

C P

Yet another twist on the base sauce recipe, excellent.

I notice there a no tomatoes in this, is that right? 

Also where can you get the knorr catering paste?

cK

Mooli, is another name for white Radish for all newcomers here.
I take it normal Radish in the Supermarkets will suffice Chilli Prawn?

I will have to get used to this particular forum system!! :-[  I keep hitting a keyand losing all the text I have created; very frustrating.

Anyway Hi all.

You can get Knorr Vegetable Bouillon from all catering trade suppliers (sorry I forgot that I am in the trade and have accounts with them).  I get mine from Bookers or Makro.  I suggest you ask a friendly publican or professional chef to get some for you when they do their orders.  It comes in a one kilogram tub (shaped like a Polyfiller tub), colours - green and yellow.  This particular base is somewhat important in that it has a very good depth of flavour and requires very little in the mixing, it also keeps for ages in the fridge.  You could try the ordinary stock cubes but you will need a lot of them!  I use this bouillon because its asked for in the recipe and the chef who gave it to me says he tried others and they didn't work as well.

I have got this far without a restart (mis-key), great!

Now for Mooli.  It is common question this, but it is down to you.  The reason it is used is because it adds a subtle peripheral flavour and doesn't swamp other flavours; it is also quite mild.  You could use salad radish I guess, but my opinion is that you would need lots, they would be too hot, and lastly they have a greater water content and thus the wrong texture.

As I say in other posts, this is a wonderful art and all art is experimental and pushes the boundaries.  Life would be boring otherwise.  So experiment and learn what all this flavours do on there own and to other flavours in the pot!

I will try to set up the Techniques Topic as soon as I get a break.  I mentioned I was involved in writing an Asian Cookery book thatspecialised in techniques/methods.  I didn't mention that we tested our recipes and methods by giving them to eachother to do and then the victim had to ask everone round to try their attempt.  Sadly or frustratingly the Asian friends always did it better  : :-[, but it was a good learning curve.

Lastly I found that one important thing is to get to know how spices and herbs interact with each other, e.g Cumin kills everything if overused but works very well in support.  Curry cooking is a chemical process based on acids, heat, and emulsification.

Sorry i am getting carried away, so I will close.  I hope the above has not been too long winded or boring.

Happy Cooking
C P

Chilli Prawn, what a post!

I haven't posted for a bit (been watching from the sidelines), but just had to post and thank you for this!

The technique must be The Secret, there are too many variatons on ingredients from restaurants, but all can have The Taste

Please don't make us wait too long, or as some have done disappear once they promised to divulge The Secret!!

Thanks

Eric

I forgot to answer the first question: What about the Tomatoes?

Well this is because of the techniques for cooking the dishes using this base.  The 'product' e.g. the chicken pieces, are coated in a light tomato paste (usually concentrated paste with water added) before fast frying.  

Also freshly made tomato base makes a dish much more enjoyable and digestible, so add it when you add the base.  I think you will find (despite what you read in books or see on TV) that most Asian chefs add tomatoes in one form or another late in the preparation of the dish for this very reason.

Lastly when you add tomatoes late in the process it is much easier to get the salt & sugar balance correct.

Hope this helps.  I am sure you all know that it is almost impossible to get the BIR flavour the same when you cook at home.

Happy Cooking
C P

Hi Eric, I have the time to reply at the moment as I am at my other business (IT & Computer Consultants  ) so while I am fixing these silly boxes I am able to type up some stuff.

I do not pretend or wish to be regarded as some sort of Guru and I guess that goes for all on this forum.  I searched for the 'SECRET' for years and then found I already had got (for years), when some good chefs in the biz told me how they worked.  As I have said it is mostly to do with techniques; and methods that are specific to the curry-house trade, so hopefully we can all chip in on the new thread when it starts, and the light will suddenly dawn for many I hope.

Just a quick aside to keep you happy and patient; one of the main 'secrets' is flash frying.  The taste that you get from good restaurants is due to the use of very high heat and allowing the oil to flash thus searing the contents briefly (a bit like flambe).  Unfortunately you can't do this at home unless you have a very good gas hob and an extractor that is designed to resist flames.  I didn't have the latter at first (in my new kitchen) and promptly set everything on fire and blew the extractor out like a V1 rocket motor.

Happy Cooking
C P

I forgot to mention that I use TRS or East End  'Curry Powder' and 'Garam Masala' in the base.  You can use anything you wish as long as it does not take over the base, e.g. not too aromatic or flavoursome.

If anyone is interested I also have a Bargha (sp) recipe that I created many many years ago and still use today in most of my recipes (sometimes as well as the base).  Sorry a Bargha is a mix of whole spices fried in very hot oil, this releases the deep flavours and aromas locked in the spices (a bit like roasting).  My recipe goes a step further to become a sort of base.

Happy Cooking

C P

Thanks for that CP, very intresting reading I can't wait to try this base out now.

cK

Excellent C P, will definately try this when i run out of the base sauces i made today
madrasandy