What a really great and informative post CP, thanks.

gg, watching this space!!

there are plenty of hungry guinea pigs here to try out your recipes.

Regards Ashes

Hi Chilli,

Great post, on the assumption that you have a good base to start with I couldn't agree more re the "Secret" being related to high temperature flash frying. I flame off my curries outside using a large LPG (Calor) gas ring. I have experimented after making a batch, flaming off a portion and not the other, the difference in taste is unbelievable.

I also flame off the next day but that's a different story.

Cheers

Jockomalay

Quote from: Chilli Prawn on September 28, 2006, 02:23 PM
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). 

Hi Chilliprawn
Yes I am most interested in your "Bargha" Please tell me more sounds very interesting  :
Layne

CP

Yes, what a great post! Before I try the sauce, could you please clarify the following points:

>...good fortune to work in one of our local high class Indian restaurants

Was that a high class BIR or more the 'authentic' style closer to 'proper' Indian cooking, like offered by 'The Red Fort' and 'Tamarind'in London, for example? I suspect they use base sauces of some description, too.

Red Fort: http://www.london-eating.co.uk/78.htm

Tamarind: http://www.london-eating.co.uk/152.htm

>There are no specific measurements as such, so experimentation
>is recommended

Understood, but a few more pointers would be great, namely what is the approx. weight of ginger root, please? In most base recipes, the weight and volume of ginger and garlic are about the same. Does that apply here?

>it is not viable or economic to make a smaller batch

I will try! Even though you may be right. I hope it will be viable and certainly more economic than investing in so many onions and other ingredients. These days, I always make a 2 onion variant of the MarkJ 35 onion base sauce, with everything simply pro-rata'd down. It tastes so damn good, that I can't be losing much by not sticking with 35 onions.

>Garlic   Four to five whole heads, core removed and unpeeled
>Ginger   One large root unpeeled, washed, and coarsely chopped

This must work, or you wouldn't have written it, presumably. But I have never seen any other recipe where garlic, ginger and onion(?) 'skins' go through to a final dish, albeit in puree form.  Carrots can be scrubbed, I guess, to get rid of most dirt.

Thanks again
Regards
George

I'm really enjoying your posts CP and can't wait to incorporate some of your ideas, thanks for sharing your knowledge. 

Hi George, I have embedded my responses in colour below

Quote from: George on September 29, 2006, 08:41 AM
CP

Yes, what a great post! Before I try the sauce, could you please clarify the following points:

>...good fortune to work in one of our local high class Indian restaurants

Was that a high class BIR or more the 'authentic' style closer to 'proper' Indian cooking, like offered by 'The Red Fort' and 'Tamarind'in London, for example? I suspect they use base sauces of some description, too.

Red Fort: http://www.london-eating.co.uk/78.htm

Tamarind: http://www.london-eating.co.uk/152.htm

Sorry but we are talking Isle of Wight here not London    Anyway I do know the restaurants you refer to, but they are not your average High Street jobbies and their whole approach and methods are quite different. 

>There are no specific measurements as such, so experimentation
>is recommended

Understood, but a few more pointers would be great, namely what is the approx. weight of ginger root, please? In most base recipes, the weight and volume of ginger and garlic are about the same. Does that apply here?

I use about 4 to 5 ounces of unpeeled coarsely chopped Ginger, but you could use equal weights to the Garlic.  What you must aim for is what initially appears to be a fairly bland sauce, albeit very smelly; Too much Ginger at this stage could be overpowering.

>it is not viable or economic to make a smaller batch

I will try! Even though you may be right. I hope it will be viable and certainly more economic than investing in so many onions and other ingredients. These days, I always make a 2 onion variant of the MarkJ 35 onion base sauce, with everything simply pro-rata'd down. It tastes so damn good, that I can't be losing much by not sticking with 35 onions.

What I do is freeze in 1kg boxes for the business and in small 1/4 litre pots for home use.  This small amount will make a couple of good portions.

>Garlic   Four to five whole heads, core removed and unpeeled
>Ginger   One large root unpeeled, washed, and coarsely chopped

This must work, or you wouldn't have written it, presumably. But I have never seen any other recipe where garlic, ginger and onion(?) 'skins' go through to a final dish, albeit in puree form.  Carrots can be scrubbed, I guess, to get rid of most dirt.

The onions have to be peeled (sorry) because you have to check they are not rotten.  I use large Columbian Onions for labour saving, they are sweet and not too fiery.  However the BIRs prefer English or Polish because they are more fiery. The rest can be left whole with skins on (wash the leeks well though).  I put all my result through a Magimix and sometimes also my smoothie blender!

Thanks again
Regards
George

You are very welcome

Happy cooking
C P

Has anyone tried this base yet ?

I'm getting too fat for experimentation at the moment, but this does look the business.

CP can you confirm the amount of tomato puree ? Is it really 400g worth ? Do you have a brand name and tell us if it is double concentrate or not ?

Quote from: Jeera on October 10, 2006, 08:10 PM
Has anyone tried this base yet ?

I'm getting too fat for experimentation at the moment, but this does look the business.

CP can you confirm the amount of tomato puree ? Is it really 400g worth ? Do you have a brand name and tell us if it is double concentrate or not ?

Hi J.  All I use is Tesco's jars of tomato paste, or I buy a large tin of Napolena paste from my wholesaler if I am doing a big run.  The latter is better because it has more flavour.

I do recognise that a lot of you require precision in the recipes, and I forget sometimes because I do this for a (small) living now and have got used to dealing with quantities.  I suggest you try 400g to start with and play around with the quantities to suit your taste.  The reason for the large amount of paste is beecause there are no tinned/fresh tomatoes in the recipe.

Hope this helps

Happy Cooking
CP

Want to give this UCB a go, could someone give me a clue as to the amount of onions in weight so that I may at least be somewhere near the mark.

Thanks
John