Quote from: ivangough on April 28, 2008, 01:54 AM
I thought Australian tablespoons were the same as the overseas counterpart, but perhaps not!

Hi ivangough

See here regarding measurements

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooking_weights_and_measures

You need to check out and confirm what tbsp measurement you've used as this may cause a significant difference in the results achieved by anyone using your recipe.

Regards
SnS  ;D

This sounds very interesting! A nice change from the near identical method employed on most base recipes. I think I'm gonna try this one soon.

Actually, in hindsight, I need a curry recipe to go with this. Such a different base probably has a very different curry recipe to what I'm used to. Maybe you can help Ivan?

Tamala,

glad you're keeping an eye on me

QuoteOver 17 teaspoons of ground spices (plus whole spices) to 225g of onion, plus half a green pepper, "sits fine" with you Jerry?  Please tell us you're joking?!

my explanation is i'm quite happy with the 3 bases that i've now adopted (rajver, saffron, ifindforu). these have pretty much told me what amounts i need for the base to work. i don't believe these bases can be beaten.

i'm now keeping an eye out for 2 things associated with technique.

1) how can i increase the sweetness (without the sickly taste of adding sugar) - ie should i fry the onions or just boil them. i've read most of the forum posts on the subject buy i'm still undecided. i thought this recipe quite interesting down to the bit about browning the onions. That was the only bit I was interested in.
2) the smokey flavour - i'm interested in oil reclaim and a better burner (no context in this recipe)

given this recipe has no coriander and losts of cumin i'm afraid i'm staying over here and not going over there (sorry ivangough -no dissent on your recipe - just that i'm pretty fixed on the taste i'm after and although i like cardamom i like coriander better and not keen on cumin in big amounts)

You're quite right.. It seems Australian tablespoons are 4 teaspoons, or 20g!

I've made this base a few times, and it is good, but I wouldn't suggest anyone here has a go in a hurry. You already have some great base recipes on the site, which seem to be getting good results. I guess this was more of a "see how we do it over here" kinda thing. It's also worth noting that there are quite a few other differences between English and Australian Indian restaurants. For instance Chicken Tikka over here, is a totally different marinade to Tandoori. It has a yellowish color and a different taste, whereas Tandoori here (like in the UK) is bright red. Also our Vindaloo is quite different to yours. Over here Vindaloo is alot more tangy, and seems to have more vinegar, and possibly tamirind or something in it. I'm sorry I can't explain it better!

ivangough,

the length and method of cooking is quite different to what i've tried before.

i currently favour bunging all in the pan and leaving it simmer. i'd like to get more sweetness in the final curry and i feel i need to discount the effect of frying the onions.

this recipe seems ideal to test the theory in practise so i'm going to give it a go next week. the cashews as i said are a v.nice twist. i'll have to swop the cardamom powder for coriander as i just can't see the recipe working for my taste buds otherwise.

hope u get some good results from trying the uk style bases.

I'm not sure why he used Cardamom really, he just did it and I wrote it down. I think it would be better with coriander, and closer to the BIR bases all over this site. It's worth noting though that he only used 3 teaspoons of cardamom in what was a large dish, and it hasn't overpowered the base when I've made it this way.

Anyway, I'm going to try one of the bases on here tomorrow, as I have friends coming over for a curry night next week, and I wanna impress them! I'm gonna start with the Darth 100% clone or Rajver base and make some Vindaloo.. Probably followed by some Tikka Masala. Anyone here want to recommend me the best base/Tikka Masala recipe?

QuoteAnyone here want to recommend me the best base/Tikka Masala recipe?

for this combination for me has got to be rajver base and curry king CTM with CA's tikka

ivangough,

am sure friends will be well impressed. my family rate better than BIR (i'm more madras but do agree it's pretty good, i use evaporated milk instead of cream feeling closer to BIR)

thanks for thoughts on coriander - i think i will try the cardamom (a bit at a time as i do like it) to see how well it works. i will add the coriander though as i think this BIR essential. i am very tempted to add anise but will try to leave out this time.

ivangough,

does the sieved onion water go back in at all. i think i will add it back at step 5.

this base has taken me by surprise. it's got to be a 10/10 (albeit i need to cook with it to confirm).

i did not follow the spec exactly. changes being:
1) no green chillies (i like to add chilli at cooking stage)
2) 4 english tsp of salt (c/w 6 etsp) - thought this to be enough would even go 3 tsp next time
3) 3 english tsp turmeric (c/w 6 etsp)
4) did not add white pepper
5) i'm not sure if/when the sieved liquid should be added back in - i added at recipe step 4.
6) did not get to add the cashews but i expect this to be a good addition
7) added 200ml of oil (c/w 700ml)

i found step 2 & 3 a bit of a phaff. i'm not sure the sieving is crucial and found the frying of the onion puree a real splatter (hence ended up adding back the liquid as i could not live with the splattering - frying the puree was like an exploding volcano)

i was really sceptical about the cardamom but found the base lacking after adding the rest of the spices so added it in as per spec and found it spot on.

i was amazed at the final result given no carrot or green pepper.

i'm not sure i got the onions brown enough at stage 5 despite cooking for 2 hrs longer than spec. there was a definite improvement in sweetness from the longer cooking time (banked for use in my norm bases).

the high level of salt made me v.nervous but in retrospect i think it works somehow with the onions to increase the overall sweetness (i know this sounds v.strange)

i found i had to remove the solids at the end to enable a further puree (i found it difficult to get a very smooth puree at stage 2 due to the lack of liquid)

i've separated off enough for 1 portion of the "as spec" curry (around 300 ml) and then added coriander (9 etsp) to the remainder. i was surprised that i could not decide which i liked best - will need to make a madras sauce to test both bases for sure.

overall this base is slightly different (the casia, cinnamon and cardamom work very well together). i feel i got a much sweeter base with this technique than previously (i'm not sure if this is down to technique or length of onion cooking).

it's certainly passes the threshold and i'm well impressed  ;D ;D ;D