sorry forgot the pics

1) spices (top left - coriander, top right cardamom)
2) onion finished cooking
3) finished sauce

Glad you had success with it!

FYI..The chef discarded the onion liquid, which kinda surprised me. And they don't use carrot, celery, or potatos in base here. (Well, not that I've seen.) Also re:cooking time, the chef explained that the cooking time was VERY important, and a major part of getting the right flavour. Anyway let us know how you go making it into a curry. I'm about to knock up some base myself and see how I go.

Also, do you use "new" packet ground spices each time you cook, or do you grind up whole spices? And do you roast the spices first? I know the flavour can vary alot with the incorrect use of spices.

ivangough,

i do feel your chef is really top notch.

i can't believe he discards the onion liquid - the sauce will be very thick. i also found due to the length of cooking i had to top up with water.

totally agree on the importance of the cooking time.

for this recipe i left the whole spices whole ie i did not grind (hope this was right).  i don't buy new packet each time - i always grind as i need. the only time i roast whole spices is to make garam masala. rest of the time i just grind without roasting.

probably won't get to make curry till tuesday but will keep u posted. i make what i call my std madras sauce and to date i find whichever base i use there's not much difference in the final curry (assuming the base passes a given threshold) - the frying technique and spice mix having a greater effect at the frying stage.

this base is much sweeter though and i expect it to give me that little extra bit of sweetness that i've been missing c/w BIR. i think it is down to the length of cooking of the onions more than the technique which i intend to confirm by adopting the cooking time for my next batch of base that i've made before (rajver, saffron, ifindforu).

ps both bases taste even better today (the as spec and the as spec+coriander)

I'm loving the texture there! Lentily! ;D

Actually the texture was what really impressed me. I just looked at it when we finished making it and thought "looks like restaurant curry!" And yes, he kept the whole spices whole. I like the idea of putting the whole spices in a muslin bag (like I've seen elsewhere on this site) and then removing it at the end.

I'm going to cook it on Monday (haven't done it for a while) and then try out some of the curry recipes on here to see what results I get. Will keep you posted..

Also JerryM love the pics!

This recipe is very interesting. I would like to know roughly how much sauce you end up with in the end. Also, removing all the water and frying the onions for 4-5 hours seems like it would end up a totally dry mixture and not very saucy at all, so I find that a bit strange, but I will try this in the future for sure.

Hey Ivan, I was reading the recipe more thoroughly and at one point you say to leave this for 3/4 Hour. Is that three quarters of an hour or 3 to four hours. Thanks, BB.

That's 45 minutes Bobby. I can't remember why he seived the onion mix, but I'd definately keep the liquid and add it to the pot as required to keep the base from getting too dry. Mind you, his base was quite thick when we finished it.

Quote from: ivangough on May 05, 2008, 12:32 AM
That's 45 minutes Bobby. I can't remember why he seived the onion mix, but I'd definately keep the liquid and add it to the pot as required to keep the base from getting too dry. Mind you, his base was quite thick when we finished it.

Thanks for the response, I know it must have seemed like a pretty stupid question but I asked because of the 6 hours you mention that it took to prepare and cook. Cheers, BB.

My pan holds 4.5l and this was what i started off with the water level not quite covering the onions. i have about 3l finished curry. i added back the onion liquid which i think was between 1.5 and 2l and also added in say 500ml of water during the boiling (i did boil for an extra 2hrs). the consistency is now the same as i would get from the bases on this site.