OK, observations...
- I was weary of using the whole cumin, but went with it. It was very difficult to blitz them all while blending. Net result was a lot of cumin seeds floating in the finished gravy. But maybe my blender is s***e. Cumin is definitely the dominant spice in this base. Strong cumin undertone
- After adding the second stage ingredients, the smell was the best I've had from a base. Not the missing "BIR aroma", but more of a "this base is tasty" smell. Might have been the coconut. I've never tried a base with coconut before. Suffice to say, at this point I was very optimistic!
- During the simmer stage, I noticed that a lot of sediment was settling at the bottom of the pot. I had to periodically sweep up the onion that rested at the bottom and mix around
- Almost no oil separation, but quite a bit of surface foam
- The finished base had a nice smell and slightly cumin-y taste. A little hotter than other bases I've tried, but not enough to rule out in a mild curry.
Even though I already had dinner, I threw together a quick Madras. I did not use the Banjarra, as that's on tomorrow's to-do list. The first descriptor I could use after tasting a spoon of the Madras was "salty". I used half a tsp in the Madras. Given the amount of salt in the base though, I should have scaled back the salt in the final curry. I have sealed it in a plastic container so I can give it another go in the morning.
Great work Panpot. This base, though quite different from what I've tried prior, has some promise. Really looking forward to the finished recipes on the Bhuna and CTM, Panpot! Also feel compelled to try the Banjarra now.
Once we've had some more feedback from the forum, Panpot - you might want to try and get tighter confirmation on some of these measurements (cumin for e.g.)...
--- Josh
Topic: PanPot's Ashoka Curry Base ( 175,192 )
