Quote from: emin-j on September 25, 2009, 06:08 PM
The problem I have is the prparation of it all on Curry Nights , Rice ,Bhajis ,Naan , If I had to prepare for a Fresh base as well it'l be Midnight by the time it was all ready  ;D
I am very happy with my Curries even using a frozen Base but the majority of T/A use fresh so if your looking for the best results you need to use fresh.

I have to agree eminJ,

I freeze mine as well as I don't want to throw the base away after cooking an initial curry.

I find that once I have gotten it out of the freezer and it has de-frosted, it seems to have separated somewhat, (well with the SnS base anyway), so I usually just gently warm it up in a saucepan until it is tepid, just mixing it around to ensure it all bonds back together again.

I have to admit that the last few curries that I have posted on here have used the "frozen and re-thawed SnS base" and once in the cooking stage I still get that toffee aroma and the oil separation.

I've seen food frozen before, and unless it's packed properly for the freezer, it can get "freezer burnt" which spoils the food to the point that you just want to throw it away, and its not just down to how long you freeze it for either.

Find good thick freezer bags, ensure the produce has been in the fridge to make it cold anyway, then freeze it. It should then keep for some time without spoiling, although I don't keep my base for more than about 3 -4 weeks anyway in the freezer, I'm too addicted to cooking it and have to admit lately, I have been cooking Indian food 4-5 times a week.

Probably not experimenting enough, but I am enjoying all the same, and thats all thanks to everyone on here for their contributions...

Keep it up

Like most of us I suppose I would wish to have my own replica BIR kitchen and an assistant otherwise I need to make relatively large batches and freeze but since using all manner of recipes and tips from the site over recent years my results are wonderful compaared to anything from books or elsewhere. Frozen is a necesary part of it for me but does not make any real difference to my end results.

The biggest single improvemnet for me with or without freezing has been the additon of the old onion paste secret and more recently the Banjarra. They along with the cooked Garlic Ginger paste have taking everything I do to near perfection. However as I have pointed out my motivation over thirty years has been to replicate Glasgow style BIR recipes then to work out from there to other regional variations. Like others too I'am after the flavours that were around in the 70s and 80s as a bonus. This site gave me all my breakthroughs and the drive to get into The Ashoka Kitchen. grateful. PP

Quote from: Panpot on September 28, 2009, 12:02 PM
Like most of us I suppose I would wish to have my own replica BIR kitchen and an assistant otherwise I need to make relatively large batches and freeze but since using all manner of recipes and tips from the site over recent years my results are wonderful compaared to anything from books or elsewhere. Frozen is a necesary part of it for me but does not make any real difference to my end results.

The biggest single improvemnet for me with or without freezing has been the additon of the old onion paste secret and more recently the Banjarra. They along with the cooked Garlic Ginger paste have taking everything I do to near perfection. However as I have pointed out my motivation over thirty years has been to replicate Glasgow style BIR recipes then to work out from there to other regional variations. Like others too I'am after the flavours that were around in the 70s and 80s as a bonus. This site gave me all my breakthroughs and the drive to get into The Ashoka Kitchen. grateful. PP

I need to try the Banjara and cooked Ginger/Garlic paste. I have quite a bit of all that stuff in my kitchen and an hour or two to spare, so I'm off to try now

Quote from: emin-j on September 25, 2009, 06:08 PM
The problem I have is the prparation of it all on Curry Nights , Rice ,Bhajis ,Naan , If I had to prepare for a Fresh base as well it'l be Midnight by the time it was all ready  ;D
I am very happy with my Curries even using a frozen Base but the majority of T/A use fresh so if your looking for the best results you need to use fresh.

Wow, you do the whole lot, that's a damn good effort!
The people i'm cooking for often find they have to make do with just main courses. I concentrate on the curries so much i forget to cook rice! I suppose i kind of want people to experience it in it's purest form like i do - with a spoon.
I've started making chappatis regularly now since i learnt to make them in india. They go down well although i always try to get someone else involved to take some of the work off me. "i'll show you how to make chappatis" is a classic line ;-)

Anyway, i was gonna suggest to you that you make the base sauce a day or two before your curry night. That way it doesnt need to be frozen.

Quote from: chinois on November 22, 2009, 10:53 AM

Quote from: emin-j on September 25, 2009, 06:08 PM
The problem I have is the preparation of it all on Curry Nights , Rice ,Bhajis ,Naan , If I had to prepare for a Fresh base as well it'll be Midnight by the time it was all ready  ;D
I am very happy with my Curries even using a frozen Base but the majority of T/A use fresh so if your looking for the best results you need to use fresh.

Wow, you do the whole lot, that's a damn good effort!
The people i'm cooking for often find they have to make do with just main courses. I concentrate on the curries so much i forget to cook rice! I suppose i kind of want people to experience it in it's purest form like i do - with a spoon.
I've started making chappatis regularly now since i learnt to make them in india. They go down well although i always try to get someone else involved to take some of the work off me. "i'll show you how to make chappatis" is a classic line ;-)

Anyway, i was gonna suggest to you that you make the base sauce a day or two before your curry night. That way it doesnt need to be frozen.

Thanks' for your reply chinois , I've just bought a 10 litre stock pot for base and tried it out on Friday , other than a little mishap  I made enough base to make 3 Madras and 2 Korma's and had 14 T/A containers of base left over to freeze  What I have found is by the time you get everything prepared to make a new batch of Base Sauce you might as well make a ' good size ' batch as the cooking time isn't that much different . 

Quote from: emin-j on November 22, 2009, 06:58 PM
Thanks' for your reply chinois , I've just bought a 10 litre stock pot for base and tried it out on Friday , other than a little mishap  I made enough base to make 3 Madras and 2 Korma's and had 14 T/A containers of base left over to freeze  What I have found is by the time you get everything prepared to make a new batch of Base Sauce you might as well make a ' good size ' batch as the cooking time isn't that much different . 

Yeah, i know what you mean when you've got everything set up!