I reckon the base gravy is important Axe becuase it gives the food that element of consistency that we need, I don't think it counts that much toward the final flavour though mate, I think that's down to spices, oil and cooking method. Remember most of the flavour has been boiled out by the time you use the base and will be overawed by the spices, oil and prepared meats you use.
I'm not discounting a good base, I've used loads of them, but I think they are there to add the curry consistency to the food and not the taste?

VC, we've misunderstood each other, as I believe we are saying the same thing but in different ways. That is to say, a good base is needed to make BIR but is not the defining  ingredient, would you agree?

I think what I am trying to add to this is that a good base could only come about from a careful balance of the added flavours. Which is why I think using just boiled onion in water would not provide enough consistency in the end result.

Yep, you're right, I agree, to a point though.
There's a quote from an Indian restaurant owner in the 70s or 80s that said we've got away with selling onion gravy with a few bits of chicken in it, Indian curries were better then. I leads me to believe that the stock for a really good curry is not going to count to the final taste.
The boiled onion base must've the one they all used back then? No carrots, no peppers.
Which leads me to conclude that the base gravy has no reflection on the curry you produce. It's the way you cook the ingredients, mostly the cheapest you can find, altered, that gives the final taste, not the base.

Quote from: Vindaloo-crazy on March 27, 2010, 12:29 PM
It's the way you cook the ingredients....that gives the final taste, not the base.

Their are two schools of thought here VC.  There are those that think the curry base is THE essential element to creating the taste and smell of a traditional BIR curry (a view to which I subscribe) and those that think it's more to do with the "technique" used to make the final curry.  Perhaps never the twain shall meet!  Perhaps it's a bit of both.

There are many threads on the forum discussing the merits of either view.

Most seem happy with the curries they are creating so I suppose everyone is right? 

I just find it hard to fathom that the addition of a carrot or another ingredient into the base is going to make any difference to the final taste, especially with all the spices added when preparing the meal (mind you with the amount of chillies I eat my taste buds are probably less than 100% anymore).

everyone needs to make a few different bases off the site to understand what the impact of base is.

a think it's the opposite to "never the twain" - in fact it's crucial that both base & technique come together.

just a few examples of my experiences:

i make rajver, saffron, mytake in rotation. i do add in some generalities and adopt the same method. i also use the same yellow stickies to cook from and the same technique. they do produce very different curries.

i've made CIAH 3 times recently and made my std curry sauce from it. the curry sauce is well below par than from my std bases. don't get me wrong CIAH serves a very useful purpose but in comparison to a full base it's well inferior.

i made 1 off CIAH and had not carrot so x2 the pepper. i actually ended up chucking the batch and remaking. i think i did get a tad cocky and did not following the technique fully which i'm sure had some affect - however i blame the duff result on the balance of the ingredient being out of the tolerance evelope "threshold".

i've just revisited the ashoka base which is very simple ie no carrot no pepper. i haven't cooked with it in anger yet but when i cooked with it last time it was quite a surprise how good the curries were.

in short yes a basic base will work "produce decent curry" but to get the best curry u need a top notch base.

I'm willing to go with this, most of the curries I cook for myself are so hot you could use pretty much anything for the base and get away with it as long as it was cooked correctly. I've tried loads of bases, only Taz's off this site and the rest of my family (who aren't chilli heads like me) have told me it was spot on. We have been away from a UK takeaway for a year though so their memories might be suspect?

I have enjoyed this topic and it has certainly given me an indication into the varying tastes and ideals we all have. This is without doubt, why we all different opinions.

I know for a fact that the IG Chef was careful to mention that his base must be suitable for every dish that he uses a base for. This ranging from Korma right the way up. I mentioned this earlier in the topic and it was the point he said he didn't tomato.

So of all the base recipes everyone has tried the burning question begging to be asked is at the moment is:

What is the most versatile base you have used to date?

I got a good one off "another site" but I'm not sure I can post it here. It's a real pain to make but the consistency is brilliant.

Hi Axe,

QuoteWhat is the most versatile base you have used to date?

It's got to be CA's, and his list of final dishes using the same base are testament to this in my opinion.

Ray