I ordered my usual Friday night curry from my ta-way last week.. I ordered a chicken pathia, when i spoke to the guy on the phone I asked him if he could ask the chef if i could have a tray of their curry base. The TA i use is a very good one.. you seem to try them all then stick to the best one, their curries are probably like every bodies else's favourite curries, lots of dishes each with their distinct flavour and texture, so i was really looking forward to seeing their base.. my dish finally came and when i opened the curry base i was very disappointed, it was very bland almost tasteless, it was a lot thicker than our bases on the site. This got me thinking that we all put the effort into making the perfect base when its not entirely needed. We have the main ingredients for the base, is the missing factor that we strive to replicate a myth?

Like the mythological holy grail I believe there is no single secret, just good ingredients, good recipes and good technique.

There is a thread or article on the myths of curries somewhere on the site.

I know some people have taken their own home made base to a BIR and asked them to make a curry using it. I think that would be quite good fun to taste.

Was the base you bought very smooth or was it grainy?

Hi Chris,

it was very grainy it was the same texture as my main meal so I know they didn't just fob me off with anything.. that's a good idea.. I think I`ll ask him next time and cook a curry with my base.. or i could give the delivery man a sample of mine and see what their chef thinks of it..  hey Cory you`d better copyright your base bud lol

Quote from: Fi5H on July 16, 2010, 06:17 PM
I asked him if he could ask the chef if i could have a tray of their curry base...when i opened the curry base i was very disappointed, it was very bland almost tasteless.

Hi Fi5H

This is something that has been noticed on several occasions by people who have tasted base sauces from real BIRs.

People should take note because I get the impression that many judge the quality of a base by how it tastes by itself which isn't the real test of a good base, it's how it marries with the BIR's curry recipes that counts.

Quote from: Secret Santa on July 17, 2010, 08:49 PM
it's how it marries with the BIR's curry recipes that counts.

hi santa.. i didnt think of it like that.. thx

Yes i agree totally secret santa. well put ! I purchased 2 silver tubs of bir base from an outstanding bir in my home town. It was thin bland and greenish brown. I cooked 2 of my standard madras and bhuna dishes with it, and it tasted almost identical to my normal efforts with a safron style base. since that day I have simplified my base and taken less time on it. I have put all my effort into changing the recipes and spice mixes i use. I am now producing restaurant quality dishes (several friends have confirmed this). For the first time recently i ordered a jalfrezzi in a new bir and it was identical to my own. Its what you do with the base that counts. the base is not too important. although it must meet certain criteria.  Hint - dont rule out aniseed seeds and star anise together with green pepper ! they all fit together to make a great jalfrezzi taste. Especially with the DD spice mix (found in the spice mix area of this site) cheers DD

Fi5H,

just caught up on this post. this was my experience which might be of interest.

https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=2368.msg26329#msg26329