Hi solarsplace how much water is added to the medium pan for the Akhani stock.
Great post and very informative.

Quote from: stephenperry on September 24, 2012, 12:47 PM
Thank you Solarsplace

For those who have tried both is it much better than the original C2G base?

And, in the Akhni Stock stage, can I clarify that is it just water that's boiled with the whole spices/leaves?  I ask because in the photo it looks like oil....?



Thanks! 

Not so much a question of 'better' - just slightly different. Different base recipes lend themselves to different uses / personal tastes. For instance, I currently alternate between three or four bases, depending how the mood takes me (C2G, Zaal, Chewy's and my own). There's not a huge difference between them to be honest (and why should there be, as they're all simply slight variations on the subtely spiced onion/garlic/ginger/veg stew theme), but for me, I find the Zaal style of base works well with hotter curries, which is where my prediliction lies (hence why I tend to make this style more than others).

The other bases are what I'd call all-rounders (though the C2G is a little heavier on the spicing).

If called to question I couldn't tell you why. As said, it's a personal taste thing.

I'm also a fan of the Taz base, but this is heavy on the oil and requires a different technique when cooking the curry (a fairly intense initial reduction phase), so I've left it out here.

The other thing to remember is that if you put any two of us in the same kitchen with the same ingredients and base recipe, you'd end up with two slightly different results (I'd put money on it!), so, as has ever been the case, it's all about trying different bases and finding out which works best for you and the style of curries you like.

Something I do from time to time is take it all back to base basics and knock one up using just onions, garlic, and ginger. If you start from this point with the three core ingredients, and then build from there, you gain a more intimate understanding of how additional ingredients work to achieve the (hopefully desired) end result.

Not sure if any of that rambling has helped!

Very nicely presented, SP, well done! 

Quote from: Salvador Dhali on September 24, 2012, 01:31 PMSomething I do from time to time is take it all back to base basics and knock one up using just onions, garlic, and ginger. If you start from this point with the three core ingredients, and then build from there, you gain a more intimate understanding of how additional ingredients work to achieve the (hopefully desired) end result.

Not sure if any of that rambling has helped!

It helps immensely, thank you    I like the idea of going back to basics - a method of how to do taste tests of individual spices to find out which I like and which I could do without, and how they all work together would be a long (working through my spice cupboard!) but ultimately rewarding experience

Thanks solarsplace.