Hi.

New to forum but not to 'building'. ( I will post on intro when time permits. )

Burning question though having just read Dave Loyden's Undercover Curry from beginning to end ( twice ! ) -

2 whole 'curry spoons of salt?' ( page 22 ) in the base gravy.  Now I realise that this is a large pot we are building but it still seems like one shed load of salt. Is this right? = approx 20 teaspoons.

I don't use any.

Someone here will tell you that you need salt in curry and that it bring out the flavour. It doesn't it just makes it taste salty

.....yet all BIR recipes I have seen say use it  - well, all that are trying to recreate the taste.

perhaps this attempt to get me to drink twice as much Cobra has led to the taste that has developed over the years   

You don't need loads of salt IMHO. I aim for 1.5 to 2 grams per finished curry per person. A bit less than an average tin of soup.

Paul

i've settled on 0.5 tsp (5ml) per portion added into the base. i used to add up to 0.75 tsp in total but have found by adding it all into the base i don't need to add at dish frying.

Quote from: RubyDoo on October 16, 2012, 03:37 PM
Hi.

New to forum but not to 'building'. ( I will post on intro when time permits. )

Burning question though having just read Dave Loyden's Undercover Curry from beginning to end ( twice ! ) -

2 whole 'curry spoons of salt?' ( page 22 ) in the base gravy.  Now I realise that this is a large pot we are building but it still seems like one shed load of salt. Is this right? = approx 20 teaspoons.

While salt is undeniably an important part of BIR cookery, how much to use is entirely a subjective matter and down to personal taste.

Each chef will have their own take on this, and will season their base accordingly.

However, even for an 18L base, that is a lot of salt! Or is it... ?

A big problem with Mr Lloyden's book is that, in attempting to tell us how it's done by chefs in BIR kitchens, all this talk of curry / chef spoons and 'dipping' is rendered nonsensical when you consider that there is no such thing as a 'standard' size of chef spoon. For instance, I have three chef spoons, all different in size, but then I tend to use the medium one, which equates to roughly two tablespoons, and seems to be the size I've noticed used the most in BIR kitchens I've been fortunate enough to visit.

So, using my favoured chef's spoon, two chef spoons equals 12 teaspoons of salt. Still more than I'd personally use in even an 18L base, but a little more acceptable than 20.

I've only ever made the scaled down version of Mr Lloyden's base, and remember using less than his recommended dessert spoon of salt (for a two-litre base).

It may be that the chef(s) in the kitchens that Mr Lloyden frequented (or worked in) preferred to salt their bases heavily and use less salt in the final dish. I'm not sure, but whatever all we can do I guess is to rely on our own taste buds and adjust accordingly.

Pass the salt, someone... 

My rule of thumb - 1/2 Tsp per litre of finished sauce, then add a pinch or two when making final dish.
                                                                                        D.

Quote from: JerryM on October 16, 2012, 05:41 PM
i've settled on 0.5 tsp (5ml) per portion added into the base. i used to add up to 0.75 tsp in total but have found by adding it all into the base i don't need to add at dish frying.

maths was wrong 0.5 tsp (2.5ml) per portion. it also equates to 23 ml per 800g onion.

Interesting idea to add the salt only at the base stage, but surely this means main dishes which use a lot of base get too salty but dishes like Bombay aloo which are relatively dry only get a little salt? Maybe that's why BIRs only add a little salt to the base then add it as an ingredient in the final dish?

natterjack,

i only add the same amount of base for every main dish ie 300 ml

the main benefit for me was that my overall salt consumption per portion has been reduced.