My Madras Lesson

[Derek Dansak]

Hi chriswg, i made this base and madras 3 times this weekend , with varied amounts of water, to get the right taste from the madras. i quite liked the base, as its quick and fresh, although did not like the yogurt, too sour. Also too much plum tomato + chilly in the base IMO. the madras tasted like hot tomato and chilly + lemon curry. it is a million miles away from the subtle lightly spiced sweet/toffee madras sold at my fav bir. for me this was a step backwards. However i have learnt how to make base on the fly, which is useful. overall an interesting learning experience!  ;D

[chriswg]

Hi Derek

Thanks for your feedback and for trying the recipe. Once I have had a chance to make it myself a few times I will post a proper recipe with exact amounts. The quantities in the OP are not right and need a bit more refinement. The plum tomato I added was half of a blended tin of whole plum tomatoes. The yoghurt was probably a bit less than specified.

I found when I made it at home, I could taste the yoghurt and lots of salt and chilli in the base, but by the time it was watered down in the curry, it didn't come through as sour. Also, the lemon juice shouldn't really be a primary taste either, everything should combine into one lovely tasting curry.

[Derek Dansak]

Hi Chris, yes i think its worth refining the recipe as i liked the way you can make base on the fly. useful if you run out of base, and fancy a quick curry. i found it odd that the madras recipe had so little to it. just puree, lemon, chilly if i recall correctly. did the chef not add extra coriander and cumin and tumeric? or some spice mix?

[alfieb]

Fancied a curry tonight and as ive no base sauce left thought id give this one a try. ive tried various base sauces off this site started with darths which i thought made for a v good madras and the sns base bettered darths which i didnt think possible. Well having tried this tonight i feel it is on a par if not more tasty than the others ive tried. It might be that the base is fresh and not frozen. idont know im no expert but keep trying recipes/ideas on a regular basis and im more than happy with the taste and look of this curry. A question i have is it really worth the bother and effort of making a base when results are similar with a quick base method. Ive done the same with darths before when ive ran out of base and found the reslting curry was no different.

[JerryM]

A question i have is it really worth the bother and effort of making a base when results are similar with a quick base method. Ive done the same with darths before when ive ran out of base and found the resulting curry was no different.

It's a very good question - i don't have an answer yet i'm beginning to think it's not as important as i thought. i made CA's base last week which also has a similar relatively quick cooking time (~60 mins). as long as the veg are cooked through for blending then conventional cooking would suggest it does not matter. i know the base does change taste when cooked after blending with extra water added (to rtn to the same volume after the extra simmer). i still think this makes a difference but it may not be as significant overall as i've thought. it's something that i might do a side by side when i get chance. it's not a priority for me though.

the important thing is as u've found - a quick curry can be produced of very high standard.

[chriswg]

Hi alfieb

Firstly, I'm glad you liked the curry, it's the only way I cook them now as it is pretty quick and easy and I think fresh tastes better than frozen.

I personally don't think making a vat of base is essential for home cooking. For your average BIR this is the only way they can churn out curries quickly to meet demand but we know from lots of members experiences that base ingredients and methods vary quite a lot with the only constant really being boiled onion with a spice mix. It's basically a shortcut that has been developed by BIR's over the past 20 years.

We also know from other experiences that the top posh Indian restaurants don't use a base and instead cook everything fresh to order. This wont give a BIR taste but feedback from the results has been excellent. It appears they don't even blend the ingredients, they just cook down and become part of the sauce. Emin-j is the best person to quiz over this as he has first hand experience.

I guess what you have to decide if you want BIR results, or better than BIR results. Everyone is looking for something different.

[976bar]

Hi alfieb

Firstly, I'm glad you liked the curry, it's the only way I cook them now as it is pretty quick and easy and I think fresh tastes better than frozen.

I personally don't think making a vat of base is essential for home cooking. For your average BIR this is the only way they can churn out curries quickly to meet demand but we know from lots of members experiences that base ingredients and methods vary quite a lot with the only constant really being boiled onion with a spice mix. It's basically a shortcut that has been developed by BIR's over the past 20 years.

We also know from other experiences that the top posh Indian restaurants don't use a base and instead cook everything fresh to order. This wont give a BIR taste but feedback from the results has been excellent. It appears they don't even blend the ingredients, they just cook down and become part of the sauce. Emin-j is the best person to quiz over this as he has first hand experience.

I guess what you have to decide if you want BIR results, or better than BIR results. Everyone is looking for something different.

I have to agree with you there Chriswg, I have produced some of my best curries from scratch, the Chicken Kashmiri Masala being one of them.

However, I also think it's nice to have base sauce available for that BIR taste, and also when having to cook several different curries for family members or friends in one go.

So I guess from everyones contributions on here we all have the best of both worlds

Keep em coming everyone

[emin-j]

Well said chriswg and 976bar ,
I am going back to the start of this thread cuz I like the sound of this method and simple recipe , as I have said before I am sure we are over complicating what we do in the search for 100% BIR taste and surely T/A's will use the minimum of ingredients that will achieve  a good dish.
The ' cooking down ' method makes an excellent Curry , my Son who is also a Curry Lover  ;D will only use this method but with all the other 'stuff' to make I found it a bit time consuming and am currently making my Madras the sNs way until I am happy with another recipe and chris's could be it . 

[matt3333]

Hi Chris
I have used this recipe quite alot now, and really  like its ease of preparation and freshness, and the curries are perfectly acceptable.
I have recently added some whole spices when cooking the onions such as Cardamon, Cloves, bay leave and cassia- adds a nice dimension if you fancy a change.
Whole spices removed before blanding!
Matt