Undercover Curry - Base Sauce

[George]

:)Ive just finished making this base sauce and i can tell you ITS THE BEST! ive ever made....Anyway made the big version and it put a big smile on my face,it was so delicious with the background taste that had been missing from other bases i had made before....I dont need to look for any other base sauce recipe as this is the genuine real McCoy,infact my wife and kids said it tastes better than any takeaway they have ever eaten.

Welcome to the forum, unless you're closely connected with the author, of course. The trouble with such gushing praise from a new member is it's difficult to know if it's genuine (it may well be) or some kind of advertising effort to help shift piles of unsold stock.

What other bases have you made and in what sense is this one so much better?

[solarsplace]

Welcome to the forum, unless you're closely connected with the author, of course.

Steady on old chap! - are you saying Dave Loyden and his friends are not welcome on CR0?

Poor old Dave already had a good verbal bashing in the thread already and now your putting another verbal boot in? 

Edit: Forgot to say - Hi Speedy, welcome to cr0!

[Cory Ander]

Steady on old chap! - are you saying Dave Loyden and his friends are not welcome on CR0?

No, I think George is rightly suspicious of a totally new member whose first post is gushing with accolades for recipes from a recently published book (that has been previously discussed and largely forgotten about).  Forgive me, but I share his scepticism, in this instance....

And welcome to cr0, Speedy, I'm sure George's and my suspicions are totally unfounded 

PS:  I would add that some of the recipes in David Loyden's book and Julian's Curry2Go recipes are remarkably similar too (as a point of possible interest only).

[Graeme]

Hi,
The Undercover Curry book.

Page 44 his Palau rice seems to work very well.
I have been using this method for the last 6 months or so
and it works.
The only problem i have is how much milk to add (this is hit or miss)
the book does not make this clear, if you get it right it does work.

[gadders]

i have been trying recipes to authenticate chicken vindaloo from my local takeaway just using the pastes and sauces in jars and found that they are no where near, ive tried from a couple of internet recipes but again not even close. but thank god ive stumbled upon you guys. like me you really like your currys.
my fave indian takeaway is eshnas nutrition down here in worthing and they mix potatoes in with their vindaloos.
i was reading your thread on undercover curry so i have just this minute ordered it from amazon and i'm feeling that this will be the answer to my prayers.
i didnt realise how much difference a decent base sauce would make.
will let you know how i get on when i recieve my book and cook my first bic.
cheers guys

[Razor]

Hi Gadders, and welcome to cr0.

As a suggestion mate, before you part with any of your hard earned, why not try to replicate the Vindaloo using recipes from the forum?  I'm convinced that you wont be dissapointed with the results and you will have saved a few quid to boot..!

Ray

[curryhell]

Hi Gadders, and welcome to cr0.

As a suggestion mate, before you part with any of your hard earned, why not try to replicate the Vindaloo using recipes from the forum?  I'm convinced that you wont be dissapointed with the results and you will have saved a few quid to boot..!

Ray

Welcome to CR0 Gadders.  Just to echo what Ray has already said, you don't need the book before you can start making good vindaloos  .  There are plenty of bases on here which are as good if not better than that in UCC.  This also applies to vindaloo recipes as well and a host of others.  No one book  contains so much information or so many authentic recipes as this site.  By all means add it to your collection, just as many members have, but don't wait for it to arrive before you crack on with a base.  Keep us posted on how things are going and we always appreciate pics to drewel over ;D

Dave

[PaulP]

I have the book too but for a beginner in particular it may prove frustrating as the recipes are not very precise and all this talk about "dipping" here and there is a bit vague, especially to a newcomer to BIR cooking.

I would recommend Cory Ander's recipes for somebody new because he has done a great job of documenting all the recipes he has produced. If you need help with the links to find these recipes just let us know.

Cheers,

Paul

[George]

I would recommend Cory Ander's recipes for somebody new because he has done a great job of documenting all the recipes he has produced. If you need help with the links to find these recipes just let us know.

I agree. Cory Ander's recipes on this site put most books and any other sources of recipes to shame in terms of their presentation and apparent precision, together with the highly favourable feedback in terms of getting tasty results. At the other end of the scale, given its vague recipes, must be the Undercover book.

[sp]

Personally I didn't find it difficult to follow as a recipe book, the non-specific free-form approach struck a chord (perversely I usually prefer a more structured approach to daily life!) although my research on cr0 as well as reading the book in its entirety more than once before going near the cooker definately helped.  The book could be better organised as there are references in later chapters to techniques and ingredients that are used earlier.

Slavishly following the book I devoted practically a whole weekend (friday evening 7:30pm-9:00pm making the bhajis to get the seasoned oil, saturday from 2:00pm - 11:30pm for making the base followed by pre-cooking beef, and sunday morning from 10:30am-12:00am doing rice and cooking the actual curries (mixed veg and beef madras).

Although it took a (very) long time I still think it was extremely worthwhile, the wife wasn't in entire agreement (she calls my cookery hobby an obsession!) but it produced some of the best curries I've ever made, and I rate it as one of the best books I've bought, an entertaining and interesting read as well