Topic: Glasgow curry base sauce

[George]

Regardless of the accuracy of BB!/fred45's authenticity or how CBM carries out the role of mod I think it's interesting that the other site also has it's moments of disharmony.

Your feedback is interesting, thanks. To be honest I don't visit the other site enough to be fully aware of what's going on. I think my vitriol is based on how one or more people over there generally welcome refugees from here with a message suggesting they've arrived in some kind of heaven where there's zero disharmony or ANY of the issues sometimes experienced here. I think any issues here are a result of having so many members with their own opinions, which must be good, rather than bad. It's certainly not boring.

I still reckon there's a good chance the BB1 recipes are genuine and he really does work in the takeaway. I certainly hope so.

[acrabat]

Just had a quick look on google maps George and you are right, there is does not seem to be a TA with that name anywhere near bargeddie, the closest is in rutherglen. It's funny, I know this area pretty well and can't remember any TA there, only a burger van along from the car sales place. My work is only two mile along the road so if it bugs me I might take a drive

[Peripatetic Phil]

Sorry to hear about the salt O/D, George : is it worth boiling a few raw potatoes in it to try to extract as much salt as possible ?

** Phil.

[Achille17]

I cooked the base this week-end, using half quantities (3.5 kg onions) with only 600ml of oil instead of 1 litre.

The result was really thick (maybe I need to add more water or a little bit more oil), but the taste and smell was really brilliant and amazing. Exactly what I was looking for!

I have to say that I've only ever eaten curries in Scotland, but the point to me is that I was VERY PLEASED by the result. I will make it again and again.

I'm disappointed by some personal attacks, because the only thing that matters to me is: am I satisfied by the taste and I'm sure that we all know that it is a personal matter needing no argument.

I was also uneasy with the imprecision of the measurement, but I can easily understand it. My grandmother cooked really good French cookery, but without using any recipe or book. She learned by oral tradition. When I asked her for a recipe, she was totally unable to do so. She only offered to cook with me and was always saying something like: "add a little more" or "Ok, that's it". That sounds amazing, but that was how she cooked. When I wanted a hot chocolate, she simply poured some milk in the pan, WITHOUT measuring anything, and when the milk was hot, it filled perfectly my mug! She knew it by instinct, but really couldn't give any measurement. So I suppose that, without being so extreme, it is the same for BB1.

So, if you're looking for something different, you MUST try this base. But you can't complain that the result is different to what you're used to, because that's exactly what it claims to be!

[Secret Santa]

The bad news is that I misread some of my revised quantities and added far too much salt, meaning this sauce can't be used and will be thrown away. I'm so angry, and hungry too, since it was supposed to be this evening's supper.

George just make up another batch, or two (400g is a small batch!), leaving out the salt and just mix it all together...problem solved.

[PaulP]

Sorry to hear about the salt O/D, George : is it worth boiling a few raw potatoes in it to try to extract as much salt as possible ?

** Phil.

That is a myth Phil, it hardly makes any practical difference:

http://www.genuineideas.com/ArticlesIndex/potatosponge.html

Paul

[Peripatetic Phil]

That is a myth Phil, it hardly makes any practical difference:  http://www.genuineideas.com/ArticlesIndex/potatosponge.html

I'm perfectly willing to accept that it is a myth, Paul, yet (like homoeopathy [1]) is it not possible that it is a myth that works ?  Chefs through the ages have sworn by it, including Raymond Blanc jr., so there must surely be more to it than /just/ myth ?

** Phil
-------
[1] No rational person could possibly believe that the more you dilute something, the more powerful it becomes, yet homoeopathy is successfully used in both human and veterinary medicine.  And whilst in humans it can be explained by the placebo effect, the same cannot be said for veterinary medicine where the patients are simply incapable of "believing" that they are receiving an efficacious treatment.  Yet it cures mange in foxes (amongst other things), something for which there is no rational explanation.  It demonstrably works and is used by (amongst others) Willow Wildlife Rescue, based near my former home : their foxes were pre-released in the fields where I kept my horse, and I can attest at first hand that the homoeopathic treatment was completely successful in curing mange in many many cases.

[Peripatetic Phil]

Other aspects of the BB1 recipe interest me, too, which is why I'm keen to try it. It's a pity he didn't like answering questions here. I guess there may fewer questions in another place, so it may well be less stressful and time-consuming, but I suggest it''s also BORING.

But there not a happy medium, George, for which we should all be striving : lively and intelligent debate, rather than (on the one hand) personal abuse and (on the other) mind-numbing acceptance of anything said ?

** Phil.

[stevejet66]

Just to let eveyone know ive recieved 160 emails from my last thread about BB1's base, All are pleased and said they wouldnt cooked anything else, I see the debate still renders around Scientifc numbers again I.E george's example!

I tried a scaled down version of the BB1 base this evening. The good news is that the oil level seems commensurate with what I normally use, and the resultant sauce looked just like many BIR curries to me, i.e. quite oily.

BB1 specified 2 litres of oil to 7Kg onions.

I used only 400g onions. I calculated the oil as 0.4/7 x 2 = 114ml compared to the 120ml oil I'd normally add. It doesn't strike me as too much oil.

Cant understand how you can get a simple recipe wrong! total cock up and the base look's a complete mess. Thats what i say george, TO MUCH WAFFLE, Totally of the proper recipe trail, NO TIME FOR COOKING! That's why they turn out rubbish!

[Secret Santa]

Just to let eveyone know ive recieved 160 emails from my last thread about BB1's base, All are pleased and said they wouldnt cooked anything else

It's a shame they didn't vote in the poll then Steve! Actually it's rather disheartening that they'd rather email you than take part in the forum where their input would be invaluable.

I'll make no comment about George's version but as far as scaling goes, as long as it's done right, there's absolutely no difference between a 7kg version and a 400g version. If you disagree with that perhaps you'd explain why you believe you can't scale the base.