Topic: The Ultimate Curry Base version 2

[spicysarsy]

 : : That was worse then mine Chili. {Harrow Taxi } Ha.

[Chilli Prawn]

We are in danger of being shouted at for digression Paul  :
CP

[Cory Ander]

I see that a number of people have threatened to try this recipe (including CurryKing, MadrasAndy, George, JohnBoy, Fandango and Lagathy)........... 

.......but am I right in thinking that, after more than 3 months, 4000 views and 120 replies, no one has actually tried it yet?......

......apart from YellowFingers, that is, who has made the base, with and without the spice mixture, but not reprted on any curries made from it yet?   

Is the recipe still unclear or something?

I'd be very interested to hear of the results of anyone who has actually tried it and made a curry from it?   

Regards,

[Curry King]

It's still on my pile of print out's to try, I will get round to it eventualy but there are still a load more in front of it first 

[After8]

I was going to give the base a go, but was unsure of the quantities so I chickened out. I've  had a go at the fusing technique, but haven't really been that successful with that. I'm sure this is down to me though.

I've have experimented with a few variations on bases now, and they all turn out pretty similar, so I'm thinking that the secret is in the technique that's used to make the individual curries, that's why I'm so keen to see the video.

A8

[George]

I see that a number of people have threatened to try this recipe (including CurryKing, MadrasAndy, George, JohnBoy, Fandango and Lagathy)

Hi

Good question. Why do we get feedback on relatively few recipes? Here's my excuse for not yet trying the CP base sauce.

1. I haven't made ANY base sauce since CP's base sauce recipe was posted, so it MAY still remain my number one priority the next time I make any curry or base sauce. My progress is slow. There are so many other things to do. I see BIR curries as quite unhealthy so I would never make one a week or anything like that.

2. When I next decide to make a base sauce, which one will I try? Possible contenders are the recent 2 onion German one which looks nice and simple, and this CP base sauce. But the CP base sauce looks anything but simple. It looks like it needs quite a lot of effort, which is a bit of a deterrent, if I'm honest.

3. Of greater concern than the effort required, is a worry that the effort may be wasted if the recipe is less than totally accurate. I had earlier concerns about inconsistencies in the huge capacities and quantities, which may well have been sorted out now. I'm not sure. It would take me 20 minutes (say) to crawl through this thread and double-check back to the original recipe - to see if it now appears to stack up and is worth a try. That's more effort....

4. CP suggested that a pro-rata reduction in quantities may not work or be anywhere near as good in taste terms. There's no way I'm going to purchase a 14 litre pan and hundreds of onions just to try this sauce and then give over perhaps a quarter of my freezer to storing the resultant base sauce. I'm sorry but it simply isn't practical.  Either the sauce can be scaled back to work with 2 onions, or it's a non-starter for me.

5. My current, long-standing 'reference' base sauce is based on MarkJ's. I scaled that back to 2 onions and it tastes superb.

Regards
George

[Roundboy]

Hi all.  I tried the UCB yesterday with fairly good results. I only have a 12 pint stock pot so halved all the ingredients and topped up with diced onions.  As far as the boullion is concerned i hadn't got the time or contacts to get the caterers stuff so I opted for the Knorr vegetable boullion in the bottle (180ml) as a substitute.

I found the cooking instructions easy enough to follow and fairly comprehensive however there is one thing i would add to the cooking method which is this; after the vegetable stock has been liquidised /pureed, I would simmer it for about 20-30 mins and skim off any scum that appeared at the surface.  I didn't do this and the end result was that the finished sauce developed a scum (oh well, i'll know next time  )

The resulting sauce I found to be far from bland as the recipe suggests though.  It smells a little like a Pataks sauce and is very spicy (not spicy hot just spicy) which doesn't seem to give a lot of scope for altering the flavour of the finished curry.  Personally i will reduce the amount of spice in the base sauce, probably by about 50%. I think this will result in a more versatile base but still quite flavoursome

However, i did attemp a finished curry with it which the family really enjoyed. (i was a little more critical but what's new?)

I will be trying different things with the sauce, especially seeing as how i now have a freezer full of the UCB toplay with  ;D

It's probably worth mentioning again that I am new to this chat site stuff never having been on anything more complicated than MSN, so if i've posted this in the wrong place please feel free to let me know.  I WON'T BE OFFENDED HONEST.

laters

Roundboy

[Yellow Fingers]

Hi Roundboy,

Your findings seem to tally with mine exactly. The base is far too overspiced as it stands, not too chilli hot, just too much spice overall. There's no denying it's a good base, but it doesn't have any subtlety to it. Would you agree that you would be hard pressed to make a korma with it?

I wouldn't worry about the Knorr vegetable stock, I've tried two varieties and I don't think it makes any difference.

YF

[laynebritton]

Roundboy
You have already learned that you must keep skimming so your on the right road and you will probably be critical about your Curry's until you find THE TASTE
We All Are  (well I am anyway) but Curry on you'll find your final product getting better and better 
Layne

[Chilli Prawn]

Well done Roundboy.  I concur with the others regarding spiciness, and yes you should experiment.  As far as kormas are concerned I have used the UCB without any problems as I use very little of it and make up with some onion base.  Not had any complaints from customers, in fact the opposite.  However, there have been a couple of comments that it is very rich, e,g, tickles the jaw bones.

CP