Topic: The Bargar Base

[Chilli Prawn]

This is something I put together many many years ago and has been my stalwart in our kitchen.  It goes into most of the dishes we make, and it is what makes our foods distinctive, e.g. our signature.  Technically it is a base and you can playaround with variations without really doing a lot of damage.  The base comprises the spice mix, finely onions, and coarsely chopped garlic, finely chopped Ginger.

Bargar is the term used for describing the frying of spices to bring out their intense flavours (as an alternative to roasting), it is also safer than roasting because you can stop the process almost instantly so the spices will not burn.  Roasting takes a lot of practice, and often goes wrong even for me!!! The English term for Bargar (Barghar) is Tempering.

Anyway what we are doing here is making a very concentrated base, in a manner similar to to the really up market BIRs.  You can make it in large batches or just enough for one dish.

In its basic form it comrises five types of whole spices but you can add more types or remove spice if you wish. 

The principal group & quantity of spices for a small batch are, Green Cardamoms (5), Cassia bark or Cinnamon stick 3 inch, Cloves (5), whole Black Pepper (5), Bay leaves (2). You will also need 1 large Onion, 5 cloves of Garlic, and about one ounce of unpeeled Ginger, 5 coarsely chopped green chillis.

You can also add whole fenugreek seeds, White or Black Cumin (Zeera/Jeera) but not both, Black Mustard Seeds, Asafoetida (Hing).  Measure are about 1 teaspoon of any spice except Hing which is about a quarter of a teaspoon.

Never add the whole lot mentioned as this will be a disaster.  I keep to a simple rule and that is only use a maximum of five types, and of course you must be confident that you know what spices will go together!  Like roasting a mixture of spices you never start off with the whole lot because each spice has different roasting/release time.

Chop onions and Garlic but keep them separate.  Heat some butter Ghee in a Wok or small pan (enough to cover the spices) until it smokes.  Why use butter Ghee? It has a higher cooking temperature.  Add all the spices except the Bay leaves. NOTE:  Take extreme care as the cloves and cardamoms will explode so have a lid ready to cover.  Wait for the Cardamoms to turn a pale grey colour and put in the Bay leaves.  When they turn light brown add the chopped Garlic, stir fry for about a few seconds (don't let the garlic brown) and then add the finely chopped onions, Ginger, and Chillis.  Stir fry until the onions just start to catch (turn brown at the edges), then reduce the heat to low and sweat the whole mixture until it becomes translucent, but don't let it burn so keep stirring occasionally.

The whole process should only take about 15 minutes for a small batch.  As soon as it is cooked remove from the heat.  It will keep for about five days in the fridge.  You can freeze it but be aware that Garlic changes its chemical constitution when frozen and releases a bitter acid when defrosted.

When I am making up a dish (or many) I just add a dollop or more depending on how intense I want the flavours or chilli heat.  Remember that you may need to adjust other amounts spices, Onions etc., if you use them in the dish you are making.  I use this in my Madras style dishes.

I hope this makes sense.  If you have any queries you know ho to reach me.

Happy Cooking
C P

[d_alford]

Hi ya

this seems like an easy sauce i have loadsa cloves and cardamons so might have ago.. i take it add it to the recipie as well as the normal basic sauce rather than instead of?

[Curry King]

I've never tried this but looking it at I would say you use it instead of a regular base sauce and add extra whole ingredients instead.

cK

[George]

this seems like an easy sauce i have loadsa cloves and cardamons so might have ago.. i take it add it to the recipie as well as the normal basic sauce rather than instead of?

It strikes me as a bit of a tease. There's so much 'background' and 'intro' type detail but no recipe. Shame, if it has any potential.

Regards
George

[Curryswede]

This is a flavour enhancer type thing that you just stir into your dish towards the end which I thought was made rather clear by Chili Prawn in his post.

[Woks Up]

Youre probably right curryswede but, unfortunately, the post really is anything but clear!