Topic: Ordered a Restaurant Gravy/Base

[prawnsalad]

I had a night of cooking last night and ordered a take away from a restaurant, at the end of ordering I asked if I could have a portion of base sauce, he wasnt sure what i meant, but when I explained further he said "you just want the gravy?, Ill go and ask if you can", he came back and said I can, ?1.75.
  Couldnt wait for this to arrive, and it didnt disappoint, the smell was like no base sauce I have ever made, the smell was just fantastic, BIR smell, It made me seriously question everything I have learnt about cooking base sauces, or whether I even want to make them again, I think we are so far of the mark. The missing % in your final curry is from the base sauce and nothing to do with the final recipe.
  Anyway I froze the base and next Friday I will dissect it, photo it, compare it to my base, make 2 identical Madras's, and document everything I can, and hopefully LEARN something.

Andy

I got some Gravy at the end of a meal last week, they charged ?2.99 for about enough to make one curry.
I found it thicker than I expected and as many others have said it had enough flavor to eat standalone (unlike mine which ends up very bland.)
Unfortunately I didn't have time to use it before it went past the BBD but I did take a couple of photos if anyones interested.


3 images deleted by George - far, far too large! I can't see the code for the one left, so I'm unable to delete it.

[Garp]

Philllllllllllllllllllllllllllll 

[George]

Here are the images, rescaled down to a size whereby they might be seen, if not so close up:





There were only two images but each one had been posted twice.

[commis]

Hi
Are you sure you weren't given curry sauce ?
Regards

[prawnsalad]

Hi
Are you sure you weren't given curry sauce ?
Regards

It was definitely base gravy as I couldn't detect any particularly prominent spices, it was just lumpier and more mature than what I've seen before.

[Secret Santa]

It does look like a basic curry sauce but some bases are nearly that anyway so it probably is their base. You're right it does look a tad lumpy though. What are their curries like?

[prawnsalad]

It does look like a basic curry sauce but some bases are nearly that anyway so it probably is their base. You're right it does look a tad lumpy though. What are their curries like?

Absolutely great, they have become extremely popular locally delivering up to three times the competition in terms of quantity. I've eaten in twice now and both times I've had a doggy-bag that was a full meal in itself for the next day.
The owner is from Birmingham and is said to have multiple restaurants as well other significant business interests.
Apologies for the high res images I keep forgetting they don't get scaled down automatically.

[Onions]

How about using spiced and garlic oil and using a thin stock instead of the usual 2 litres of water? Might give it some depth of flavour (although weak enough not to be discernable as chicken) that water can't

[Mike hunt]

Most base gravies no matter what you put in them IE, Cabbage, Carrot etc doesnt make to much difference, The way Takeaways and restaurants get that elusive flavour is all down to the mix powder, Having been in a few kitchens Ive found it very difficult to try and get a recipe for the mix powder they use, When i asked them it was just a no no, If the mix powder can be cracked you will get the elusive taste thats missing,

[curryhell]

The way Takeaways and restaurants get that elusive flavour is all down to the mix powder........ If the mix powder can be cracked you will get the elusive taste thats missing,

I think there's a few on here that would disagree with that belief.  There's as many mix powders as there are gravies as there are TA and BIRs.  If i were a betting man, my money would certainly be elsewhere