Topic: Reataurant base v Homemade base - Madras experiment

[Madrasandy]

Looking forward to making 2 Madras's tonight - 1 with my base, 1 with a restaurant base, I wonder what the difference will be like? The restaurant base smells beautiful (BIR smell), where as my base smells like our bases do. So 2 exactly the same cooked curries but with homemade and restaurant bases. Should be able to get a good idea of how good the madras recipe is and whether or not we need to be challenging the way we make the base to get that extra flavour into into the base. I shall be taking photos and notes throughout and shall post results either later tonight or in morning.

[gazman1976]

looking forward to your results

[Madrasandy]

As am I, gazman, should be intersting

[haldi]

Really looking forward to what you think

[Petrolhead360]

Looking forward to the results tomorrow too

[LouP]

I can't wait

[Madrasandy]

 I have just taken pictures and sampled both bases (cold) . The Restaurant is lighter in colour, stronger in aroma but pretty similar in consistency. The flavours are not too dis-similar , but there is definately a flavour missing. I seem to be getting a cinnnamon/star anise hit in the aroma and slightly in the flavour. Homemade base smells stronger in certain aspects, maybe more oniony or tomatoey , hard too tell.
               
The wife has just come into the kitchen as I am reheating restaurant base , so I got her to smell then taste the base, she said that there is definately stringy vegetables in there from the texture, and from the taste and smell she said parsnip, maybe swede or turnip, but it has a parsnipy aroma. She said it is definately a vegetable difference between the 2 bases!

[Madrasandy]

The restaurant base had less spicing, less tomato, far less oil, was a different texture (not as smooth), coriander leaves hadnt had the life boiled out of them, it smelt more vegetabley.

[Madrasandy]

Well after making a madras with the restaurant base and a madras with homemade base, I ate them last night and the results were quite surprising-
 
  Firstly the restaurant base was BIR aroma, less tomato, more balanced spicing and more vegetable tasting

 Well both madras's tasted almost identical, you could tell apart, but not by much. The restaurant base produced a less spiced smoother tasting but hotter curry and paler in colour, and it was more moreish. The homemade base was a little richer and not as balanced and left more of an aftertaste.

 But the BIR smell had gone from the restaurant base!! Where to?
Is it something they put in the base that they also put in the curry?

I am no closer than when I started, well maybe a little more understanding on the base-more veg, less spicing but how to get that taste ? Not a clue

[haldi]

Not a clue

me neither
I was sure it was a vegetable, and then I ran out of vegetables to try
It seems almost impossible, that so many people have approached this methodically and intelligently, yet still drawn a blank