Topic: Jb's takeaway base gravy

[chrisbr]

I'm going to be making this base this weekend and have a few questions for those who have already made it.

How many litres does this make based on JBs measurements?
During first stage, do you add enough water to just cover the onions?
How much water did you add to thin it?
Recipe says 1/4 block of coconut, any ideas how many grams as block size can vary?

Thanks
Chris

[gazman1976]

when diluted I got 7 litres out of it - just diluted at the end until a thin watery soup

Yes

I just guessed that - made until consistency of a thin soup

quarter of a standard block of coconut is what I used - I used pride

[Zap]

Recipe says 1/4 block of coconut, any ideas how many grams as block size can vary?

When making the Massala Paste I researched this a bit.  All the standard ones seem to be 200g, so it would be about 50g.

I haven't made the base yet but am looking forward to trying it.

[Secret Santa]

My conclusion is that the garlic tarka deffo adds another layer of flavour to the finished curry and is something I will incorporate in all my future curries. I would try increasing the garlic to 4 or 5 cloves next time.
Still lacking that underlying savouriness I (used to) get from old school birs. Perhaps upping the garlic will change that??

Mick that mirrors my feelings exactly. Although I haven't tried it with jb's base yet I really doubt that my view will change as the long onion cook, reboiling etc. is something I already do - but I do intend to make jb's base just in case!  ;D

Oh and btw "Perhaps upping the garlic will change that?"...I very much doubt it. 

Well I've just finished a madras made with this base and it does make a pretty good curry at least on a par with what I usually make. But it still didn't blow me away. The Garlic tarka comes through very subtlely but I used a good bit more than jb initially suggested and I'll definitely be keeping this as one piece of the puzzle for me.

It's a base I'd recommend anyone to have a go at but I reckon regional differences may lead to some disappointment.

Still looking forward to any more info that jb can get from them though.

[Kashmiri Bob]

Great work jb!  Loving the garlic tarka idea.  Did you by any chance find out how their chicken is pre-cooked?  Your chicken curry looks stunning. Proper.

Rob 

[chrisbr]

Made this base last night and finished off this morning.  I think I should have boiled for longer as the onions weren't as milky as I think they should have been but after 3 hrs I thought it was enough.

Blended, added water and brought back to heat this morning and added the tarka.  Smell was great but I didn't get the sizzle when adding the base to pan so next time next to heat garlic on hotter flame (I used low as didn't want to burn garlic).

Simmered for about an hour with quite a bit of oil on the top.  Smell of this base is more sweeter and toasty/nutty than usual base (curry2go) and thinner.  Tasted sweeter than c2g base too.

Can't wait to try curry with it but won't be this weekend  ;D


Thanks jb for posting this.


Chris

[ckchao]

Hi JB
How do you reckon this base gravy compared with Little India Base?
cheers

[Donald Brasco]

Finally take another pan,add a chef's spoon of oil and add a very finely chopped garlic clove and brown it.Tip this into the gravy(rinse the garlic pan out with a spoon of gravy).This seemed to give the gravy a fantastic smokey like flavour.Simmer the sauce for about half an hour and the oil should begin to rise.

JB, is the base gravy blended after the addition of the garlic, or does the garlic just stay there in small pieces which show up in the customer's final dish? If the latter, I guess it's pot luck how much garlic makes its way into each dish cooked, depending how much gravy is left in the pot when you order.

Finally, in the photo you posted (duplicated below), is the sliced garlic floating on top of the tikka masala added during the making of that dish, or has it come from the base gravy? Is it definately finely chopped garlic, not finely sliced garlic which is added to the base?

One last thing:

3 kilo white onions(any sort,they chop them so it cooks quicker and it doesn't affect the taste)

They slice them so they cook quicker, then they cook them for a total of 3hrs??  Can you ask next time you're there how much longer they think it would take to cook the base if the onions were left whole?

[Madrasandy]

JB, is the base gravy blended after the addition of the garlic, or does the garlic just stay there in small pieces which show up in the customer's final dish? If the latter, I guess it's pot luck how much garlic makes its way into each dish cooked, depending how much gravy is left in the pot when you order.

 Is it definately finely chopped garlic, not finely sliced garlic which is added to the base?

Already been answered

Is the base meant to be blended again after adding the garlic tarka?

 

No not meant to be blended again,the garlic should be quite fine,

[Donald Brasco]

Ah so in that case the garlic shown on top of the tikka masala must be added when cooking that dish. I've never seen this on a tikka masala personally, which makes me think that a fried garlic tarka might be a signature flavour of this particular BIR's chef. As such I doubt the addition of fried garlic to the base is as ubiquitous as some maybe are assuming, it's just the way this chef (and no doubt some others) does it, but it's not going to be a pre-requisite for cooking BIR base gravy.  More likely this base sauce hangs together well just because the onions and spices are cooked correctly. 3 hours of cooking will tend to make sure all the flavours are fully developed, non?