I'm a slow mover me, like the tortoise in the hare & the tortoise, and this thread burst out of nowhere! Damn, I made up a different base today, wish I'd seen this thread first. It'll be next on my list.
JB says chop, but Chewy's picture clearly shows sliced, but there is no guarentee those garlic slices were tarka'd. I guess there is less chance of sticking & burning with fine slices. And I see no problem with blending at the end. Meaningless fine details.
Chewy's is my go-to base at the moment, so the main difference I see is no cabbage, and the addition of cocunut. Coconut was a standard addition to my "from scratch" curry I developed over many years, so I can well imagine the flavour that brings. The garlic tarka is interesting. I fear a little moving too far from Chewy's, the cabbage must be a key flavour contributer, but no harm in trying, nothing to lose.
Reading between the lines, it seems like the original recipe chef spoon can be substituted with 4 tbs (I know everyone has different idea's on this, but this comes from JB and someone else who reported back positive results). It also seems like 4-6 garlic cloves should be tarka'd instead of the original quoted 1.
Very interesting. Thanks for sharing JB! Was excited about today's base until I read this

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