Looking for something I read on a Base Gravy

[livo]

I received an email a while back about a "New Recipe Set", and I'm not certain it was this forum.  Anyhow the Base Gravy in the New Recipe Set was pretty much along the usual lines with one very surprising addition.  A small amount of Patak's Mild Curry Paste.  I have not been able to find the recipe again so I'm hoping someone here knows where it is.

I have never seen this particular paste product in the regular Supermarkets. They only ever have the usual small, retail, specific dish style tins and jars of Balti, Korma, Rogan Josh, Vindaloo, etc, etc.  I was in a Chef's Wholesale supplies / International food shop / warehouse not long after reading the recipe and I found bulk restaurant sized jars of exactly that. Knorr Patak's Mild Curry Paste.  It says it lasts 6 months once opened and you do not refrigerate it.   It actually tells you on the label not to.

I used some and was impressed but still I felt something wasn't right. Thin, flat, something missing in my curries.  Last weekend we were having visitors and we decided on curries.  I made a base gravy following a recipe I found on Chef Google, (can't recall where, sorry to the owner) and used some of this stuff and the results were absolutely great.

Here's the recipe of what I made and you'll see it was fairly basic other than this stuff I added in and it made a huge difference.  I made a Lamb Rogan Josh, a Basic Chicken Curry, used some diluted to make the obligatory Mango Chicken and they all turned out great.  Best so far.  Oh and I also made an Onion Paste which I used as well. Maybe it helped the overall result as well.

Ingredients:
4 x Big onions chopped up roughly.
50 grams unpeeled fresh ginger chopped up roughly.  (I used jar for Ginger and Garlic)
50 grams peeled fresh garlic chopped up roughly.
6tbs vegetable oil
1tsp heaped salt
240g (small) tin of chopped tomatoes
1tbs tomato puree
1tsp turmeric
1tsp Paprika
2tsp Coriander powder
2tsp Fenugreek powder
2tsp Cumin powder
2tsp Garam masala
1 / 2  cup of Pataks Mild Curry Paste  (Note I added this in at the combine stage, step 6)


Method:
1. Fry the onion in 1tbs of the oil for 10 mins on a low heat until soft & translucent (don?t let them brown as this changes the taste).
2. Add in the garlic, ginger and salt then add enough water to just cover the top of all ingredients.
3. Bring it up to the boil then turn down to a light simmer uncovered for around 30 minutes.
4. While this is simmering, put the rest of the oil (5tbs), the tomatoes, puree, turmeric and paprika into another saucepan ? bring to the boil then simmer for 10 mins on low heat.
5. Let the 2 mixtures cool down then blend them both separately until they are super smooth.
6. Combine the mixes and bring to a simmer.
7. Add the coriander, cumin, fenugreek and garam masala and leave the whole curry base to simmer for 15 minutes.
8. You need the final sauce to end up being about 1.6 litres - if it's not, add water to this volume now and if there?s too much keep simmering to reduce.  I didn't worry about measuring the finished volume. Just cooked it till it looked right. It is quite a strong thick base gravy compared to what I used in the past.

[Madrasandy]

Cant say Ive seen a base with with this paste in, knorr would I want to make it  seems to be an Aussie thing 

[JerryM]

I think you should forget the recipe. You've got the ability to sort it for yourself.

This reminds me of what I call am English curry. I now see it as half way house between traditional and BIR. I would add the meat and cook all in the pot.

Any paste would do. It makes a huge difference. I don't think patak is the right brand they as you have found have sort of gone up Market to finished dishes. In the uk any Asian store have.

You can't make it yourself.

[livo]

I will certainly be trying to replicate these dishes without the propriety paste but it certainly added a lot more depth to the dishes considering the small amount I used. In the past I've found my Base Gravy recipes a bit bland and thin compared to Takeaways and Restaurant meals and this paste really lifted the complexity of the flavour.

I would point out again though, that this is not the usual Patak's paste that you find in the grocery store, but a bulk paste concentrate aimed to commercial use.  It is very different to the usual little cans of dish specific simmer sauces and jars of paste.  The supermarkets don't even carry a Patak's Mild Curry Paste.  This stuff is thick and very dark brown with a real Indian Restaurant aroma.

I feel quite comfortable using it as it contains no Numbered Preservatives or Flavour Enhancers. The ingredient list reads as follows:
Vegetable oil
Spices (28%) Listed as Coriander, Cumin, Tumeric, Chilli and other spices.
Tomato Paste
Salt
Water
Maize Flour
Food acids (Acetic, Citric and Lactic) So Vinegar, lemon juice and milk acid.
Tamarind
Garlic Powder


The Base Gravy recipe I refer to in the title and OP was actually presented by a BIR chef on either this or the other BIR site. I have been unable to relocate it.

[livo]

Cant say Ive seen a base with with this paste in, knorr would I want to make it  seems to be an Aussie thing 

@ma: It is made in the UK and imported so not an Aussie thing.

[livo]

I think you should forget the recipe. You've got the ability to sort it for yourself.

This reminds me of what I call am English curry. I now see it as half way house between traditional and BIR. I would add the meat and cook all in the pot.

Any paste would do. It makes a huge difference. I don't think patak is the right brand they as you have found have sort of gone up Market to finished dishes. In the uk any Asian store have.

You can't make it yourself.

@J: That is my intention but this product is a short cut that helped me along and has given me a rough target.

[ELW]

Almost everyone says their gravy/curries  are bland, lacking depth of flavour when starting out livo. Most likely the flavour of your gravy is overpowering everything else.
This is the only tricky bit to get consistently right. Once you hit it you'll do a lap of honour round your living room.
Forget the paste for the gravy, but maybe for marinades/curries/pastes. I've never used the paste you've mentioned

Regards
ELW

[Peripatetic Phil]

Forget the paste for the gravy, but maybe for marinades/curries/pastes. I've never used the paste you've mentioned

But /why/ "forget it", Mr Whisty ?  If it works, then isn't it worth continuing to experiment with ?

** Phil.

[Madrasandy]

if it ain

[DalPuri]

I used this paste for many years. In fact, it was the only jar of curry paste (or powder) I ever kept stocked in my cupboard before joining this site.
It was the standard amongst my family as a handy curry enhancer.
The only other paste I rated at the time was Biriani paste which made a pretty good Bombay Aloo. And I tried them all from Pataks. I particularly disliked the Balti paste. :-X

Never tried it in a base gravy though, nor have I used it for years either.