Topic: BIR, keep it simple - 9 Korma Chameleon recipes

[fishypops]

Hi,
thanks for this. question: how much is a portion of base curry ?

[Peripatetic Phil]

how much is a portion of base curry ?

Are you buying or selling already ?

[Stephen Lindsay]

fishypops when I make curries using Taz base I start off with 400ml of base. The is cooked in two stages of 200ml each time. The first 200ml gets cooked right down till it forms a dry paste. The second 200ml gets added to make the finished sauce and is reduced to a finished sauce consistency that I like, i.e. not too runny, not too thick. This is done by sight and by feel.

[fishypops]

@Stephen,
Thanks a lot for this advice.  Every little bit goes into the bank.  Does anyone know if there is a section for 'tidbits of advice' ?
I know that there are many different ways of cooking a curry,  but it takes such a long time to go through each of the posts and distill the information down.  That is why KC's method appeals,  because he distills the method down to an essence. His may or may not result in the best curries,  but it helps wading through the options.
In the same way, if there were a 'tips/'tidbits' section for the kind of advice that Stephen has given, that would be really helpful.  Again thanks Stephen.

[Korma Chameleon]

It results in the best curries of course  ;D. 4 guests coming for a curry this Sunday.

And here curryhell's two NIS's broken down. Not done these yet, so the shorthand might need some minor adjustment, but looking forward to them. Had been looking for a curry with tamarind and tandoori masala. Those who go to the troube to compare with curryhell's original posts will notice I skip seperate prep of sauces or similar and just add the largest contributing factor. For example, in #1, I substitute Chewy's Red Masala Sauce with yoghurt and red food colour; the spice and oil I have already. I have also adjusted for my preference, like the removal of Patak's paste, which I hate.

North Indian Special 1
Pre-fry: 1/2 medium onion, 1/4 green pepper, 3 garlic cloves (thick sliced).
Spice fry: 1.5 tsp CA mix powder, 1 tsp tandoori masala, 3/4 tbs tomato puree, fresh chilli.
Main cook: Chicken Tikka, 1/2 tsp tamarind, 1/4 tsp red food colour, 1 tbs yoghurt.
Late additions: fresh coriander.

North Indian Special 2
Change to standard: no ginger.
Pre-fry: 1/2 medium onion, 1/4 green pepper.
Spice fry: 1.5 tsp CA mix powder, 1/2 tsp tandoori masala, 3/4 tbs tomato puree, fresh chilli.
Main cook: Chicken Tikka, 3 tsp mango chutney, 1 tbs lemon juice.
Late additions: fresh coriander.

[Korma Chameleon]

I just did NIS1 above and it was spot on; no tweaking necessary. Never had a NIS in a BIR, but was great as a new distinct curry to add to the repertoire!

The Tandoori Masala didn't come through as strong as I was expecting, so it coud be increased a bit with no worry. Makes me think the half teaspoon on the NIS2 won't be enough.

First time I ever cooked with tamarind. Now I know what that underlying flavour is that I get from my own favourite BIR. Damn; only took me 20 years to figure it out.

[Madrasandy]

20 years isn't that long KC 

[macferret]

I know this thread has spun away from topic more than once, but the question of "when to add gravy and how much" is important.  Much easier to show in a video, but as I am using words, here are some common errors that we see when we run BIR courses:

- gravy in too soon: you need to COOK those spices before you deglaze
- too much gravy at deglaze: you need just enough to stop the spices from burning. Pan flashes are a good sign at this stage.
- cold gravy: NOOOOO!!!
- second ladle of gravy is too soon: the sauce needs to be split and frying before you add the second ladle of gravy. Some crusting is good - and putting the gravy around the edge of the pan helps to loosen the caramelized crusty stuff.
- above all, make sure the gravy is runny. It should be like a thin soup.

[This advice is good for most sauces except korma (depending on how you cook it). We cook korma in the following sequence: hot pan; seasoned salt; oil; white sugar; ground almonds; gravy; coconut milk powder; more gravy; condensed milk; cream; protein; let it crust; more gravy if needed; ghee.]

[Secret Santa]

Good advice macferret apart from adding oil to a korma! The base is oily enough without needing any extra.

[Peripatetic Phil]

Good advice macferret apart from adding oil to a korma! The base is oily enough without needing any extra.

If there were such a thing as "the base", Santa, then your assertion might be defensible.  But as the set of bases is finite but uncountable, I cannot see on what you base your hypothesis.

** Phil.