Topic: I deep caramelized onions in 10 minutes. Tasted like candy. Pics inside.

[Timpy]

I'm not sure whether caramelizing onion for the base is really a BIR thing, but I did notice in a few "homestyle" videos that this is one of the things they did. In particular, these two videos -

Madhur Jaffrey's Curry Nation (around 4:30, password: madhur)
http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,11933.0.html

The only problem is that caramelizing onions involves a lot of time and attention (this is very evident in the first video). After looking into it though, I found out that a pressure cooker is quite useful for speeding up the process of caramelization (aka the Maillard reaction). See here for a recipe for caramelized carrot soup using a pressure cooker. The results there looked very nice. So, I went ahead and tried it with 4 onions and carrot:



Very important: I added ~1/2 teaspoon of baking soda to this. It's worth noting that the addition of baking soda (in the UK I believe this is just called bicarbonate of soda) alkalizes the water in which the onions cook, which speeds up the caramelization process drastically. Combine this with the extra heat of pressure cooking, and it should be even faster. I also added around a tablespoon of oil to this mixture.

After only 10 minutes of cooking, I ran the pressure cooker under cold water and opened it up. I wasn't expecting it to have turned a deep brown, but it did! The picture quality is poor, but it was a very deep brownish red and the aroma was absolutely amazing:





Since I added too much water in the beginning, it ended up being quite soupy. So I reduced it down for 5 minutes and got this:



I would describe the taste as having a very deep sweetness. It was hard to not keep "taste testing" it, because it tasted like candy. I will be trying this the next time I make curry. The resulting curry from this pictured batch would have been good, but I accidentally drowned it out with way too much tomato puree and lentils (I'm still a newb with curry). I should have used more like 8 onions instead of 4. Has anyone else used caramelized onion for their base? Does this offer any sort of advantage?

[macferret]

Good idea that. We use a lot of caramelized onion, particularly in dishes like Dopiaza and of course onion pilau rice. I like the idea of using a pressure cooker but it would take careful watching as I am prone to burn stuff in mine.
We also use a mixture of onion, garlic and peppers cooked down until brown and very soft in oil with salt, sugar and spices. Some folks call it bunjara. It's particularly useful for dishes that have fewer components such as garlic chilli chicken.  It takes a while to cook and I'll try using the pressure cooker for the next batch.
Cheers.
McF

[noble ox]

The aroma from caramelised onions is out of this world I use it now and again by adding a big dollop when the base is cooked
Very tasty at the end of cooking a curry also makes a super onion bargee ;D

[chrisnw]

I cook a lot of traditional Indian curries and my starting point is usually a pre-made onion / tomato masala, made with equal quantities of each plus whole & dried spices. Takes about 30 minutes to make, keeps in refrigerator for many weeks.

Looks like this -



2 / 3 table spoons of masala is enough for most curries, turn masala yellow, by adding cashew nut paste (for kormas) or coconut cream / milk (Goan style curries). Also, adding salt to onions at start really speeds up the browning process (tip from Indian chef).

Here's a Kerala home style chicken curry I made with this masala -



Chrisnw

[fried]

Does anyone know if the procedure works without a pressure cooker?

And Chrisnw, any chance of posting up the Keralan chicken curry recipe, I love those South indian home-style curries.

[chrisnw]

Just to point out, my Onion / Tomato masala is not made in a pressure cooker, i.e I first brown the onions with some whole spices, then add ginger / garlic paste, tomatoes & dried spices and cook further - about 30 mins in total. The masala has a very intense sweet, caramel, salty, spicy & tomatoey taste, little goes a long way!

I do make my BIR (Glasgow style) base in a pressure cooker though - http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,13166.0.html 

I have lots of recipes using the various traditional masalas, try and get them posted soon. The kerala curry has coconut mllk, tamarind, extra hot red chilli also cinnamon, cloves & green / black cardamom.

Chrisnw

[bamble1976]

When making a base, i have always browned my onions well.  it gives the base a lovely sweetness!  i know it is not b.i.r but i think it improves the curries.  I Recently done a side by side comparison with jb's base and again preferred the browned onion version.

Regards

Barry

[Kashmiri Bob]

Very interesting idea/topic bamble.  Definitely got me thinking. Thanks for posting.

Rob 

 

[JerryM]

I've not found caramelised onion in base to make any difference. I know others do rate it. You would need to make your own mind up.

Bunjarra I do rate and won't make any curry without it.

On the caramelising - which I find essential in none curry cooking. A tip from serious eats is to add small amount of water say 1 tbsp every now and then - works a treat if no pressure cooker.

[chrisnw]

Most traditional Indian gravies and masasla (think curry paste) start life with browning the onions (as in golden brown) in oil with whole spices. In most BIR style gravy recipes that I have encountered, the onions are essentially boiled, although some do call for some sauteing first. I am a very big fan of traditional gravies, but (IMHO) they look and taste nothing like their BIR counterparts. Must point out though, there are some really great BIR base gravy recipes on this site, mine included! (shameless self plug).

"Quelle Surprise" - pre-cooked  gravy & masala are also the starting point of many dishes / curries throughout India (and Pakistan too) . There are many different types of both, depending on the application and there are many regional, village, restaurant and indeed individual home variations, closely guarded secrets abound. You could live for several lifetimes and still not discover all the variations !
 
The onion / tomato masala shown in my original post is a very common variant and works well in many different types / styles of curry, the recipe I used comes from the Hyderabad area of Andhra Pradesh. Many dishes will use more than one masala (or gravy / masala combination), my version of Goan Chicken Vindaloo (shown below) uses the onion / tomato masala and a second  masala made from dried red chillies, whole spices, garlic and vinegar.



Chrisnw