Urgent question about base sauce

[BRISTOL86]

Hi guys

About to cook my first ever batch of base sauce (have chosen Mick's/Taz's base) and am making it up a couple of days in advance of when it'll first be used.

Just wanted to check on whether this final stage was required if cooking in advance or whether that's only for if you want to immediately use the base:

'Once blended bring back to the boil and simmer and when some oil becomes visible floating on the surface of the base , the base is ready'

Anyone familiar with this recipe that can help out? Thanks! Sorry if it's a daft question, but want to try and get everything spot on!

Im presuming this step is required whether you're using the base immediately or portioning it up to refrigerate/freeze but wanted to double check!

[Garp]

It's required mate. Let the base cool and stir in any oil on top then freeze 

[fried]

Make sure you follow the Taz recipes for making the finished curries. It's a different method than using other bases.

[BRISTOL86]

Thanks guys - yes fried I'm doing a Bhuna recipe on Sat which specifically mentions the Taz base but wanted to get the base made up tonight in advance :-) presuming a small quantity of it will be ok in the fridge until then? Will freeze the rest as soon as its cool

[curryhell]

As the Taz base contains a lot of oil, you certainly don't have to rush to freeze it immediately, just refrigerate.  I reckon you'll  be more than good with it in the fridge for five days quite safely before you commit it to the freezer.  Stephen Lindsay is the Taz base expert on here and has put up many recipes for the base, so look for his mains 

[BRISTOL86]

Thank you :-)

[Stephen Lindsay]

ty CH for describing me as the Taz expert - no pressure lol. I can confirm that over many years of using this base I've never blended it and returned it to the pan. I make sure the veg is thoroughly cooked, let it cool a little, then blend immediately. I've used both a stick blender and a liquidiser to good effect. The base has so much oil it will keep for at least a week in the fridge. You can freeze in portion sized batches too and I've done this many times also.

As an aside I've just finished making six portions of Punjabi Masala (3 pans going at a time x 2 batches) as I have band mates coming over on Saturday for curry and beer. Tomorrow it will be CTM X 6 and then on Saturday Lamb Kofta curry x 6. There will be plenty left over!

As fried says you need to follow the cooking method as the Taz base and method go together.

Hope this helps, any problems give me a shout.

[BRISTOL86]

Thanks Stephen! Just finished the base and this is how it came out - looks broadly similar to others in the Taz thread so hopefully I haven't gone too far wrong!



The recipe I'm doing on Sat is 976bar's Bhuna which specifically mentions the Taz base so hopefully it'll be a winner! It certainly looks good!

Now if someone could point me in the direction of a foolproof, easy method of pre cooking lamb that'll be much appreciated! :-)

[curryhell]

This has got to be probably one of the best methods of pre-cooking lamb available.  Courtesy of Mick Crawford: CBM aka CurryBarkingMad.  Would highly recommend any new BIR chefs to the journey purchase both his books for the paltry sum that he asks.  They provide solid foundations for success    The recipe and instructions to this video are contained in one of them.  They can be purchased through this link:

http://www.indiancurryrecipes-cbm.com/online-store.php

Pre-cooked lamb video here, simply copy and paste the link :



copy and paste the link after the  semi-colon :https://vimeo.com/66017044

[Stephen Lindsay]

Thanks Stephen! Just finished the base and this is how it came out - looks broadly similar to others in the Taz thread so hopefully I haven't gone too far wrong!



Looks good to me!