Topic: Who believes there is a secret ingredient to the curry base?

[Ashes]

Kris Dhillions base seems to fit in with how a curry house might make a base sauce,
as its very neutral, and would fit in with every curry without dominating a particular
taste outside onion garlic ginger ect.

The interesting thing is the frying of the spices in the tomatoes
If you have ever tried to skip straight to to adding the spices
and tomatoes at the start of onion/garlic/ginger mixture then youll
find it comes out very weak indeed.

If you follow this conclusion, then using less water in the onion mixture
and frying the tomato mixture longer would make a more concertrated
taste. You could add more water later

This might make a tastier base sauce?

[blade1212]

I've just polished off a fantastic chicken madras made from a Kris Dillon base today and I've got to say it was great. I hit patches of the taste in the final dish. I'm sure we're nearly there - mind you I've said that before

Here's what I used in the final dish

3 tbl oil
1 tbl pre cooked turmeric onion
1 tbl tomato paste (will use ketchup next time)
1 lvl tsp salt
1 tsp Rajah curry powder
pinch garamasala
pinch methi
3 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp fresh coriander
(ran out of green chillis but would add these next time)
3 ladels of Kris Dillon curry gravy
pre cooked Chicken (10 min boiled version)
2 x 1/4 tomatoes
1 tsp lemon juice

1) Heat oil, add pre cooked onions
2) add everything upto the base sauce and stir for 30 secs (added water to stop sticking)
3) add 1 ladle of base
4) add pre cooked chicken, stir for 1 min
5) added 2 ladels of base, tomatoes, lemon juice, cook for 5 mins. Leave it to stand for 5 mins

here's a picture of the pre-cooked onions (cooled down). They taste nice.

I heated 4 tbl oil, added 2 tsp turmeric  and cook for 30 secs and added  6 small onions finely chopped. Turn down to med-low and cook for 30 mins.

[pete]

Great description Blade
Nice shot of the onions too!
The ones I saw in the curry house were not as bright as those
But I bet that's because they were older

[thomashenry]

There is ABSOLUTELY NOT a secret ingredient in the base sauce.

The magic comes AFTER.

Any of the sauces commonly used on this site will suffice.

Personally, I would like to see a decent number of us commit to using just one (I'd go with Dhillion) from now on, and sticking with it. The variables are elsewhere, and the way everyone is fussing over the base sauce makes it that much harder for us all to concentrate on the DISH COOKING, which is where it's all at.

This is the TRUTH people, seriously.

[Curry King]

The variables are elsewhere, and the way everyone is fussing over the base sauce makes it that much harder for us all to concentrate on the DISH COOKING, which is where it's all at.
This is the TRUTH people, seriously.

I agree with what your saying, its down to the final dish, the early stages of frying the spices and puree's in the oil.   I don't agree with the using the Dhillion base though, I recently went back to it as a test and it doesn't work for me at all.  I know people have had some succsess with it but I don't think its right, for one the extra hassle of 2 parts, I can't see a restaurant messing about like that when time is money.  Also the stench of it, that lovely aroma we all talk about that wafts down the street certainly isn't coming from a big vat of Dhillion base on the go  :   

[bryan@232]

There is ABSOLUTELY NOT a secret ingredient in the base sauce.

The magic comes AFTER.

Any of the sauces commonly used on this site will suffice.

Personally, I would like to see a decent number of us commit to using just one (I'd go with Dhillion) from now on, and sticking with it. The variables are elsewhere, and the way everyone is fussing over the base sauce makes it that much harder for us all to concentrate on the DISH COOKING, which is where it's all at.

This is the TRUTH people, seriously.




                   I agree ONE HUNDRED PER CENT. Thomashenry, do you know more than you are letting on by any chance??   

[Ader1]

I don't know if this has been done bofore....An experiment:  Get somebody to cook a curry from the Dhillon sauce and one from Edwards and maybe one from  Chapman.  Also have a curry present from a decent Indian restaurant.  Have a few 'guinea pigs' who are into their curries taste to see if they can work out 1.  Which is from the restauratn  2.  Order of preference.  It might even transpire that the participants correctly identify the restaurant curry but prefer another.  Who knows?  I sometimes think that there is too much made of this secret ingredient and think it it more to do with the fact that somebody else has cooked it and presentation etc  I also think that freshness of spices and quantities must have a big part to play......

[Angelina]

? Who knows?? I sometimes think that there is too much made of this secret ingredient and think it it more to do with the fact that somebody else has cooked it and presentation etc? I also think that freshness of spices and quantities must have a big part to play......

Agreed!

I made a curry the other day using Petes base sauce and a recipe for chicken chili massala (sorry dont remember who posted it) and it was wonderful.  No it didnt taste spot on the same as my local curry house, but as I had cooked it, I knew the ingredients were fresh, nothing had been stood around in a warm kitchen, there were no additives etc.  I got a real pleasure from eating it after spending so long preparing it, thats gotta be worth one over on the resturaunt curry hasnt it? Lol probably not, but I wont lose any sleep over it not being spot on :-)

[Curry King]

Hi Angelina,

Did you get someone else to try your curry?  Always a good test is to have another curry lover sample your currys.

[Angelina]

Hi Angelina,

Did you get someone else to try your curry?? Always a good test is to have another curry lover sample your currys.

Yes my partner and son had some too.  My partner said that he thought it was identical in looks to a curry house one.  He thought it was lovely, but cant understand why i'd want it to taste identical!!!!

I used extra oil and skimmed off to save for the actual curry.  As soon as I poured it into the warm pan, I knew this was a very important stage.  This is the way to go for me from now on.

Looking forward to trying some other recipes, I have about four portions of Pete's base left and im undecided yet on whether to try the KD one, think i'll wait for more reports......