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

[Dylan]

  Hi all,

MSG tastes a bit like soy sauce - try dipping your finger in some and tasting it.

[pete]

I had a theory that white cabbage might be part of the "taste"
Yuck!!
It's definitely not

[gary]

I've heard a few people mention how it would be good to get hold of a sample of pure curry base, and the fact that it's actually d*amned hard to get a takeaway to give/sell you some.

Has anyone tried this: go into a takeaway and ask for chips and curry! I remember doing this quite a few times when I was younger (a long time ago!) and the curry sauce we used to get was a dark, savoury but sweet, oniony affair, fairly lacking in any real curry smell - my guess is that this was just some curry gravy fried off with some added chilli powder, and quite unlike your regular mild/medium curry sauces.

Curry sauce was never a menu option at these places (typically Pakistani kebab/pizza/curry shops) but they were always willing to rustle up a quick 'make do' curry sauce for you if you asked.

Just a thought, could help in 'The Quest' I suppose

Gary

[DARTHPHALL]

Nice one Gary !!!!!!!!!!!! 

[gary]

Nice one Gary !!!!!!!!!!!!?

No probs guv'

On the Secret Ingredient subject: the only thing I can think of is Alcohol? Maybe this would explain why the predominantly Muslim Bengali restaurant workers won't eat the very food they'd cooked themselves?

Seriously, I added the remnants of a homemade French Onion Soup to my curry base this week (very reduced, & with all the alcohol burnt off) and boy did it taste smokey, sweet, & savoury! 

Who knows! 

[broon-loon]

Our favourite takeaway has curry gravy on its menu.
They have a 'std gravy' and a 'hot' version (we have always bought the 'hot' version)
It's a dark red, runny gravy with a fantastic taste which is evident in most of the dishes that we have.

I will post a picture next time we buy some.


Also, I was walking past a different local takeaway a few days ago and there was a bloke having a ciggie at the door, (It changed hands a few months ago). He had on a chefs apron so I just asked him if they had a pot of base curry sauce in the kitchen and what was in it?
At first he said 'onions and spices', I asked what kind of spices, and he said 'garam masala' have you heard of it?? He knew by my response that I had some idea of the spices etc, and he then became much more secretive, he then said he was only there to do the front counter stuff and that it was the chefs secret. He did however end the conversation by saying that it's how the onions are cooked that's very important!

I honestly believe he knows more, but maybe I need to use his takeaway more often, (it's not our favourite)!


PS
My latest attempt at base sauce (see picture section) has been sitting for over 24 hours and to be honest I think the smell is average, and nothing like as good as when it was being cooked, but here's hoping!

Broon

[haich]

I saw a program quite a while ago that seemed to imply that tinned tomato soup was used, this seemed to be backed up by the chiefs using what looked like Heinz tomato soup out of large tins with the labels removed. I have not tried this, but it could be added to the base as part of the tomato content, or even to the curry in the final stages.

[pete]

That is definitely worth a try
I made a base with no onions, just tom soup
It was pleasant but not right
Using it as apart of the recipe, might do the job

[Ashes]

This thread was started one and a half years ago and still makes interesting reading, we?ve had several new members since then; so ive dug it out, dusted it off and bumped it up.

Regards Ashes 

[Chilli Prawn]

'I saw a program quite a while ago that seemed to imply that tinned tomato soup was used'

I use Heinz tomato soup for my CTMs and one or two special dishes.  It does work well and saves an awful lot of time getting the taste to authentic way.  I sometimes add a little soup when I am flash frying onions.  It tends to catch and adds something akin to the BIR taste.  It can't be a secret ingredient because i dint think BIRs uses it in all their curries.

On the 'secret ingredient' point; in the 1970s  a lot of people believed that Hashish was the secret ingredient in Phall.  I knew a BIR in Bermondsey that admitted they put a little in for special customers; it certainly felt like it afterwards but that might have been the good ales beforehand.

Happy Cooking

C P