Topic: Restaurant gravy and vindaloo

[DARTHPHALL]

Now we need to get it 100% .I`ll try as soon as my kashmiri masala arrives ( i`ve got 8 curries in the freezer already, aaa no more room).I`ve also noticed they use slightly less oil so the recipe with 500ml oil is too much ,based on what i get down here, so ill go for 300ml & lower until i get approx 3 mm of oil on the surface of the actual gravy .Also the oil is not as read as i get it more of a dark golden orange,i believe this is because i have my oil on hot for a longer time than them & they also told me not to cook beyond just going golden(the onions,garlic,ginger ect,although i think they use powders,thats what my stomach acid is indicating).

[Blondie]

Hi all,

I asked some in my local takeaway on Friday,

1. Can you give me a reccipe for your base gravy please ?
A. No my friend it is the secret of the chef ?

2. Can you sell me a portion of the base gravy, I will pay the price of a made up curry sauce ?
A. No, sorry.

He then asked me,
why do you want to know ?
A. I've been trying to make a curry as good as yours for years.

He then asked me,
How do you make your curry ?
I told him For the base I use, I then described more or less what we all know ie oil, onions, garlic puree, ginger, tomatoes, water, turmeric, cumin, coriander, carott, tomatoe puree, garam masalla, salt etc
He said, I'm surprised you are asking me, you know as much as I do.
BUT he did go on to say,
THEY USE PEELED FRESH TOMATOES NOT TINNED OR PASATTA IN THE BASE.
THEY DO NOT USE GINGER IN THE BASE SAUCE
THEY DO NOT USE GARLIC PUREE IN THE BASE BUT CHOPPED IT GIVES MORE FLAVOUR.
AND WHAT I THINK IS MOST IMPORTANT - THE ONLY ADDITION TO THE BASE TO CREATE THE STRAIGHT CURRY SAUCE IS SALT.

I also asked about asfoetida.
What is it he said,
I told him hinge gum, devil's dung it smells horrible and is used in small quantities, sometimes in place of garlic and/or onion
Never heard about he said.

What about Kachri a powder or fruit used for tenderising.
Yes I've heard of it but we don't use it.

Hope this helps someone.

Cheers,

Blondie
 

[pete]

Thanks Blondie
It's all so confusing.
We are doing it just about right.
It's bound to differ a little when you ask different chefs.
So no spices or ginger.
Peeled tomatoes
Chop your garlic and put in salt?
Ok, I'll give it a bash when I make a new base up.
Thanks

[Curry King]

Nice one Blondie!

Ive had that chefs secret response enough times myself and im sure that half the time they say it as they can't be arsed to explain the whole gravy process and ingredients to you, when they realise you actually know what your talking about they are a bit more open. 

Im sure that what you were told about the standard chicken curry is right, my base is nice on its own and a little salt and spiced chicken added would make a nice curry, il have to try it.

[Blondie]

Hi Pete,

The spices are there in my above comments mate,

cheers,

Blondie

[pete]

Hey!
Do you remember this base from Heidi on in2curry
Blondies simplistic base reminded me of it

From:? HEIDI READMAN-AHMED
 Posted: 25/04/2004 01:57:21
? Add Reply
 
BOIL YOUR ONIONS HALVED WITH YOU SPICE UNTIL THEYRE SOFTENED. BLEND UNTIL SMOOTH IN BLENDER AND THATS YOUR BASIC MASALA. IN YOUR PAN YOU WANT YOUR OIL, GARLIC, TOMATO PUREE ( IF DESIRED ) FRESH ONION ( IF DESIRED ) AND CURRY POWDER TO TASTE. COAT IN THE OIL AND FRY ON A HIGH HEAT FOR AROUND 25 SECONDS THEN ADD YOUR MASALA. THEN ADD YOUR PRE COOKED MEAT AND REDUCE TO THE THICKNESS YOU DESIRE. A DASH OF CORRIANDER, SERVE AND ENJOY !! GHEE IS NOT ONLY WHAT IS USED. IN MOST RESTAURANTS THE GHEE IS RESERVED FOR MAKING THE PILAU RICE AND TO COAT NAN AND DIFFERENT MEATS WHEN IT COMES OUT OF THE TANDOOR. WHEN I REFER TO OIL ABOVE, I MEAN NORMAL VEGETABLE OIL. CURRY POWDER IS IN FACT A CURRY CHEFS GODSEND !! OH AND FINALLY, A CURRY THAT YOU REFER TO AS A REAL TAKE AWAY CURRY IS NOT IN FACT A GENUINE CURRY TO SOME EXTENT AS, IF WE SERVE ASIAN CUSTOMERS YOU WILL FIND THAT THEIR CURRY, THOUGH POSSIBLY OF THE SAME NAME AS YOURS, IS IN FACT A TOTALLY DIFFERENT PRODUCT. ASK AN ASIAN FRIEND TO EXPLAIN THIS TO YOU BETTER.
 

[ghanna]

Hi, All
I got a  recipe for a  curry gravy that uses only onion ,water, bay leaves, and a Cinnamon stick.
It can be as plan as this.
Thanks
ghanna

[DARTHPHALL]

Made this base & vindaloo.
The base mix is is really very good & i would say on a par with the one Ive been using the last 2 years.I will use this along side my original recipe to get the vindaloo/Tindaloo right.
The vindaloo turned out not so good on account of me overcooking the garlic & ginger & it went bitter  .
But so far the closest is the Curry Secret (k Dillon) witch i bought on Amazon.
It has that underlying curry /savory(slightly beefy) smell but there is a missing ingredient/method & the most annoying thing is twice before i have got the other smell/ingredient/method right but am not able to produce both at the same time(B****X !!) the second "smells like curries " came from Pat Chapmans book on cooking a Phall.
If anyone comes to Cornwall on their holidays i would be interested if you tried the Vindaloo in Newquay & tell me if it tastes like most bir`s further up the country although i suspect it is very similar but for a difference in method or one or two extra ingredients,
i will continue to ask questions & ask for cooking lessons next time (hoping to go next Saturday).

[Curry King]

The vindaloo turned out not so good on account of me overcooking the garlic & ginger & it went bitter .

Yep im fairly sure over cooking isn't neccessary, after not doing it for a while I dont think browning it just right makes a noticeable improvement to the finished taste.? I usualy fry it on its own over a medium heat for about a minute before adding the tom puree.

But so far the closest is the Curry Secret (k Dillon) witch i bought on Amazon.

Im not so keen on it myself, Ive got the book and must admit that ive not so much as opened it in over a year.?

[Mark J]

Yep im fairly sure over cooking isn't neccessary, after not doing it for a while I dont think browning it just right makes a noticeable improvement to the finished taste.? I usualy fry it on its own over a medium heat for about a minute before adding the tom puree.

I dont think browning the garlic and ginger makes that much of a difference either