Topic: Bradford curry base - easy to do and perfect

[GuitarDemon]

Thanks for trying the recipe - glad you enjoyed it! It definitely turns out green - the colour of the finished dish is the usual colour due to the spices added at that stage. I made my curry yesterday, and was intending to leave it overnight to eat today. But, as usual, I tasted it yesterday and ended up eating most of it!! Thoe moreishness got to me too !!!

[Bangra]

I made it also but mine was a bit too salty and garlicky and the cardammom stood out a bit too much, maybe I was a bit hevy handed with the ingredients
 I will try again and lower the quantities

Nice one tho ,thanks for the recipe

[lorrydoo]

Are the level teaspoons real teaspoons that you stir your tea with or the ones that are measured at 5ml?  I ask this because one of my a level teaspoons is abot 3ml and the cooks one is 5ml.

Can anyone clarify which spoons to use.

[GuitarDemon]

The teaspoons I use are the ones to make tea with - not chef's measures. Probably 3ml is about right. If the sauce ends up too salty, don't put the salt in at this stage. The chef who taught me used a lot of salt - I like things to have plenty of salt, but it's probably healthier to leave it out. The spanish onions I buy are gigantic ones - easily 1/2 kg each. This may be why the other ingredients stand out, if the onion used is smaller.

[lorrydoo]

Thanks for clearing that up GD.  There is a post on here that says the best BIRs use lower amounts of spice, which sounds reasonable to me.

[lagathy]

this sounds like a really good recipe,i like the simplicity of it. just a couple of questions....do spanish onions really make a difference??my local bir uses normal ones,so i assume its more a matter of taste....also...would love to hear any more tips that you might have(or if you have have the time,acquire from your friend in the takeaway  ) as to the whole prepartion thing...how long do they keep the base sauce for for it to mature properly,or can it be used straight away etc?? also,do they cook the curry at the final stage at full heat(gas-wise) as seems to be the case with some birs??

thanx for the recipe anyway..gonna try it soon..

ps oh y..so you really dont add ANY liquid whatsoever to the onion puree whilst heating it in the first stage???

[Gareth]

Thanks. This base sounds really simple to make - I will give it a go.

Just one question though: how much oil should I use and when should I add the oil?

Thanks again for the recipe!

Gareth.

[Gareth]

Hi GD
     I made the base and it turned out green
It is a different flavour to most curry gravies I know, but similar to the Andy
(or M) "secret" paste recipe
I didn't make the chicken curry with it
I substituted pre fried mushrooms (restaurant style)
It was the tastiest curry of the evening and certainly had a more-ish-ness about it.
It's not a curry I recognise, but one that I would make again
Thanks
Does the curry gravy come out green when you make it?
That's the curry gravy on the left and the finished curry on the right

Thanks for the pictures.

I'm not having as much success as you however!

Can you confirm - did you use a whole bulb of garlic (for example 7 or 8 segments) or just 1 segment?

[scarbmark]

Hi Guitar Demon

Cheers for sharing your post. I'm a Bradford lad living in Scarborough and the one thing I do miss is the Bradford/Pakistani taste. Ive tried the restaraunts out here and they're just not the same. Mostly Bangladeshi origin.
Tried for ages to replicate the taste but I give in. It makes sense when you mention the burnt garlic taste, maybe thats whats missing.
What restaraunt was it you was given a lesson?

Cheers

[Thomasm]

I am from bradford too and know exactly what you mean by the taste of the currys around here however i must say some of the newer/modern curry houses are moving towards the generic red uncooked chilli powder style sauce 
 There is a fantastic traditional style restaurant on manningham lane just opposite valley parade which looks very unhygeinic however this guys lamb handi is legendery really thick dark sauce you can see him cook everthing as it is an open kitchen the place is called the sultan.
as i say its what i would call a mans curry house not a place to take the missus its a bit rough and ready.