Topic: New Base Gravy from visit to Saffron

[Secret Santa]

I agree. I can't see that coconut needs to be cooked for several hours in a base sauce, so doesn't it make more sense to add it when making the final curry, only if justified?

I don't think it's that black and white though George. Who knows what chemistry is happening on a long base cook compared to a brief fry off in a curry?

Recently, the best final curries I've made have been made using the worst tasting base sauce. Go figure!

Absolutely George. As much as I like the Glasgow base on its own, it's quite delicious, the curries just don't match the promise the base taste might indicate, at least not for me anyhow. I don't think in general there has to be any correlation between the base taste and the quality of the finished curry made with it.

[ELW]

Just helps balance the flavour from a huge amount of boiled onions. In the quantities used in a base it will never end up coconut flavoured. Apart from the smell you'd struggle to know it was in there.

Great tasting curries from the worst tasting base Need to take your word for that one George

[Madrasandy]

Does anybody still use this base?

Im more happy with the one Im using at the moment, but this Topic has the 2nd highest number of replies ever. Must have that many for a reason.

[Xacuti]

I'm going to give this one a try as my first effort. A question though: will this be ok for freezing, if I make up a batch and also, at the end, once the oil has risen to the top, presumably it would be best to try and stir thus back into the sauce to ensure an even distribution for each portion to be frozen?

[london]

Stir the oil back into the base, cool and freeze in 300ml portions.

London.

[Hawkeye]

Thanks for this post, I made it last night and your Madras, worked a treat. Sometimes there appears to be more separated fat ( ghee? ) in restaurant curries?

[london]

the more oil or ghee you start with the more come out at the end.

London.

[ast]

And it's not just the oil in the base either. It depends on how much you put in the pan for the final curry you're making and how much time you spend frying the base.

Mind you, I haven't done this for a while, but that's what I remember. The more time, the thicker the sauce due to the reduction and the more oil in the base is likely to be released.

[Peripatetic Phil]

And it's not just the oil in the base either. It depends on how much you put in the pan for the final curry you're making and how much time you spend frying the base.

Mind you, I haven't done this for a while, but that's what I remember. The more time, the thicker the sauce due to the reduction and the more oil in the base is likely to be released.

All that makes sense to me apart from "how much time you spend frying the base" -- could you possibly explain how that comes into the equation, please ?

** Phil.

[ast]

And it's not just the oil in the base either. It depends on how much you put in the pan for the final curry you're making and how much time you spend frying the base.

Mind you, I haven't done this for a while, but that's what I remember. The more time, the thicker the sauce due to the reduction and the more oil in the base is likely to be released.

All that makes sense to me apart from "how much time you spend frying the base" -- could you possibly explain how that comes into the equation, please ?

** Phil.

Basically, it's about when you make it in the pan.  Rather than explain it again, and that I haven't really done it in at least 6 years, this is a post I did years ago earlier in the thread. Skip to the METHOD heading: http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,2271.msg19827.html#msg19827