Topic: New Base Gravy from visit to Saffron

[Peripatetic Phil]

As long-standing members of this forum will be well aware, I am probably the last person anyone would expect to leap to CA's defence (indeed, if I were not trying to pour oil on troubled waters, I might put that even more strongly).  BUT, reading this thread with Bob Dylan's and Livo's comments in mind, I have to say that I am unable to locate any evidence that CA was setting out to bellittle SnS.  The last post from CA in this thread was made in 2010 [1], a time when CA was still making a very positive contribution to this forum, and his replies to SnS in this thread seem factual and straightforward.  Bob, I think it might clarify matters if you could cite verbatim the response (or responses) from CA which you feel were intended to belittle SnS.

** Phil.
--------
[1]

Do i stir the oil  back in to the base sauce to seperate into pots for freezing

SnS strongly believes that it should be stirred back in, I believe, and for very justifiable reasons.

[chewytikka]

Don

[livo]

Bob, I think it might clarify matters if you could cite verbatim the response (or responses) from CA which you feel were intended to belittle SnS.

Bobdylan wont be able to provide such quotes Phil because they're not there.

Thanks CA.

Only to be extensively belittled by CorryAnders and his inability to except mistakes, continually rebuffing help and advice offered.

CA and CoryAnders is the same person.

I tried to explain where he understandably went wrong.  Bobdylan has clearly confused the usernames of SnS (who, it would appear, apparently changed username from SmokenSpices) and SS (Secret Santa).  Understandable mistake.  There is also room for confusion in as much as some posts appear to have been "moved" or for some other reason "reposted" by CA, but written by other members (and accordingly noted).  Simple mistake to make and excusable.

This is a good thread and I again thank Bobdylan for bringing to our attention again, There is some junk in it but it also contains lots of useful information.  CA's posts and manner have been well discussed and he copped it and moved on.  In this thread however, there is not cause to criticise him at all that I can see.

[livo]

We are currently experiencing what is known as an East Coast Low. An occasional weather pattern where the atmospheric pressure drops below 1000 HPa and we get pretty wet.  Sydney and surrounds is currently experiencing localised flash flooding with multiple rescues of trapped motorists. My wife is camping (in tents  ;D) with a group of special needs students from her school. 

A perfect day to remain indoors and do a curry micro-cook / experimentation day.  I'll be making a reduced quantity of this base and using it to make the recommended Madras.  I'll also do a Lamb dish. Not sure what yet.  I'm sure Mrs L will enjoy a warm curry tonight.  I may even stretch the base gravy out to include the Chicken Ceylon Naga makes.  (Original Recipe by guess who?    )

Q1) Paprika, Kashmiri Mirch, Deggi Mirch?  Depending upon where you look these could be anything.  I have all 3 so I'm going to hedge my bets with  50/50 Paprika / Kashmiri Chilli which are both fresh this week.  My Deggi mirch is a bit older.
Q2) Fresh tomato and canned?  I'm not convinced this is really necessary but will do it as per instruction.

Comment 1: The revised recipe on P24 really is no different to the original on P1 other than the fact that SnS made it at home and provided weights and measures for his ingredients, changed pints of water to litres etc.

Comment 2: Salad Potato = more waxy / less starchy. What I used here is similar to UK Maris Peer variety. 

Pictures: Stage 1 & 2 ingredients for 1/2 quantity of Saffron Base as per recipe (see Comment 2 re potato)

[livo]

Done. Some observations.
The amount of water added after blending is insufficient. Someone posted early thread about being unable to cook to oil separation and blamed the wrong potatoes.  There is not enough water and the gravy is too thick, holding the oil in suspension.  I boiled it for nearly 90 minutes, adding small amounts of water along the way, with no result. I then added 600 ml of extra liquid and within minutes the oil had risen. The base gravy is now slightly off recipe specification as the liquid used was the lightly spiced water from the chicken pre-cook boil. So mild (minimal) Tej Patta, Cassia bark & chicken undertones may be present, but it's not going to make any difference to a curry using the same pre-cooked chicken. Once removed from the heat and allowed to sit, the oil really came out of the gravy.

It looks, smells and tastes like a nice gravy. The cooked curries will show up how it works.  I already seem to agree with JerryM that the Turmeric is too heavy, but I'll hold judgement to the finished dishes.

In "my opinion" the debate about scum is going to go to Secret Santa.  I diligently removed it every 5 minutes or so. Once I had collected nearly a cup and it showed no sign of stopping, I took a portion of gravy out and taste tested side by side.  No difference whatsoever. My Opinion only.  I used the collected scum / froth in the covering sauce for the pre-cooked chicken so it's going back in in one way or another.

[bolinao]

Hi, I am new here, please be gently , what recipes can i use this base gravy on ? thanks

[Peripatetic Phil]

I had to remind myself what was unique about the Saffron base, and two things leapt out :

• 4 to 6 Salad potatoes (250g unshaved, 210g shaved)
• 25 ml sweet paprika (or deghi mirch)

The potatoes will make the base somewhat thicker than most, so I would not recommend it for a dish where you want the final gravy to be thin; and degghi mirch is so different to sweet paprika that I am staggered that the recipe allows a choice (admittedly the quantities involved are minuscule).  As to what dishes, there is nothing so off-the-wall about this base that you are likely to find yourself restricted by choice, but maybe pick a recipe published by SnS after he adopted the Saffron base as his base of choice (e.g., SnS's Madras using SnS's Base June 2008).

** Phil.

[livo]

An update after I finally had an opportunity to cook with this base.  Firstly, the additional water / stock I added to achieve oil separation was very noticeable in the base, and in retrospect was a mistake.  The first curry I cooked, SnS Madras w/chicken, was watery to taste, so before it left the pan I did several extra rounds of base addition and cook down to remove that extra water.  This was a satisfactory fix and I cooked 2 nice curries, but it is a pain in terms of extra time. DO NOT add the extra water to this base just to achieve oil seperation.  Cook the base to specification and use it as is.  Plenty of oil comes out of it in the final dish as expected.  I may experiment without the potato to see if this is the culprit.

In saying this though, I don't think the base was the only issue with the Madras, which was lacking in depth and richness.  It is a very basic and easy recipe to follow but I found the amount of tomato puree, further diluted 3:1 with water, was too weak. I ended up adding extra tomato "paste", until I was happy with the amount of flavour.  I didn't have the same problem with the Chicken Ceylon I cooked afterwards so it wasn't just the water in the base.  This is a geographical issue with naming. 

What British recipes call Tomato Puree is called Tomato Paste in Australia.  So here's the tip for the new Aussie members.  Tomato Puree is Paste.  Out here Tomato Puree is simply pureed tomato or Passata.  Triple concentrated tomato is called paste.

In the end I achieved 2 very nice curries but it wasn't without extra work. An inexperienced cook would wonder what they did wrong.