Topic: Saffron vs. Darth 100 Percent Madras Clone base sauce comparison (illustrated)

[Rai]

It's not like the Darth Madras lacked Tomatoes, my girlfriend is a bit of a tomato fiend. With a different judge it could have easily swung the other way

But it did didnt it?  Because there were none in the base and only 1 tsp of tomato puree in rajvers madras recipe.  Whereas darth adds passatta in his madras recipe and the saffron base has tomatoes?

[Secret Santa]

It's not like the Darth Madras lacked Tomatoes, my girlfriend is a bit of a tomato fiend. With a different judge it could have easily swung the other way

But it did didnt it?  Because there were none in the base and only 1 tsp of tomato puree in rajvers madras recipe.  Whereas darth adds passatta in his madras recipe and the saffron base has tomatoes?

I don't understand what you're trying to say there Rai. Bobby isn't making two different curries, he's making the exact same curry with two different bases. Or am I missing the point?

[Curry King]

As I understand it darth happened to like madras and vindaloo and therefore added chilli powder to the base.  Otherwise the base was allegedly from a restaurant (despite what curryking may otherwise think) and is versatile

To clear things up, yes that is what I thought at the time and still do for the following reasons:

1. The bases were labled madras\vindaloo not the base sauce.
2. There were a number of admendmants to the point where there was a new thread to simplify it, why?
3. There was also a recommendation to use olive oil which I would say is a big no no in recreating BIR.
4. Using 8 chicken breasts at a time, if I remember right the recipe was designed to cook 4 currys at once in the same pan, what restaurant does that?
5. I don't think he ever said they were from a restaurant, they were refered to has 'his' recipes.

Theres nothing wrong with any of this of course and lots of people have had success with his recipes, great stuff. My curry cooking time is limited though and given the backlog of bases and recipes I still have to get through I have to decide whats worth spending my time on.  

[Bobby Bhuna]

But it did didnt it?  Because there were none in the base and only 1 tsp of tomato puree in rajvers madras recipe.  Whereas darth adds passatta in his madras recipe and the saffron base has tomatoes?

How else can I put this Rai? It tasted really good and didn't seem like it was missing anything. With the Saffron base, the curry tasted slightly more "tomatoey" but it's not as if the curry with the Darth base wasn't "tomatoey" enough. Like I say, it was really good and very similar.

I can't use Pasatta, because it's rarely used by BIR recipes on this site and for a base comparison I have chosen a simple, generic recipe. As I've said, I really can't see any fairer than that.

Any other base, when combined with a recipe that uses Pasatta would be at a disadvantage, as the addition of this otherwise rarely used ingredient is not what they are meant for. If you are saying that the Darth base is meant specifically to be coupled with the use of Pasatta, then it is not versatile, since it would not work with nearly all other BIR recipes.

However, if as you say, Darths base is versatile, then I should be able to use it with simple generic recipes, like the Rajver Madras, which I have, successfully. I don't understand why you are unsatisfied by this. I assume your point is that I just can't compare bases? If so why not? I've used a very simple, standard third party recipe.

[Domi]

I can't use Pasatta, because it's rarely used by BIR recipes on this site and for a base comparison I have chosen a simple, generic recipe. As I've said, I really can't see any fairer than that.

But surely you're making the same point as SS there Bobby....The rajver curry recipes are based on a blend of spices which compliment their base sauce, just as Darth's recipe for madras is built around the spices used in his base sauce, which proves exactly why you can't mix and match recipes sauce-to-base-wise as too much of or completely missing what may be an essential ingredient will drastically affect the resulting curry taste. If you can't use passata, then you're not following darths recipe, merely using it as a guideline

[Bobby Bhuna]

If you can't use passata, then you're not following darths recipe, merely using it as a guideline

To clarify again, I'm not following Darths recipe. That is why I've chosen a third party recipe.

I'm comparing two supposedly versatile base sauces by using them to make the exact same curry, in which the only difference is the choice of base sauce.

I don't care if Darths recipe uses Pasatta, or anything else for that matter because I'm not comparing curry recipes. I'm putting two popular and supposedly versatile base sauces head to head, to see which one is superior.

[Rai]

I'm putting two popular and supposedly versatile base sauces head to head, to see which one is superior.

Maybe put them head to head using darths madras recipe bobby and see how that pans out?  Probably prove secretsanta right again (maybe) 

[Bobby Bhuna]

Maybe put them head to head using darths madras recipe bobby and see how that pans out?  Probably prove secretsanta right again (maybe) 

You fail to see the point here Rai. I am using a simple third party generic base for the comparison, otherwise the recipe choice favours the related base sauce.

[Rai]

No, I understand and accept what youre saying bobby. 

Maybe put them head to head with the saffron madras too then (or the rajver base and madras)?  I think all youll be doing is proving secretsantas (and domis) point

And that scares me 

[Bobby Bhuna]

I think all youll be doing is proving secretsantas (and domis) point

To which point are you referring?