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

[Bobby Bhuna]

Fair cop. This thread has left me a little melancholy.

[Curry King]

Fair cop. This thread has left me a little melancholy.

One of the best threads in ages, great reading anyway, just a shame it couldn't stay on topic without turning into a slagging match.  Whats up for the BB comparison test next then, how about start on the main dishes with a vindaloo face of 

[Bobby Bhuna]

One of the best threads in ages

Thanks CK it's certainly been explosive in terms of post numbers and content!

I think the next comparison will involve both bases again, only this time with the bespoke recipes in place. Darth base with Darth madras and Saffron base with whatever recipe we decide would go with it (SnS mentioned the one bundled with the base is an incomplete work)

This is less of a base off and more of a complete start to finish recipe-off. I hope I still have more of both bases

[Domi]

For me a good base is one which is tailored towards working well with most generic curry recipes. A base with no tomato is less likely to do this than a similar base with tomato.

The focus should never have been on the tomatoes, rather on the fact that two different bases using completely different spices cannot be used to judge which makes a better 3rd party curry :. Unless you're saying that the mix of spices in the base and the final curry have no relevance to each other (and if you do think that, then you're wrong, blend of spices is all important in a curry, it's what makes a curry what it is )

Tomato is also added in regard to personal taste, as is any ingredient :....If the saffron base would need modification to work with certain recipes, (whether that be the chilli, tomato, paprika or whatever else) it's certainly true of all bases as personal taste comes into play in everything, not to mention the curry recipe which you will be using to make a final dish, a point which you constantly refuse to accept. No doubt the tomato in the saffron base is an essential ingredient, otherwise I they'd bother to have it in there

I disagree strongly with you that a base needs tomato in it, as proof is given in the form of Darth's base, no tomato but certainly one of the resounding favourites if you read the posts on this forum. Missing or adding a half teaspoon of certain spices will greatly alter the final dish (i.e. substituting smoked for sweet paprika or vice versa).

The argument can be put just as strongly for either side, and forgive me if I say it, but I'm right, and you're wrong ;D If you do not modify a recipe to suit the base then you could end up with some real disasters, there are enough threads on this board dedicated to mishaps where ingredients have been substituted, missed altogether or excessive/inadequate quantities used : so what conclusion do we draw from this? it has to be that mixing and matching recipes does not always work and therefore a "one base that fits all" is a redundant ideal. :-X

Can you explain then why some curry houses use more than one base? Surely if they could get away with just the one, as you suggest, it would save time and maybe money too?

As has already been borne out on this board, getting members to agree on one base sauce of choice is impossible, and some of those bases are very similar in content ...this experiment shows one thing, that you obviously prefer the saffron base to Darth's....and no-one can say you're wrong, but in some of the principles you've put up as argument are flawed, as was the taste test imo.

 

[Bobby Bhuna]

so what conclusion do we draw from this? it has to be that mixing and matching recipes does not always work and therefore a "one base that fits all" is a redundant ideal. :-X

In which case, what is your opinion on recipes that ask for "base sauce (any good one will do)"?

[Bobby Bhuna]

Can I ask for suggestions from those of you who consider this comparison unfair, as to how to provide a fair comparison between two base sauces, without adding variables such as curry recipe.

Do you just think that it's impossible / irrelevant?

[Domi]

so what conclusion do we draw from this? it has to be that mixing and matching recipes does not always work and therefore a "one base that fits all" is a redundant ideal. :-X

In which case, what is your opinion on recipes that ask for "base sauce (any good one will do)"?

What I take that to mean is use a base sauce of your choice (but be aware that different spices are used so modify the recipe?) simply disregarding the base recipe may mean that double quantities of ingredients may be used (with chilli it may be way too hot/mild, too tomatoey/not tomatoey enough, too garlicky/gingery etc etc etc....). Obviously this would explain why some people have wildly differing reviews about the same curry recipe? More experienced curry makers (I would assume) would know what is too much or not enough of some ingredients when they check a recipe out and so modify their recipes whilst others blindly follow the recipe and get different or poorer results. Again, I say that when someone posts a recipe, they should state which base they used to make it - that way people can try the curry as it is meant to be tasted by the author, obviously afterwards you would change the recipe (if you liked it enough) to better suit your personal taste (if it doesn't quite already)  or use it with a different base which is of your own personal preference.

Some curries are only an ingredient or two away from one another, yet totally different dishes and the blend of spices between base and curry is all important to the final taste, for a truly fair comparison of bases we'd have to cook each different curry recipe with each different base recipe and choose the best "all-rounder" based on votes by members, one person's opinion is not enough.....as I'm sure Secret Satan will point out, in one way or another, "opinions are like arseholes.....we all have one - sadly, it doesn't mean we can all toot the same tune" ;D Even then it's doubtful whether a truly accurate measure would out as no doubt people would fight over who's the best cook, who's got the best palate etc etc because at the end of the day, it's all personal preference and no-one will be able to convince anyone else that their ideal curry is the wrong ideal curry......it will always come down to handbags at ten paces I'm afraid ;D

[Bobby Bhuna]

I'm enjoying hearing how other people interpret recipes. I'm always been either a "follow the recipe to mark" kind of guy (always on the first time using a recipe), or a complete freestyle curry artist, doing my own thing.

The freestyling sometimes comes out great, but I can never replicate it

The follow the recipe to the mark technique gives me more consistent results however.

I think there is a lot to be said about a***holes and opinions, and you're right - you may not enjoy a curry that I do. That makes things tough though, as we're sharing recipes but not tastes...

I'm beginning to feel that this is becoming a really informative thread. I'm certainly learning a lot about the way that other members do their thing.

Hopefully we can refrain from bitching, moaning and slagging for a while because I feel this thread is maturing and offering some new insight, for me at least.

[Secret Santa]

What concerns me Bobby is that you seem to be interpreting the results of your experiment as a valid test for the comparison of base sauces which it clearly isn't for all the reasons that domi, me, and others have already stated.

All it demonstrates is that for your personal taste, and cooked with your personal technique, and with this particular curry recipe, that you prefer the one made with the Saffron base. That doesn't automatically make the Saffron base is in any way superior (or indeed inferior) to Darth's base or any other base.

[Domi]

Following the recipe is OK for less confident cooks, which is why I feel it's important to specify a base to use. You could make a madras with the saffron base, obviously you'd have to alter the chilli in the curry recipe as the base gravy does not contain it..... but if someone were to use Stew's base recipe, which contains a tablespoon of chilli, the result would be closer to a vindaloo which might not be what the individual is wanting other spices obviously play a part as do tomatoes, too little tomato can ruin a dish, (but it can be salvaged) but if it's in the base and in the final curry recipe, too much tomato in a sauce can ruin it completely.

The more curries you cook, the more you get to know what's right, and instinctively alter a recipe to suit, so differences in bases may not be all that important, but to someone new to curry-making it makes all the difference in the world.

I agree wholeheartedly with what SS said in his post above, the comparison results really mean nothing to anyone but yourself, although it's always good to read what someone's opinion is.....but at the end of the day it's only one man's opinion. I wonder how well the saffron base would measure up against Darth's using his recipe, and vice-versa....which would be a fair test, but it would take the whole forum to cook everything the same way, using the exact same ingredients, which would be too hard to do methinks.