Topic: Pastes & Puree's

[Davy]

Hi All,
Bear with me on this as I know it isn't strictly in the right forum but after looking at so many bases and the on going debate ie Darth or saffron etc we only seem to see one or two different ingredients the crux of which seems to be peppers, cellery etc or the more fiery flavours. It has been said that Darths base is good for Madras and Vindaloo and Saffrons more versatile but Darths probably ahead for Hot rich curries, the debate continues! This got me to thinking what a BIR chef "Might" do. Make up a an Onion, Pepper, Celery paste to add into the base to give it the extra oomph! When needed? I know for a fact the Chinese T/A use pastes such as Lee Kum Kee Black Bean as a matter of course. We know some use Pataks. Any of our guys in the field see this done? I know Annam did on his kitchen visit. Could this be a part of BIR cooking we are 0verlooking?        

[JerryM]

totally agree on this.

i think a base only needs to get to a certain threshold. after that it's impact on the final dish is not that great. yes - obviously bases do taste different and therefore produce a different taste. what i'm saying is the same a u i think it's the rest ie pastes that now become crucial or maybe something else.

i'm afraid i don't share the view that u need a certain base to go with a certain recipe. yes - some will fit together better than others but by tweaking the recipe the fit can be eased sufficiently that it no longer matters. again i think it's the rest again that we need to focus on.

in summary i agree and feel we must still be overlooking something. don't get me wrong my curries are now "wanted" by the family (since CRO membership) as opposed to be grudgingly eaten. currykings CTM, Chris's rogan josh and UB's pathia are being requested that much that i'm going to have to get a bigger stock pan (currently 4.5l)

so what are we overlooking? i think we need some lateral thinking by all. i can't believe that we don't already know the answer given the experience the various members have had.

for example is it the recovered oil, the wok burner, how the spices are cooked in the pan. i just hope it's not the pataks (reminds me too much of vesta 70's supermarket curries) but i'd be happy to eat humble pie on this one.

[Davy]

As per my latest post in the ultimate curry thread. I think it has something to do with the oil or a variant there of. I know the chinese season their oil and the BIR chefs have a hot pot of oil on the stove top just as the chinese do. When I cracked open that reclaimed oil container I knew if I could transfer that smell to a curry that would be it. Just as a curry often tastes better the next day I think the maturing process might well have something to do with it aswell. Maybe it's just as simple as some base fried in really hot oil and spices allowed to cool and develope and added at the end of the curry?  As reagrds the existing curry recipies we have I totally agree. I tried Bobby's Korma recipe and it was knock out. Best korma I've done so far all thanks to this forum. Most of all simple and quick as you would expect from a BIR. What we must always remember we are looking at a pre prepared ingredient as BIR's just don't have time to fry out things for 1/2 an hour during service. Time is money!