Topic: the ultimate curry

[cg13]

Why isn?t this working

My goal like many people on this forum is to create the ultimate curry and I feel this lies in the creation of the base sauce

I have look through varies sites and on this forum
And have found out

Firstly it is how you fry and boil the onions
I personally fry the onions for a short time then add water and boil them with the rest of the ingredients this being peppers crushed garlic and ground fresh ginger I also add coriander stems

A fairly simple base but I like to start with a simple one then not much can go wrong

If the sauce is to biter I sweeten it with some sugar

So can any one tell me what I am doing wrong

Also my curries do not have that amazing smell that the ones from the takeout have how is this achieved and dose it lie in those spices and the way you cook them I add mine at the start and at the moment I am using coriander paprika ground fenugreek madras curry powder and cumin

One poster I looked at suggested using these spices
Anise coriander mint and dill
has anyone tried this

[JerryM]

i don't think you?re on your own. the base sauce is definitely important but it's not the end of the story. why i say it's important is i used the KD sauce for many yrs (before i realised this site existed). i tweaked it a bit which for me got it much better but it never quite got there for me.

i've now settled on the rajver base (which i feel is a sort of delux/very posh restaurant sauce), saffron (real good everyday sort of sauce), ifindforu (this has some complex tastes going on - i like it very much it's a sort of vintage bottle of wine).

i pretty much follow the recipe as per spec (i don't put much chilli in and probably put less oil in than most) and what's important is when tasting these bases they taste no kidding 100% spot on. what i do is taste as i go so i would say i always go past the suggested cooking times. i think getting the bitterness from the onions (and i think boiling is all that's needed ie don?t need to fry) is crucial - hence the taste as u go.

so i recommend u try one of the above 3 and stick to the recipe exactly (other than chilli, qty oil and times).

One thing is for sure u should not need any sugar in the base.

Onto the amazing smell. a few people have said u need to go out and then come back in after a while ie when cooking u become accustomed. i not convinced on this (not been able to prove it to myself). there are several posts on the forum about toffee smell and i think u should read them. i now get this smell (sort of choking vapour) and i feel its getting towards it - the amazing smell.

i think the spices are another crucial ingredient and certainly BE (bruce edwards) is a good starting point. for me the spices split into spice mix and curry powder. i've just started using the rajah hot madras powder (having always wanted to make my own so that i knew what was in but also had not found a good bought). now i have its 100% spot on. i use LB as the spice mix which i like more than BE because i'm not too keen on cumin (it's taste is not their in the bIR/TA - don't get me wrong cumin is in but not too much).

i've also compared my curries side by side against bought takeaway and its clear the real mccoy is not heavily spiced but i'd say sort of subtlety spiced.

the other 2 factors which are different are sweetness and sort of smokey flavour. i've started adding sugar at the frying stage as oppose to into the base after frying and i'm convinced this avoids producing a sickly sweetness via the sugar caramelising during the frying.

the smokey flavour i'm still searching for. i'm looking for smoked paprika but my local asian stores don't sell it so i'm becoming less of a believer that it will do the trick. currently i put a splash of worcester sauce in and for me results are pretty good.

i add anise and mint to my garam masala which i think needs to be in the base. the cooking in the base sort of top slices the peaks of the strong spice in the garam but it still retains a depth of spice.

fresh coriander in the base and a bit on top for garnish is essential. don't use dill at all (in any cooking).

Sorry that post has ended up too long
 

[cg13]

do you use kd sauce any more if so what is this 
also pleas could you give me a link to these
rajver base and LB spice mix

thanks for the advice so far a really good response I will try what you have said

[Domi]

Hi Jerry

I've spotted a couple of posts in which you say you can't find La Chinata......thought this might help you out

This is what it looks like:



I get mine from the speciality section in Sainsburys, it's around ?1.50 a tin.

Be careful with it too, a little goes a long way!

[JerryM]

Domi,

what can i say.

had u down as a fellow brummie when you were on about Rusty Lee but then the need for a passport to cross the Pennines adjusted mi bearings.

not thought of looking in a supermarket. i'm working just near a Sainsbury at the mo and my good lady keeps taking me shopping their. will keep u posted.

many thanks once again.  ;D

[JerryM]

cg,

KD refers to a very important lady called Kris Dhillon. she wrote a book called the curry secret. for me it was the 1st book that spelt out how to make a base.

i don't use it anymore as the rajver, saffron and ifindforu are a step improvement. i guess a lot has changed since the book was published in i think 1989.

nb the rajver contains coconut. if your not keen then the saffron would be a better start

rajver:
http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,720.0.html

saffron:
http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,2271.msg20262.html#msg20262

Lb spice:
http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,2444.0.html

keep us all posted on how u get on. gary who posted the rajver and smokenspices who posted the saffron are both spot on for points of clarification.


Jerry. Hope you don't mind but to avoid confusion, I changed the link to the revised Saffron recipe. The other links appear okay. SnS

[Davy]

Hi troops,
Just a quick note on the "toffee smell" that everyone seeems to be talking about. I had been reading about oil recycling on this forum so I decided to give it a try. I was using the last of annams base an adapted CTM recipe from KD CS. I used lamb as the meat ingredient. At the end of cooking I skimmed some of the oil off into an old plastic TA container. I had a sniff at the end of cooking and it smelt ok but nothing special. I also noted that during skimming some of the base sauce inevitably gets in there. I popped it in the fridge and forgot about it for a few days. I was making up new base so I decided to chuck it in for effect. When I opened the lid of the container POW! A "Toffee Spicy Like smell" that to be honest I don't know if I had smelled before in the curry. I just wonder if you were say to take 500mls of oil and heat it to high temp then add some ginger/garlic paste, a few spices such as methi, cumin, salt and a ladle of onion base. Then fry the hell out of it to caremalise the onion base. Cool it, stick it in the fridge to let it mature. Then use this to fry our curries in. Would this give the taste we seek? I shall try and report back ;D     

[cg13]

hi davy I think this might work
I left some oil in a bottle overnight from a base sauce and even after a night I went back to check it and the smell was quite potent

I will also experiment with this and report back

Ow by the way do you use any water in your base sauce if so when do you strain the oil of I have been using oil and water together but this will make the oil less effective to cook with when making the actual curry 

[JerryM]

Sns,

no probs on changing link to the rajver. glad you're on the ball. i had not realised there are two posts.

cg,

Nb the rajver recipe i copied back in january this year has a longer cooking time for the 1st stage (2hrs, not the 30 mins in the revised recipe). i don't know why but i can't see 30mins working). i'll post in the rajver post any findings on how the difference has come about.

[JerryM]

Davy/cg,

well spotted on the observations on the oil. the results will be quite interesting. i'm also sure this has some part to play and the time element probably important.

not convinced on whether making as a separate ingredients would fit BIR. i'm more inclined to think it's skimmed off the base sauce at end of cooking.

i'm going to try this on next base. probably on the saffron as this has a relatively high proportion of oil.

in terms of separating the water/base off - i too think this to be important as water/base is no good in terms of frying. i think in leaving the skimmed oil for a day or so the oil will float to the surface of the residual base and allow the oil to be separated by pouring it off.

all very interesting stuff