Bruce Edwards Curry Sauce & Basic Curry - From The Man Himself

[JerryM]

i cooked again tonight and realised an elementary mistake i made the other night - apologies - it does show how close and yet so far u can be in curry cooking though.

the mistake - in following the spec to the letter i used 1 tsp of tom puree for the 1st as spec BE curry. trouble is i used this same qty for the other 6 curries. 1 tsp of tom puree is no good to me at all being a tomato/garlic/onion geek.

tonight i went with gut feeling and used my normal 1 tbsp of tom puree throughout. i also upped the BE spice from 0.5 to 1 tsp. i also made my norm LB.

all curries were spot on (made 4 off curry sauces) and as good as i've made before other than the extra creaminess which i adopt for future (blending the garlic/ginger at start of base).

CA's comment on the BIR reqts is key - i believe this base and curry to be very close but not quite there. i felt i needed another trip to the TA to complete a side by side comparison for further clues for going fwd.

I share Adrian's interest on the paprika as the LB contains high % and tastes equally good as the BE spice mix - just different.

I am no longer getting fused on the cooking technique and spice temp - i've now tonight abused both methods with quite large margins and the resulting curries are just as good whichever way/heat is used.

From this learning my thoughts going fwd on closing the 5% gap are:
1) whole spices in the base removed before blending (cardamom, bay, anise)
2) blend garlic/ginger (as per BE)
3) coriander a must in the base (as per BE)
4) increase turmeric in base and spice proportion (as per BE) (for me just paprika and turmeric needed - rest in spice mix)
5) onion ratio (as per BE) but thin the finished sauce with water to aid simmer at final cooking stage (2/3 finished vol allowing 1/3 evaporation)
6) apply oil reclaim (depending on personal preference)
7) add methi to spice mix so that it is fried (presume nothing new - i tried previously adding after the base when it's not as effective)

[Jeera]

I agree with you on paprika required in the base. Look at Jasper's Munich base - that wored really well for me, so adding some of this to the base could be the killer ingredient - definately not the smoked version otherwise it ruins it imo.

[JerryM]

Jera,

i've made several derivatives of the CRO2 base to check the influence of coriander, cumin, turmeric and paprika in a base comparing my std curry sauce against actual BIR. the paprika is unfortunately not the killer ingredient but it is more significant than coriander and cumin (in the base) in terms of getting closer to BIR.

very much agree on the smoked paprika in the base also. a small amount in the spice mix works well though.

[Bobby Bhuna]

the paprika is unfortunately not the killer ingredient but it is more significant than coriander and cumin (in the base) in terms of getting closer to BIR.

Really!? I find it is by far the other way around

[parker21]

hi guys
if you read bruce's curryhouse cookery again about the spice mixture it says that paprika is optional! and is only used for colour. so that is why bruce has optionally left it out i guess :.
with regards to the temperature the onion/peppper/"tomato puree" is added to the pan in order that you get some indication of how hot the oil is so when is starts to sizzle add the spices/ chilli powder and fenugreek it should start to foam showing signs that it is frying allow time for the toffee smell and colour change then quickly add the base sauce and stir well. fry until the oil begins to rise then add the next ladle of base sauce stir well then add the chicken heat through until the oils rises again remove from the heat spoon off any excess oil and add the corinader
and serve
hope this clears things up a bit more

regards
gary

[adriandavidb]

Thanks parker 21, guess I should have re-read Bruce's monograph!

Another question that bothers about 'base' manufacture (oh no! here I go again!), is fried garlic/ginger compared to blended-and-boiled-with-the-onions garlic and ginger!

I here what everyone says about garlic needing frying first.  I used to make a KD base in which it was blended and boiled.  I have now modified by base and fry the garlic & ginger (home made) puree in the oil, prior to adding spices to the oil followed by blitzed tinned tomarto and tomarto puree.  After a few mins I dump all the oil fried stuff in with the boiled onion mix and continue in the 'usual' way!

I have to say I can detect no discernable difference in the taste of the garlic / ginger in the final base no matter which method I use.  Not only Bruces's base but one or two others that are highly regarded on here involve just boiling garlic and ginger puree, this suggests that to some extent the 'just-dump-all-the-base-ingredients-in-one-pot' school of base preparation has a lot to recommend it!  Certainly saves time and faf!

Another thought, in Bruce's early stuff he sets great store by the 'tarka' part of base preparation, in which tomarto puree is fried then added to the base.  I recall he thought it very important and should be done in the final stages to avoid loss of flavour.  What has happened to all that business in the latest recommendation??

[Bobby Bhuna]

Another thought, in Bruce's early stuff he sets great store by the 'tarka' part of base preparation, in which tomarto puree is fried then added to the base.  I recall he thought it very important and should be done in the final stages to avoid loss of flavour.  What has happened to all that business in the latest recommendation??

It's been many years since Bruce's original curry house cookery articles and like all of us, his opinion will have changed on certain things. I for one, have  stopped trying to compare this recent offering with his older stuff.

[haldi]

How do others, that have bought bases from BIR's, think it compares?  (Haldi, for example, who I know has bought several bases and cooked them at home?)

This base is quite similar to one I got, from a takeaway, called Curry Busters
I had frozen their sample and compared the both
There is, however, an underlying taste that is missing
Lets face it, if you boil oil and onions for three hours you are going to get a different result from something cooked for a third of that time
You are never going to get the same unless you do exactly the same

The best result I ever had from cooking with a bought curry gravy, was from "Bombay Style"
The aroma that came off when it was heated was incredible
Some of their simpler curries are little more than heated curry gravy with precooked meat/veg
So that is very similar to Bruce's recipe
If I could produce a curry gravy to that standard, my search would be over

[Curry King]

The best result I ever had from cooking with a bought curry gravy, was from "Bombay Style"
The aroma that came off when it was heated was incredible

Are you sure it was just plain base that you bought haldi, one of the ones you have seen being made?

[joshallen2k]

I live in Canada, so I can't answer this myself.

Are UK TA's willing to "sell" you a carton of base gravy only???

I think there have been enough good demo reports on this site for finished curries, in terms of ingredients and methods, that being able to "deconstruct" a base sample could be invaluable.

Is this what you are trying Haldi?

-- Josh