Topic: 'Currytester's' Visit to a Takeaway

[currytester]

Well what do you know - I'm better at this than I thought - I have recreated my local bir curry base - if a little bit thicker but the taste is the same.

Ingredients

3 large onions (600gm) total
4 medium carrots (400gm)total
1 oz coriander fresh
1 pinch methi
2oz Fresh Garlic/ginger Puree
10ml g. coriander
10ml cumin powder
10ml turmeric
1/2 yellow pepper - didnt have red in stock
3 tinned plum tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree double concentrate
30ml BE spice mix
400ml Veg oil
1 green mild chilli the big fat ones
1.5 tsp salt

dice onions,yellow pepper,chilli and carrots and add to hot oil
Fry for around 10 mins until onions are translucent and beginning to take ona slightly golden appearance around edges.
add plum tomatoes all the spices including methi but only half of BE spice mix
Fry for a further 4 minutes to cook off the spices
Carefully add a full kettleful of boiling water
Add Garlic/Ginger puree
Bring to simmer and hold at this point until carrots are nice and soft
Remove from heat and allow to cool
Liquidise
Bring back to simmer and add another kettleful of water
When oil starts to separate stir in tomato puree and chopped coriander
simmer for a further 10 mins
now add remainder of BE spice mix stir then add salt to taste

continue simmering adding water as necessary until oil full separates

Taste again and it should taste like the most basic curry sauce you get from a BIR

I'll let u know what the final curry tastes like later

[currytester]

Admin - you had better move this somewhere more visible - the taste has arrived.

Made the Korma - 4 X Write this recipe down
Made my Pathia - 4 X ate everything even though I used the rajah extra hot chilli powder

After 25 years I can now forget about curry base sauces ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! Relaxation

[haldi]

After 25 years I can now forget about curry base sauces ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! Relaxation

Are you serious?
Do you want a little more time to assess this one?
If you are right........
I can't try it yet, but does this have that extra taste?

[joshallen2k]

Made the Korma - 4 X Write this recipe down
Made my Pathia - 4 X ate everything even though I used the rajah extra hot chilli powder

Currytester - what do you mean by this?

[currytester]

Haldi,

Its the combination of factors that lead up to the successful outcome

I've been in BIR kitchens a lot and always have asked questions, but this last time was the first that I had tried the base on its own.

My surprise came at tasting what I felt was the ( and remember this is only my opinion and also that every BIR produces slightly different tasting curries and you will get used to your personal favourite) sauce that reminded me of the most basic first chicken curry I had eaten in a restaurant.

The last and probably the most versatile base I made was the BE base. The curries produced were as good as most of the local restaurants. I tasted the BE base and it wasnt as tasty ( see original post) as the restaurant base I had tested.

My original base (see currytesters soup) was made one Saturday because I got pi**** with a discussion about adding potato's to a base.

It produced for me a perfectly acceptable curry if a bit rich due to the ghee and chicken stock but was still similar to the best local BIR.

As we all do I wanted to strive for better still and so tried the BE base.

Today I made some decisions - I took what i felt was the best parts of my own base and married it with the BE base plus my conversation with the chef plus the quidance on making the garlic/ginger puree and a bit of artistic licence and some other hints that i uncovered on the site.

This resulted in the base described.

There were other changes I made when I cooked the curries - I precooked the chicken in the oil from the top of the curry and added some curry base and water as needed to keep the chicken and sauce from drying out and boiled the chicken until it was just undercooked.

I then left it to marinate in its juices for 1/2 an hour before making the curries.

In both dishes I added the chicken and juices and made up with the rest of the ingredients and curry sauce to give the amount of gravy I wanted.

There was no exact science here I added ingredients purely by taste alone but using guidelines from the recipes.

I can honestly say that I have never tasted a better chicken korma and the pathia I forgot to add the amchoor and slightly overdid the extra hot chilli powder but it was still better than any of the local BIR's

I dont want this to come across wrong I was happy that I had achieved the best result which was better than the vast majority of BIR's I felt it had the taste.

I can only suggest you try it and compare it with your own best efforts however dont be too surprised if it isnt like your own BIR

By the way I have missed something out of the base recipe which was a small pinch of ajowan added after the liquidising stage.

[currytester]

Hi again Haldi

What this means is that I cooked for 5 people - own family aged between 75 and 18
I was begged to write down the recipe and never change it again by all of them including my 75yo mother who wanted the complete recipe written down so she could make it at home - she lives just 50 yds from a BIR and uses it once a week.

They have always liked the korma no matter what base but this they stated was a step above what they had tasted before. By the way I was surprised - the chicken I felt was going to end up overcooked but it was perfect and virtually melted in the mouth.

The Pathia - they are korma or CTM eaters but the whole dish was cleared for the first time ever and it was extra hot due to too much chilli. Speaks for itself really.

[haldi]

Well I'm definitely going to try this, but it will have to be next week end.
There have been a few posts saying, we should use more carrot in the base.
You certainly have done that!!
How about comparing yours to one you've just bought?
Serve both together
That is the ultimate test

Very exciting stuff, this
Only four onions too, the last experiment I did used half a sack!

[adriandavidb]

Can't wait to hear more about this.

It's interesting that the onion (and various other ingredients) are first fried before simmering, is this something you have seen done in a BIR??

[haldi]

It's interesting that the onion (and various other ingredients) are first fried before simmering, is this something you have seen done in a BIR??

I want to hear what Curry Tester says about this, but one chef told me that some takeaways make a curry gravy without water
They cook the onions in just oil!!
The only water used, comes out of the onions, as they are cooked
Actually that can be a surprising amount

[currytester]

Adriandavidb

I have never seen them make a base - its either made in the morning or last thing at night - morning would be favourite I guess.