Topic: You beauty! I bought a portion of base!!!

[haldi]

I'm starting to think I know exactly where to find that missing taste we all talk about so much... It's in peoples head.

Hi Bobby, If I buy a curry and cook one of my own too, then serve them at the same time and on the same plate.
Unfortunately, the bought one, is better on aroma and flavour.
I don't understand it, but it is true

It's the same with this base malarky
You can only tell how far you are off, by a direct comparison.
It can't be done by memory

I'm glad you got some base
One of the main things I noticed when cooking with it, was the aroma.
As soon as you heat it, there is the magical BIR aroma

Sometimes when I heat my home made curry gravy, it smells like a vegetable stew
There can be a big difference

[Bobby Bhuna]

1 dsrt spoon turmeric
1 dsrt spoon paprika
1 dsrt spoon chilli powder
1/2 dsrt spoon ground coriander
1/2 dsrt spoon cumin

I haven't done any detailed math, but I would have thought that with 6 onions, these measurements would produce a well-spiced base, vs a bland one.

Well the turmeric and paprika are in there to get the colour, the chilli for the heat and colour and the cumin and corriander for the spice flavour. I think the should be fairly bland. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[Bobby Bhuna]

The curry I want, and that was easily available all over the place in the very early 90's and before, but not much later, appears to be no longer available.

I'm afraid that's before my curry time. I wish I could try what you mean.

[Bobby Bhuna]

I think your thinking is therefore incorrect Bobby.

Yeah, I'll go with that and retract my previous statement.

I can however use recipes from the site and make a curry better than a lot of BIRs in Edinburgh.

The ones that beat the crap out of my home made curries don't taste like my curry + ingredient x. They taste very different indeed and are so delicious they near on bring me to tears. For you guys, are the recipes here almost there but missing that something, or is it that the curry you want just tastes different and better?

[Bobby Bhuna]

I'm glad you got some base
One of the main things I noticed when cooking with it, was the aroma.
As soon as you heat it, there is the magical BIR aroma

Didn't happen for me I'm afraid. Maybe it's just not a great BIR. I got my nose right into the pan when I was cooking it and there was nothing special.

[Secret Santa]

I'm afraid that's before my curry time. I wish I could try what you mean.

and from Josh

Pardon my ignorance and the fact my curry years were 1997 onwards, can someone explain how curries were different before the 90's?

I think we've hit the curry turning point here. The post 1990 curry eaters think the curries on this site are fab and virtually identical to the BIR curries that we now get. The pre 1990 curry eaters - the old farts- know that there is a whole world of difference between what we now get and what we got then.

Can I describe the difference Josh?..Not really. It comes down to more depth, more savouriness and much much more pleasant and enticing aroma. That just doesn't really begin to describe it, but it's the best I can do.

My dream is to find just one BIR that does it old style so that I can say go there and then tell me whether you think you are anywhere near a top notch BIR curry. Until then you'll just have to listen to us old farts whittering on about the good old days!   

Bobby perhaps those restaurants you go to that are way above the norm are old style - could be. BTW I used to have curries in Shotts and Glasgow back in the mid 80's and they were as good as any of the best I used to judge by, which were in London at the time.

[haldi]

My dream is to find just one BIR that does it old style so that I can say go there and then tell me whether you think you are anywhere near a top notch BIR curry. Until then you'll just have to listen to us old farts whittering on about the good old days!   

Hi SS
     I reckon that Bombay Style on Alfreton Road Nottingham, does it
The owner and main chef is called Mamood
He's probably in his late fifties and has been cooking all his life
That's probably why he can do it
If I could produce a curry like his, I would die a happy man

Didn't happen for me I'm afraid. Maybe it's just not a great BIR. I got my nose right into the pan when I was cooking it and there was nothing special.

Hi Bobby
         they all seem to vary a bit
I bought a three curries, earlier this year, and they were awful
It was the first curry, that we actually threw some away
I dread to think what their base was like
Another one, I tried, was inferior to what I can make (but was very very hot!)
What I am chasing is this special flavour
I know two places that can do it, but their curries are totally different to each other.
They use very different spice mixes and boy, does it show in the finished result.
If we keep on trying and experimenting someone will succeed.
More than ever, I feel this extra something, is circumstantial
Because we're all at it, and if it was a simple ingredient, we would have lucked out by now.
Now how about making a new curry gravy with some old curry gravy in it?
Has anyone done that yet?

[joshallen2k]

an I describe the difference Josh?..Not really. It comes down to more depth, more savouriness and much much more pleasant and enticing aroma. That just doesn't really begin to describe it, but it's the best I can do.

There seems to be two eras of BIR cooking. Pre-early-90's and post. I find it odd that BIR cooking across the entire British Isles changed (fundamentally it seems) during this time.

Does anyone know of any legislative, regulatory or otherwise changes that may have happened? Outlawing of MSG or some other ingredient?

Grasping at straws but thought I'd ask.

-- Josh

[Bobby Bhuna]

The flavour that I want to find and encorporate in my base is a savoury flavour that I know is present in Baxters French Onion Soup.

Anyone else noticed this? I think I'm gonna have a read of the ingredients.

[joshallen2k]

Bobby, here:

Water, Dried Onions (5%), Caramelised Onions (4%), (Onions, Butter, Sugar), Cornflour, Yeast Extract, Salt, Sherry, Concentrated Tomato Paste, Sugar, Colour (Ammonia Caramel), Concentrated Onion, Cider Vinegar, Vegetable Oil, Vegetable Extract, Spices with celery.

Is it the caramelised onions?