Topic: The "Secret Ingredient" Onion Paste

[Bod68]

Surprisingly; even though there are very few restaurants around here- and what there are are very expensive and pretty poor... There are copius amounts of Asian Supermarkets where they seem to stock absolutely EVERYTHING

I'm going to stock very soon and but myself a small freezer for christmas for lots of bases etc lol

[JerryM]

Bobby,

thanks for the offer - i intend to try it out 1st. i can get TRS if i need - i'm just not convinced if it is the pinker variety that it will be any good. i know that's strange given that "TRS" was specified in the as spec recipe. my pink stuff is Leena brand and very good for CTM. it's very different to the red stuff though and i can't see it working (the pink stuff) as good in this paste.

[Bobby Bhuna]

Jerry, I've been talking nonsense again

I went to my Indian cash and carry and bought some TRS Tandoori Masala and it's vibrant red. I threw my Rajah as it's a year old or more, along with many of my spices that I have replaced.

That said the TRS smells different. It has a strong earthy smell. It is also finer.

[JerryM]

a bit of relevant intro:

the difference between success and fail must have very small margins. i've just made 4 off madras curry sauces. the 1st was a clear fail. i put this down to too little tomato puree (used 2 tbsp my norm but forgot the base i'm currently using has no tomato in it) and too much onion paste (used just over 2 tbsp). in pushing the stove & pan more (reduced the amount of water added to the tom puree) i almost burnt (family advised that these curry's don't smell good when they're cooked - must admit it did smell bad.

having learnt my mistakes the next 3 off went like a dream.

back to the onion paste.

after no 1 distaster i made 3 off identical madras curry sauces. each spot on. the onion paste works very well for me and my quest is over. i see very little chance of further fine tuning without inside knowledge.

the amount of onion paste added is critical. it needs to produce a subtle taste without the dish becoming out of balance. i added after the base had gone in

many thanks to Panpot for raising this post - i need to do a side by side comparison with BIR TA but feel my take is now as close as it needs to be - i feel i can now convert the madras curry sauce into a chicken madras dish.

the recipe for info: 300ml base, 2 tbsp yellow oil, 1.5 tbsp fine chopped garlic, 3 tbsp tom puree (2 tbsp if no tomato in base, with added water to runny consistency), 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp chilli, 1 tsp LB spice mix (not the plus version ie the std), 1 tsp rajah madras curry powder, 1 tbsp onion paste, big pinch frozen chopped coriander and splash worcester sauce (both added after the base gone in)

[Cory Ander]

the onion paste works very well for me and my quest is over. i see very little chance of further fine tuning without inside knowledge.

Hi Jerry,

Are you seriously saying that this onion paste has enabled you to get that "final 5%" that you have been looking for? 

[Panpot]

JerryM, your commitment to improve is amazing, hanks for sharing how you got on. I am delighted that at least two of us can verify that this "secret ingredient" does make a difference.

Is the subtlety that it adds to do with the smell ( which I remember even as it was in the ice tray frozen was fantastic ) or taste or both in my case.

Like you I added it after the base sauce towards the end but would be up for experimenting with it as the tomato paste goes in and the spices. Interesting that you use a branded madras powder and not a fresh mix. If you were making a bhuna or dopiaza or even a medium curry would you use a purchased curry powder rather than a a fresh spice mix?

Recently Bhoby Bhuna recommended two favourite BIR like curries, could you do the same? I would appreciate your advice with this. Cheers Panpot

[JerryM]

CA,

i'm going to have to say yes.

for sure it does not taste exactly the same as the madras from my local TA or my fav curryhouse back home in the midlands. this is what i mean by the "inside knowledge" required to get it tasting exactly the same.

i put the missing 5% down to asking the question if u put my kitchen onto the back of a BIR TA and i cook would anyone complain of the standard or detect that it was "essentially" fake (ie not in the trade).

i do need to do a side by side comparison to be sure. but based on the taste improvement i feel my 5% gap has closed significantly to the extent i feel it's no longer important (on madras).

i would not put the gap closure down totally to the paste but it is significant and the last piece of the jig saw for me personally. i've made a few changes recently and i'm still not totally convinced on using yellow oil as opposed to red.

the changes being:
1) slow boat cooking targeting emulsification (adding water to the tom puree)
2) adding salt at frying stage
3) making the base thin and evaping off after frying stage

these being things that most people already do but it's taken time for me to appreciate their value

[Curry King]

Great stuff Jerry it's amazing how you find all the time to do all this experimenting.

i put the missing 5% down to asking the question if u put my kitchen onto the back of a BIR TA and i cook would anyone complain of the standard or detect that it was "essentially" fake (ie not in the trade).

This is the thing for me, chances are no one would complain if you omit the onion paste.  I have tried it a couple of times and it didn't really do a lot, certainly not the answer I have been looking for anyway.  Maybe it is regional differences again?

for sure it does not taste exactly the same as the madras from my local TA or my fav curryhouse back home in the midlands.

It is probably because they don't use onion paste 

[Secret Santa]

I'd be interested to hear more about the circumstances in which you saw this being done in a BIR.

Ok, the first time I saw it used and explained was on one of those programmes where they try to get the people to cook their own food instead of getting it from a takeaway. The chef was from a real BIR and he basically said add a dollop at the end of cooking as that is one of the curry secrets!

The next time I saw it qwas on a news bulletin, I think, about immigration, and they went to a BIR and I saw the same paste being put in at the end of the dish he was preparing. Now I don't know of course that it was absolutely the same onion paste, but it looked exactly the same as the one on the first programme.

So I think it's fair to conclude that, at least in some BIRs, this caremelised onion paste is being used. You do have to add it at the end though or else it loses its potency.

[Bobby Bhuna]

i'm going to have to say yes.

Awesome. I can't wait to try it! ;D