Topic: Can you produce a curry like this?

[Secret Santa]

This is a curry pic from the link posted earlier by chinois:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/brendiemurphy/1658393233/in/pool-82788218@N00

Now, has anyone ever made a curry that has this almost translucent, orangey colour?  If so how?

It reminds me of a post haldi made to compare pics of base sauces he had made, and one that he obtained from a takeaway. It's almost as if they only use base sauce.

Whatever it is my curries always turn out brown and definitely without this 'see through' quality.

Any ideas?

[Jeera]

i'd say lot of oil & water and no garamasala. i find garaamasala really changes the colour brown.

Looks like some orange food colouring in that one too.

[joshallen2k]

Interesting observation SS, and interesting reply Jeera.

I've had a lot of BIR curries that look like that, I know what SS is seeing.

On the other hand, we've seen comments/suggestions along the lines of start thin and boil off liquid, contrary to Jeera's comment. Which is right?

The other comment I would make from those pics of BIR dishes, is how oily they are. I usually do 3 tbsp of oil in a Madras, and end up thinking sometimes its too much. Seeing some of those pics, I don't think its enough.....

-- Josh

[JerryM]

it looks very much like base that has been fried as normal but with a very short simmer ie not been allowed to thicken.

it looks like the tom puree is very low. the mix powder is likely to be high in turmeric and probably without paprika.

have added pic of my base showing thinness for comparison with their finished dish.

[Secret Santa]

Thanks for the replies.

Jerry, I think your observations are valid but how on earth do they maintain that translucency in the sauce. If like jeera suggests we leave out garam masala and other spices which all seem to thicken and darken a base sauce, what are you left with? Well, I think if I tried it it would be a very flavourless curry.

I've had these types of curry several times over the years and they were all full bodied and not in any way lacking in flavour.

Your pic of the base is interesting. Even spread thin it lacks this translucent quality and so when bulked up a bit is very unlikely to match the translucency of the one in the pic. Another BIR mystery (so far!).

[mickdabass]

This is a curry pic from the link posted earlier by chinois:

dont know much about photograpy but that pic looks a bit over exposed to me

[Jeera]

If like jeera suggests we leave out garam masala and other spices which all seem to thicken and darken a base sauce, what are you left with? Well, I think if I tried it it would be a very flavourless curry.

I'm not saying leave out other spices - just minimise or eliminate garamasala. Plenty of scope for other spices in there. However my own view is we tend to overspice anyway - I  beleive the last 5% is in getting the spice balance right along with a real deep savoury tasting base.

wandering off topic slightly here but ....I made a stir fry the other day with absolutely no spices - I blasted onions, chillis, garlic, ginger red & green peppers in a wok, then added beansprouts, rice noodles and pre-cooked chicken. Stir fried and added a touch of oyster sauce and light soy. Job done. It was the best chinese style dish I've ever made.
I've tried it many times before with even small quantities of various spices to lift the dish, but without them it was stunning.

I realise this isn't helping the argument of what goes into a BIR, but I find it interesting that less is more in many cases.

[joshallen2k]

dont know much about photograpy but that pic looks a bit over exposed to me

Its for sure overexposed, but the key in the pic is the translucence of the sauce, not the brightness of the orange.

I'm not saying leave out other spices - just minimise or eliminate garamasala. Plenty of scope for other spices in there. However my own view is we tend to overspice anyway - I  beleive the last 5% is in getting the spice balance right along with a real deep savoury tasting base.

I'd agree with part of this. I never use garam masala (in a Madras/Vindaloo anyway) and I'd never say they come out looking "brown". Usually reddish orange. Regarding the light spicing / savoury base, I also think this is key. However, most of the reports from those managing to get base from BIRs is that the base is bland and underspiced. Go figure.

[Secret Santa]

OK let me put it another way then. I can't see how we can go from any base that is posted on this site, none of which have this translucent quality (correct me if I'm wrong), to producing a finished curry with the translucent quality of the curry in the pic.

Is it that they are using a very different base? Perhaps not much more than onions and light spicing? And if so what would they then use as spicing in making the curry so as not to 'muddy the waters' so to speak?

[JerryM]

their pic really does look like warm base fried with a few spices.

my pic was cold and i should have heated it. bases from the site do become more translucent the thinner they get and when warm. i'll get a another pic for interest when i cook this week.

i would try a minimal spiced based (say turmeric and coriander or just some curry powder) and then add turmeric, coriander and a little chilli as the mix powder.