Topic: PanPot's Ashoka Curry Base

[adriandavidb]

don't get me wrong though some bases are better than others and do give a better tasting curry. it's the duffers that stand out in the finished dish - not the good ones.

Having tried quite a few variations on the base front, I think this remark shows a lot of wisdom!

[JerryM]

Adrian,

thanks for the kind words. not sure on the wisdom - just down as u know to trial and error and persistency

[mickdabass]

First of all Id like to say a really big Thank you to Panpot for his efforts - a fascinating read.
Secondly a question.
Im not a big fan of coconut and have never used it. Would the specified quantity of one block make a big difference to the overall flavour of the finished dish? What Im trying to say is would it make a big difference if I left it out? Its just that I dont like the flavour of coconut in currys.  : The obvious answer is to stick to the recipe and give it a go.Im right out of base at the moment so I supose Ive got nothing to loose.
Any advice guys?
Regards
Mick

[haldi]

You won't taste the coconut in it
It must add something, but any base I have ever used with coconut, has never tasted of coconut (at all)
That last sentence seemed a little too long!!

[mickdabass]

Thanks Haldi
I will stick to the recipe as close as I can

[joshallen2k]

OK, I made this base...

Observations and thoughts to follow the pics.

A) 3 kg of onions (took a while....)
B) Bringing to boil with the salt and whole cumin
C) End of softening period
D) Stage Two ingredients ready

[joshallen2k]

E) Garlic and ginger paste ready
F) Ready to blitz
G) Blitzed
H) Finished base!

[joshallen2k]

I knocked up a quick Madras sauce for a sense check...

I) Madras simmering
J) Finished curry

[joshallen2k]

OK, observations...

- I was weary of using the whole cumin, but went with it. It was very difficult to blitz them all while blending. Net result was a lot of cumin seeds floating in the finished gravy. But maybe my blender is s***e. Cumin is definitely the dominant spice in this base. Strong cumin undertone

- After adding the second stage ingredients, the smell was the best I've had from a base. Not the missing "BIR aroma", but more of a "this base is tasty" smell. Might have been the coconut. I've never tried a base with coconut before. Suffice to say, at this point I was very optimistic!

- During the simmer stage, I noticed that a lot of sediment was settling at the bottom of the pot. I had to periodically sweep up the onion that rested at the bottom and mix around

- Almost no oil separation, but quite a bit of surface foam

- The finished base had a nice smell and slightly cumin-y taste. A little hotter than other bases I've tried, but not enough to rule out in a mild curry.

Even though I already had dinner, I threw together a quick Madras. I did not use the Banjarra, as that's on tomorrow's to-do list. The first descriptor I could use after tasting a spoon of the Madras was "salty". I used half a tsp in the Madras. Given the amount of salt in the base though, I should have scaled back the salt in the final curry. I have sealed it in a plastic container so I can give it another go in the morning.

Great work Panpot. This base, though quite different from what I've tried prior, has some promise. Really looking forward to the finished recipes on the Bhuna and CTM, Panpot! Also feel compelled to try the Banjarra now.

Once we've had some more feedback from the forum, Panpot - you might want to try and get tighter confirmation on some of these measurements (cumin for e.g.)...

--- Josh

[Jeera]

Nice work Josh, will be interesting to try out an Ashoka final dish an get your view on that.

too much oil in the final for me. Was there a lot of oil added in the final dish, or did most of it come from the base ?