Topic: PanPot's Ashoka Curry Base

[Panpot]

Knighty76,Curry King is right its the Bunjarra that is overly salty and on the other thread I have pointed out how I compensated for it using plum tomatoes and sugar which really worked until we get the correction from the Chef.

You are correct it's the Ashoka Garlic/Ginger paste that is used. I honestly think you will be inspired if you follow it all to the letter.

Guys can I reiterate once again The Ashoka chain is Pucka BIR no doubts about that. They don't have Madras as a rule but that is I am sure a Scottish thing or certainly a Glasgow thing. Regional variations are in my opinion significant. For example some of the portion sizes found in parts of England would not be tolerated in Glasgow. Nan Breads found in Glasgow are massive compared to many I have had in various parts of England and so on.

Can I remind you all too that The Ashoka Chef is as award winning chef and although the chain has figured ott what works for their target consumers they cook everything to the highest standard in each resteraunt. Certainly Glaswegians who are passionate about curry with BIRs on every street almost would rate them very very highly.

I hope to get back there soon to get the corrections, if indeed there are any and of course all the other recipes and one for Madras. Hope as ever this helps.

[Cory Ander]

Knighty76,Curry King is right its the Bunjarra that is overly salty and on the other thread I have pointed out how I compensated for it using plum tomatoes and sugar which really worked until we get the correction from the Chef

Why not simply reduce the salt in the onion paste PP?  I reduced it to 1 tsp (i.e. two thirds of the specified amount) and it didn't seem too salty then to me

[Stephen Lindsay]

Panpot thanks again for singing the praises of the Ashoka I am with you 100%. I also have observed some of the differences between portions / spicing in different localities. I have eaten lots of curries in Yorkshire (Bradford, Huddersfield, Halifax) where I have served Nan breads the size of side plates compared to the table sized monsters served in Scotland. Also I would say that the Madras curries in Scotland would be like Vindaloo hotness in Yorkshire where I have found their Madras curries to be somewhat less hot. Bradford must give Glasgow a run for it's money in terms of curry houses per square mile so I would reckon that the difference probably reflects customer preference rather than driven by chefs.

[CurryOnRegardless]

Why not simply reduce the salt in the onion paste PP?  I reduced it to 1 tsp (i.e. two thirds of the specified amount) and it didn't seem too salty then to me

What's wrong with leaving the salt out of both the base and paste and then season the finished dish to taste?

[chinois]

The bhuna was brilliant and i did a madras and a korma which were just as good.

Hi Chinois,

I notice you've posted pics of your Ashoka curries on "another site"...any chance of posting them here too please?

Yes i did try for quite a while but i didnt seem to be able to upload them. I resized them so they were small (150kb) and the scale was correct (700 x 525) but i kept getting error. What else do i have to do? I read your walk-through and everything seems correct. The files are JPG. Cheers

[flavorjunkie]

There was a server space issue, happened to me too.
Now solved it seems, post away...

[chinois]

Why not simply reduce the salt in the onion paste PP?  I reduced it to 1 tsp (i.e. two thirds of the specified amount) and it didn't seem too salty then to me

I did about the same and it was good. It seemed obviously a mistake looking at the volume of what i was seasoning. 1tsp seems fine, i dont think i measured mine exactly.

[chinois]

What's wrong with leaving the salt out of both the base and paste and then season the finished dish to taste?

The basic answer is that things seasoned during cooking taste better. You'll notice this the more you cook.

From what i have learned from chefs i respect (gordon ramsay, heston blumenthal, alan murchison, the chefs who taught me) you should be cooking with salt so that the flavours are balanced/perfected as you cook. When seasoning you are trying to enhance the flavour of the food so it seems to make more sense that the salt should be used when the flavours are coming together. At the other end, adding salt when the food is on your plate kind of just tricks your tongue into thinking that the tastes are balanced.
It's hard to put in words really but the best chefs do it so you should too! They also seem to do it at BIRs, most importantly!

[CurryOnRegardless]

Hi chinois

The rule of thumb guideline amount of salt in soups and sauces is generally reckoned to be about 1 tsp per quart/liter. Therefore it follows the total amount for the Ashoka base should be 6 tsp or about 18 grams tops not the 60 grams given. Yes I agree food should be seasoned during cooking but the amounts given here are obviously way out so it is easier just to omit the salt and season the finished article to taste, after all you can't take the stuff out once its in.

[Jeera]

Hi chinois

The rule of thumb guideline amount of salt in soups and sauces is generally reckoned to be about 1 tsp per quart/liter. Therefore it follows the total amount for the Ashoka base should be 6 tsp or about 18 grams tops not the 60 grams given. Yes I agree food should be seasoned during cooking but the amounts given here are obviously way out so it is easier just to omit the salt and season the finished article to taste, after all you can't take the stuff out once its in.

I was thinking around 30 grams for the base when I try next time.... I definately feel 60g is way too much not to mention the additional salt coming from the onion paste.

Panpot, I would really appreciate if you could get the chef to re-confirm the quantity of salt for this quantity of onions next time you have an opportunity to see him... cheers.