Topic: Aged Oil / Aged Seasoned Pan / Wok = The Taste??

[haldi]

on the last base i cooked stage 1 for 4 hrs and stage 2 for 3 hrs. at the end of cooking the base tasted the same as it normally does. the only observation was that blending was a tad easier.
i intend to stick with my norm of stage 1 - 2 hrs and stage 2  - 1 hr ie 3 hrs total.

Hi Jerry
        I've been trying to make this oil again and I can't do it either.
I used oil from cooking some homestyle kfc and cooked the base, for about three hours as well.
It didn't work.
I was in the kitchens of a BIR last week and had a good look at their "cooking oil" for the curries.
It's thicker & cloudier than I  make.
I realise I am a minority in believing in this "secret" oil, but it changes everything that is cooked in it.
Nothing burns i.e. garlic, ginger, tomato puree, spices.
It's really weird stuff and the aroma is incredible.
Some of this oil (which goes in the curry gravy) definitely comes from the deep pan fryer.
I took a look at theirs
The deep pan fryer is heating the oil all the time
Their is a slight smoke rising off it's oil.
And the oil, itself, is dark
Definitely no yellow about it.
Tens of portions of chips,fried chicken,samosas, and bhajees are cooked in it.
I'm afraid, I don't believe, it can be replicated unless you cook commercially.
And you need it to get the "taste"
Perhaps there is a "cheat" method
I came across this new stock cube in an Asian shop
Pat Chapman mentioned this stock and gave a home recipe.
I am looking for something which will give an underlying flavour and oil that has a really low smoking point.
Perhaps this will give the former.
I will report on any findings.

[adriandavidb]

It's really useful to hear that long cooking times for base sauce don't make that much difference to the flavour.

I've been considering for some time about doing  a 'side by side' comparason with base cooked for ages against one just cooked for an hour or two.  Thanks Haldi you've saved me the trouble!

Back to the drawing board I suppose.

Keep up the good work anyway!

[parker21]

hi haldi
we have to remember that it is not just the aforementioned that are fried in the oil but a countless number of other ingredients are too peppers/onions/garlic/mushrooms/aubergines/samosas(lamb and vegetable)/pakoras(chicken and vegetable) onion bhajis twice! and it all will be recycled back into the curry gravy or if they use the fryer to cook them them that oil will be re-used in the curry gravy complex oil to say the least. dependant on the pre-cooking methods ie bruce edwards methods of cooking the chicken/potatoes/cauliflower/tarkas(onions/garlic/tomato puree etc.) again recycled! and not forgetting popadums/puris(purees) ghees butter and vegetable, just about everything that is fried excess will be in the curry gravy oil.

anyway haldi you are not in the minority thinking that the recycled oil is the key ingredient to obtain that restaurant smell and flavour. i have been recycling my oil and when it gets low i top up with new oil but the recycling keeps going adding the next batch of curry oil from new sauce but it does make a difference. haven't got to my local for ages now cheaper to cook my own but i do want to get some oil just to confirm that it is that and i am doing it right as you are. have just finished making a new batch of curry gravy 10 onions worth about 5 and a half litres and reclaimed the oil having used fresh oil to start with 500ml have reclaimed 300ml of red oil. the remainder is floating on top of the gravy and is a very dark red! i did add 1 dsp kashmiri chilli powder after blending( having already reclaimed the curry oil) and the only spices added to the gravy are rajver masala ( recipe posted)and turmeric (3tbsps and 1 heaped tbsp respectively). the gravy will naturally thicken as it cools and when i cook the final dish i add the gravy to a small pan to bring to boil with added water so is runny works every time.

hope this confuses matters further

regards
gary

[JerryM]

just to add further i've recently started using the dreaded marg in bases having been converted by making the Ashoka base (only a small amount - i've got it down to 10% of the oil by volume). i've noticed that some of it gets carried over with the reclaimed oil and seems to cause the rec oil to be thicker than it was before.

ps Gary - had not spotted a rajver masala and will have to search out the post. also the moded stove is a real beast - appreciate your original help in locating the supplier.

[parker21]

hi jerry
it is under the heading rajver curry powder mix in supplematery section. so have you got the 8.0kw version of your 2.5 kw stove you bought back in august from hamilton gas? as it is very reasonably priced when you compare it to a 7kw hot wok which you can pay almost 100gbp for
regards
gary

[JerryM]

hi jerry
it is under the heading rajver curry powder mix in supplematery section. so have you got the 8.0kw version of your 2.5 kw stove you bought back in august from hamilton gas? as it is very reasonably priced when you compare it to a 7kw hot wok which you can pay almost 100gbp for
regards
gary

thanks gary. i will try the spice mix (i've realised i've had it in my spreadsheet for a while but have never tried it).

yes the 2.5kw stove is now 8.0kw and a snip at the total price. going to put it through it's paces tonight. i ended up moding the jet myself for the cost of a 1/16" drill (?1). the stove had started to gather dust having swapped my electric hob for gas hob with a 2.9kw (mainly down to ease). i'm having set the new beast up in a different room so i can get good ventilation. interesting though on a test go i did not use as much newspaper and hope this was not a fluke.

http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=2944.msg29921#msg29921

[haldi]

I'm still working on the old oil theory, to be used in the base
My latest attempt is about a litre of oil
It really changes character
When it was fresh I could cook chips in it
They were crisp and golden
Now, it doesn't get hot enough to do a good job
I also noticed that each successive cooked batch of pakora, was taking longer
There's no chance of accidentally burning them
I guess the smoking point is dropping
The colour is still not right yet
It's still too much a golden colour