Topic: What Base Masala

[JerryM]

CurryOnRegardless's link to Gulshan story and the quote, "How much of the other spices you add makes the flavour.? got me thinking on base spicing. link http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=3418.msg30870#msg30870

most bases seem to include one or more of the following. the question is given the above quote which deliver best on BIR flavour:

1) a sort of spice mix including coriander, cumin, turmeric, paprika
2) garam masala
3) curry powder
4) spice mix or mix powder used at dish cooking

i raise it as yesterday i added all 4 to my current base (normally add 1 & 4) and it was the worst result ever. i think it was down to the curry powder which i feel should only be used at dish cooking stage.

i'd appreciate thoughts and experiences.

[chilli head]

The only ones i use at base sauce level are turmeric for colour and paprika to give a bit of heat without the bitterness of chili powder.
 All the other stuff i would use depending on the meal.
 I would keep my base sauce simple it needs to taste like a sweetish lightly curried sauce and not the finished itam.
But this is my preference.
 All men are equal but thank god every curry is different ;D
     Hope this helps
                 Andy

[Stephen Lindsay]

Jerry

Were you using a commercial curry powder or one made up by yourself from scratch. Just a thought but I have been using home made curry powders for a few years now and the difference is striking.

[JerryM]

Chilli head,

interesting selection. i take it u mean to leave curry powder and garam out and use solely in the final dish. if so i'm starting to come round to this sort of thinking. i'm currently using turmeric, coriander and fennel with good result. i really do favour paprika and have used this in the majority of base i've made. i intend to add it back in on the next base.

Stephen,

i was using my beloved rajah hot - hence the suprise at yesterday's result albeit that i don't know for sure whether it was the garam or the curry powder or even both that made the muck up. the garam is east end which i also swear by.

i've made my own curry powder in the past but gave up once i'd tried the rajah - i could not get the depth and balance of flavour.

one of the reasons for the post is that the rajver base which i use often has both curry powder and garam. somehow it carries it off when i feel it shouldn't. the only thing i can think of is that the rest of the ingredients must put the base back in balance somehow. other bases off the site that i make don't have curry powder (or very little) and pretty much all no garam.

curry powder and garam being "dish" spices would therefore suggest they can be added "made good" at dish cooking time which would sit well with me. the gulshan suggested otherwise which was a suprise - hence the post.

[CurryOnRegardless]

Interesting coincidence going on here. I came across the Gulshan article just after finishing my first attempt at the new Kris Dillon base and the only spice in that is 1 tsp turmeric and 1 tsp paprika (I used deggi mirch instead cos I didn't have any paprika) in nearly 3 litres of finished base. This base is basically just fried/boiled onions and tomato and by far the simplest I've done to date and to be honest I wasn't expecting too much of it, well we had madras on Friday, bhuna last night and I've just made another bhuna for tonite, so I suppose you can say it works for us! The base seems to cook very well when making the finshed dish and if you want to tweak it with extra spices then why not, I think next time I'll throw in some whole spices and remove them before blending, definitely worth a try.

CoR

[JerryM]

I think next time I'll throw in some whole spices and remove them before blending, definitely worth a try.

CoR

CoR,

for me this is a key ingredient. defo worth a try.

are the dishes also from the book and if so any improvement on the original book which were v.disappointing getting so close yet so far.

would also agree simple base does not mean inferior dish.

[CurryOnRegardless]

Hi JerryM.

The madras and bhuna are my own interpretations of dishes/techniques gleaned from this site, mainly the BE style madras with the addition of chilli and g/g pastes as per the Ashoka recipes and for bhuna chopped (tinned) tomatoes and sliced green pepper added after tempering the spice mix (BE plus chilli powder, to taste, and asatoefida) before adding the base by the ladle full and reducing to the desired consistency.

KD doesn't actually list any madras or bhuna dishes in the new book and for some reason of all the dozens of curry books I've had from the library I seem to have managed to miss her original so can't comment on her take on those dishes, the only recipe I've tried from the book so far is the cauliflower keema which was really nice, not exactly BIR but well worth trying.

CoR

[JerryM]

many thanks CoR