Topic: Does the missing 'secret' ingredient exist?

[emin-j]

we need to perfect our technique. 

emin-j,

would encourage u to post here http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=1283.0
i feel i've eventually got sorted but struggled too. yet i still feel further discussion would be helpful to us all.

ps will chk if my posts are upto date

JerryM , The point I was trying to make to chriswg is if your favourite T/A cant always get it right it's most likely down to the Chef rather than a 'secret ingredient '.

I believe we all use basically the same ingredients and can all produce a Curry as good as your local BIR and if your local T/A sold you one of YOUR Curry's you would probably say ' it was fantastic '. ;)When will we stop looking for the ' Holy Grail '
and get on with the cooking

[Derek Dansak]

the chef at my local always gives me the freshly made base , and comments "this will taste best". this is when he has a pot of old base, and a pot of new base, next to it. therefore fresh base is his preference, over 2 or 3 day old base. hope that puts an end to that myth, that old base somehow improves over time. its nonsense. 

[joshallen2k]

DD - how do the curries you make compare when you use the BIR base, and when you use any of the ones off this site?

[chriswg]

I have just had some interesting chats with 2 Indian head chefs. I work as an IT recruitment consultant so I have access to thousands of CV's and luckily there were a few Indian chefs on there complete with mobile numbers and email addresses.

So first chef said he didn't think it was possible to perfectly replicate the BIR taste at home. This was mainly down to the large quantities they were making not working as well when scaled down to home cooking. He thought the base sauce (Curry King Vindaloo Base and Sauce recipe) sounded very good although he would usually use potato instead of carrot. He thought fresh base sauce was better than old stuff but they would usually use a batch for up to 48 hours.

The second chef was even more helpful and apparently runs cooking classes in Bristol twice a month - www.myristica.co.uk. Although in his current job he is cooking posh indian food rather than BIR style, his previous experience was all BIR based.

He thought with the right ingredients and method it is perfectly possible to get the perfect curry at home, but it takes a lot of practice to get it right. He ran through the main 5 base sauces of traditional Indian cooking. The main one was our standard base in which he said they would use 10kg of onions and 3kg of fresh plum tomatoes along with the usual extras. He also said in India they only use red onions as the white or Spanish onions can taste too sweet. They also have a tomato based base sauce which is basically just tomatoes and onions, then there was a green base which was coriander based, a white base (cant remember what was in that one) and a very dry base. They would use scoops from each to make up the dishes. A Madras for example would 2 scoops of onion base and 1 scoop of tomato base (along with the other spices).

He confirmed that fresh base is better than old base so that myth is comprehensively dispelled now.

He was also nice enough to give me some onion bhaji tips which I'll get working on and post if they are better than my current version.

The final tip he gave was to add a sprinkle of chaat masala on the dishes before serving. This can be on everything from a CTM to a potion of Onion Bhajis. I've never tried the stuff before so I cant comment, but I'll be getting an order in soon.

I have an email address for both of them so I'm sure they would answer any specific questions anyone might have.

[Derek Dansak]

Hi josh. its a question I have often thought about. basically the real bir base was thinner and more grimmy tasting. greenish in color. not a pleasant taste. a neautral tasting grennish veg soup. i often wonder if there was some unusual vegetable in there, such as ocra. this base was nothing like any of our bases. however the good news is, it did nothing to improve my curries. the bases on this site are closer to being quite tasty curry soups, almost edible on there own. the real bir base was not something you would want to eat more than a spoon of. the real bir base certainly did not add a special toffee flavor. so you can all relax!! i dont purchase there base regulary because it made no real difference. they cant sell you anything to get the taste, because its all down to preparation.

[Secret Santa]

although he would usually use potato instead of carrot.

I wish you had asked him why!

Also I think you need to be careful when you use the term "base" here. The tomato "base", white "base" etc. are, I believe, pastes and not bases (unless you tell me different). There's nothing unusual there, all BIRs do this to some degree or other.

The final tip he gave was to add a sprinkle of chaat masala on the dishes before serving. This can be on everything from a CTM to a potion of Onion Bhajis.

This is what's done in traditional Indian/Pakistani cooking and it, at least in my experience, is not used widely in BIR dishes, and expecially not as a condiment to be added at the end.

[JerryM]

chriswg,

real good investigative work.

my local TA only use 1 off base for all. unlike DD i found their base to taste v.good and now feel i replicate it following much trial and error (it's the adapted CRO2).  the nearest as spec base recipe on the site that i've made is the saffron. as DD say's there's something about the texture - being very thin yet full. i've experimented and settled on high onion content as a way of achieving (i use more onion than most site recipe). i've experimented too with potato but would not substitute it for carrot. by all means add potato in (as per saffron).

i am convinced as Secret Santa says in that most are pastes not base as we would understand it.

for info the KD1 defines Chat masala, "ready mixed preparation of salt and spices used for "chats". Its available from Asian and Pakistani grocers in small boxes. i've not used it (and would probably say i don't see a need).

[emin-j]

chriswg Just about to book my cooking class at the Myristica 

[JerryM]

emin-j,

the web site does not say much about the course other than 3 hrs on sat'd.

do u have any further details on what it covers. it sounds like the idea maybe for several visits over time.

[chriswg]

I know it covers Onion Bhajis! I'm in negotiations with my wife to go on one of the courses soon. maybe all 3 of us should book on the same course. I imagine between us we could get answers to all the questions we need to know!