Topic: All my curries have a bland taste to them. Somethings missing

[pg89]

I have tried many of the recipes on this site, and I am using this base http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcM05hByWaw

Which has produced the best results for me so far (ive tried a few from this site as well)

I can make a fairly decent korma, but when I try and make a madras or a pathia, the end result tastes bland and almost watery even though the sauce is the right consistency and I havent added any water. Its as if there is something missing.

The base itself tastes bland but I have heard that it should be.

I use a black iron pan, sometimes a wok on a wok burner (hot wok) that runs off a BBQ gas canister.


Does anyone else have this problem?

[joshallen2k]

Funny. I watched that video yesterday.

I did remark that his base was very thin, and that the accompanying recipes required a reducing period on full boil of about 4 minutes.

Did you do this step? That would be my first guess. Next thing I'd look at is how much base are you adding, relative to the spice mix and chilli powder?

[PaulP]

I made the mistake a month or two back of adding too much base for the final stage quantities of spices/garlic/ginger. The result was a very bland curry and not BIR at all. Having said that my family still seemed to enjoy it but they are more used to supermarket jar curries.

When you start to introduce the base to your final stage fry-up are you reducing the base i.e. boiling off the water from the base? It does make a big difference to the flavour. For the first ladle of base you want to drive off all the water but as you add more base later you will drive off less of the water until your sauce looks (and tastes hopefully) as you would expect.

You could also try adding more spice mix and chilli than the recipe suggests. And check the usual things like the quality (freshness) of your spices.

[JerryM]

pg89,

it's not something i've experienced. i've followed a lot of bases on this site and not once got this problem.

i'd try/or compare what u're doing against the BE post. this post is an ideal starting point having much basic learning.http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=2815
, http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=3074.0;topicseen


my guess is that the onion proportion either in the base to start with or after cooking (re PaulP's post on the water evaporation) is not right. the amount of onion is crucial.

i use 300ml of base to produce a 200ml 1 person portion. the consistency of the curry  is a key factor in deciding when to stop cooking.

[Derek Dansak]

Hi , i make incredibly thin low spiced bases, and dont have the problem. try these ideas. 1) fry a large tsp of garlic ginger paste for 3 mins. 2) use 1.5 tsp of decent spice mix (eg the DD spice mix, or BE spice mix) use a nice big tsp of chilly powder, try adding a couple of green chillies for things like jalfrezzi. chopped up red or yello , or green peppers (around 1/5th per dish) helps the flavor. dont be shy of using good rock salt. i use 1 tsp per dish. getting the tomato puree level right is also essential (2 or 3 tsps of watered down puree) . to increase flavor try turning the heat up higher, and fry the spices longer. this has a massive influence on the strength of taste. but you need to experiment with this to find the right strength. too much heat and its all ruined, so tread carefully !

[JerryM]

DD,

sounds real good to me. i think i don't use peppers enough (small amount is key). i always have frozen mixed peppers in the freezer so just need to get it written into my recipes. is 1/5 about a tbsp or more. i presume fine chopped. do u put in all dishes or just some.

ps is the 3 mins right for the garlic/ginger?

[Derek Dansak]

Hi Jerry, from time spent observing real bir chefs in action,(something i have sadly not seen for a couple of months due to work  ) I noticed the following:
1) virtually every curry starts with a large handful of chopped spanish onion, fried for 3 mins high heat. 2) for many dishes about 1/5th of a whole fresh green or red pepper is used chopped up finely. rogon josh = red pepper, jalfrezzi = yellow. this adds a nice underlying flavor with the onion. madras was none, or a little bit of green pepper 2 0r 3 tbs, and onion. Never use frozen bell peppers they taste rancid. only fresh will do. balti was 1/5th of a whole yellow pepper. i have been copying this for a year now. i believe the yello peppers taste best. the yello peppers need deep frying if using them in big chunks. then they taste superb.  you could also deep fry a few onion quarters for balti etc. And , yes 3 mins is right for garlic paste most of the time. less cooking time does give a different taste, less tangy and burnt i guess. for balti i always fry garlic paste for 3 or 4 mins for a tangy effect. not sure about madras, still proving a difficult nut to crack. 

[JerryM]

DD,

many thanks for detail explanation.

i've pretty much only really used pepper to date in admins jalfrezi (where they work really well). i do use onion quite often (about chef spoon ~4 tbsp). i sometimes pre fry garlic slithers for something like the 2/3 mins until they are brown and do like them. the frozen pepper is not bad (i use in ashoka korahi bhuna). do agree the fresh is by miles best.

i will try the peppers out more often. much appreciated.