Topic: CA's Curry Base (aka "gravy"/"sauce")

[Cory Ander]

Bum! I thought you would come back, unconvinced, and challenge my explanation as to why oil is added to the curry base (especially if the ingredients and spices aren't initially fried)!  It's a really good question and should give us cause to ponder (it's in the same domain as "why add curry powder to the spice mix?", in my opinion).........

[Razor]

Hi CA,

Very interesting read, and I for one would not have been able to anwers Fi5h's question.

I do, however, understand the need to release the natural oils from the spice and this is why I cook them off in a seperate pan in my base.

It would be ineresting, for me at least, to see how my base would turn out using a "one pot" method

Thanks CA, I will give this a go

Ray

[emin-j]

I made a batch of CA's base last week and used CA's Chicken  Madras recipe , the Wife reckons it's the best Madras I've made ! Nah can't be  ;D

[Fi5H]

Hi Cory, can i ask you about your recipes? When I do a curry night i`m normally preparing  Thursday and Friday and cooking on Saturday for that evening, so I was thinking, what would be the drawback to making your recipes without the meat, cooking the curry sauce then freezing it. This way i could stock up on the sauces a week in advance and only have to do the actual cooking (adding the meat) on the said day. Would this impair the taste? and if so what would be best to add to it? I don't like cooking the meat and freezing the whole curry as I don't like defrosted cooked meat.

Fish

[976bar]

Hi Fi5h,

I cook quite a lot using Cory's recipes and also make some the day before and put in the fridge until the next day when I add the meat. The flavour does not deteriorate and actually tastes somewhat better 24 hours later. I always add fresh coriander when making the final dishes except for those dishes that do not require it

[Fi5H]

thanks 976, its just made my life easier lol

[Cory Ander]

what would be the drawback to making your recipes without the meat, cooking the curry sauce then freezing it. This way i could stock up on the sauces a week in advance and only have to do the actual cooking (adding the meat) on the said day. Would this impair the taste? and if so what would be best to add to it? I don't like cooking the meat and freezing the whole curry as I don't like defrosted cooked meat.

Hi Fi5H,

I see no drawbacks with doing what you suggest.  All my curry recipes suggest adding precooked meat (if you prefer not to cook it with the curry sauce).  Therefore, I suggest you:

• Make the curry base and either use it immediately, put it in the fridge (my recipe suggests for up to 3 days), or freeze it
• Make the curry sauce and either use it immediately, put it in the fridge (again, I'd suggest for up to 3 days), or freeze it
• Precook your meat and either use it immediately or put it in the fridge (given that you don't wish to freeze it).  Again, I'd suggest for up to 3 days in the fridge

I do any/all of the above.  I also freeze completed curries, rice and naans.  A complete curry meal can then be ready within a matter of minutes.

I see no problem (i.e. I cannot detect any significant difference in taste or texture) with freezing meat (either raw, marinated or precooked), the curry base, or the finished curries (although ingredients with high water content - e.g. chunks of capsicum, tomatoes, onions, chillies, etc - in curries such as bhoona, dopiaza, etc - will lose their "crispness"). 

Others may disagree, of course.

Having said that, if you freeze the curry sauce (with or without the meat), you might want to add a little more liquid (i.e. water or whatever) to recover the consistency when you reheat it.

I also make batches of precooked meat and freeze it.  I see no problem with doing so (taste and texture wise) - except that it should not then be refrozen in a completed curry.

Hope that helps Fi5H.

[Fi5H]

thank you Cory,

the last curry night I did made me ill for a week, I have ms and 3 days work is overdoing it for me and puts me out of sorts for a week, so this way i can pace myself and do the task over a couple of weeks, I have another to do for my wife's work colleagues in 4 weeks.. going to give them all your curries lol

[Razor]

Hi Fi5H,

I've made quite a few of CA's mains and to be honest, cooking the chicken from raw, adds very little extra cooking time.  I would go as far as to say that I prefer it done that way.

For me, precooking the meat is a BIR thing,  purely so the chef can have it on the plate in less than 6 mins or so.  Fortunately, we home cooks don't have the same time constraints, so we can add a couple of mins to our curry, to enable the meat to be cooked thoroughly.

If I was you, I would stick with CA's curry recipes to the letter, and I'm sure that you will be a very happy chappy with the end results.

Ray

[Fi5H]

Hi Razor..

I tried the pre-cooked lamb the other week and it was like butter in your mouth, so I tried the pre cooked chicken and when I was went to eat it was like eating lumps of rubber so I'm not a fan on the pre cooked chicken, it might have been that particular recipe I don't know. So the next time I cooked CA`s korma, I soaked the chicken in water overnight and 15 mins before cooking soaked it in lemon juice and it was mouth watering.

Andy