Topic: Soup Base !

[Derek Dansak]

the only times my curries taste the business, is when my base is spot on, and fresh as a virgins thigh. soups might be good if you run out of base, but i suspect a jar of sainsburys finest ctm sauce would be better. and about the same price.

[emin-j]

But I'll add it (to the bottom) of my list (for my next life) 

Right under trying potatoes in onion bhajis then 

Grrrrrr  ;D ;D

[Secret Santa]

Why an earth would I do that 976bar?  I think I did that about 30 years ago now!  But I'll add it (to the bottom) of my list (for my next life) 

There are some people CA, and yes, I know it's hard to fathom, who don't like slaving over a stinky pot of base for three hours and then trying to find room for it in their already full freezer!

In my opinion if you can make a decent base from a couple of cans of soup and a few spices in a couple of minutes...and you can...why not let those people do that.

It's only laziness on my part that stopped me from being the first to post such a recipe here. After all CA, what's a base? It's a spicy vegetable soup. No?

You should applaud such efforts, not deride them.

[CurryOnRegardless]

Try keeping a jar of this STUFF in the cupboard. Costs about the same as a couple of tins of soup and used instead of a base in any of the recipes from here makes a perfectly acceptable curry. Worth a try anyway (don't bother with the garlic/ginger pastes though, they repeat summit terrible!)

[Derek Dansak]

I refuse to share this forum with anyone who makes base from 2 cans of feking soup and a few spices.  ;D And no you are not allowed to take the easy option. lol

[Cory Ander]

After all CA, what's a base? It's a spicy vegetable soup. No?

When you boil it down to the absolute basics SS, a curry base is little more than an onion puree with some other things (including minimal spices) chucked in.  But the onions (by far the biggest percentage) is paramount.  In which regard, there is no off-the-shelf soup (to my knowledge anyway) that is really available (I can think of French Onion soup, which is not quite the same).  Minestrone soup (i.e. containing PASTA!) certainly doesn't hack it! 

You should applaud such efforts, not deride them

Yes, you're right there SS.  I was probably reacting more to the perceived sarcasm than the content and intent (i.e. using a soup as the basis of a curry base) of this thread .  I do find it a little odd though,  that you, of all people, should pick me up on it!    Hmmmmm...no I don't.... :

But sure, if it works for someone, why not...

[George]

There are some people CA, and yes, I know it's hard to fathom, who don't like slaving over a stinky pot of base for three hours and then trying to find room for it in their already full freezer! In my opinion if you can make a decent base from a couple of cans of soup and a few spices in a couple of minutes...and you can...why not let those people do that. It's only laziness on my part that stopped me from being the first to post such a recipe here. After all CA, what's a base? It's a spicy vegetable soup. No?You should applaud such efforts, not deride them.

I'll jump in here, for what it's worth! I'm grateful to emin for posting the original idea and my thoughts probably concur most closely with SS's, as above. If it works, then why not? I know that soups can provide the basis for a quick and easy 'sauce' in 'English' cooking, because my Mum quite often uses soups as the basis for a chicken casserole or something. Even if the onion count is down a bit for a BIR curry, I still reckon the concept has some potential.

I happen to most strongly disagree with DD, if he says this idea has no place at the forum. 

Anyway, has anyone else tried using soup as a starting point for any kind of BIR-tasting curry?

[emin-j]

Well said George 
My intention when I posted my findings was not to ' convert ' forum members from their regular base sauce to Soup base but just to report my findings when I found I had run out of base , I am making a new batch of base tomorrow ( probably CA's  ) but as they say ' The proof of the Pudding or Base  is in the eating ' and the Soup made a fine tasting Curry pasta n'all  ;D

[flavorjunkie]

Just to add a little more controversy to this subject, the original post from emin-j fascinated me. I had to give it a go and was pleasantly surprised with the results.
It got me thinking about how I would have done it if I'd thought of it? Also, could the process be simplified even further?
This is what I came up with and just had to try it out.
I was fully expecting a total disaster, but was totally amazed by the result. It produced the best madras and vindaloo I'd had for a long time (may of course say something about my normal standards  )
If you're at all interested the recipe can be found here... http://www.cook4one.co.uk/c2/bases/c41qbase.html
The madras is here... http://www.cook4one.co.uk/c2/sb/c41madras.html
It is thinner than a normal base and has a brown colour as might be expected.
Thanks emin-j for the idea.