Topic: Keep it simple

[emin-j]

Hi all ,
I have watched hours of Video footage of Maliks and the East - Indian T/A webcams plus watching my Madras being made at my favourite T/A and have for sometime believed the BIR way is the ' keep it simple ' way , also chriswg's recent posts plus Unclefranks ' cooking from scratch ' posts and Admin's New Base Sauce post http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=1894.0  just re enforce the keep it simple is the way to go. I recently made the Admins Base ( very basic ingredients and a simple method ) and made my usual sNs recipe Madras with it and was amazed at the strong flavour from such minimal ingredients  I do believe using a ' flavoured ' oil is a step in the right direction but not to the extent of using oil from KFC's 
Admitidly I don't have the experience of many of the forum members on here but I have made it a bit of a Mission to find Curry perfection ( to my taste  ) for the last couple of years.
All the Base Gravy's I have made have all done the job and some have had allsorts of ingredients but none gave as good a result to the finished Curry as the Admin's Base .

[JerryM]

emin-j,

i very much agree. if u're making something day in day out u ain't going to be elaborate if it don't need it.

other than base was there anything else that jumped out from watching the web cams. i'm particularly interested in the ingredients. i still keep the pic of maliks spice tray on my wall. it's the "extra" things that seems to be used that i've never been able to fathom.

[chriswg]

I used to be one of the worst offenders for thinking more spice = more flavour but it just doesn't work like that. The same goes for adding tomato puree / paste. A Madras might have a chunk of fresh tomato in it, but the actual sauce doesn't taste of tomato so why do I always double the amount in the recipe? It usually works well for Italian cooking but not Indian.

[emin-j]

emin-j,

i very much agree. if u're making something day in day out u ain't going to be elaborate if it don't need it.

other than base was there anything else that jumped out from watching the web cams. i'm particularly interested in the ingredients. i still keep the pic of maliks spice tray on my wall. it's the "extra" things that seems to be used that i've never been able to fathom.

Didn't notice anything out of the ordinary JerryM but it  was interesting watching the Base Sauce being made at the East Indian T/A , some whole Spices and what looked like Garlic Cloves fried in a little oil then some ground Spices then just topped up with Onions and water and stirred occasionally  this is what re - enforced the thinking behind the ' keep it simple ' idea.
chriswg Right up until this week I would pile in the Spices thinking it would improve the flavour but my last Madras I followed the recipe to the letter with 1/2 tsps of Spice where it said 1/2 tsps  : and it was my best Madras to date . ;D

[JerryM]

so why do I always double the amount in the recipe? It usually works well for Italian cooking but not Indian.

i do exactly the same in fact i'm probably guilty in all my non asian cooking. as u say it works most of the time but not with curry. i guess we're just not experienced enough yet to know when u can safely "double".

emin-j,

i feel the keep it simply also helps in the prep time - both base and final dish ingredient. for example i've just started microwaving the ashoka garlic/ginger paste as opposed to frying it as per spec. works a treat. much faster and less to wash up.

[Mikka1]

What gets me is from watching vids is that I see this Chef person grabbing about 5 or 6 portions of powder whether it be salt and spices to add to the dish very quickly. I'm guessing this is max about 2.5 tsps? Or perhaps a little more depending on how indulgent the Chef is on a particular dish...?

You can use a lot more when adding water of course but we never see them doing that. : (BIRS)

[joshallen2k]

What gets me is from watching vids is that I see this Chef person grabbing about 5 or 6 portions of powder whether it be salt and spices to add to the dish very quickly

I've noticed the same. In some of the videos, the chef uses the same chef's spoon to add every ingredient. I find it next to impossible to believe that a sticky large spoon dipped into a dish of spice mix, chilli, coriander, etc can possibly get out any LESS than a teaspoon.

[JerryM]

i had a go a using my chef spoon to add salt. i've not even begun to think i could move on to the spices - still sticking to my measuring spoons (1/4, 1/2, 1 tsp etc).

i did find i could get pretty much any amount but 1 tsp felt about right.

link http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=3071.msg27475#msg27475

[Yousef]

emin-j I am Glad the Admin's Base is working for you.

I moved onto the Ashoka base but perhaps its time to retry this one again.

I think subtle spicing is the key, the issue is that working with spices is an art form and take years to undertand how to release them properly.  There are just so many variables when using spices thats its easy to get things wrong.

How many time have you made the exact same curry and one time its amazing and the next rubbish?  This is down to variables, heat, spicing, the way ingrediants are chopped, how much water you add etc.

Stew

[Cory Ander]

There are just so many variables when using spices that's its easy to get things wrong.....How many time have you made the exact same curry and one time its amazing and the next rubbish?  This is down to variables

Perhaps what you're saying is to be less "laissez faire" about how to cook curries Stew?

It seems obvious to me that an attitude of "a bit of this and a bit of that" and "about a chef's spoon of this" is bound to leave to drastically variable results!    Who needs years of practice to get such dramatically different results!