Topic: Curry Sauce - Tried the Rajver in Biddenden Recipe

[Yousef]

Morning All,

Last night i made the Curry Sauce that was taken from the Rajver in Biddenden kindly posted by woodpecker21 http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=278.0

I have to say it is very very good, i substituted the Garam Masala for 1 big tablespoon of the Basaar Mix Powder kindly sent to me by Raygraham and did not bother putting in the chilli's, i also added the garlic and ginger puree in at the beginning and fried until brown.
The sauce has come out excellent, deep, rich and very spicy and has a real warming feeling when you taste it, its a perfect madras sauce and I am looking forward to using it in a final dish tonight.

I can fully recommend this curry sauce.

Happy Cooking
Stew

For ref here is the original recipe: -

Hello again,
the very nice man at the Indian restaurant gave me the recipe for his onion gravy? after i had given a few compliments and a 6 pack of cadburys' cream eggs. so here goes

4 onions chopped or sliced
1 green pepper
5 green chillies
2 chopped carrots
1/2 tin of plum tomatoes
1/2 tbsp salt
1 cup (approx 250ml) vegetable oil
1/2 bunch coriander chopped
500ml water

Put all the above into a large saucepan and bring to boil and then keep at a regular boil not to furious? for 30 mins until all ingredients are soft.
then add

2tbsp turmeric
1tbsp chilli powder
1tbsp ground coriander
1tbsp ground cummin
1tbsp garam masala

mix in well and then reduce heat and simmer for 30? mins. allow to cool slightly and then blend until smooth.

[raygraham]

This sounds excellent and I will have a go myself. I like Madras so this seems like my kind of curry.
Seeing as I have still got half a kilo of Basaar Mix left I need something to use it on!!

Regards

Ray

[traveller]

What exactly is basaar mix Ray?  I have been curious about that.  Thanks.

[raygraham]

I will post the exact contents later as I don't have access to the bag at the moment. It is basically a Curry Powder mix, the largest ingredient seems to be Chilli Powder so it is quite fiery. The Asian families near me (Keighley/Bradford) use it in their home cooking and it can be bought in most Asian shops round here. It is sold in kilo bags and have even seen it in dustbins with a scoop so I presume it is used quite a lot. I am happy to send a sample if you would like along with a recipe printed on the bag for a standard curry. However Admin has given his version of a Madras using this powder and it looks to be well worth a try.
On the subject of fresh curry leaves they are sold around here but I don't think they are a major ingredient widely used in curries especially the restaurant style ones.

Regards

Ray

[Yousef]

Can i also add that the addition of half a bunch of corriander leaves and stalks added to the base sauce during cooking really adds something when it is blended to the smooth base.
I have not done this before but will from now on.

Stew

[raygraham]

I think the addition of coriander leaves to the base sauce makes the Bruce Edwards recipe a serious contender for one of the best. It does add a great deal to the taste. Some recipes use stalks as well as leaves so virtually all of it gets used. I use lots of fresh coriander in my curry cooking as it goes so well in the final dish.

Ray

[traveller]

I will post the exact contents later as I don't have access to the bag at the moment. It is basically a Curry Powder mix, the largest ingredient seems to be Chilli Powder so it is quite fiery. The Asian families near me (Keighley/Bradford) use it in their home cooking and it can be bought in most Asian shops round here. It is sold in kilo bags and have even seen it in dustbins with a scoop so I presume it is used quite a lot. I am happy to send a sample if you would like along with a recipe printed on the bag for a standard curry. However Admin has given his version of a Madras using this powder and it looks to be well worth a try.
On the subject of fresh curry leaves they are sold around here but I don't think they are a major ingredient widely used in curries especially the restaurant style ones.

Regards

Ray

Thanks for the offer Ray..but I usually mix up my own spices...today have been busy trying to organize my spices....cant seem to find the right size glass spice bottles that I need.  I am in the Burton-upon-Trent area so if anyone has seen any indian stores in my area, please let me know.  Going to Nottingham and Birmingham is about an hour drive - so it is not practical for me on a regular basis - especially when my dals and rice are bought in large quantities - just need some spices occasionally.  Curry leaves are probably not used here in BIR - but is used in lots of indian cooking generally - depends on which part of India the dish is from.  Dried ones do not do justice.

Payal

[raygraham]

What exactly is basaar mix Ray?? I have been curious about that.? Thanks.

Hi Payal,

The Basaar Mix I have bought is made by "Star Brand" made by RMI foods in Bradford. The contents in order are:-

Chilli, Turmeric, Garlic, Coriander, Cumin, Cinnamon, Ginger, Fenugreek Leaves and Powder, Bay Leaves, Salt, Big Cardamoms, Cloves, Black Pepper and Vegetable Oil.

No wonder it's like dynamite!

Hope this helps,

Regards

Ray

[traveller]

Thats like a great all-purpose seasoning!!  I bet is smells great.  Just out of curiousity, I will check the indians stores in Leicester and Birmingham next time I go there.  But I didnt see anything like that last time - but then again, I was not looking for it.
Thanks for writing the ingredients Ray.

Payal

[raygraham]

It smells fantastic as I am sure those I have sent some too would agree. I don't think this is used generally in restaurant curries but am sure it could be added to a dish or substituted for say Garam Masala for a more interesting result.  I think one or two are experimenting with it at the moment so will be interesting to see their comments

Ray