Topic: jamie oliver pretends to make a base

[jimmy2x]

found this little gem. jamie tells the secret of making a curry base. with of course lentils, cinnamin and coconut milk.

tut tut


http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/curry-recipes/curry-base-sauce#commentsForm

[Malc.]

In fairness though, it does say it is from School Dinners.

[commis]

Hi

I would say it's more his take on a traditional base, seems to be Tamil in influence.

Regards

[jimmy2x]

indeed from school dinners, but then why cant school dinners create a proper curry. im suprised there aint raisins in it too.

its realy quite odd that basically every other food type creation is out there in abundance to re-create, everything but the fare of probably our most popular eateries.

im begining to think the reason its kept a secret is because if we knew what was in it we wouldnt eat it.

[Stephen Lindsay]

that's a fair point Jimmy - the industry perpetuates the myth of the "secret" ingredient or technique.  Even some people on this forum have bought into that idea in their search for the curry "holy grail".

I really don't think this forum should start slagging off others who cook curries using different ingredients as there is a danger it becomes elitist and therefore unwelcoming to new members.

Perhaps an to email Jamie Oliver inviting him to check out the site and try a couple of recipes would be worth a go. Hell he might even think it's pukka!

[Malc.]

The principle idea behind Jamie's School Dinners was to re-educate children to eat healthy alternatives with healthy being the principal goal. Given the budget that the state allows per child per meal, you could never produce a BIR or authentic curry with it. That's why I drew attention to it being from school dinners.

I do agree though, the state should pay more to feed our children and produce better food. What I found disappointing though, was that even with all the much better food available, the kids were still eating junk. Just to add insult to injury, parents were sneaking McDonalds to their kids in fear of them going hungry and they say its the kids that need educating!!!!!

I can tell you this much about that missing something, if it wasn't missing I wouldn't be on a curry quest. I, like you, am amazed that it is so hard to find the true secrets, perhaps there really is no real secret. But I know that i'll never cook a decent naan at home until I buy a Tandoor.

Stephen, and we even have a chip shop thread to go with Jamie's Pukka. ;D

[chinois]

I had a look at one of his books recently and the indian stuff was southern indian. He explained he knew the owner of rasa restaurants in london which cooks keralan food.
His base is likely to be influenced by this i suppose.
Keralan food's very different to BIR in my experience. Lighter, thinner and coconutty as opposed to dark, strong and savoury.