Topic: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy

[Peripatetic Phil]

That's a shame.  I notice at the end of the Madras recipe he does say "- There is quite a bit of salt in the Base Gravies so very little is added, adjust to your taste though." but can I just confirm that you also included these (which would help to reduce the perceived effect of the salt)

- 2.5 Tbsp Nut Gravy http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=4921.0
- 2 Tbsp Coconut Milk Powder
- 125-250ml Water

and also whether you "add[ed] more water if needed." ?

** Phil.

[PaulP]

By my reckoning that is about 36 grams of salt (6 teaspoons).

If you aimed for a max of 3 grams per portion then does the finished item look like it would do 12 portions? If not then I would say there is too much salt.

Paul

[Peripatetic Phil]

If you aimed for a max of 3 grams per portion then does the finished item look like it would do 12 portions? If not then I would say there is too much salt.

Just checked my own norms, since I never normally weigh salt, and on weighing I see that I would add between six and 12 grams of salt to a curry for two; there is relatively little salt in my base (KD1), but I would definitely add more salt to my own meal while I was eating it if I had added only the lower bound (3gm/portion).

[PaulP]

Hi Phil, I guess I'm lucky that my taste buds (at 50 yo) are still pretty salt sensitive.
Anything above a few grams in a meal tastes really bad to me.

I'm not trying to lecture though, I've got plenty of bad habits I need to kick. 

Damn shame about all that preparation for Curryswede, though.

Cheers,

Paul

[Masala Mark]

Hi CurrySwede,

Sorry that this didn't turn out for you.

The tablespoons should have been level, not heaped, I just went and measured it out in terms of 5ml teaspoons, and 1 level tablespoon is 3x5ml tsp, so all up it is 30ml salt for the recipe.

Now, the other thing is the size of the onions, we didn't weigh them here, but they were very large, and I would be guessing was approx 1kg of onion.

The resultant paste when cooked down made enough for about 15 portions of curries, so 30ml divided by 15 is 2ml which is about 0.5 tsp salt per curry. As no further salt is used in any of the recipes then it should be ok, and should be further diluted with the other ingredients. In comparison to other bases and recipes that level of salt is similar.

I've used the pastes for the last 4 months and haven't had any problems with them in regards to saltiness for everything from Beef Madras, to Paneer Tikka Masala and many others.

Unfortunately it appears the visual that I know having watched it might not have come through correctly in the explanation of the recipe details.

Again, I'm sorry it didn't work out for you.
Mark

[Curryswede]

Thank you for the reply. I did of course use level spoons but I used only about 700g of onions in my preparation, which could explain some of the salt overload, but I still think the result would have been a bit too salty for my taste. I do like the technique used in these recipes though and I think I will try experimenting variants in the future. I've always felt most bases had way too few spices in them in the past. Thank you for posting.

[Masala Mark]

Cs,

No worries, I'll try doing a video of it, or some step by step pictures next time so as to make it much clearer.

Cheers,
Mark

I just went and weighed some of onions downstairs that were about the same as what used and they came to just over 850gm, I thought they might have been up to a kg, but a bit short of that.

I'll also weigh the ingredients in the next batch as well to make it clearer.

[Curryswede]

I made a new batch using 2 teaspoons salt, 800g onions 500g tomatoes and some alterations to the spices ratio and I was extremely pleased with the result! This will probably become my go-to recipe for base now.

[Masala Mark]

Hi Cs,

Glad to hear of your retry and results, one thing I have found with the pastes is that they freeze real well, and unfreeze real well and quick due to the little water content in them.

What did you do for your spice variation, would be interested to try it in the next batch that I make.

Regards,
Mark

[Curryswede]

I unfroze the last bags I had in the freezer a couple of days ago and made probably the best curry I've ever made, just adding some chopped onions and red peppers along with some tandoori masala and Kushi spice mix. You are definitely right about the freezing/unfreezing, it's great. The texture you get with this base is perfect imo.

I'm not sure I remember exactly what I did with the spices for my batch, I know I added at least 1 extra tablespoon of ginger/garlic paste to start with but I think it was halving the cumin and garam masala and added about a tablespoon of Kushi spice mix and maybe a pinch of methi seed powder instead of using the kasoori methi. I might also have dialed back slightly on the chili powder since I'm not a huge fan of super hot curries, and I prefer to have a milder base that I can adjust with chili powder when cooking the dishes. I do sort of wish I had written down what I did because the hotness was just right with what I did. Do you find the 1 tablespoon chili powder to be on the hot side or not? The amount of hotness I'm aiming for is the hotness of a regular plain curry, not a madras or above. I love this base and I will stick to this for all eternity.