Topic: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy

[Masala Mark]

Hi Paul,

For the new recipe/process that I use, it is 1.5 kg of onions cut in half and sliced fine.

They go into a 26cm stock pot with a half cup oil and a couple of whole spices and cook away with the lid on for about 1.5 - 2 hours. They take up a fair volume at first but reduce right down to about an inch or so after the cooking.

For the posted/original version, I used the largest saucepan that normally comes in one of the 4 pan sets.

I'll hopefully head to the markets and grab some onions to do a batch this weekend and take pics along the way, of the cooking that is, not the trip to the markets.

Cheers,
Mark

[caze]

Caze, I know what you mean about trying to fry pureed onions - it doesn't seem to work too well. I'll have to find a means of fine chopping the onions without losing my fingertips!

here's how to do it:
How to chop onion
(though the horizontal cut isn't necesarry because an onion is layered horizontally as it is.)

cutting into very thin half-rings will probably work just as well though, when I cook my carameized onions as a side for a steak (I just add a pinch of cumin and salt (maybe chilli powder), no extra sugar needed, then stir-fry at high heat and slowly turn down over about 20 mins), I end up with a jam-like sludge, so I'm sure it would work similar in this recipe.

I just cooked my first curry using a base sauce in over a year, quite pleased with the results, as good as an average takeaway, but not as good as my usual traditional curry or a good quality resteraunt. Next thing is trying to get the mix of the two styles right, the morishness of the takeaway with the added depth of flavour you get when you go the traditional route. Think I'll try this onion paste first next week, I've not tried super-caramelised onions with a curry before and it sounds like a good idea to me.

[Masala Mark]

Hi,

Here is a youtube link (first of a series) which is similar to how we do it in the restaurant, we take it quite a bit darker though before the ginger/garlic stage so that onion is almost a paste taking a good 2 hours or so, and the lid is kept on whilst cooking the onions which could have been done in this prep as well as we don't see the initial part of the cooking.

Curry sauce base 1

You can tell when it is time for the ginger and garlic to be added as the onions are dark, very very dark, not burnt at all though, and the oil has separated. It's usually given a stir every 15mins or so especially at the later stage to prevent sticking on the bottom of the pan.

Hope this helps some, the process even the use of the tomato paste is the same. One major difference though is that we don't blend the gravy due to using whole spices with the cooking onions, and we add some water when tomato paste is added in. Not a lot of water though, it is still a thick concentrated gravy ready for use in various dishes.

Cheers,
Mark

[PaulP]

There's no way I'll be chopping up onions like that - not without a chain-mail butchers glove on my left hand  I'm just too clumsy. I was thinking of slicing my onions with a mandoline slicer so should be able to get the thickness (or thinness) pretty uniform.

Hopefully I'll get around to trying 2 of these bases pretty soon.

Thanks again Masala Mark - keep posting any new info won't you?

Cheers,

Paul

[Curryswede]

Masala Mark: Question about the Kitchen King Masala, I've never tried it. Is it any particular brand?

PaulP: I used a 3 liter cast iron pot which worked really well, just make sure you keep the heat at medium/medium low to avoid burning and sticking to the bottom. The smaller diameter you use the longer it will take and you need to stir better. Try to use a thick bottom pan for best results.

caze: If you try the recipe I would strongly suggest not using over 2 tsp salt if you are using around 800g onions. Mark says go with 1 tablespoon but that would be too much salt when using 800g onions as I did imho. You also need to take into account if any of the masalas you add have salt in them or not.

[PaulP]

Hi CS, regarding the Kitchen King see this search result:

http://www.spicesofindia.co.uk/cgi-bin/ss000001.pl?SS=kitchen+king&ACTION=Go&PR=-1&TB=A&SHOP=

I bought the Everest brand as it was recommended elsewhere.

Paul

[caze]

If you try the recipe I would strongly suggest not using over 2 tsp salt if you are using around 800g onions. Mark says go with 1 tablespoon but that would be too much salt when using 800g onions as I did imho. You also need to take into account if any of the masalas you add have salt in them or not.

yeah, I pretty much always disregard salt quantities in recipes. salt should be primarily added to any dish at the end of cooking, after you've had a chance to taste it (you can't take it back out!). I only went with 2 tsp for my last base which had 1kg of onions.

[the chod]

I watched a chef yesterday cook a vindaloo (the best i have ever tasted,yes the best and favourite)
In the technique ,the things that STOOD out for  me, compared to the general standard way, was;
 
Adding a knob of butter.

And initialy at the beginning, adding about half chef spoon of ,what i can describe as ,an onion mixture (which when quizzed,) suggested it had garlic ,ginger and spices .
that i am investigating now.

It wasnt quite a paste ,as i could still see that there were chopped onions in it,the colour had a kind of tumeric /tomato colour to it .

also to make it clear these were in ADDITION to the usual ingredients, ie. curry base,chilli powder,coriander, tomato paste and lemon juice.

may sound like a daft question ,but,is this post about something like what im describing?

[Curryswede]

the chod: That sounds like pre-cooked onions which a lot of restaurants use. It should be a bit similar to this recipe, but have bigger chunks of onion, and perhaps not cooked as long.

[the chod]

Thanks.....
Hmmm getting hungry all over again