Topic: Tasty Curry from Scratch

[George]

I have now made 4 of these Curries and I have got to admit I prefer the flavour to any BIR or home cooked Curry using a Base Sauce .

I agree that curries from scratch can easily be superior, but there's still something I like about the base sauce based curries from a BIR.

Given how much I rate Indian restaurant food in the Middle East as well as India itself, I wonder if they normally use a base sauce or cook from scratch.

[Razor]

Hi George,

Given how much I rate Indian restaurant food in the Middle East as well as India itself, I wonder if they normally use a base sauce or cook from scratch.

I wouldn't know the answer to that but I did see a program on UK food channel, set in India.  Now, I didn't see any base sauce as such but in one of the kitchens, there were at least 6-7 30ltr size pans, slowly simmering away.  In each pan was a different curry/dish.  They basically just scooped out a portion from the relevant pot when the order came in.

Don't get me wrong, this wasn't a top quality restaurant but it wasn't a "street food" type place either!

Ray

[emin-j]

I have now made 4 of these Curries and I have got to admit I prefer the flavour to any BIR or home cooked Curry using a Base Sauce .

I agree that curries from scratch can easily be superior, but there's still something I like about the base sauce based curries from a BIR.

Given how much I rate Indian restaurant food in the Middle East as well as India itself, I wonder if they normally use a base sauce or cook from scratch.

Hi George , I have eaten Indian Curries outside of the UK but they dont seem to be served with anything like the amount of sauce you would have in a BIR.

[emin-j]

Hi George,

Given how much I rate Indian restaurant food in the Middle East as well as India itself, I wonder if they normally use a base sauce or cook from scratch.

I wouldn't know the answer to that but I did see a program on UK food channel, set in India.  Now, I didn't see any base sauce as such but in one of the kitchens, there were at least 6-7 30ltr size pans, slowly simmering away.  In each pan was a different curry/dish.  They basically just scooped out a portion from the relevant pot when the order came in.

Don't get me wrong, this wasn't a top quality restaurant but it wasn't a "street food" type place either!

Ray

Funny you should say that Razor , I said to the Mrs earlier how easy it would be to make a large pot of this Curry for a Dinner Party or even what's left on the Turkey frame at Christmas  ;D

[Razor]

Hi EJ,

Funny you should say that Razor , I said to the Mrs earlier how easy it would be to make a large pot of this Curry for a Dinner Party or even what's left on the Turkey frame at Christmas  ;D

Yeah, I can see it working. 

I had a curry party last weekend and what a pain in the arse it is to do several individual portions of the same curry.  I know from experience that you can't just double up when cooking BIR style, it just doesn't work that way.

Turkey Curry,mmmm not too sure on that one lol,

Ray ;D

[emin-j]

Hi EJ,

Funny you should say that Razor , I said to the Mrs earlier how easy it would be to make a large pot of this Curry for a Dinner Party or even what's left on the Turkey frame at Christmas  ;D

Yeah, I can see it working. 

I had a curry party last weekend and what a pain in the arse it is to do several individual portions of the same curry.  I know from experience that you can't just double up when cooking BIR style, it just doesn't work that way.

Turkey Curry,mmmm not too sure on that one lol,

Ray ;D

Razor , I only seem to get 3 portions from this recipe but I am a greedy barsteward but I think if I was doing a large amount I would work it out at using the same ingredients to make 4 portions then just double up for how many portions needed,adding water whilst simmering doesn't seem to affect flavour much and gives a nice BIR type sauce if that's how you like it ( I do ! )If you have to make a portion especially hot you could take some from the large container and put into a smaller pan and add some extra Chili and fry for a minute of two.

[Gezh]

I'm cooking this tonight. I'll be using some Irish beef pieces in it, and using fresh tomato as I can't stand the tinned stuff. Looking forward to it!

[emin-j]

I'm cooking this tonight. I'll be using some Irish beef pieces in it, and using fresh tomato as I can't stand the tinned stuff. Looking forward to it!

Sounds great Gezh, might be a good idea to scoop out the seeds from the Tomato's as they can be a bit bitter, blend well and simmer at least 1 hour last night's Curry was simmering for almost 2 hrs and it was delicious  let me know how you get on.
ATB 

[George]

Hi George , I have eaten Indian Curries outside of the UK but they dont seem to be served with anything like the amount of sauce you would have in a BIR.

To be honest, I can't recall much about the quantity of sauce on the plate. I only know they tasted good.

I cooked my first BIR style curry this year, tonight! It was, of course, a chicken korma, even though I've gone off them in BIRs and prefer other dishes now. I was keen to try the method seen on some of the web cams and videos, where they start off with dry powders. Anyway, back to curries from scratch - I think I'll use a combination of base sauce AND "from scratch" next time. I'm sure I added too much cream to the curry based on the gallons seen in videos and in REAL LIFE in an open plan kitchen. The korma ended up too bland, like if you add too much cream to coffee. Next time, I'll throw recipes out of the window and use my own gut feel on what seems most likely to work.

[chilli chopper]

Hi, nice to see a curry made from scratch. Made well, these taste better than gravy based curries.

Luckily I have an asian friend who gave me a few lessons in 'home style' curry cooking.

When starting to cook a curry like this, I always throw in some whole garam masala, which can be any whole spices you like. I personally love black cardamons so I add 3 or 4 of these, a bay leaf, a couple of cloves and a piece of cassia bark. I sometimes add a star anise too, which adds a lovely flavour.

I normally try to fish them out of the curry before the end of cooking, since biting down on them isn't the most pleasant experience (especially green caradmons!) but sometimes it can be hard to spot them!