Topic: who believes future breakthroughs lie with recipe refinement ?? or new bases ?

[Peripatetic Phil]

where in the cr0 web site site should the project be based?

I think it has to be "Curry Recipe Group Tests"; even if it doesn''t exactly match the criteria for that category, it is so close that I can't see any justification for creating a whole new category, and there is surely no other contender.

** Phil.

[Vindaloo-crazy]

I'd go for a variant of CA's base, purely because it's so easy and, like Razor has said, most of the taste comes from the mix powder and cooking method.

[Peripatetic Phil]

I'd go for a variant of CA's base, ...

Once we opt to go for a "variant" of anything, the time to converge on agreement for that variant is likely to be excessive.  Might we not do better to agree to use an existing base, totally unmodified, for the purposes of experimenting with the final dish ?  Even getting agreement on which base is likely to be time-consuming enough !

** Phil.

[Stephen Lindsay]

there was a thread a while back regarding a CRO development base - should that be revisited?

[Stephen Lindsay]

here's the link:

http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=4065.0

[Stephen Lindsay]

I see there's a wee discussion that pertains to this topic on the thread "CA's Curry Base". I have been using the BE base for the past 6 months and prior to that the Ashoka base for the previous 12/18 months. I think the latter would be too diverse and involved for this idea though the BE has merits in it's simplicity. Doing another base would be good for me for a change! So, in terms of putting in my own efforts to a group test I am happy to go with the flow and try out any agreed base, if a consensus can be achieved.

[Cory Ander]

At the very least we would need to agree on what constitutes a very basic curry base. 

What are the essential ingredients?  Onions?  Garlic?  Ginger?  Tomatoes?  Capsicum?  Carrots?  Potatoes?  Cabbage?  Probably, the only agreement we could reach is that BIR bases invariably contain onions!  (and even that's in doubt because, as we have seen, some don't!).  And, if so, what type?! 

And which spices/spice mix should be added?  Coriander?  Cumin?  Paprika?  Chilli?  Tumeric?  Garam masala?  Ajwain?  And how much of each?  Whole or ground?  And when should they be added?

And what about the tomatoes?  Fresh?  Puree or paste? Tinned (which type)? 

And what about peoples' "personal preferences" (comparing the final dish, e.g. a madras, to their favourite local BIR)?

Throw into all of that..how much to make? What ratios? What process?  How long to cook for?  When to add each ingredient?  Whole or ground spices?  etc, etc..

I think it's all too difficult to reach any sort of concensus.

[Peripatetic Phil]

here's the link:

http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=4065.0

OK, it may be that I should reply in that thread, but let's continue it here for the time being.  Two comments :

1) The curry masala seems massive overkill for a base; my preferred base uses only turmeric and paprika.
2) I would not be able to justify (financially) complying with the "freshness" guidelines :

To ensure freshness, all powdered spices must have:

• A "best before" date of at least 6 months hence
• Once opened, be stored in an sterile, dry, airtight container, in a cool, dry, dark place.
• Be opened for less than 2 months prior to use

Some (most) of my pre-ground spices are way older than 2 months (since opening, that is), and their "best before" date has never been looked at (and since the packings were discarded when they were opened, I no longer have any way of retrieving that information). 

I'd be very willing to participate in testing using the spices we already own (they are, of course, stored in glass jars in a dark cupboard), but I could not justify to the family accountant (a.k.a. Le Khanh) the purchase of fresh spices to replace those that we currently use and find perfectly acceptable in use.

** Phil.

[Cory Ander]

there was a thread a while back regarding a CRO development base - should that be revisited?

Hi SL,

There was a whole load of effort put precisely into trying to develop a "cr0 curry base" and a "cr0 madras" many moons ago now.

The link you provided is the summary recipe only (i.e. before JerryM's "mytake" curry base).

The original posts have been archived (for some reason that eludes me) but are still available, should Stew (Admin) wish to resurrect them.

[Peripatetic Phil]

[snip]I think it's all too difficult to reach any sort of consensus.

There is no way we will get universal consensus, even among the currently active members, but it may be that a sufficient number are both willing and sufficiently flexible to make the idea viable, even if the test group is relatively small (say, six people).

** Phil.