Topic: Base sauce oil

[rhodriharris]

   Hey everyone, i used to make curry from the 'curry secret' book published by Matt Dhillon until i found this site.  Honestly this website cracks it for me and the simple addition of just one ingredient and a longer cooking time has made my base sauce go from average to simply divine. 
  What started me off on the spiritual quest to curry was Gordon Ramsey and his Indian cooking series on television, he was good but not my local takeaway version!!  Ok i thought i had a starting point anyway and made some curry, although i would consider my first attempt to be rubbish now i was amazed at the time that it tasted so scrumptious and edible (and slightly indian!lol!)
 I eventually found a book in my local bookshop that changed everything called the curry secret and this took me to the next step. I thought i had cracked it after a year and got that local indian takeaway taste but on comparison i was no where near and found my base gravies to be bland and slightly disappointing even though i had followed the books recipe to the letter.  Oh dear i thought that this book was suppose to make me authentic takeaway and was really confused with the results compared to my local which was spot on what i wanted. 
  Finally i found you guys and your base sauce recipes which i cross referenced with mine until i found one missing ingredient, VEGETABLE OIL, which is added to the onions, ginger and garlic in a pan of water.  Wow this is really how you make your curry sweet and creamy.  Now i make real takeaway base gravy and understand that the oil in the boiling down of the onions pulls the sweetness out and is pretty much the magical ingredient in my curries. Anyone making base gravy and getting bland results please add a decent amount of oil in with the onions when it cooks and compare the finished results.  This may not be the result you want or the taste but i bet if like me you are having problems understanding what ingredient does what i promise you that veg oil makes for a sweeter taste just like my takeaway and probably yours.

Please don't think i'm big headed or some amazing indian chef as i ain't and am only a novice but this one addition to my onions as they boiled for an hour has changed the face of curry in my house and worth noting for any other struggling amateurs.  Please criticise my technique or disprove me but all i aim to do is help people in similar situations to me.  There are hundreds of recipes on this site, some include veg oil and some don't, there is a difference and this is it.

[Peripatetic Phil]

Interesting observation, Rhodriharris : if you add the oil during the first stage, do you then still add the 8 tablespoons of oil that Kris recommends at stage 3 when you add the blended tomato, tomato puree, turmeric, and paprika, or do you reduce the amount to compensate for the oil that was added at stage 1 ?

** Phil.

[rhodriharris]

I have looked at all base sauce gravys and made a few but generally i think that 'Micks/Tazs' base sauce seems to be the best and a great all rounder which is simple to make and use.  Kris Dhillons was ok but involved too many processes, now i just add ginger, garlic, onions, green pepper, carrot, salt, water and oil to a pot and simmer for an hour and in the last ten mins i add fresh sliced tomato and a small amount of tomatoe paste along with corriander, cummin and tumeric before blending and then it is done.  I know most have complicated steps and mant spices but to me and most this should be the easiest and best.  Following a recipie to the letter is no good for me when it comes to base gravy as i prefer to know what every ingredient dose and get a feel for what i do.  Kris Dhillons was just a starting point from which i moved to mick/tazs base gravy which i do most things the same but in my own way. The end result is more or less the same and tastes good just on its own.  You can change the veg and spices to your liking but it is the process that i follow now and must admit i am very pleased.  I just add the oil at the start and dont fry the tom paste and spices with oil at the end like Kris's recipie from the curry secret.  Kris's recipie is very bland to me and mick/tazs is so much more like a takeaway.  Not knocking Kris as i'm sure lots of people like her recipie but it ain't for me and wouldn't of got to this point without her help.  Wether i add 4 onions or six, or 400ml of oil or 600ml of oil or a carrot etc does not change the finished process much but the addition of a generous amount of oil at the start of the cooking process gives me completly different results compared to not adding oil.  The oil brings out the sweetness of the onions and seems to hold the flavour of the base gravy.  Hence i do not use Kris Dhillons recipie but all base gravys seem to follow similar processes so it was just a matter of refining them till i got what i wanted.
All hail mick/taz for the info on base gravy as this truly is reaturant takeaway style even though i do mine slightly different its still the same really. Thanks

[Peripatetic Phil]

OK, many thanks for the clarification, Rhodri : much appreciated.
** Phil.

[Razor]

Hi Rhodri, and welcome to cr0.

Veg oil is very prevalent in BIR style curries, and upto a point, it does seem that the more you add, the better the flavour.

The Mick/Taz base is very good.  I made a batch of it for the first time this weekend, and I'm more than happy with the two Madras curries that I have done using.

Please don't think I'm big headed or some amazing Indian chef

I don't think anybody in the right mind will find you big headed fella!  Most members on here will share in you joy that you have found a breakthrough in you curry cooking.

Well done, and maybe sometime, you can post some photos of your curries?

All the best,

Ray

[rhodriharris]

Yer in the future i hope to post pics of my curries but am still learning at the moment.  Just didn't want to wade in on everyone elses ideas and presume i knew what i was talking about but thanks for confirming that oil in the start of base gravy cooking gives a much better flavour.  I just made a simple potato and spinach curry by adding oil to ginger, garlic and chilli powder and frying on high heat for couple of mins before adding my base gravy (mick/tazs).  Let this cook five mins and then i added cumin powder, garam massala and a small amount of tomato paste.  I let this cook ten mins before adding pre boiled potatos and spinach.  Three mins later and voila a scrumptious simple basic tasty curry that was out of this world and as good as my local takeaway, no sorry better than my local takeaway.  I love the simplicity of the spices in this meal and the oily texture.  The base gravy (mick/tazs) is almost like a curry so there is not a lot to do to turn it into the final version.  I was going to add a few tablespoons of cream but thought i'd leave it out as i wanted that wholesome taste.  Honestly its still hit and miss but i'm turning out my own takeaway food and its that simple. Thanks for the input and help.