Topic: caramelized onion in base

[fishy]

Recently discovered my fav new BIR, there curry is the best iv ever tasted (jalfrezie), what i did notice that the slices of onion were partly burnt and had that lovely sweet smokey taste (caramelized/burnt) and the base tasted simular, it was awsome

My question is has any of you used caramelized onions in your base?, for me i think maybe thats my missing something, im not sure.
 
my next batch of base im gunna cook the hell out of the onion untill almost burnt then proceed, apreiciate some thoughts before i ruin my new batch of base.

ATB
fishy

[Stephen Lindsay]

fishy

I would just urge you to try it and see what happens - who knows this could be your unique take on a curry base!

[Razor]

Hi Fishy,

By all means have a go at caramelising your onions but, you would need to do this in very little oil, as using large amounts of oil, makes it very difficult.  Also, DO NOT add any salt whilst your doing the onions.  Salted onions are impossible to caramelise! And make sure that you don't burn them or it will definitely ruin your base.  If it works, you should end up with quite a sweet base!

Good luck,

Ray

[PaulP]

Hi Fishy,

It's worth searching youtube for "caramelised onions" - plenty of tips.
It might take some time to caramelise the amount of onions found even in a 3 litre base.
I don't think you could do 6 onions at once.

I did some recently and it took me 45 minutes.

I think what you need is:

Suitable pan. I find a thick bottomed non-stick frying pan is ideal for this.
Not too much oil - just a 2 or 3 tablespoons to start with.
Onions pieces cut to a similar size.
Start on medium heat then work back to low heat.

The tricky bit is that the onions caramelize when in contact with the pan base, so you don't want to stir continously but if you don't stir enough they can burn.

Let us know how you get on.

Don't forget that you can just make the caramelised onions as a separate paste to add to your curries like the Ashoka recipes call for.

Paul

[George]

Don't forget that you can just make the caramelised onions as a separate paste to add to your curries like the Ashoka recipes call for.

Good point. Did Fishy's favourite new BIR caramelise all the onions in the Jalfrezi or did they use a boiled onion base plus a dollop of a separate paste near the end? Fishy asks about using caramelised onions in the base but perhaps the BIR only added them for the final curry.

[Razor]

Hi George,

Don't forget that you can just make the caramelised onions as a separate paste to add to your curries like the Ashoka recipes call for.

Good point. Did Fishy's favourite new BIR caramelise all the onions in the Jalfrezi or did they use a boiled onion base plus a dollop of a separate paste near the end? Fishy asks about using caramelised onions in the base but perhaps the BIR only added them for the final curry.

My thinking too!  Maybe the smokey flavour he is picking up could be from smoked paprika?  but it's more likely to be from a caramalised onion paste IMO.

Ray

[PaulP]

I can't really imagine any BIRs caramelising all the onions for a base. It would just take too much cooking for their sort of quantities and I've not found any short cuts to producing perfectly browned onions without slaving over a pan for nearly an hour.

Paul

[Peripatetic Phil]

I can't really imagine any BIRs caramelising all the onions for a base. It would just take too much cooking for their sort of quantities and I've not found any short cuts to producing perfectly browned onions without slaving over a pan for nearly an hour.

If you've 12 to 14 hours to spare, you could try this method !
** Phil.

[JerryM]

fishy,

it's a good question and something i've not bottomed fully. at the back of my mind is that i can't see any BIR having the times to mess around so much with their base.

there are quite a lot of previous posts on the subject.

i've tried it a few times now but not felt there was any gain. i don't think i've done the caramelising good enough though to have an effect. i think you need quite a bit more oil for it to work quickly enough to be viable ~ something like 100ml.

ivan gough's base might be of interest :http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,2628.0.html


i think if you use bunjarra in the mains then there is no point.

the hot quick pre fried onion in a little oil ~1 tbsp is a different matter. i use it (dipuraja biryani) and the taste is absolutely spot on. these onion when added to the main then impart a taste into the dish which for some dishes is quite key ie jalfrezi (green pepper for me do same).

[fishy]

Thanks guys
 The dish i had  the onions were cooked very well done a bit like you get on a hot dog (burnt in parts), this is the taste that came through in the curry and partly in the sauce, i assume they added and cooked the hell out of the onion at the beginning of dish then added G/G paste and so on, base etc.

the dish was very dark in colour also, never had a jalfreizi like it! awsome!

iv used smoked paprika with ok results but not the same taste, its defo coming from the burnt/caramelised onions, (sweet and smokey), i have some experimenting to do i guess.

my curries are nearly there.
Cheers chaps