Topic: oil

[vin daloo]

Why arnt i getting oil on the surface of my base sauce?  Im not at all shy with the oil but i dont get much at the end of cooking.  i do stir it now and then, otherwise i would think it would burn on the bottom of the pot.

[Razor]

Hi Vin,

Which base sauce are you using mate?

Ray

[Malc.]

The oil rises to the surface when the base is cooked out long enough.

[vin daloo]

Ive used a few off here and bruce edwards, kriss dhillon, authentic balti book and my last one was from the undercover curry.  The undercover curry is closest to what my local indian does his, and he had loads of oil on top of his.  I cooked mine for over an hour and it reduced a bit, but still very little oil rising to surface.

[parker21]

hi vindaloo
once you have blended and watered the base down you must return the base to high heat and bring to a rollong boil for about 10 mins then reduce to a simmer donot remove any froth that rises to the top as these are oil bubbles simmer with the lid on for 30mins-1hour and you should see lots of oil floating on top of your base
regards
gary

[Cory Ander]

Why arnt i getting oil on the surface of my base sauce?

Why do you want it to?  BIRs only get it (in my opinion) because they (by "necessity") cook the base for prolonged time.

I beg to differ that it means that "the base has been cooked for long enough"...whatever that is supposed to mean? 

My opinion is...don't worry about it...

Most curry bases will release their oil if they are cooked for long enough (i.e. hours)...

[Tomdip]

With the Taz base I didn't get much oil after blending and simmering.  So I got fed up and turned the heat off - then the oil separated. Didn't get a huge amount but it was nice to cook with.

[Razor]

Hi Tom

With the Taz base I didn't get much oil after blending and simmering.  So I got fed up and turned the heat off - then the oil separated. Didn't get a huge amount but it was nice to cook with.

Wow, that is a surprise, as I get loads of oil on the top when I cook the Taz base.  I usually add water, blend the base then return to the heat for no longer than 20 minutes more!

Why do you want it to?  BIRs only get it (in my opinion) because they (by "necessity") cook the base for prolonged time.

Absolutely but this prolonged cooking could be what adds the depth of flavour that sadly, a lot of us seem to be missing on occasions.

I beg to differ that it means that "the base has been cooked for long enough"...whatever that is supposed to mean? 

That's not what was said CA!

The oil rises to the surface when the base is cooked out long enough.

Which is pretty much what you said

Most curry bases will release their oil if they are cooked for long enough (i.e. hours)...

Ray

[Cory Ander]

Absolutely but this prolonged cooking could be what adds the depth of flavour that sadly, a lot of us seem to be missing on occasions

I have cooked many curry bases, for many hours, with that assumption (and the knowledge that BIRs do it) in mind.  However, in my opinion, prolonged cooking adds nothing to the depth of flavour (or to much else) of the base.

The oil rises to the surface when the base is cooked out long enough.

My apologies, you're correct, I misquoted.  Nonetheless, I didn't/don't know what "cooked out" meant/means. 

I assumed (maybe wrongly) that Axe was suggesting that it's an indication that the base has been cooked for SUFFICIENTLY long and, therefore, that less time than that is undesirable?

I was trying to say that I don't think that it indicates that.  I was also trying to say that, irrespectively, the oil will generally separate and rise after prolonged cooking.  Does that make sense?

Ultimately, my key point was to not worry about it.....unless there is a particular reason to want it to happen (e.g. to remove the oil to cook with).  Hence my question to vindaloo.

It will come out in the final dish anyway and cooking the base, for hours on end, just to release the oil, seems, to me, to be nonsensical (and probably counter productive).

[peterandjen]

Mind you, i have seen quite a few instances now of indian recipes saying that you know when the spices are cooked as they release the oil they have been cooked in.
Maybe this is what we wait for?
The only base i have cooked that has released oil has been the Taz base, maybe due to the 400ml of oil in it.