Topic: 3 Hour Curry Base

[Peripatetic Phil]

I have tried this base recipe and followed it as best as I could with out the exact amounts and it does produce a very good garabi.  I have never seen a chef sieve his garabi before. I PMed Chewy about this and he confirmed that this was 'old school' from the 70's. My first kitchen visit wasn't until the 80's so that would explain that.  I did sieve the garabi myself and I was surprised how much fibrous material was taken out, I would suspect a lot of it would have come from the cabbage. It did leave the gravy very smooth.

I begin to wonder whether the failure to sieve also lies at the heart of my failure to achieve satisfactory results with Ray's modification to the Madras 2011 recipe.  My real problem with the finished dish, apart from the taste, was the consistency, which was distinctly fibrous.  I put this down, at least in part, to Ray's replacement of the originally-specified garlic with g/g paste, which would in itself have a high fibre content from the ginger, so when I re-heated it last night I added 1 1/2 ladles of fresh chicken stock and the consistency was much more to my liking.  Bearing in mind that during my original experiments with the Taz base and Madras 2011 recipe I had also reported a far higher fibre content that I was expecting (admittedly I had inadvertently used three times as much ginger as I should have done !), I do now think that perhaps the Taz base, when used in conjunction with further g/g paste, should be sieved (but not if used without : see earlier negative feedback on this experiment).  I don't have a food mill, unfortunately, but as it was my 64th birthday only three weeks ago, and as I don't yet seem to have received any present from she-who-funds-my-cookery-experiments, I might just gently remind her of this and point her at a [url=http://www.amazon.co.uk/R

[chewytikka]

Incidentally, try as I might, I cannot locate an electric version of the food mill.  It seems me that having to hold one handle stationary while rotating the other is going to be pretty d@mned tiring, never mind the risk of the whole thing tipping sideways, so what I was hoping to locate was a heavy, substantial, motor-driven unit (or, better still, attachment for my Kenwood Major) that would take all the effort and risk out of sieving, but I have not yet been able to locate such a thing ...

** Phil.

Hi Phil
I think the principle is similar to a modern day juicer, you may want to look at KENWOOD AT644 Attachment and adapting it to suit or a more expensive option of a Italian passata maker.

cheers Chewy.

[Peripatetic Phil]

Excellent, many thanks CT : now added to my birthday list  ;D
** Phil.

[Razor]

Chewy,

Have made your base a good 3 - 4 times now, and I've got to say, it's top notch, it really is.

It is so easy to make, and so consistant.  I think the clincher for me is, keeping the onions 'whole' during the boiling.  It seems to really bring out their natural sweetness that runs through ever curry made with it.  It is the 'BIR' sweetness that I have been searching for, for a very long time.

Finally, the sieving process is a masterstroke.  It is truly remarkable, the amount of 'stuff' left behind!  I've even tasted this 'stuff' to make sure that I wasn't losing a flavour and what I found was, you know sometimes, when you get the strange after taste? well this 'stuff' is definitely the culprit, without a shadow of a doubt.

Now, I know that I tend to rave on about a new base (Mick/Taz) once tried, but actually, I rave on if I really like it,  If I don't, I tend not to say anything, and I have tried loads of bases from here.

This base is right up there with the best in my opinion.  The sieving process is the only 'awkward' part but it is well worth the effort.

Definitely going to invest in a food mill.

Thanks Chewy, you have a mighty fine base on your hands there fella  ;D

Ray

[PaulP]

Hi Ray, great post you've made there. I've just made the ABC Kushi base and I tried to sieve it. Wow - what a mess I was making. The sieve gets blocked up really fast.

I was looking at this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Metaltex-Food-Stainless-Steel-Diameter/dp/B002UHJV5Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1309001335&sr=1-1

It might make things easier. I hope to try this base soon.

Thanks to chewytikka for the recipe and advice.

Paul

[moonster]

Excellent work there Chewy, thanks for putting in the effort and for sharing.

Great endorsements from Ray and Mick, this speaks volumes for me about the quality of your base.

I Will be making this in the near future and will offer my feedback as well.


Thanks

Alan ;D

ps you sounded like a drunken geordie in the vid ;D South Shields

[Razor]

Hey Paul,

That's exactly the type of thing I'm looking for mate, should make life a little easier.  However, even though it is messy, stick with the sieving process until you get sorted with the food mill, it really makes a difference.

Hey Alan, you've really got to give this base a go mate, it really is the mutts nuts.  I still use my own spice blend though, which compliments this base perfectly in my opinion.

Ray

[chewytikka]

Thanks for all the kind words Lads

Really great Ray, glad to hear your getting consistant results ;D

It's funny, but I quite enjoy the sieving, but there again after 35 years
I suppose its second nature, just like peeling onions, all part of the process.
Keep up the good work mate, as there's nothing quite like making a pan full of golden nectar.

Never touched a drop, moonster. honest.

cheers and thanks again.

[moonster]

Ray, Chewy,

I have ordered the food mill posted by Paul, so as soon as i receive it i am on with Chewys base.

earlier in the thread Chewy you mentioned about chickens being used in the base. I have experimented with this idea by using knorr chicken stock pots in Rays base rather than boiling up a full carcass.

Like yourself i have been told that this is the big secret in BIR cooking.

 Do you have any thoughts on whether this makes a difference or have you tried anything at home to replicate this process.

Regards

Alan ;D

[gazman1976]

Alan, I recently got a recipe for curry from scratch - it uses 120ml of knorr chicken stock - best curry I have made - it's delicious - I will post the recipe tonight

Garry