Topic: Cracked it!

[Mark J]

Now we can post picture again, heres some at various stages, this is the end base before I scoop the oil off the top

[Mark J]

Heres the last of my reclaimed oil before I start

[Mark J]

Heres the bits and bobs being essentially deep fried before pureeing

[raygraham]

Hi Mark,

That first picture of the base before the oil is scooped off looks remarkably like mine!

For me that means we are at least fairly close to the right solution.

Re-claimed oil as far as I am concerned has a big part to play in the curry mistery!!

Ray

[pete]

I have come to the conclusion that we are not all aiming for the same thing
At all the takeaways, I buy curry from, I sit and wait identifying the aromas coming from the kitchen.
The biggest waft, which also is the distinctive  BIR smell, is the old oil being reheated.
It is also, half the flavour of the curry.
Anyone who doesn't find this to be true, is not chasing the same goal as I am
Either that or they are not getting the flavour into the oil
It is absolutely amazing that something, not mentioned in any curry books, is such a dominating factor in it's taste
It's not in any of Pat's books or the Curry Secret or the Secrets ebook.
There is no mention by Sonia Allison or Madhur either

Up until now I have also felt that a general spice mix, such as Bruce Edwards, was all you needed to make a good curry.
Boy, was I wrong!
I was given some of the spice mix from a takeaway
I had a really good curry base and I used these spices (with the veg vindaloo demo recipe I posted)

I can honestly say I have never made a better curry
It was absolutely incredible
It had the "yummy eat it all" flavour
It had that deep aroma
Fantastic

They told me that their mix has only five spices in
Turmeric paprika cummin coriander & curry powder
But I think the curry powder is this Basaar stuff, we've talked about

There are loads of the "basaars"
Natco make one
KIng of Spice make one (I've got that)
There are lots to try
Not all are hot, either
This restaurant spice mix is very mild
It has no chilli heat

So far I have not been able to duplicate it
Surely it can only be I am not using the right basaar?

[DARTHPHALL]

My Oil looks the same when i did it.
There is a really nice sweetness to the Bassar mix Ray sent me.
I think we are chasing slightly different tastes but we are all after that sort of Take-away style with just subtle variations on the same theme i mean we all love Curry i bet if i tasted many Curries from most of the members fave BIR's I'm sure i would comment that there was a similarity with most of then (well this is what i have found so far) with some that were just plain Bloody awful,there is a BIR near me & it sucks, all Garlic the rice is mushy & overcooked & the dishes have very little flavor(you know like a Curry cooked at home that went horribly wrong). There is another that makes a PHALL with so much Chillie powder that it tastes of Hot Chillied Gravy !!!
I have come to the point were its only a smell that i need to capture, pt the Curry in your mouth hold your Nose & really just taste it you'll discover you are closer than you think  ;D.

[raygraham]

I have come to the conclusion that we are not all aiming for the same thing
But I think the curry powder is this Basaar stuff, we've talked about
There are loads of the "basaars"
Surely it can only be I am not using the right basaar?

Hi Pete,

I think you are quite right, we are not all aiming for the same thing. And why is that? Well................tonight I had a take-away from the closest place to me.
The food from here is a bit middle of the road but nice just the same. It is quite bland ( so it will appeal to everyone! ) and to me most dishes taste a bit the same. But there isn't a bit of re-claimed oil in sight! The oil is really clear like it has just come out of the bottle but there is still that underlying smokey taste we associate with used oil! It isn't strong but it is there just the same.
I think this taste comes from the oil in the original base they make rather than re-claimed oil used afterwards.
I think if we were all to meet up and bring say three of our favourite restaurant curries we would all be bringing pretty different dishes and this is what makes it difficult to reproduce our favourites...........we are all buying slightly different products in the first place.

The Basaar Mix is probably a part of the secret but I don't think it is the magical ingredient we are looking for, it is after all no more than a special blended curry powder.
The one I got and sent to a few on the site was very fiery to say the least ( did I send you any? Just ask and I will post you some. ). The brand was RMI foods ( Bradford ) and the pack has "Basaar Original, All-in-one, Special Pak Curry Powder" written on it and costs about ?3.00p. Like Darth says it has a sweetness to it and stinks out the house it is that powerful. But it is Dynamite!
I am not sure if it is widely used in restaurants. It is a bit of a hard thing to find in asian supermarkets. I will put the question about it's use to the Kushi Restaurant and let you know if they answer it.
From what I gather from my asian colleagues it is used more in "home cooking" than anything and only about a teaspoon or so is added to the pot.

Must go,

Work is calling..........................Yippee!

Ray

[pete]

I think this taste comes from the oil in the original base they make rather than re-claimed oil used afterwards.

That is a very good point
Perhaps that's it
Unless the curries really are very different
I can't speak for restaurants, where I have not seen them cook, but the ones round here don't hide where the oil comes from.
The first thing thaey do is drop the ladle into the curry base pot and scoop out a load of oil
They even use it from the deep pan fryer sometimes too
Try and get some of the curry base from your local
We can eliminate the questions if we do it by stages
I have had the base from mine and it is better than I can make
I know that
But my base is still a very good base
At least I know how close I am
I now have their spice mix
I must try and duplicate that too
With that I have had an amazing result
I can get all these basaar mixes at shops near me too
I think I saw about four different types
The one I glimpsed at the takeaway had a drawn picture of the world on it
The spice mix used for curries is definitely not hot though
That figures because they must use it for kormas as well as hotter curries (so they add the chilli later)

[John]

Visited my favorite curry house last night and managed to get some base and spice mixture, the gravy taste kinda like a korma slightly creamy texture with sweetish flavour, but you can taste the fresh coriander. The only smell that i can get from the spice mixture is a hint of cummin, it's hard to believe that these 2 make up the madras that i ordered.

[Curry King]

Hi John,

Nice work, what are we looking at in your pictures, I take it the madras is at the top with the gravy bottom left, whats the one on the right?  Also if they are open enough to give you some base and spice mix any chance they might tell you whats in them