Topic: Cracked it!

[DARTHPHALL]

I've found Cardamom pod,Star anise,White Cumin seed & Mustard seed.

[John]

I've found Cardamom pod,Star anise,White Cumin seed & Mustard seed.

Did you also get a sample of curry base from your local? tell me more....

[DARTHPHALL]

I've had the basic Curry Sauce that comes with a Biryani,not first stage Base gravy although if you follow my Recipes (see links above) you will find the Base gravy turns out the same colour as your photo's a golden Yellow & it is good enough to eat on its own,but there is an ingredient missing, it is really frustrating as I'm so sure I'm close to getting it 100% Right.
Not all my local BIR Dishes have the taste/smell im after so again i feel its an ingredient i've missed.
I'm hoping to go back within a week as Ive started the Ball rolling on cooking lessons & they are closing down in January for refurbishment so this could be an opportunity.
The seed in your picture looks rather odd for a Cardamom can you do a close picture ?
 

[John]

I tried doing a close up but me camera aint up to it, this cardamom must have been in the base when it was blended cos all that is left of this one is just one of the panels that makes up the pod, i think the other reason it looks odd is cos it's been stain with turmeric during the cooking process, which leads me to think maybe it was put in at the start.
I recon this will be another addition to the base when i get round to making it

[DARTHPHALL]

Sometimes i get the feeling these whole seeds are only put in to give a visual impression of quality & obviously to give the customers of the BIR that feeling that they are actually using authentic Indian Spices as i think they can get all they need from fully ground, a few seeds here & there is not going to make that much difference IMHO. 

[John]

Sometimes i get the feeling these whole seeds are only put in to give a visual impression of quality & obviously to give the customers of the BIR that feeling that they are actually using authentic Indian Spices as i think they can get all they need from fully ground, a few seeds here & there is not going to make that much difference IMHO. 

I must respectfuly disagree, The base sauce that i got from the bir was straight from the big bubbling pot of gravy on the cooker top and it was this base sauce that i found the cardamom, when a cardamom pod is cooked in liquid i will become soft and when it is blended it will loose all the seeds through out the liquid and add flavour to the base sauce, whether you use 1 or 21 cardamoms you will still add flavour to the base.
The bir's use whole cardamom in there pilau rice for flavour so they have them on site.

[George]

The base sauce that i got from the bir was straight from the big bubbling pot of gravy on the cooker top...

John

Are you sure they didn't add anything to the base sauce, out of your sight, before it was handed to you?

I asked for some base sauce from a take-away a few months back. The container was filled direct from the large pot but then the container was taken into a back room, when I think some fenugreek or coriander was added and who knows what else? Garam masala perhaps, for all I know?

Regards
George

[DARTHPHALL]

Hi John,,through this something has dawned on me.

1.Has anyone used several whole Spices instead of just ground & when you blend do you end up with some fragments in the Curry like we have both found.

2. And by using whole Spices do you end up with a different flavor. IE with our finding of Cardamom Pods,i find whole pods have a much more powerfull smell & flavor,this i also find of many whole Spices.
I've tended to add at the very end perhaps i should put the Spices at the Base making stage &/OR the Curry making stage. This is something worth investigating over the Christmass period.

  Have we inadvertently stumbled upon another way to get a small increment closer to copying our BIR's 100%.

[pete]

I've had the basic Curry Sauce that comes with a Biryani,not first stage Base gravy

If you could get hold of the restaurant base, you could tell how close your base is.
My aim is to make the curries just how a restaurant does
Maybe we will never get the full story on everything, but if we examine the evidence in pieces, it may do the job.
We need to be able to copy the spice mix and need samples of the precooked ingredients too.

[I tried, but they said it's taken 50years to perfect there recipe, they did confirm that onions/carrots/garlic/ginger and loads of fresh coriander were in the base, but wouldn't give up the spice mix recipe and only said that it's hand made by the chef.

Well I've got my best results ever, but the sample base I got, is still better than mine
I've been trying fifteen years, I don't know if I could get it in another 35

[DARTHPHALL]

I wouldn't be to disheartened Pete,I've been making Curries for many years, but as a serious BIR curry maker for just under two! ;D
I'm incredibly happy  ;D   with my own personal progress & feel confident it will improve.
I've got the Base colour right (Thanks to my local BIR giving some helpfull info) they have more than likely left out their Chefs Spice mix.

Question : Is this the only missing component,not Curry powder,what is their definition of Curry powder is it just a blend of particular Spices which make the Curries a little more individual to various BIR's across the country ? This could be why we are all struggling to get it 100% right, i would seem to be a very logical conclusion.
This brings up another good question the next time we are in our local "could you recommend a Spice mixture i could use to make my home-made Curries taste better"? ;D