The Balti Kitchen DVD?s ? 1st Attempt at The Base

[raygraham]

Hi George,

The Tomato comes in the base sauce ( 1 1/2 cups used ) in the form of pureed tinned toms and tomato puree added at "stage two".

It is a sort of "hidden" ingredient, not apparent by it's absence in the actual final recipe.
Do give it a whirl, it really is good. I believe Ian J made it for his partner at the weekend with very favourable results and may give an independant opinion.

Ray

[Ian J]

I finally got round to using up the remainder of the base today.

I tried to add a similar amount of spicing to that used by the chef in the video; he uses what I would guestimate as heaped measures.

The difference was quite noticeable; the flavours were much more pronounced and similar in strength to what I would expect in a BIR.

I also used fresh chillis for the extra heat rather than just chilli powder (the video states either can be used), this gave a much better heat rather than the harsh burn chilli powder can sometimes produce.

I?m going to stick with this base for a couple more tries but will make this using heaped measures.

I?ll probably make more up this weekend as Jane loves the CTM

FAO George

The CTM is not what I?d class as a Heinz Tomato Soup and Cream variety but is still very nice.  I definitely agree with Ray and add some creamed coconut at the end, this gives a much richer dish.

[George]

Ian and others

>I tried to add a similar amount of spicing to that used by the chef in the video;
>...heaped measures.

It's interesting to hear that slightly increased spicing led to an improvement.

>I?m going to stick with this base for a couple more tries...

I guess any one BIR's base is 'matched' to their 'stage 2' dishes, so we might be lucky in mixing and matching one BIR's base with another BIR's madras, say, or maybe not. There are so many permutations and combinations of so many aspects of this game.

>The CTM is not what I?d class as a Heinz Tomato Soup and Cream
>variety but is still very nice.

I'll definitely try it. Would you say there are two main variants of BIR CTM then? i.e. with/without tomato soup.

Regards
George

[Ian J]

I?ve noticed from repeated watching of the DVDs that what the recipe screen shows and what the chef actually puts in the pan are very different.  At one stage the recipe says 1 dsp spoon of salt, the chef pours the salt in from a mini bowl, there is no way that it?s 1 dsp (measuring spoon) Practically every other measure is the same, for a tablespoon of tomato puree he uses a teaspoon to help it out of the bowl, it?s easily 3 or 4 heaped teaspoons worth.

I may be a bit picky with this but I do wonder why there is such a noticable difference between the 2 version.

I?d say there are at least 2 very different CTMs.

Our local takeaway does a VERY creamy sauce which I'd say consists of nothing more than tomato soup & cream with a few spices.

Many restaurants we've visited do a sauce that has a texture more like pur?ed onions with spices.

The difference is quite noticeable.

[raygraham]

Hi Ian,

I have been pondering over this question a bit and wonder if the amounts of spice this chef tips into the pot were meant to be measured amounts at all.
After all we are watching a demonstration staged for a film where the end result is more than likely thrown away and only used as a prop for the film.
You know, like Ribena for Red Wine, Tom Ketchup for Blood..........etc , etc. Maybe that's why there is a discrepancy in one scene when they mention using Menthi (leaf ) and seem to be putting in powdered.

How many times do we see a favourite T.V. chef say "use one tablespoon of oil" and pour in half the bottle!

I don't know it's just a thought but I would err on the side of adding what the recipe screen shot shows as the initial amount. Any adjustment you make after that which shows an improvement can then be noted for next time.

Ray

[George]

I may be a bit picky with this but I do wonder why there is such a noticeable difference between the 2 version.

Ian

I don't think you're being picky at all. With such huge differences between various quantities of ingredients, it will radically alter the taste of any dish. You can try the two extreme quantities, of course, and have another few attempts with quantities in between, or based on your gut feel from having cooked similar dishes before. But, with so many spices and other elements, the permutations and combinations become almost infinite. You could face making any one dish half a dozen times to get it right. I still have health concerns so, for me, my own progress is very slow.

In summary, most of these writers/presenters may not be giving much away. It's all a bit vague. Deliberately so, I suggest. They have no interest in quality control like, say, Delia Smith or Madhur Jaffrey, whose recipes I find you can generally rely on. Their written and on-screen quantities would generally tally, for a start.

That's what makes this forum so great. Despite all the obstacles, nonsense and white lies put in our way, I think we're making good progress at coming up with good representations of BIR dishes.

Regards
George

[Ian J]

Just made up my 2nd batch of this base, used the left over skimmed oil from the 1st batch.

The boiled onions with the skimmed gravy came out yellow when blended & looked just like a korma.  The onions had a really sweet smell about them while boiling, which made a nice change.

Have just started the slow heating process to skim off the oil and the redness is coming back now.

I will be making the usual Chicken Tikka Balti & Chicken Tikka Masala tomorrow.

[Ian J]

We?ve just finished our 1st round of curries from the 2nd batch of this recipe.

The 1st base was very nice and the closest I've come to a restaurant dish.

This time around it was a total disappointment.
The only things I changed were:

I used the skimmed oil from the 1st base, I made it up to 500ml with fresh oil.
I didn?t peel the ginger
Using heaped measures where applicable (gained from multiple viewings of the DVD)

The base had absolutely no depth of flavour, whereas the 1st could have easily been eaten as a mild curry with very little added to it.

I?m going to try and reduce the base down to try and regain some flavour.

I?m wondering if I diluted the flavours by adding too much oil.  I skimmed back nearly all of it this time by longer slower cooking and shaking the pot (worked a treat)

Next time I?m going to add only 100ml of the skimmed oil and see if that?s better.

[raygraham]

The 1st base was very nice and the closest I've come to a restaurant dish.
This time around it was a total disappointment
The base had absolutely no depth of flavour, whereas the 1st could have easily been eaten as a mild curry with very little added to it.

Hi Ian,

I made the same base yesterday and it did have a depth of flavour to it rather like a mild curry so I do think you need to reduce the base down a bit more.
I let it cook with the lid off for about an hour and it reduces down by about a third and becomes thick enough to sort of "plop" off the spoon, rather like thinned out wallpaper paste! DO peel the Ginger or use Ginger/Garlic Puree from a jar ( 2 TBSPS
It must have some flavour in it as you have added Garam Masala and Pepper although this is about all that gives it a kick so it won't be too highly flavoured, that comes in the final dish.

The K.D. Base is even more bland. If you want to start out with a base that has more flavour from the start try Bruce Edwards or Darth's base. They both have more going in right from the start.

Ray

[Ian J]

I did reduce it quite a bit as I heated it for much longer (3 hours on and off) to skim off all the oil, it had the same thick consistency as the 1st batch of base but nowhere near the flavour.
I can only presume that the flavours were diluted by the oil and by skimming it off I was also taking out the flavour.

I read your other post about using a little of the base in a frying pan to season oil and think that?s the way to go.