Topic: IFINDFORU THE BIR OR T/A GURAVY /SPOT ON./ THIS IS MY FINAL BASE GURAVY

[PaulP]

Hi CH I made a mild madras last night and I wasn't in a hurry this time. I think I've made some mistakes which will prevent me from getting the best out of this base.

Last night I wasn't too pleased with the texture. It doesn't run off a spoon very well and leaves the spoon coated with vegetable debris. Now I made it up to just over 4.5 litres but on reflection 2 KG of onions should probably produce a base of 5.5 to 6 litres in my opinion. Hence the base is too thick and has too many bits in it for my liking.

I thought I had blended it well using my ?200 Waring stick blender on full power and then finishing off with my handheld 400 watt which has a sharper blade. Still loads of bits. Next time this will go through a sieve or food mill.

The next problem was the damn chef spoon measurements. I figured on 4 tbs to a chef spoon and because of this I think the base has a bit too much spice powder and g/g paste.

The curries I've made are perfectly edible and nice but I need to fix the problems I've outlined above which were really all my fault.

Cheers,

Paul

[mr.mojorisin]

"bits" and "debris" are easily removed using Chewys method of straining through a sieve and pushing through sieve with a spoon or the stick thing from a pestle and mortar
stick thing ...lol..dunno if thats the pestle or mortar hence the name "stick thing"

[ifindforu]

Hi CH I made a mild madras last night and I wasn't in a hurry this time. I think I've made some mistakes which will prevent me from getting the best out of this base.

Last night I wasn't too pleased with the texture. It doesn't run off a spoon very well and leaves the spoon coated with vegetable debris. Now I made it up to just over 4.5 litres but on reflection 2 KG of onions should probably produce a base of 5.5 to 6 litres in my opinion. Hence the base is too thick and has too many bits in it for my liking.

I thought I had blended it well using my ?200 Waring stick blender on full power and then finishing off with my handheld 400 watt which has a sharper blade. Still loads of bits. Next time this will go through a sieve or food mill.

The next problem was the damn chef spoon measurements. I figured on 4 tbs to a chef spoon and because of this I think the base has a bit too much spice powder and g/g paste.

The curries I've made are perfectly edible and nice but I need to fix the problems I've outlined above which were really all my fault.

Cheers,

Paul

it mayby needed more water and boiled a little more to break down the onions more

[curryhell]

Well that's a let down Paul, but at least you know  where it went wrong. That's a heads up for me on potentially over spicing when I come to do the gravy. Obviously need to nail down the chef spoon measurements. Not only do they vary in size but in different hands they can produce different results. I'll err on the side of caution. Adding  additional spice at the cooking stage is easy but unless you dilute it further you're not going to remove the over spicing in the gravy.

[ifindforu]

Well that's a let down Paul, but at least you know  where it went wrong. That's a heads up for me on potentially over spicing when I come to do the gravy. Obviously need to nail down the chef spoon measurements. Not only do they vary in size but in different hands they can produce different results. I'll err on the side of caution. Adding  additional spice at the cooking stage is easy but unless you dilute it further you're not going to remove the over spicing in the gravy.

NICE THINKING I USUALY USE A LITTLE MORE THAN A DESERT SPOON NOT HEAPED TO MUCH

[JerryM]

i'm pretty sure ronnoc's base is very similar to this one but it's such a long time since i tried it i feel i need a revisit to make sure my thoughts on this "bagar" are right "to bagar or not to bagar" - my current view being it makes no difference.

ronnoc's base has celery which my recollection put me off. i'm also very uncertain about the cabbage too. having re read what i said on ronnoc's post it sounds as if they weren't that bad. it's also very similar to saffron too which is comforting and allows comparison to a certain extent.

i was going to take 1 chef spoon as 4 tbsp or 60ml. i guess as PaulP says it depends on the finished base volume - so far i've guessed it at 5L and certainly more than my 4.3L biggest pan.

this is going to be the last base i try out. ifindforu's other base is very good - probably my no 4. i can't really see it being beaten (using fennel in place of ajowan). the absence of chef garam or whole spice is also troubling.

link ronnoc's base: http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=2332.0

ifindforu original: http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=923.0

[JerryM]

the curry2go book got me thinking about this base. then looking at it in detail realised the closest i'd made was ronnoc's (no longer has a post button).

anyhow the celery i'm sure put me off ronnoc's and i've been very reluctant for the last year to try any bases as i'm happy on the 3 off i use.

the bagar method is something i've wrestled with for some time. now that i've had a go i've realised this is exactly what i do at dish frying at what i call spice frying.

this base produces a massive yield - i ended up having to use my spare big pan - i reckon i've got something like 5.5L (15 portions) but feel it may still need thinning after keeping overnight.

so far it certainly passes threshold and have no adverse comments - looks pretty good considering what for me seems a very simplistic ingredient listing. the cabbage sits well - amazed

aiming to cook with it tomorrow night. in terms of bagar or not to bagar - i don't feel there is a difference and intend to stick to my all in at the start approach. at dish frying to bagar for sure - no doubt at all.

[JerryM]

this base has more than caught my attention.

have now cooked 4 off curries. feel it's going to push into my top 3.

need to cook a lot more 1st.

ps on the yield - it's gettin better have had to add 50% water to thin - looks like i'm on for over 20 portions.

ps i need to add that i did not add in the coconut block as the other 2 bases i make are "coconut" based. this base is very much a saffron in my mind.

[JerryM]

i've now finished this base. i ended up with 20 off portions (7.2L) and managed to cook 19 off curries during the weak and a bit.

i'm well impressed with the base and adopting it in my top 3. my only issue is making a smaller 0.5 batch as this was one mammoth cooking week.

it was a real good opportunity for myself as i left out the bunjarra (for part week) and reclaimed oil. it was the 1st time i was using the ifindforu eastern star and jalpur based mix powder.

the curries were very very good with 5 off being the best i've made. the nearest comparable base for me is the saffron and it's just edges ahead. i left out the coconut as the other base i use already sort that type of base.

i can put up a pic of the base if needed - it does not look any different to saffron. the key difference being the cabbage which although initially expecting poor result it work's a treat.

i'm not sold on using fresh oil and see improving my reclaimed oil strength as my next priority. i'm not a fan of using mix powder as the base spicing and feel this is something i'd like to explore further as part of the oil journey.

i'm not suggesting that anyone drops their current fav base on the basis that this base is radically better - it's not. it passes threshold and it's better than saffron which is already a personal fav - i'm simply improving my top 3.

i had told myself to not make any more new bases. i'm now well pleased i gave this a try.

many thanks to ifindforu for the opportunity - well pleased

[JerryM]

forgot to add that this base is very similar to the curry2go which was how i arrived at making the ifindforu take.