Topic: IFINDFORU THE SECRET MIX POWDER EXPOSED

[Cory Ander]

Please ignore Cory Ander, George (if you have not already done so); I, and I suspect the vast majority of members, are very grateful for your hard work as Moderator, and if you now feel sufficiently experienced and confident in this role, I certainly have no objections to your widening your remit to include dealing with inappropriate language, particularly in view of the very tactful and diplomatic way in which you proposed to deal with the recent incident

** Phil

Please ignore Phil ("the other Phil", etc), George, I, and I suspect many members (thought I don't know because I haven't asked them) expect you to keep to your "pledge" and, therefore, for you to just remove spam.

Phil, if you think George is "tactful" and "diplomatic", then I think you must have rocks in ya 'ead!  :

[JerryM]

for my own clarity i have a couple of questions for you.

• Are you making IFFU's base or your normal base with the revised Mouchak mix
  Are you saying that a BIR kitchen uses two types of GM, one for use in bases and a different type for addition to the dish itself

Re the colouring i've just compared it the the trs brand i have and its darker but vs the Rajah it's lighter :
Look forward to hearing the results of your experiments mate.

curryhell,

i'm using my normal bases (rajver, saffron, mytake). i've looked at the ifindforu base spec and see no difference to what i've tried in the past. the "bagar" part of the method is something i might revisit but i don't feel it will make much difference. i make all bases the same way these days and they end up sort of very similar in terms of characteristics. there is slight difference in the final dish.

i have very little knowledge of BIR practise and have posted what i've picked up. pretty much all that i do is picked up from this site and essentially from trial and error. i use 2 off types of garam masala which taste very different - one is the east end which i use at frying and when called for in pastes etc ie tikka. this is what i think most people would call garam masala. tgad2007 put me onto a roasted garam which i use in base. i started out using a muslin cloth then a spice ball and have gradually adopted out of ease the tgad approach. this "spice" i call garam masala as i know no other name ofther than say "whole spice". i see it as a piece of the jigsaw.

going to be next weekend before i get to making base to try out the ifindforu jalpur garam sample in the mouchak mix. these days the local restaurant mid week credit cruncher and the staff curry are sorting my needs.

best wishes,

[curryhell]

for my own clarity i have a couple of questions for you.

• Are you making IFFU's base or your normal base with the revised Mouchak mix
  Are you saying that a BIR kitchen uses two types of GM, one for use in bases and a different type for addition to the dish itself

Re the colouring i've just compared it the the trs brand i have and its darker but vs the Rajah it's lighter :
Look forward to hearing the results of your experiments mate.

curryhell,

i'm using my normal bases (rajver, saffron, mytake). i've looked at the ifindforu base spec and see no difference to what i've tried in the past. the "bagar" part of the method is something i might revisit but i don't feel it will make much difference. i make all bases the same way these days and they end up sort of very similar in terms of characteristics. there is slight difference in the final dish.

i have very little knowledge of BIR practise and have posted what i've picked up. pretty much all that i do is picked up from this site and essentially from trial and error. i use 2 off types of garam masala which taste very different - one is the east end which i use at frying and when called for in pastes etc ie tikka. this is what i think most people would call garam masala. tgad2007 put me onto a roasted garam which i use in base. i started out using a muslin cloth then a spice ball and have gradually adopted out of ease the tgad approach. this "spice" i call garam masala as i know no other name ofther than say "whole spice". i see it as a piece of the jigsaw.

going to be next weekend before i get to making base to try out the ifindforu jalpur garam sample in the mouchak mix. these days the local restaurant mid week credit cruncher and the staff curry are sorting my needs.

best wishes,

Thanks for clarifying Jerry. I always assume that when someone mentions garam masala they are talking about the powder variety.  Obviously, a mixture of whole spices too is a garam masala and am myself contemplating put some in my base gravy during the cooking stage.  Look forward to hearing how the Jalpur fares in the mouchak mix :

[Razor]

Obviously, a mixture of whole spices too is a garam masala and am myself contemplating put some in my base gravy during the cooking stage.  Look forward to hearing how the Jalpur fares in the mouchak mix :

Hey CH, with that I mind, I wonder if this maybe of some use to you, just for ideas maybe?

http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=4283.0  This is a very good base and I've used it many many times, a little tip though, maybe omit or reduce the amount of mace?

Hope that helps mate?

Ray

[PaulP]

Hi CH, totally agree with Ray about the ABC recipes and about reducing the amount of mace, and possibly cassia sticks when making that base. I did like the way the dishes all came together when you used the pre-cooked meat and veg.

One to revisit sometime.

Paul

[Razor]

I did like the way the dishes all came together when you used the pre-cooked

Hi Paul,

Agreed, I think this is one set of recipes that work better together than individually.

Ray

[curryhell]

Obviously, a mixture of whole spices too is a garam masala and am myself contemplating put some in my base gravy during the cooking stage.  Look forward to hearing how the Jalpur fares in the mouchak mix :

Hey CH, with that I mind, I wonder if this maybe of some use to you, just for ideas maybe?

http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=4283.0  This is a very good base and I've used it many many times, a little tip though, maybe omit or reduce the amount of mace?

Hope that helps mate?

Ray

Cheers Ray.  Have read this thread and i think the general concensus is to beware or avoid the mace and don't overdo the cassia bark either .  I have read a  couple of other threads which include the use of black cardamoms as well.    I've just got to decide which base i am going to work with and then i can start trying to tailor it to my local BIR taste.  That should be a challenge   Over the years i have regularly found whole spices in my curries which can only have come from the base

[spiceyokooko]

Over the years i have regularly found whole spices in my curries which can only have come from the base

Highly unlikely in my opinion. The whole spices are far more likely to have come from the finished dish rather than the base gravy. It's in the finished dish where flavours are fine tuned and tweaked and that's where the Chef would be using whole spices.

Very few if any base gravy's I've ever come across use whole spices in them. That's not to say that they can't/won't/shouldn't contain whole spices - but it's not usual practice in my experience.

[curryhell]

Over the years i have regularly found whole spices in my curries which can only have come from the base

Highly unlikely in my opinion. The whole spices are far more likely to have come from the finished dish rather than the base gravy. It's in the finished dish where flavours are fine tuned and tweaked and that's where the Chef would be using whole spices.

Very few if any base gravy's I've ever come across use whole spices in them. That's not to say that they can't/won't/shouldn't contain whole spices - but it's not usual practice in my experience.

Well I am afraid I have to beg to differ with regard to the dish I am talking about.  I cannot speak for other dishes so you may well be right.  My dish of choice up until recently has always been chicken phall.  Whilst I appreciate the subtleties and flavours of other dishes I always find myself hankering for a good robust tasty curry laden with chilli in various guises.   I have stood and watched my local BIR prepare this for me many times, and trust me the only whole thing that's added is green chillies.  However, on occasions when I

[spiceyokooko]

However, on occasions when I