Topic: A Good Curry Base

[Ian S.]

I agree Mark, but blandness wasn't the issue for me.  I found the coconut and garlic flavours overpowering to the point of unpleasentness, which surprises me - I love garlic and didn't think it was actually possible to put too much into a dish!  My partner, however, disagreed with me.

But cooking the spices for the base seperately as part of a tarka was interesting.  I might try that again.  KD's recipe, of course, does the same thing - but only using turmeric and paprika. Most of the bases I've been working on recently either have the spices fried at the beginning or just added in 'dry'.

I suppose it's just that I'm so close now to what I'm after when I cook curries, this base felt like a step backwards.  But I know I'll never be able to resist trying new recipes as and when they appear, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to do so.

[ifindforu]

Hi and thanks for all your comments. Great to see so many suggestions of adding a few extra spices.I'm always trying to improve every week so yesterday I used some black cadomon and a few bayleaves to my base, bur removed after 30 Min's always adding water to stop drying up .I shall e cooking a chicken or lamb balti this weekend and shall post a pick of it .I offer at my site for crO   members 2 bags of powder that makes two pots of curry base the one that Ive posted which includes Rajah gold madras powder also 1 bag of special spice mix enough probably to last half a year also  all purpose seasoning and a small bag of ajowan seeds all for ?3 With a low postage of ?1 just visit the site and click on the red curry advertisement box postage is usually within 48 hours TERRY    www.ifindforu.com

[Panpot]

Hi Ifindforu,

I had a go with your base sauce yesterday having brought back from Glasgow everything I need to get serious however I came away without Arjowan seed. I used fenugreek instead.

I have to say that I couldnt resist sticking my head in the pot regularly while it cooled down since the smell was strait out of the best bir in Glasgow 30 years ago.

Thanks for this and I now look forward to cooking with it. I have also decided to buy a stand alone freezer to store all the goodies in the weeks to come.

I cant get this site out of my mind, I am obsessed now

Thanks

Panpot

[Yousef]

I got round to finally trying this base last night, it looks the part and has a very subtle undertone of Indian/curry flavour, i think this is going to be an excellent building block for a final curry.
I was initially concerned about the 3 litres of water to 8 onion ratio as it produces a very runny base, i cooked the final base for an hour to thicken it up.

I can not get Rajah Madras Powder so substituted with Hot Curry Powder, i also left out Coconut Block, Tamarind & All Purpose Seasoning.
Will be trying a curry tonight.

The biggest thing i learned from this process is the making of a paste and then frying it to release the proper flavour, from now on i will be making a paste everytime i cook a curry and frying it off in the initial oil to fully release the flavour....

Stew

[Ian S.]

Hi Fat Les

Terry actually mentioned adding the garlic cloves to the onions in a post after George had typed up the first draft, and then George added it in.   But he did hint that it was optional.

Stew - 3 litres of water?  Terry mentioned 3 pints - but that's interesting, because I used three pints and ended up adding more to water the base down at the end.

So many people are saying this is a good base.  Perhaps I've just got stuck in a rut trying to replicate something else.  I'll have to try it again.  But I'll definately back off on the coconut.

I did use coconut block when I tried Terry's base, but something I've been using recently (out of necessity, as the shop had sold out of coconut block at the time) is creamed coconut in sachets.  You get it in packs of 4 x 50g sachets, and pop what you need in hot water to soften it before cutting the sachet open.  It seems to blend in better than the block, and I've added 100g of it to an 8 onion base without overpowering it before, so perhaps I'll try that.

[Yousef]

I cant believe i put 3 litres in when it should have been 3 pints.....what an idiot.

Still it made a reasonable base.
Will try again with 3 pints  :-[

[George]

Terry actually mentioned adding the garlic cloves to the onions in a post after George had typed up the first draft, and then George added it in.   But he did hint that it was optional.

You're dead right - that's exactly how it happened! I trust I interpreted it correctly but perhaps Terry could re-confirm.

Terry has recently made further, extensive changes to the recipe by down-sizing many of the tablespoon (15ml) measures for spices, garlic and ginger to dessertspoon (10ml) measures. At Terry's request via a message, I have modified my re-formatted version of the recipe, also.

The workload building up in the curry quest is enormous! Now, everyone who made the original sauce may want to try the revised version. And what about all the other adjustments and tweaks one can think of. And this is only one base sauce. What about trying half a dozen versions of all the other favourite base sauces? There simply aren't enough days in a year!

Regards
George

[vin daloo]

A nice base, i added garlic in both stages and half block of coconut.  nothing seemed overpowering to me.  Didnt have "the taste" but i believe the secret of a good curry is in actual cooking of a final curry- eg temprature, when to add right ingredients,flames.....

[Mark J]

Didnt have "the taste" but i believe the secret of a good curry is in actual cooking of a final curry- eg temprature, when to add right ingredients,flames.....

Me too

[lorrydoo]

I am about to make this base, my first recipe from this site.  I will let you know how it goes.