Hi, I'm new here and have just tried cooking a base gravy for the first time. Wasn't sure if i should put this question in the thread for the gravy, but i didn't want to mess up the "pro" discussion with daft questions!
So I made the JB takeaway base gravy; I had to make a half quantity because i only have normal domestic pans, and the largest one i have would just about take 1 1/2 kilos of onion. I used 4 tbsp to a chef's spoon as a basic metric and then halved the spice quantities. I did everything exactly as it said apart from using a sachet of coconut cream rather than block. Also i wasn't 100% sure what "garlic / ginger" meant but i used "nishaan" brand minced ginger and garlic from a jar, from my local pakistani cash & carry - i'm in East London so ingredients aren't a problem!
I cooked the first stage for around 3hrs because i'm on an electric hob, but did have it at a good rolling boil; then the second part for around an hour on lower. The onions were still visibly onions, i just don't know what "melting" should look like that's why i gave it the extra time to try and make sure.
So my question is: should it taste nice at this point?! It smelt pretty good, but when i tasted it it really did just taste of boiled onions to me, not much complexity, plus it had a metallic-y taste and slightly bitter. All in all not really pleasant at all. Any ideas as to what went wrong? Or will it magically improve when i do the garlic tarka part?!
any help much appreciated
So I made the JB takeaway base gravy; I had to make a half quantity because i only have normal domestic pans, and the largest one i have would just about take 1 1/2 kilos of onion. I used 4 tbsp to a chef's spoon as a basic metric and then halved the spice quantities. I did everything exactly as it said apart from using a sachet of coconut cream rather than block. Also i wasn't 100% sure what "garlic / ginger" meant but i used "nishaan" brand minced ginger and garlic from a jar, from my local pakistani cash & carry - i'm in East London so ingredients aren't a problem!
I cooked the first stage for around 3hrs because i'm on an electric hob, but did have it at a good rolling boil; then the second part for around an hour on lower. The onions were still visibly onions, i just don't know what "melting" should look like that's why i gave it the extra time to try and make sure.
So my question is: should it taste nice at this point?! It smelt pretty good, but when i tasted it it really did just taste of boiled onions to me, not much complexity, plus it had a metallic-y taste and slightly bitter. All in all not really pleasant at all. Any ideas as to what went wrong? Or will it magically improve when i do the garlic tarka part?!
any help much appreciated