Just to point out, my Onion / Tomato masala is not made in a pressure cooker, i.e I first brown the onions with some whole spices, then add ginger / garlic paste, tomatoes & dried spices and cook further - about 30 mins in total. The masala has a very intense sweet, caramel, salty, spicy & tomatoey taste, little goes a long way!

I do make my BIR (Glasgow style) base in a pressure cooker though - https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,13166.0.html 

I have lots of recipes using the various traditional masalas, try and get them posted soon. The kerala curry has coconut mllk, tamarind, extra hot red chilli also cinnamon, cloves & green / black cardamom.

Chrisnw

I cook a lot of traditional Indian curries and my starting point is usually a pre-made onion / tomato masala, made with equal quantities of each plus whole & dried spices. Takes about 30 minutes to make, keeps in refrigerator for many weeks.

Looks like this -



2 / 3 table spoons of masala is enough for most curries, turn masala yellow, by adding cashew nut paste (for kormas) or coconut cream / milk (Goan style curries). Also, adding salt to onions at start really speeds up the browning process (tip from Indian chef).

Here's a Kerala home style chicken curry I made with this masala -



Chrisnw

Top notch MA  - Great photos too !

Chrisnw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-_m6EZ1SUk

;D

Chrisnw

Quote from: noble ox on November 07, 2014, 12:26 PM
The easy way to stop the CA hench men is to ban all Aussies ;D

Gets my vote 

Chrisnw

Quote from: noble ox on November 03, 2014, 12:35 PM
Agree with the above
But does it matter as long as you start the final curry with oil then add any spices or base with or without oil ?

I would say, a lot depends on the final curry, quality of ingredients and the cooking method (plus skill level too). Many BIR curries I have been served with over the years seem to be mostly base with very little spice (and taste!).

Chrisnw

Curry look great CT  - and handcut chips ! What more could you ask for? 

Chrisnw

Many spices (especially turmeric and chili) are predominately oil soluble, therefore omitting oil will not only affect the final result (taste) but also the now well publicised health benefits. For example cooking tomatoes in oil helps to release lycopene from the tomato cells as Lycopene is fat soluble. Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant and believed to ward against many common types of cancer.

Chrisnw

Quote from: macferret on November 02, 2014, 09:33 PM
Tomato in the gravy - I'm not a fan. But then I prefer a Bangladeshi old-style curry such as you got in the London area in the 1980s (and often still do in Brick Lane and South London.) The high tomato content is more of a Pakistani / Punjabi thing.  Glasgow curries tend to have a lot of tomato in the base, for instance. But I find it too sharp. All a matter of taste of course.

Very true, many traditional Pakistani / Punjabi curries use a concentrated onion / tomato masala which gives a very distinctive taste and texture. However, the sharp taste of the tomato should disappear though with proper cooking, I think this principle also applies to BIR curries.

Chrisnw

I cook predominately traditional Indian bases & masalas and the occasional BIR style base. I really cannot envisage a base / masala made without oil as it is an essential vehicle for the whole and dried spices. For example an Indian chef told me many years ago to always add turmeric to oil before the aromatics i.e. ginger / garlic paste. I usually now add turmeric (and salt - browns onions much faster) to the oil during the onion frying stage. I have included this video link for the preparation of a traditional yellow Indian gravy, which is particually interesting as the chef admits the mistake of adding turmeric too late. The final gravy is excellent by the way and works great in many Korma and South Indian style dishes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_59BTa60gw

Excellent thread LC 

Chrisnw