When I first joined this forum, I had never used a base except Pat Chapmans. I was amazed at the number of bases on here and thought a start would be The Saffron base. This I made with Spanish Onions, and the taste of the base in the final curry was to sweet for me, not what I was looking for. The next time I made the base, I used English cooking onions from Sainsbury. The taste was nearer to what I was trying to achieve.
Having said that, some on here prefer a sweeter curry.

Welcome aboard Rebecca. You have now joined a fabulous forum and everyone on is only to willing to help. As Josh said, ask away.

Quote from: JerryM on July 13, 2009, 08:20 AM
I'm quite taken aback by how different the home made is to the branded. i'd like to put it down to my poor ability at roasting or something like.

when u compare the east end list: coriander, cumin, black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, dry ginger, bay, cloves

with say KD's: coriander, cumin, black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, bay, cloves, nutmeg, black cardamom the differences are ginger, nutmeg and black cardamom. only the black cardamom standing out as a significant influence on taste. other than this i can only imagine the taste is down to the proportions which perhaps in the branded have been toned to the UK taste buds.

put this a side for a mo and look at rajah curry power: coriander, turmeric, cumin, salt, bengal gram, mustard seed, fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds, garlic, bay.

for me quite different to the garam. i share CA's point that garam is not widely used given the difference. i put it's use by the ashoka in the karahi bhuna as 1 off and not typical.

i'd also feel that adding a pinch takes the taste away from rather than closer to BIR.

the views/experiences of the rest of the members would be very interesting.

I've made the KD Garam Masala and I think it's too overpowering, even in small quantites. I also think slightly differently to you, in as much that the Nutmeg would have an influence on the taste in my opinion.

Quote from: Secret Santa on July 09, 2009, 10:42 PM

Quote from: emin-j on July 09, 2009, 08:01 PM
I have found Butter Ghee to smell and taste quite sickly  and even a smallish amount ruined some Pilau Rice I made

I entirely agree with that amin-j. I recently had some restaurant pilau rice that very obviously had been cooked in butter ghee. I really, really, didn't like it. When the hell did BIRs start putting butter ghee in the pilau, is nothing bloody sacred?

SS

The amount of Ghee I use to fry the spices and rice is only 1Tbl spoon for 300g of rice. This amount of rice is enough for 4 small portions or 3 large. So really you are talking about 1 Tsp of Ghee to a portion, not a great deal really.

This is the Ghee I use.

Quote from: qprbob on June 29, 2009, 02:43 PM
A1 SnS 2008 base and Madras

A2 As per the posted recipe

A3 Again no changes

A4 Tried Pat Chapmans and the Kris Dhillon base with SnS Madras. Both were nowhere near as good as the SnS Madras along with the SnS2008 base.

Actually this is not quiet correct. Have tried Admins base and Madras and it was excellent and said SnS's was now in second place for me. Having only made this once I could not put it in survey, as next time I make it, I may not have the same result. SnS's gives me constant results as I have made this numerous times.

Had another crack at your Madras today, but with changes. First of all, used your base, albeit with reduced chili powder in it. The Madras itself was made with one and half teaspoons of tomato paste instead of one. Secondly I used 1 Tsp of Deggi Murch and 1 of Kashmiri Murch, and no Garam Masala. Another addition for me was that, the oil was one Tbl spoon of reclaimed oil and one corn oil. Actually quiet a removal from yours.
This is now moving in the right direction for me. As for the use of Garam Masala in BIR's, I don't know, but I left it out on this occasion and it seemed the right thing to do. The precooked Chicken was also different, in that it was only boiled in water with half a Tsp of Tumeric as the Chicken I usually use has to much flavour and I did not want this to affect the final outcome.

CWG

That looks very good indeed. Only problem for me, I'm of the school that Onion Bhaji's should be ball shape and not flattened,

One thing I would do is fry the onions until soft and slightly darker. After making Admins base where you also fry the onions, I felt I was a lot nearer to that taste we all are after.

Veg wise, only Onions, 1 Carrot, Garlic and tinned Tomatoes for me, oh and maybe half a Green Pepper. I think a little Turmeric for colour is the only ground spice I,m going to use for my next base. from there I will adjust accordingly if need be.
For me, I think the spicing is best left for the dish that you will cook with base. This would make it more versatile for the milder curries.

There you go Jerry, space problem solved. ;D ;D More seriously, if you only have a choice of one, it has to be a Tandoor surely.