Jerry - you have a sample of BIR curry base? Or are the observations of the finished curry.

Regarding the spices themselves, I think the main four are (Cori, Cumin, Turmeric, and Paprika) are good. I'd be weary of garam masala in the base.

-- Josh

JerryM - have you tried Blade's tikka recipe?

That LOOKS hot from here! Is it just a standard CTM with lots of extra chili?

Yep, for me a must for naan bread.

Also have seen them in BIR Korai's as well

Josh

Here's a case in point...

I've been trying to perfect CTM for years. Feel I'm really close with CurryKing's. One of the ingredients there is "tandoori masala". I was advised (by Jerry I think) on a "pink" one. I went to my local Indian grocery and bought four packets of various brands of "tandoori masala".

So as an experiment, I scaled down and made 4 sauces using 4 burners at one go  to see which one tasted the best. I eventually found what I considered "better than the rest" and now use that mix. What was striking was how different each sauce tasted.

The spice mix is crucial. Appreciated how SnS "spelled out" his mix.

-- Josh

Haldi,

As UB notes, your naans do look great. Nice and thick the way I like them.

How thin do you stretch out your dough before cooking them?

I was surprised to see that much rising in a recipe that does not use yeast - which I agree is definitely not BIR. Does the raising you get come from the tandoor? the extra egg?

Do you get the same result when you cook them on the tava?

Thanks!

Josh

Jerry made an interesting point on another posting about the right spice mix for a given curry.

Figured I'd put it out there and get some input from others as to:

- which spice mix do you use?
- does it depend on the curry?
- which mixes work better for certain curries?

I use the Bruce Edwards mix, but I've been reading good things about the Kushi mix. Comparing these (and others), there's going to be a fairly significant difference in taste of the final curry.

Thanks
Josh

Interesting post Mick. Begs the question on whether the oil should be reclaimed, and how much. From the number of BIR demo posts on the forum, this does seem to be BIR practice. Using the reclaimed oil is in my experience, a definite plus over fresh veg oil. Aroma and depth of taste are appreciably improved. That said, from the 600ml in my last batch of Saffron, I probably got back 500ml of it, and the marbling that Mick describes was gone.

On the downside (if it is one) the additional cooking time required to get the base to release this much oil (about 2.5 hours at a very slight simmer) does evaporate *some* of the liquid out of the base, though certainly still soup-like.

Some quick math also tells me that the reclaimed oil should last the life of the base, which would be consistent with a BIR who may use reclaimed oil with every curry.

I'm for it, until taste says otherwise. That said, I'm sure there are those that will disagree with me 

Josh

SnS - Interesting thoughts and useful info.


(I did notice your final Madras appeared a bit dry - I sometimes also like it like that). This is specifically mentioned in the recipe as it is important.

>>> I thought I'd try it without adding extra base or water. I too sometimes like it that way. It was more an observation than anything else.

The cooking time of 10 minutes allows the spices to mix and blend and allows the fine onions, garlic and ginger to 'dissolve'

>>> Is that a general rule that you use for all curries? I usually just leave it on long enough to warm through the meat.

Adding more of the original watery 'Saffron base' would make the curry thinner and more fluid. Adding a thicker version of the Saffron base (or other) will also require addition of water (which counteracts the creation of a thicker base for purpose of taste in the first place).

>>> Even with the extra cooking time, the modified base was still very fluid. More comments on the long-cook Saffron below.

There is a very fine line between a 'tasty curry soup' and a 'versatile curry base', and in my opinion (for what its worth), if the base tastes really nice (almost a curry sauce), then it is too rich and is not suitable as an 'all round' curry base.

>>> I came to a different conclusion than Jerry on the 'modified' Saffron base. To me, the taste is mostly the same (not necessarily sweeter or richer). The benefit that I drew from the experience was that the added cooking time released much more oil. You can see the first pic in the post above how much I got out. The base itself is just as fluid as the standard recipe, and the yield was not noticably less than usual. I need to try it with a few more curries to have a more definite opinion though.

The lemon juice can be added, but I guess that is personal preference and borders on turning a Madras into a sweet and sour affair (pathia style).

>>> Most of the Madras I've had at BIRs - the good ones anyway - I'd always notice the hint of lemon juice. To me, its one of the things that says "this is Madras", not a plain curry, Vindaloo, etc. But yes, it is a personal preference issue.

Thanks for the input.

-- Josh

Yes, as an intro to the base method its a winner. The exact steps, temperatures, and times take a lot of the guesswork out. I experiment with a lot of recipes, and oftentimes you just have to guess on the method, what's in the spice mix, etc. Trying this one gave me a real baseline I could compare the results of others.

I could imagine having someone new to curry cooking pick out a base, make this Madras up, and be amazed with the outcome.

As for the recipe itself, I think the lemon juice is a must. I also wonder about the 10 minute simmer at the end, and if its necessary. While I didn't add any water or base, it was starting to get into Bhuna territory in terms of dryness.

--- Josh