Quote from: Yellow Fingers on January 11, 2007, 09:52 AM

Interesting. Are you saying that the shop bought base on its own doesn't have the "taste and smell", but when you then make the curry it develops the taste and smell while cooking?

YF

Hi YF
       the genuine base has a depth of flavour that is hard to describe
You get a similar effect with red wines sometimes
Some seem watery but others almost hum with a fantastic aroma
I don't know what that is either

But get some base and try it
A couple of places even sold me some
It was cheaper than a curry and they think it quite amusing too!
I paid ?2 for it (I bought a proper curry as well to keep everyone happy)
Get the spice mix too

I cooked mine like this:-
https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=1445.0

I would be very interested in what you think
My curry turned out just like theirs do

Quote from: Yellow Fingers on January 09, 2007, 08:48 PM

If so how can you be sure it really is in the base?

YF

Get some base and spice mix and try it
You can just make a sauce or add prawns (which are not BIR precooked)
If they won't give you the stuff, I'm sure they would sell it
I believe that when the base is cooked in the curry, it produces "the taste"

I cook a full pack of poppadoms at a time
They fit into three supermarket plastic carrier bags and I loosely tie the top
When required, I microwave them hot for a minute, and they are fantastic
In my house, these poppadoms are eaten in two days!!

It's definitely the base
I made an exact copy of a curry when the takeaway sold me some spice mix and curry gravy
I did the same again, with a base I made, and it wasn't quite as good

When I tasted the genuine base, it was somehow different
You knew it was special, although I don't know what it was
Maybe it's the "can't be done in small quantities" thing
I find it very hard to believe that noone on this site hasn't accidently achieved it

They have told me what is in the base, and it's nothing new
They boil onions, oil,salt,garlic ,ginger,tomatoes & spice mix
We have dozens of these recipes on this site
Somehow any base I get hold of, tastes a little better, than what I make
And I believe that the base is the most important ingredient
Everything else can be done easily at home
I have directly compared a made base, to a takeaway base, and there is this extra "niceness" to the takeaway one
I have hopes that Andy may turn up something, with his future posts
The reason I think the base is so important, is because some curries are little more than the base itself.
And they taste brilliant
Vindaloo and Korma are examples
I think the problem is, we get the wrong quantities of ingredients in the gravy
For example
If I make a six onion gravy, one extra clove of garlic, or slightly stronger onions will change the outcome drastically.
Precise quantities are almost impossible to do
I don't want to go down the 30 onion base road
But maybe that is the only way to do it

The choped garlic goes green, if left overnight
So can the garlic ginger puree
It's fine too eat, even if it looks a lttle strange
Get chatting with the chef and staff
When they know you are interested, you may get invited to the kitchen

Thanks Cory
                    I made it again last night, with a home made base.
I used the bought "spice mix"
The curry was still good, but not as good as the one made last week.
It made me realise how important getting the base right is
When I have been talking to chefs, this is something always emphasised.
One of the "secrets"
Sometimes they don't even get it right
Back to the drawing board!!

Hi Vinda loo
                   There was an advert on the opening cr0 page
Bradford curries, from January

http://www.realbradfordcurry.com/

Quote from: Cory Ander on December 26, 2006, 03:32 AM
Thanks for a very interesting and informative post, Haldi 

For me, it perhaps raises as many questions as answers!:

• Does this takeaway produce curries with ?the taste? and ?the smell? and ?the appearance? of a good BIR restaurant?

#

• How would you rate their vindaloo compared to other BIRs?

Their curries do not have what I call the "taste" but are extremely good.
They have a sweet, fresh spice flavour withe a fantastic aroma
I am always happy with their cooking
I can't believe I am saying this but, I sometimes get fed up with curries with the taste.
It allows no subtlety

• How big (roughly) was the carton of curry base?

The carton was a standard curry container size

• How many prawns (roughly) did you add?

I didn't have many.
It was about half a mug full.
I would have thought it was half, of what a takeaway would use

• How many people (roughly) does this serve?

I shared it with someone, but we had another curry too.
So on it's own it would have served one

• Do you have the recipe for their curry base?

No, sorry, but I reckon Kris Dhillons is very similar

• What does their spice mix comprise of (cumin, coriander, tumeric, curry powder and paprika?)?
• Do you have the recipe for their spice mix?

Yes. that's right
I'm not sure of the ratios, though

• When you say that your vindaloo ?was a match? to theirs, do you mean that yours also had ?the taste?, ?the smell? and ?the appearance? of a typical (good) high street vindaloo?  Do you have a photo of it/them by any chance?

It didn't have the taste (their curries don't)
But it was exact result of how their curries are made.
Look, smell and taste
If I had bought it, I would have been pleased

• Assuming that both vindaloos had ?the taste?, ?the smell? and ?the appearance?, what do you ascribe them to?  Do you think they are in the curry base, in the cooking technique that you describe, or both?

The curry base must be bland
The tomato puree must be fried right
You need to fry on high for the last five minutes of cooking, after adding more spices

• Regarding rice recipes, I agree (and stated) that the recipe I?ve posted is not the method used by BIRs.  My aim was simply to enable people to get good consistent results without using more complicated cooking (e.g. absorption) and drying techniques. 
  
  For me, the archetypal BIR rice is a typical Special Fried Rice.....slighly sweet, fluffy, slightly oily, fairly spicy, savoury, full of flavour and aroma and very, very tasty.
  
  
  
  
  • How have you seen them cook their rice (by absorption and subsequent microwaving?)?
  • What spices have you seen them use for a typical Pilau Rice?
  • How would you rate their rice (compared to other good BIRs)?
  
  Two places, I know, precook the rice and microwave it back
  It is never served fresh
  Microwaving (as you have said too), improves the rice texture
  They cook rice in a large pot
  It is filled with water and put on the stove
  While it is coming to the boil they add a small handfull of cummin seeds
  Probably about two teaspoons
  Maybe four green cardamons
  One or maybe one and a half bayleaves
  An inch length of cinnamon
  One chef spoon of salt
  About a mug full of Veg oil
  The oil is the magic ingredient
  Without this, the spices don't cook
  You are almost frying them, in the water
  
  When the water is boiling, chef adds pre soaked and washed rice
  He never leaves the pot now
  As it boils, he continually tests the rice for being cooked
  It needs to be still a little hard (as you said)
  After about six/seven minutes the rice is drained in a colander
  It is left draining for about a quarter of an hour
  Then it is transferred to another pot
  Coloured  powder is mixed with milk and dotted onto the rice
  The whole thing goes into the oven with a lid on
  The oven is set pretty low
  Leave about an hour
  Check every now and then and give carefully stirs
  When the rice is finished, pick out any rice that is too brightly coloured
  I have a feeling, that the whole spices, may be used more than once
  
  
  I like plain boiled basmatti rice too
  Their pilau rice just adds a bit more to that flavour
  Very little spicing
  But I do appreciate that there are big differences between takeaways/restaurants
  One place,I know, puts cloves in their rice
  
  
  
  • I have also tried Kris Dhillons curry base (several times) and I?m afraid I don?t rate it at all highly.  The same goes for all the other recipes in her book.  Having said that, I am also of the opinion that a lightly spiced onion/garlic/ginger (plus maybe a few other vegetables) curry base is the way to go.
    
    Sorry for the hundred an one questions Haldi, but your observations are invaluable and greatly appreciated! 
    
    Regards,)
  
  

[/list]

Quote from: extrahotchillie on May 08, 2006, 01:17 PM
got an instant flambe effect

was the flambe anything like this?