This makes me wonder if we are chasing the same "taste"
When I reheat a frozen curry with the "taste" the wonderfull aroma fills the kitchen.
If I reheat a curry from a takeaway, without the taste, it becimes very ordinairy and oily.

Quote from: George on October 15, 2006, 04:35 PM

Quote from: haldi on October 15, 2006, 04:16 PM
I have had two bases from places with the "taste", and both contain this awesome flavour

Did you see the base sauce spooned out of the saucepan in front of your eyes and are you 100% sure nothing else was added before the take away container was handed to you? When I asked for a sample of base sauce, it was taken out the back, and I'm sure something else was added.

Regards
George

I am positive that it is pure base and it really contains the real curry "secret"

Quote from: Cory Ander on October 15, 2006, 02:12 PM
Thanks for your input Haldi.  At last!  Some more actual observations on the ingredients that BIRs actually use!....... ;D
.....I had no idea that there are so many crap BIRs around? 

....do you have any observations for BIRs that DO produce "the taste" Haldi? 

Thanks again 

These places make very tasty curries, so "crap" is a bit harsh
But as for observations of "taste" BIR's, I have found one very important thing
The "taste" originates from their curry base
NO doubt about it
I have had two bases from places with the "taste", and both contain this awesome flavour
I also obtained base samples from places without the "taste"
And guess what?
No "taste" in the base.
There are loads of recipes on this site which provide a very similar result of the no "taste" base
But I want that extra mile
The "taste" base is very mild
No chilli heat and has the "taste" aroma
When I bought some back, the smell filled the car
Incredible when you think that the sauce was in a sealed plastic carton and a carrier bag too

Quote from: Cory Ander on October 04, 2006, 07:33 AM

• Oil or ghee?
• Bottled curry pastes or curry powders?
• Commercially prepared curry powders or individual spice powders?
• Commercially supplied spice powders or freshly gound whole spices?
• Individual whole spices of commercially supplied mixtures?
• Commercially prepared (eg bottled purees or pre-peeled) or fresh garlic and ginger?
• Tinned tomatoes or purees/pastes or fresh?
• Tinned or dried lentils?
• Bottled or dried or fresh mint?
• Bottle or fresh lemon and lime juices?
• Dried (ie leaves) or powdered  or fresh fenugreek?
• Desiccated or creamed or tinned or fresh coconut ?
• Artificial or natural food colours?
• etc

Never any ghee, always KTC oil (oil is put on hot naans too)
All bottled pastes by Pataks (tandoori,tikka,balti and kashmiri masala), Natco powdered spices
Only a few spices too
Coriander,cummin,turmeric,madras curry powder,chilli,garam masala
No bottled garlic or ginger. Always fresh
Wholes spices are white cummin, coriander seeds, white cummin, bay leaves
Tinned and fresh tomatoes, tomato puree
Never canned lentils, always dry
Canned spinach
Always bottled mint (for chutney and tikka marinade)
Bottled lemon juice
Always dried fenugreek
Coconut powder and dessicated
KTC or East End colours

The above are used at three very good takeaways, but none produce the "taste"
They make very fine curries but need to be eaten fresh
If frozen they come back bland, oily and lacking flavour.
Frozen curries with the taste freeze and reheat losing very little
Whatever creates the "taste" has got to be other than the above list
The aroma of the "taste" seems very unspice like
I can't can't make it, but neither can most of my local takeaways either.

I came across this
Photos galore and a very in depth recipe
http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/1115403766/gallery_28832_1201_20326.jpg&imgrefurl=http://forums.egullet.org/index.php%3Fshowtopic%3D70259%26st%3D0&h=384&w=512&sz=69&hl=en&start=13&tbnid=WkyCiDx8wmUl3M:&tbnh=98&tbnw=131&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dvindaloo%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DG

Well first of all, it's important to deep fry the sliced mushrooms in oil for about three minutes in a deep pan fryer
Drain the oil off then proceed as follows

Heat 4 desertspoons of curry gravy oil for 2 minutes
then add 1 teaspoons of finely chopped fresh garlic (normally about a day old and slightly blue)
Heat this for another two minutes then add 1 desertspoon of garlic ginger puree.
This garlic ginger puree is very runny, almost like water
Add 2 desertspoons of prefried onions,
1 1/2 desertspoons of spice mix,
1/2 teaspoon chilli,
1/2 teaspoon salt,
1 desertspoon tomato puree,
2 desertspoons of fresh coriander
and a small splash of curry gravy (about a table spoon)
Stir and shake pan continuously so nothing burns
Let the mix almost dry out (about five minutes) then
add mushrooms,
another desertspoon of fresh coriander
and a teaspoon of dried fenugreek leaves.
Stir for a minutes then add a ladle of curry gravy
Reduce down for fives minutes on high,
then add another teaspoon of fresh coriander
and half a teaspoon of ground coriander,
1 desertspoon curry gravy oil
and 1/2 a ladle of  curry gravy
Cook another three minutes and serve with extra fresh coriander

It depends on your microwave's power
If I brush the poppadoms with oil it doesn't seem to absorb into it
So I tend do microwave them dry
But I agree with Fat Les, you can't beat frying them

Heat 4 desertspoons of curry gravy oil for 2 minutes
then add 2 teaspoons of finely chopped fresh garlic
Heat this for another two minutes then add 1 desertspoon of garlic ginger puree.
If this was on a restaurant cooker you would probably get a sheet of flames at this point
Add 2 desertspoons of prefried onions, 1 1/2 desertspoons of spice mix, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 desertspoon tomato puree, 2 desertspoons of fresh coriander and a small splash of curry gravy (about a table spoon)
Stir and shake pan continuously so nothing burns
Let the mix almost dry out (about five minutes) then add precooked potatoes, another desertspoon of fresh coriander and a teaspoon of dried fenugreek leaves.
Stir for a minutes then add a ladle of curry gravy
Reduce down for fives minutes then add another teaspoon of fresh coriander and half a teaspoon of ground coriander
Cook another two minutes and serve witha pinch of garam masala
It should be a fairly dry curry

Restaurants tend to use KTC vegetable oil
The naans are brushed with oil too
Not ghee

Restaurants definitely don't use red onions
I have seen them being peeled
A big sack on the floor, a knife in one hand and a large bowl to put them in
They are just ordinairy cooking onions with a diameter  of about two and a half inches.
Another myth is that they use spanish onions
That is completely untrue as well
If you check it out, you will probably find that one shop supplies nearly all the curry houses in your area
I've seen them being delivered