Quote from: DalPuri on January 15, 2013, 07:16 PM
At a guess, i would say this gravy is hitting the mark for a few that have tried it because of the amount of oil. And we all know that the oil is the messenger and the spice is the message. Right?    ;D
Half the fat, half the flavour and all that.
To date, the best tasting curries i've made were with the Taz base. Again, a base with double the amount of oil compared to most.
I'd like to see someone add 1ltr of oil to say, Chewys base? and see what they get. 

Frank. 

I'm now entering my 4th decade of this curry cookery lark, and there is much mileage in what you say, DP.

And using plenty of oil needn't necessarily be as unhealthy as it sounds. For me, the ultimate spiced oil comes from that skimmed from the curry you've just cooked. (Beats the hell out of onion bhaji oil, IMO).

Okay, you can't recover all the oil from a curry, but I'd say you can reclaim a good two-thirds (maybe a little more). I like to store it in a jar in the fridge and open it from time to time in between cooking sessions. The smell is pure BIR...

While obviously a business pushing the products it sells, I found that this site has some useful general info re the importance of high vs low pressure, aluminium vs stainless, etc: http://fastcooking.ca/pressure_cookers/stainless_steel_pressure_cookers.php

Yes, they would say that as those are the models they specialise in, but from my general (non commercial) internet based research, the consensus does seem to be that stainless is preferred to aluminium, and for the best performance you should look for a model that operates at 15psi.

Pressure Inside
The Pressure Cooker   Cooking Temperature
0 pounds (psi)           100

Quote from: Stephen Lindsay on January 11, 2013, 06:13 PM
Great looking curry RubyDoo - not sure if the picture captures the colour of your bunjarra correctly but may I suggest taking it a bit further than half an hour and aiming for a colour not unlike Branston pickle. This is where the concerns from burning come from because once you get to that stage it's possible to take it too far.

Yep - I'd second that. This is in no way a criticism, but you're looking for full caramelisation of the onions, which needs to be done over a low to moderate heat, and in my experience can take an hour - during which you have to be in attendance, constantly stirring to avoid burning.

The latter stages are the most critical, and I've ruined a fair few by letting them go too far, but you soon develop a feel for it.

(If using a heavy based pan that retains heat well, don't do as I did once and leave it to naff off down the pub once you've finished making the bunjarra and taken it of the heat. It will continue to cook and you will return to find it carbonised...)

Quote from: pauly58 on January 15, 2013, 01:39 PM
Sorry lads, not for me. It looks like you need a knife & fork to eat the sauce, I prefer my sauce more liquid than that.

I like both thick (or 'bhuna' style) and runnier sauces, but the latter seems to be a bit of a 'Brit' thing (if such a term still exists). But whatever part of the country you come from, most if us are gravy heads, yet if you've been lucky enough to travel throughout India, it's interesting that the concept of runny, gravy-like sauces are alien to many.

North to south, in my travels I found that many dishes tended towards the 'dry' end of the scale. (Though in such a huge country, it's impossible to be definitive.)

Anyway, whatever your preference, as Bigboaby points out, it's easy to tailor the dish to your personal requirements. Too thick? Add more liquid or oil, etc...

Quote from: chef888 on January 15, 2013, 11:47 AM
could 1 say that was some hotdog  lol

;D ;D ;D

Good grief! Now I like it hot, but that stuff sounds way beyond my heat tolerance levels!

A word of warning though folks. A colleague of mine ordered some seriously hot sauce over the internet, which contained pure capsaicin. It wasn't as hot as this, but was advertised as being the same strength as the pepper spray used by US police, at around 4million on the Scoville scale, I think.

The bottle had become damaged in transit, and when he opened the package the sauce went everywhere - over his hands, forearms, and his dog, which was as usual attracted by the rustling of packaging and looking for a treat.

The guy was in agony, and it felt as though his skin was being badly burned, but he was more worried about the dog.

He and the dog were cleaned up at the vets with no lasting damage (though the burning sensation lasted into the next day), and the dog was not bothered in the slightest. (The sauce had gone on his back, and apart from having protective fur, apparently their skin isn't as porous as ours.)

It was an extremely unpleasant experience, so if you do like it that hot, please be careful!

Quote from: jb on January 14, 2013, 12:36 PM
That was one of my concerns but actually the whole spices blended perfectly,I think this may be due to the length of time the base is cooked.Mind you I used a proper blender,not a stick one and did give it a good blitz.

Thanks JB. My blender gave up the ghost a few weeks ago (mind you, it was 15 years old), so I'll wing it with the Bamix and see how it copes.

Nice work, JB - those dishes look superb, and your feedback is much appreciated. I'm looking forward to trying this method out too (using the full 7kg of onions for the base).

On the subject of the base, did you find that the whole spices blended okay? Were there a few gritty bits left, or wasn't it an issue?

I ask becaue I use a Bamix stick blender, which is a good quality bit of kit but may not be up to the job of blitzing whole spices. But then they're going to be pretty soft after an hour or two of cooking.

Sod it. Only one way to find out!

Quote from: natterjak on January 13, 2013, 12:06 PM
Did anyone else head off down to aldi today for one of these? I did. Nice good quality looking pressure cooker with good instruction booklet. No trivet though, so no prospect of pressure steaming a large gammon joint or potatoes for mash, etc.

Operates at two different pressure settings, 60kPa and 100kPa.

Also, being a sucker for kitchen gadgets I picked up an electric omelette maker and George Foreman "lean mean grilling machine" at the same time! Sweet

Sounds as though you've got yourself a real bargain, there, NJ. I had to use an online conversion tool to covert kPa to PSI, and those figures work out at approx. 8.7PSI and 14.5PSI, which is excellent.

I'm still getting used to my Kuhn Rikon Duromatic, and while not quite the bargain you've bagged, I'm still finding myself shaking my head in disbelief at how quickly (and how well) it cooks.

Made a meltingly tender lamb stew last night using scrag end (neck) in 20 minutes.

Not only do pressure cookers produce great tasting food, but you save a hell of a lot on electricity/gas, and save your wallet and the planet at the same time.

Marvellous....

Quote from: RubyDoo on January 13, 2013, 10:14 AM

Quote from: Naga on January 13, 2013, 09:49 AM

Quote from: RubyDoo on January 12, 2013, 05:52 PM...These days I seem to go shy on the chilli when doubling recipes and sometimes wish I had added a little extra...

Or a touch of Mr. Naga pickle? 

As one who worships regularly at the fiery altar of Mr Naga, this is one curry I wouldn't add it to, as it's such a well balanced recipe and Mr Naga has such a disctinctive (dominant) flavour and tends to transmogrify a dish.

Not suggesting that a Ceylon Naga wouldn't be unpleasant, mind. Just different!