This is kind of weird.? ?I was searching the web for base+onion+sauce+curry, and I came across this thread.? It seems to be a UK man who worked at an Indian restaurant in Greece!?
http://www.agni.gr/message_boards/display_topic_threads.asp?ForumID=7&TopicID=5760&ReturnPage=&PagePosition=1&ThreadPage=1

His base sauce is similar to Kris Dhillon?s, but has much more onion:
http://www.agni.gr/message_boards/display_topic_threads.asp?ForumID=7&TopicID=5914&ReturnPage=&PagePosition=1&ThreadPage=1

I haven?t had a chance to read through the whole thing, but thought some of you might be interested.? Also, the thread is current,? in case we want to ask him any questions.

-Mary?

Quote from: Admin on April 19, 2005, 09:26 AM
i found it added no body or significant taste to my curries or base sauce

Well, that's good news.? The curries are unhealthy enough without adding MSG.

I?ve seen Indian restaurants?advertising ?No MSG.?? Does that mean some DO use it?? Rajah ?All Purpose Seasoning? contains MSG. And my Indian grocer carries Ajinomoto, the Japanese brand of MSG, although I've yet to see a Japanese shopper there. MSG looks like salt, so it wouldn't look unusual in a restaurant kitchen.? Just wondering out loud...

-Mary?

Quote from: John on April 18, 2005, 12:33 AM
I don't know what the red sauce is, but i've seen them add it to most dishes, it could just be tomato and yoghurt and paprika???

On another forum, someone used canned tomato soup and sour cream in an emergency when making a curry, and said it turned out like his favorite restaurant's CTM .? (I laughed because the absolute worst curry I ever had was at a BIR that, I swear, used tomato soup and not much else.)? But then someone from Bombay Curry Company and the Delhi Club, two restaurants in Virginia, responded:? ?Perhaps canned tomato soup and sour cream is exactly what your fav restaurant is using.? jokes aside, a lot of Indian restaurants do use sour cream as it is cheaper than heavy cream and also adds extra bulk and sourness ( which the tomatoes may sometimes be lacking) and what exactly is tomato soup, cooked and pureed tomatoes! where the origional seasoning is so subtle that it easily gets masked by the ginger garlic and all those spices you will use for butter chicken.?

-Mary

Quote from: merrybaker on April 17, 2005, 09:53 PM
and won't use up my precious curry base sauce!?

Quote from: Mark J on April 18, 2005, 12:52 PM
that should be 3 or 4oz for 2 people, uncooked weight

Thanks.? I can't believe I didn't figure that out.? Must be ghee clogging the blood vessels going to my brain.

The cheapest.? Isn't that what the restaurants would use??

Quote from: Mark J on April 17, 2005, 08:17 PM
But seriously, thanks for all the research you have done pete, without your input I would not be at the stage I am now in reproducing BIR curry

The same goes for me!
-Mary

Quote from: Mark J on April 17, 2005, 10:59 AM
3/4 oz red split lentils (I'm currently torn between 1.5 or 2oz lentils per person, at the mo I think 1.5)

Hi, Mark.? I've never eaten a dhansak, but this sounds easy and good (and won't use up my precious curry base sauce!).? I have a question about the amount of lentils.? That's 3/4 oz. uncooked lentils, right?? What's the 1.5 oz. lentils per person -- is that the amount of cooked and pureed lentils?? Thanks for sharing this recipe.

-Mary?

I made this last night, and when it was cooked I tasted it and didn?t like it.? Too sweet!?

So I cleaned up the kitchen and walked around the block to get the smell of curry out of my head.? When I came back and tasted the curry again, it was lovely.? The lemon and sugar had melded with the whole, and it didn?t seem sweet at all.? I like the fennel in it, too. This is a curry that could keep its identity if served with another one that?s full of cumin.

Details:? I cooked it in spicy oil spooned from the top of previous curries.? Deciding that was a bad idea, I added a lot of plain oil to dilute the flavor.? Then the onion-ginger-garlic got away from me and became quite (!!!) brown.? I used Pete?s 600ml-oil curry sauce.? Part fresh jalapeno and part dried chilli powder.?

I just tried it again (refrigerator-cold and on a spoon).? It?s even better.

Thanks, Curry King.? It's a keeper.

-Mary?

Quote from: DARTHPHALL on April 15, 2005, 10:42 AM
we all taste &? perceive in a different way

My husband can?t tolerate heat from chillies, either fresh or dried.? I can! ? But he can eat quantities of horseradish and Chinese hot mustard that would kill me.?