hi guys the oil ,Veg oil comes in huge tins/barrels normally with a tap on some or with the screw top they use recycled ghee tins so they so they can make your curries more healthy! ;D could you imagine the glug of oil each time they poured from the barrel into the frying pan.LOL

they use them to contain enough oil for the nights cooking simple as that. you will also find another ghee pot on the back of their cookers containing the chef spoons this is a possible cause of the flavour or cross contamination thereof it will be filled with clean water so as to sort of clean the spoons each time but i have personally witnessed the chef also scoop excess oil from the curry cooking and transferred to the same pot! btw it also had more than 1 chefspoon in.

will try to post my mouchak base sauce recipe and some recipes for you all to bitch at and critsise and alter beyond recognition from the original lol. it 2 is very simple. gary

hi phil there is a poll facility on the lets talk page on the top right of the page mate

regards
gary

 hi didn't the ashoka recipes do this in a way?
regards
gary

hi dave welcome mate to the world of BIR curries and cr0 of course ;D
if you have any questions just ask there is always someone who will know and be only to glad to help we have all been there!
regards
gary

hi you could use it in your CTM adding a couple of chefs spoons as well as base sauce then just add coconut powder and sugar and finish with cream and coriander, so there will be no need to make any red masala paste!

regards
gary

hi razor to get the sweetness you desire try cooking the onions in the oil with salt simmer with the lid on for about 45 mins this process almost to caramelise the onions, you will then have sweet/savoury moorish onions then add the rest of the ingredients boil until the other veggies are soft then blend and add water to thin out bring to rolling boi for 10 mins then simmer till the oil rises. the sweetness will also be more obvious when the gravy has had time to mature so once cooled place in the fridge and use it the next day or if you cook it early enough that evening.
btw kent, mouchak base, sweet/ savoury notes hard to replicate lol
regards
gary

and now someone says about black cardamoms in the base when my rajver revisited base contains it with the whole spices listed. and i posted that so many years ago!
gary

lol
this is wikipedias' version

Coconut milk powder is an ingredient in most Southeast Asian cooking and is not the liquid inside a coconut. It is prepared by soaking the grated flesh of a coconut in hot water or scalded milk, then straining the combination. Coconut milk is classified as thick, thin, or coconut cream. Thick coconut milk is the result of the first soaking and squeezing. If this milk is refrigerated it separates, and the top layer is the cream. Thin coconut milk is what is produced when one steeps the coconut meat a second time and then strains.


Coconut milkCanned coconut milk separates naturally. The top layer can be spooned off for recipes calling for cream, or the two layers can be mixed together to get the most commonly called-for thick coconut milk.

Powder-like, fine texture, and white, coconut milk powder is manufactured through the spray drying process of raw unsweetened coconut cream. Very different from the more widely available and coarser desiccated coconut made from the white coconut meat, coconut milk powder is a good substitute for fresh coconut milk and an alternative to animal milk for those who would like a completely vegan food. However, many commercially available coconut milk powders list milk or casein, a milk protein, on their ingredient lists [1]. Vegans and those with milk allergy may need to prepare their own at home.

maybe we can all understandl ol
regards
gary

dessicated coconut milk flour powder anyone? ;D
gary

hi ch i uses about 500ml of spiced water containing cinnamon bark, bay leaves, green cardamoms, star anise and a clove. i just boil a kettle and infuse them in it for 20 mins then strain it and add to the cooking onions, pepper and carrot. i would add them to the base but trying to find them before blending is hard work have used a muslin cloth you could try using just the cinnamon and cardamoms and bay though. although you could fry the in oil before adding the onions etc to the pan at the start of the base making but remove before blending. i think using the bark would be the way forward for you as its flavour and aroma would come through better than the powder.
hope this helps
gary