Madrasandy,that vindaloo looks lovely,glad to hear you and others on here are having some good results.It seems that vinadaloo and madras curries are quite popular on here.Next time I get in the kitchen I will get the recipe for the chef's home made chilli sauce,he puts it in all of his hot curries and I suspect that it will elevate a good madras/vindaloo to an exceptional one.

Quote from: littlechilie on July 31, 2014, 09:41 PM
Testing out Jb's Base,Test Madras.
Very pleasing result with a flavour in line with my local TA, In fact it's hard to make a decision on my preference. 
Good news indeed.

Photo of a Madras in Chef pan with Chef spoon, just to avoid confusion  ;D

That looks lovely,spot on in fact,it reminds me of the madras my local does.Not thick,but quite runny...hope it tastes as good as it looks.

Quote from: Secret Santa on July 31, 2014, 04:02 PM
There's something decidedly wrong with you guy's tastes if you think a single tarka'd clove of garlic can have such a profound effect on a 3kg base as you appear to be claiming - you're all barking (or super tasters)!  ;D

I used a single clove in a single portion of base and that gave a noticeable smokey garlic flavour to the base but even that virtually disappeared once blended and cooked into the curry. Something very amiss here and I'm not having it that it's just me!    ;D

SS you're correct,it does seem strange that something so simple can make such a big difference.However,you HAVE to follow the recipe for this base,boiling,thinning,re-boiling etc.I can only repeat that it is exactly how the chef makes it in his takeaway,and when I made it that evening it tasted EXACTLY like the base he had on his stove top.

Quote from: Donald Brasco on July 31, 2014, 10:18 PM

Quote from: jb on July 23, 2014, 08:36 PM


The chef then explained that in the takeaway they leave the gravy like this(it's quite thick) and then add water to thin when they need it.It should be very thin,like watery soup.However when it hits the hot pan it will thicken.Finally take another pan,add a chef's spoon of oil and add a very finely chopped garlic clove and brown it.Tip this into the gravy(rinse the garlic pan out with a spoon of gravy).This seemed to give the gravy a fantastic smokey like flavour.Simmer the sauce for about half an hour and the oil should begin to rise.

Is the watering down of the base to "very thin like watery soup" done before the garlic is added and cooked for half an hour, or is the garlic added and cooked for 30 mins then later when the base is to be cooked with it's diluted till very thin? Seems like what's written above could mean either?

The thick base is diluted FIRST and then the garlic tarka is added and the base re boiled.

Quote from: littlechilie on July 30, 2014, 05:23 PM
Hi Jb I am cooking for 20 people on Friday afternoon so I have decided to take a calculated risk and use your base, it's now on the boil on high heat for two hours maybe a little more.
I shall be serving mild Madras , Mushroom fried rice and Tarka Dal.
Followed later in the afternoon with a selection of home made pickles, tandoor chicken , indian salads and Naan breads, washed down with a selection of extremely cold beers
I'm extremely great-full for your recipe and will fill you in on my results and comments.
Many thanks.

Oh gawd,I hope I don't let you down...all the best!!

Quote from: madrasandy on July 30, 2014, 10:17 AM
Morning all, blended the base earlier this morning , brought back up to heat, it tasted ok nothing special really, or should I say nothing more special than your normal base.
I then fried the garlic, added garlic and oil to base , added half ladle base to the garlic pan and sizzled and de-glazed and added back to base. The smell was becoming more BIR , a little taste and it was improving a little. Brought the base upto boil for a few minutes and turned down and left it on a very gentle simmer , as I kept popping into the kitchen the aroma was getting stronger , the flavour was improving .
After 1 hour simmering turned off heat had a taste, wow , bloody lovely, definately has something other bases havent.
Is it the best base I have made ? possibly
Is it as good as the restaurant bases I have tasted? Possibly.

I will not say this is the one, eureka, goldilocks moment or anything else about the base until I have done some tests on it. But what I will say is it is bloody lovely and very very promising!!!!

Thankyou Jb for sharing this , I am really looking forward to anything else that surfaces from your takeaway experience, cheers

No problem,I've been on this forum since it started and its's given me a lot of info over the years,for free I might add,so anything I can give back is a pleasure.As soon as I get back in there I will let everyone know.

Quote from: Secret Santa on July 28, 2014, 04:05 PM
OK I just tried this with some base I already had. Fried the finely chopped garlic until well browned but definitely not burnt, added to the now watered down base and boiled away until a good bit of oil had collected on the surface.

Made a madras as that's where I can most easily tell if there's any benefit from a particular change. So for me (and remember this is with my base, not jb's) it wasn't a Eureka moment. Yes it adds a smokey, garlicky flavour (well what else would it do!) and I will definitely be using it as I think it adds positively to the overall flavour but it isn't the flavour that's missing for me.

And I added a whole clove to a single portion of base...I struggle to see how the small amount suggested would have any effect?

Hopefully when I get around to making the proper base there will be a more marked or different effect but based on this test I'm not too hopeful.

Is the base meant to be blended again after adding the garlic tarka?

No not meant to be blended again,the garlic should be quite fine,I'm just wondering what base you used?? Did your base involve literally boiling the onions hard until they've basically melted? They have to be cooked for at least two hours on a high heat,spices added,cooked again on a low heat,garlic added and then cooked again.The chef obviously does these for a reason or he would just throw the lot in at the start.

The onions were medium sized white ones,all in big sacks like you see in the asian shops.I chopped them myself,they weren't that strong to be honest.I can't see any BIR chasing around finding expensive onions,I think cheaper the better as far as they are concerned.

Quote from: madrasandy on July 28, 2014, 01:04 PM
Hi Jb sorry to pester, but was the garlic/ginger 50:50 ratio

Not pestering at all...ask away!!  Yes 50/50...asked the Manager specifically about this one,it was blended with a little water and oil.

It was just a Chef's spoon of ginger/garlic added initially.You are correct turmeric and tomatoes were added twice.There was a reason for this(I asked the Manager) but for the life of me I can't remember what he said,I'll ask next time.He used plain veg oil for the garlic.It must be cooked properly though,brown but not burnt.My gravy did look different to che Chef's one,more oily on top.He did say mine could be used straight away,but if mine was left for long enough on a stove top it would improve and the oil would rise.

I must have asked him about half a dozen times whether this really was the way the gravy was cooked in the take-away.He was adamant it was I truly beleived him,and the result seemed to confirm this.He seemed so keen to pass on his knowledge it was unbelievable.Can't wait to get back.

Apart from the garlic tarka and onion cooking time,the Manager told me it's SO important than the base is re-cooked for some time after it's been originally blended /thinned and the garlic added.He said the base couldn't be used if this wasn't done,it wouldn't taste right.When I originally approached him about lessons and gravy in particular,he said they cook their base twice and I wondered what he was talking about,so it's something they definetely do.