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

It's the base coupled with the tarka
Follow the complete recipe
The only tricky part is when frying the garlic
Get it to a nut brown colour then pour it immediatelyinto your base
Then quickly wash out the pan with some of your curry gravy and put that back into the main pot
Boil the whole thing again

Seriously, this is amazing
I have tried hundreds of base recipes and had loads of demos
Nothing has ever come close to this result

For me the end result is 100% bir gravy

Just a thought
Have you ever had a sample gravy from a takeaway/restaurant?
Maybe you don't know what it should taste like
It also could be a regional thing
Where are you from?
Or maybe you overcooked the garlic

I don't want to rush into any old recipes with this
I shall wait for JB's madras recipe when he can get it
Or try his basic curry
I can't believe I have actually managed to do this
I know it's silly but I've been on an "up" all week because of it

Quote from: madrasandy on July 28, 2014, 07:59 PM
Haldi did you add spices etc in chef spoon amounts or in tablespoon amounts as chef spoons do differ, was they level, rounded or heaped?

I take a chef spoon as 4 level desert spoons

Really glad that Noble Ox got a good result too

Can't wait to try a curry with this, but I've got to

Quote from: Secret Santa on July 28, 2014, 04:05 PM
Yes it adds a smokey, garlicky flavour  but it isn't the flavour that's missing for me.

Sorry it didn't work
This could mean either your base was dissimilar to JB's
or
We are chasing different flavours

There is also one other possibility, and that might be the onions I used
They were a white dutch onions called Vos Onions BV, a 4 kg bag bought from an Asian shop
They were really strong
They made my eyes water as I peeled 3 kg of them
I really wouldn't have expected the result I got
I thought I had just made another "standard home made" curry gravy
I was gobsmacked at the result
I honestly believe the flavour I achieved is what JB's takeaway works with

Bruce Edwards curry gravy is not accurate
He's got tomato puree in the tarka, like Kris Dhillon's base has too
I'd love to hear any one else's experience of this gravy
Perhaps mine is just a fluke
Even if it is, I've got loads frozen!!

Quote from: jb on July 27, 2014, 10:35 PM
.Haldi if you think you've finally cracked it I'm so pleased for you,I know how frustrating it's been for you.

The garlic was quite brown(but not burnt).
He tipped the garlic/oil in the gravy,spooned a ladel of gravy back into the garlic pan to get all the residue out and then emptied it back into the gravy pot.The most important thing is to cook the onions fully and then re boil the base after the garlic is added.
The chicken curry was quite simple.A ladle of oil/veg ghee from the tin on the stove.I then added ginger/garlic,salt,mix powder,tomato paste.Cooked that out,added some base and the chicken.It was then cooked for about two minutes on a fairly high bubbling heat.He didn't add any methi by the way.Very simple,and quite important to me,very few ingredients,no pastes or anything so the base was the main thing that went in so it had to be good.

this is a perfect copy of the base of at least two places I have had samples from.
It has that a bright yummy indescribable flavour, which I guess is the boiled fried garlic

so now it's a question of cooking the curry from that
I can't do anything until the weekend

For me this demonstrates the importance of the tarka
I had a demo about three years back with curry gravy being made, and when the chef got to the tarka bit, he paused and asked for extra assurance from the owner before he continued the demo
So this method was considered a secret of some sort
At my demo the tarka was garlic ginger,spice and tomato puree
I tried it at home and it just didn't work the same
JB's simpler version does the trick perfectly
Perhaps it was garlic puree at my demo rather than garlic/ginger
I'll never know, but I don't need to now
What I do know is that I was given a carton of my demo gravy and it had that wonderful taste, that JB's gravy has too
The garlic tarka idea is reinforced by Chewy's post/picture
I cooked my finely chopped garlic to a nut brown colour, on a low gas, and I rinsed out the pan with gravy as JB described
I don't know if using gravy to clean the pan is important, but who knows?

I would guess that a madras recipe would be like the basic curry but extra chilli powder,lemon juice and fenugreek.
Is there any way you could find out, JB?

Has anyone else tried this base yet?

Quote from: Secret Santa on July 26, 2014, 04:51 PM

I'm having great difficulty believing that this simple tarka is really the final 5%. But then again I haven't tried it yet. And why has no-one else ever seen BIRs do this - crafty devils!  ;D
And jb, as others also have asked, to what degree is the garlic fried?

I think it's the combination of a really good base recipe combining with the tarka
The base now has a flavour that is really yummy and I haven't a clue what it is
It's got a real zing about it and also BIR aroma

I fried the garlic in the required amount of oil, on a low temperature,until it took on some colour

Who else has tried this?
If you fry on low you can be extra careful to not burn the garlic

JB
I just tried the base again
It's spot on
The missing flavour is there
I never thought I would ever achieve this
Thank you!
I've tried loads of base recipes with garlic & ginger, spice mix and tomato pur?e.
But garlic on it's own and then boiled, is it
Anybody else agree on this one?

Hi JB
I expect you are busy in your kitchen now
I don't know if you can get back to me in time, but here goes
I made the base and I thought it was pretty much like many I have done before
That was BEFORE I added the tarka and reboiled
That really transformed it
This tastes genuine
It's got that extra flavour
Thank you

It's very similar to my friend Ali's takeaway gravy
I've had countless conversations about it and even watched him cook most of it
But I could never get close enough to the flavour for my satisfaction

But have you got that Basic Curry recipe to go with this?
I'd like to try this tonight
I don't want to cook the Tikka Masala one at the moment

If you can't get back in time, don't worry
I'll freeze it

I want to cook a recipe that goes with the gravy
I don't want to ruin what seems so promising

and thanks again

Thanks so much JB
Once again you have come up with something new!

Sorry if I'm repeating things, but have you posted the basic curry recipe?

Quote from: sue28 on July 17, 2014, 09:35 AM
I have bought a greenhouse to grow chilies in, do i need to put anything on the in side i.e some sort of diffusion material so they don't get the full sun?

You're alittle late this year for chillie growing, unless you can buy some plants well on there way
You should start the seeds off in April/May depending on the variety
I normally get the seeds going on an indoor window sill then when they have been sprouted for a couple of weeks, I move them to a greenhouse
Most chillie plants  will stand a greenhouse heat as long as they dont dry out
Mine are starting to be ready to harvest, picking chillies may carry on for at least another month
If left, some chillies turn from green to red

Quote from: Phil [Chaa006] on July 06, 2014, 09:17 AM
Don't understand, Haldi.  What is the connection between whether or not something can be cooked at home and whether or not you can post a link to the recipe ?
** Phil.

I've posted the recipe several times on this site
here you go
all the way back to 2009
I have never got better or further than this point
I have talked, visited takeaways, experimented endlessly in the kitchen, bought every curry ebook, bought a tandoor, bought a genuine indian restaurant cooking hob, but to no avail.
You need the special oil, and you can't make this oil at home
So unfortunately you can't get the flavour you want
The BIR flavour is in the base
About 15 years back, a man who worked in a place I used to buy takeaway's from, called Tandoori Hut on Hucknall Road, told me that I would never be able to make the Gravy
I didn't understand why then
I know now

https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,3637.0.html