Hi Mark,

Yes I've tried it too.  I thought it might give that taste if used in smaller quantities than they suggest on the jar.  It has got a caramelized onion element to it, but, I think the additives have spoiled its potential.  I have a jar in the cupboard just in case I am inspired again.

Cheers,

Blondie

Hi All,

I've said several times in other forums that I do not believe that the taste we are looking for is in the oil.  I feel fairly sure that the oil is re-used but, if you taste the oil from a finished takeaway curry it has very little flavor, and certainly not the taste that we are looking for.

cheers all,

Blondie

I've tried, gently, to suggest that the chefs are witholding or deliberately changing something in the base recipe, for some time, but ha ha or I don't speak good English usually crop up somewhere. 

I too would relish the experience of a trip to a restaurant / takeaway kitchen, but we do not want to be conned.  We need to see a dish cooked from base to conclusion, so we know that EVERYTHING is being disclosed.  I know that time wise this is impossible in one evening, so, as I believe that the mystery is in the base sauce, I think that buying a base sauce from our locals and using our gained knowledge to complete the various dishes will confirm this, we should try this as our next step of elimination.  I personally have tried to buy base sauces from my locals (one of which I have used for almost 20 years) and they will not sell it to me.  To this end I will be out this weekend, and buy a base from anywhere that will sell me one, just to see if this is where "the taste" is and then we have narrowed our search.


I hope that this post makes some sense as I have the weekend off and have had a little bit of wine,

cheers all,

Blondie

I agree 1000 % there is a definite taste of an ingredient or combination of ingredients that we do not have in any of our bases, I have tried several times on forums including this one to get this accepted but those who will not listen are convinced that they are right with the ingredients (because a chef told them) and they are convinced the taste is in the method.

I am pleased that, at last, someone seems to feel the same way that I do.  The taste On it's own (if YOUR palette can separate the tastes) is not particularly pleasant, with a sort of musty sweet pickled oniony flavor, BUT if it isn't there the curry just doesn't taste like a takeaway job.

Cheers,

Blondie

Hi All,

I have tried all of the recipes on this site and have not found one that I am ENTIRELY happy with, that is why I am still looking.  You may feel that the chefs are telling you the truth in what they say, but I still KNOW there is a taste in curries from several takeaways in my locality that does not appear in any of the recipes here.  I, like many others here feel that the answer is in the base, and although several of the bases on this site have produced nothing short of fantastic results, there is still a flavor missing.

I am only trying to help in finding "the taste".  You may have noticed that posts to this site have slowed considerably after a brilliant start. In my oppinion this is for one of two reasons:

1. Everyone is happy with the results they have obtained
or
2.They are reluctant to post because some people on this site think they have all the answers and knock anyone with something different to say.

I know which I think it is.

I have no intention of starting a slanging match because I consider everyone here to be friends with the same goal in mind.

BUT IF WE HAVE CLOSED OUR MINDS TO ANYTHING NEW WE WILL NEVER PROGRESS

And just to answer the point above that the chefs do not speak English let alone produce DVDs, I was told that the major problem that they were having with the DVD was that the chef didn't speak much English and they were toying with the idea of a celebrity to do a translated voice over.

That's it then I've had my say.

Just a point that no doubt you will dismiss out of hand, but why wherever they sell spices in large quantities in Asian stores (IE kg bags) do they sell 2 ltr bottles of tomato Ketchup,

Cheers All

Blondie

Hi All,

I had a call from the people at the curry kit site detailed above today in response to a couple of questions that I had emailed to them yesterday.

I had asked them about the extra curry preparation manual that they have had produced themselves, and about the possibility of the DVD of the whole process becoming available.

In reply I was told that the inclusion of the KD book Curry Secret had been an introductory offer only, and they now only supply their own manual that contains many recipes, including the base sauce (which is not the Kris Dhillon recipe) and pictures taken during the production of the DVD that is not yet available. They are currently only offering the manual with the kit and it is just on A4 paper but they are working on a properly bound version. They plan to make both versions available separately from the kit in the near future. The DVD is currently in production and may be available by July but the guy did not seem very sure of the timescale involved with the DVD.

I hope this info is of use in making your decision if considering a kit from that site.

Cheers for now,

Blondie

Hi Curry King,

We here all know that the KD book is not of much use but I guess they are bundling it as a part of the value added sales pitch after all to the uninitiated it does contain 'The Secret'.  I accept your caution, but it was the extra manual and the prospect of a DVD (maybe we could jointly push them to produce this sooner rather than later).

cheers CK,

Blondie

The Kits supplied by this web based company http://www.curry-kits.co.uk do not appear to contain anything that we do not know about. The book that they supply with the Kit is Khris Dillon's Curry Secret, which I am sure we all have a copy of, BUT !!! when I made an email enquiry to the company, one of thier staff telephoned me and during the conversation assured me that beside the curry secret they supply a manual prepaired for them by a restaurant chef and also they have plans to produce a DVD showing how all aspects of the cooking are done. The kit which we don't need the majority of costs ? 11.99 + postage but this is maybe a good price for the addittional information alone.

I was very interested in buying a kit just to see what extra information might be in there but my gallop has been halted by my little daughter who is insisting on buying it for me for my birthday in July.  So if no one has taken the plunge by then, I will report back with any new findings in July,

Cheers all,

Blondie

Hi All,

I've just made a batch of Stewpots base sauce. It appears to be the real deal and will report back after I have left it for a couple of days and made a couple of final dishes from it.

Just one thing that I found a pain and took me more time than I would have liked was fishing out the whole ingredients before blending.

I wondered what thoughts any of you may have as to using a  BOUQUET GARNI of the whole spices or maybe using Cinamon powder and Ground Black Pepper (amount would need experimentation ) in place of the whole ingredients.

Cheers All,

Blondie

FAO Dylan,

I have recently tried using Ajowan seeds in 2 different recipes for base sauce and do not think that they are "the missing taste". They are a very strongly flavoured aromatic seed which are very readily available in my locall area from asian grocers.
I hope this is of some help but sadly I don't think it's the answer you were hoping for, in fact I would go so far as to say the flavour detracted from some promising results that I have recently been achieving,
cheers anyway
Blondie