The base can be frozen at any stage. I've frozen some for a couple of months with little noticable difference to its taste.

The spice oil is a dodgy one. The strict answer would be something like a couple of days if refrigerated. However, I've had some in a bottle which I keep in the kitchen. I've been using it over the past two weeks and I ain't dead yet!? ?

I have recently gone back to? putting chicken stock in my base sauces because it definitely brings the final curry closer to the curries I remember of old. I think the curry houses are now more aware of the possibility of being sued for adding meat stock to veg curries, even though they don't necessarily call the veg curries they make with it vegetarian. I think there has been a move not to include stock and this is part of the reason that we are missing the depth of flavour curries used to have.

Hi Dylan

Do you shred it rather than puree it because that's the way it is in the curries from your local curry house?

Welcome Steve.

Quote from: stevej on November 19, 2005, 07:36 PM
but BIR's are all new to me

You come from Watford and are now in Nottingham, but BIRs are new to you? Have you been walking around with a bag on your head?? ?

As far as the bases go, I agree with what the others have said, but if you want to try each end of the spectrum, I think you should try both the KD base which is very basic and the Bruce Edwards base which is quite complex.

Hello DD

Look at the contents of the jar. They vary, but there's almost always a preservative of some kind and it could be this that's giving that added kick. Any MSG in there by any chance?

Hi d14ryl

Always nice to see new people posting, especially when they include photos!? ?

What are those black bits in the vindaloo?

For blending the base sauce, which is a must to achieve the restaurant style smoothness, your best bet is a hand blender. Like MarkJ said, they are really cheap. They are best for this bit because you can blend immediately in the pot you made the base in if you want to, while it's still hot. To do this in a jug blender is a nightmare. You risk blatting the contents all over yourself and the jug blenders can't blend all the base in one go, so it's a complete faff.

If you get one that comes with a matching 'beaker' you can also blend relatively small amounts of garlic/ginger with a bit of water to a puree. Obviously you can also blend canned toms and the like with it too. For starting out a hand blender is pretty much all you need and they're dirt cheap. Get a jug blender/food processor when you've progressed a bit in your cooking, because a decent one is fairly expensive.

How do you think the restaurants pre-cook the spinach for dishes like murgh palak, palak paneer etc?

Do you think, or know, that any restaurants would use the tinned spinach?

Quote from: Mark J on November 15, 2005, 11:32 PM

The oil will pretty much cover the onions, deep fry for about 10 minutes

Add 3 gloves of garlic chopped and 2 x 3mm slices of fresh ginger peeled and chopped, fry for a further 1 minute and then turn down and simmer for 6 minutes.

That's funny, by coincidence that's exactly what I did on my most recent KD base. I did it this way because I found that the rawness of the garlic and ginger in particular seemed to be evident in the final taste. What I did find is that doing it this way makes the base sauce very sweet, but as I usually add a little bit of sugar to my final curries this isn't a problem. Now I don't need to use sugar.

Quote from: paast10 on November 15, 2005, 10:53 PM
What would i ask for in the material department to get the muslin?

The stuff used for making cheese and the like is called butter muslin. You have to be careful because you obviously don't want it dyed a particular colour. You need the bleached variety.

Quote from: George on November 15, 2005, 05:20 PM
Good point. I wonder if there's any chance they have 'mild oils' and 'hot oils' depending on the source of the reclamation.

Again, we've covered this before George. Or at least I have. It's not you fault but the search engine here is shite. Perhaps it's time for a FAQ?

I can't imagine the chef scooping oil from phalls, vindaloos etc. into one pot and the oil from korma, passanda into another. But I have never been that close to a chef. What do I know

Infact although I don't like creamy curries, I have attempted them, and you can't scoop the excess oil from a creamy curry...can you? At least I've never managed to! It just gets blended into the sauce.