Hi,

The flavor of what is fried in the oil will impart a flavor into the base.

In the kitchen at the restaurant I remember one day tasting the base gravy I was preparing and noted that it had a strange/different background taste to it.

The base this day was start off with oil from the big thick metal wok thing that sits on the burner and is used to fry samosas, bhajis and all sorts of things, no chips though! It was only then that I realized we had fried tandoori chicken wings in the oil before hand as the chef was making a tandoori wing biryani for the buffet and that was what was coming through in the base, at that stage anyway.

The bases aren't always started with used oil, not sure why the chef said to use that oil that day, perhaps they were low on oil. I asked him about it once and he said sometimes yes and it does add a little flavor, but it is not necessary nor done all the time.

Sometimes, it's just handy, and other times it's perhaps because they are running low, but certainly not critical ingredient. Each week the oil is dumped at least once and sometimes twice, it's not kept too make gravies with.

Cheers,
Mark

Hi BeachBum,

If you go to Geeta across from the Indian shop at MacWhirters in the Valley, they sell their own blend of Curry Powder. You can get a Mild Madras and a Hot Madras, I use the Mild Madras for the BIR style cooking.

It is very very different to the Clive of India and Keens which my mother cooked curries of sorts with when I was growing up.

You should notice a big difference.

All India Foods at Wooloongabba has a very nice home blend that they make as well. One of the Punjabi restaurants I've been in the kitchen at use that and it is very nice. I'm going to get some from there next time shortly to replace mine which is getting a bit old. It's also much cheaper buying from them rather then the supermarkets as well.

Cheers,
Mark

Hi Aussie Mick,

Thanks, I'll have a look for those brands, haven't seen them at the two that I normally go to. They carry the Mothers and Ashoka brands but don't have the Kashmiri masala in either of them either nor the Tikka.

If the restaurant did make their own Red Masala from scratch would be great not having to rely on the pastes too.

I'll keep search for those pastes, thanks again,
Mark

Hey Mick,

Another superb video, thanks again for your efforts. Must have been a long stand by the gravy pot with the camera making sure you captured it all.

Out of curiosity, did you by chance see any Pataks pastes in the restaurant. Only reason I ask is wondering if they use them in their Red Masala/CTM Masala sauce. Being here in Aus we can't get a number of them so would be interesting to see/hear how they make theirs if they do it with or without.

One thing to mention for others commenting on how C2G cooks his onions, here in Aus we cook 10kg of onion with only whole spices and 1-2 large ladles of oil when making a base gravy. It only takes 1.5 hours or so to get the onions done, fully dark and caramelized before other items are added in and then simmered for another hour or less. No water is added when cooking the onions. Another Punjabi chef I know and have watched make his base gravy uses dried onions, and another uses a little oil initially on high heat for 10 or so mins, then adds a little water. All their curries taste great at the end stage, each chef has his way of doing things, not wrong, just different. But what it has shown me is that there is no one particular way to make great curries.


Cheers,
Mark

Hi Bob,

I'm in Brisbane too, the forum is great and you'll learn lots from it.

Also, there are a couple of restaurants that run classes in Brisbane as well. I've done classes at a number of them and now help out with one in particular.

Here's a link for you to check out http://indiancookingwithjj.weebly.com, he's running a series of classes that start next weekend, the 22nd is fully booked though. All the classes are hands on rather then just sitting and watching, I've been to a number like that as well and they're not so good.

He now runs classes and sets up and consults to existing restaurants.

Cheers,
Mark

Hi CA,

That looks fantastic, is there a recipe on the site for that as yet? If not, hopefully there will be soon, and definitely in the ebook that you might be working on.

Cheers,
Mark

Hi SP,

Haven't watched it yet, but just wanted to say thanks!

I'm sure like all the others here, it will be greatly enjoyed.

Thanks again,
Mark

Hi Solarsplace,

Just thought I'd check in about the remaining video footage from the Zaal trip to see how it might be going.

I think from memory CH thought it would be a good idea as well to put it up so that we could glean any other bits that might help us a long as well.

Even in unedited format would be great to watch through.

Cheers,
Mark

Sounds like a great show, think I'll have to start home brewing myself so I can come along and watch!

They don't taste anywhere near as good when done in the microwave, perhaps better for you but certainly not as nice as freshly fried!