Making a new batch of base today and this will include whole spices as AZ's spiced water,also making my own garam masala and will be trying the 'singe method  ' ,I am expecting big things from tonight's madras 

Quote from: curryhell on February 16, 2012, 07:51 PM
Nice one NJ. That sounds about right.  Caramelisation and cooking out the spices fully then killing the process with a spoonful of gravy. Then it's good old reduction as usual. I'm sure once you have all the necessary roshney ingredients and you put them together you'll be pleasantly surprised. Things are on the up and the food can only get better with more practice. We're not over the finishing line but at least we can now see the bloody thing ;D

CH,really enjoying every thread from all the guys who attended AZ's teach in and keep it coming 
Can you give any more detail on how far to cook the spices ? what to look for or what aroma to look out for when it's ready to quench with the first ladle of base ? I have at times fried spices for longer than my normal amount of time but have found the spices turn quite dark in colour and the resultant curry's taste awful  just a burnt bitter taste.
Also well done for attempting to recreate your curry from the weekend but without using identical ingredients to AZ I think you might struggle to match the taste you had on Sunday, also I don't see a mention of you using any whole spices as per AZ's spiced water and what with the results I've had lately using whole spices I think you are missing out on a lot of savoury flavour.

Really surprised how little veg oil goes into this base considering the 400 - 500 ml that goes into many base recipe's on the forum.

I use this for my base gravy (10 ltr) and am very pleased,it has markings on the inside which is handy when you need to add a certain amount of water following a boil up 
http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/00101160/

CH, I see the whole spices came into play then  I also made my own garam masala yesterday, powerful stuff 

Quote from: natterjak on February 12, 2012, 04:46 PM
Big big thanks to Chriswg for organising today (with all the date changes, etc. I'm sure at times he must've felt like he was trying to herd cats  ;D ).  Very enjoyable and informative day, even though there was frequently "information overload" occurring 

QuoteAs for the secret ingredient - well, I have to say I would never have guessed it.  Thanks to Az for entrusting us to keep this amazing trick secret.[/

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You could always PM the secret if you don't want George to see it  ;D

Chris is a star 

Quote from: curryhell on February 08, 2012, 08:57 AM
Cheers Jerry. 

QuoteThe whole spice definitely add to the aroma and i'm sure they contribute to the underlying flavour.

[/b]  Am definitely going to try some whole spice in the base next time round.  As for a small flame  , electric hob so there are limitations here.  Even with a diffuser i'm not sure i achieve the same reduction as you can with gas.  The upside, so easy to clear up the mess ;D

Really CH !  ;D

Was chatting to a t/a owner last night regarding roasting whole spices and I did mention I had read it wasn't necessary to roast but he said some softer varieties of whole spice would be OK but the harder ones would be very difficult to grind without roasting as this makes them brittle and easy to grind.

Hi Haldi,as when I started this thread I have found it's the aromatic spices as used in garam masala that gives me that lovely savoury flavour I have been missing in my home cooked curry's, also having spoken to the boss of the t/a I believe no additional spices are added to the final curry such as coriander and cumin as they are allready in the garam masala and I also believe there is no turmeric or paprika added as this is in the base gravy.
I also asked if they use any g/m in their base gravy and he said yes,I then asked about white cabbage in the gravy and he said no and continued saying 'you could put anything in the gravy and it wont taste much different than if you only used onions unless you put a lot of a particular item'.
Then thinking back to the time I spent in a BIR kitchen and ' the chef's own masala' as It was called and the colour and texture (light brownish and coarse) with no obvious turmeric added it all seems to be making sense now