Quote from: Razor on April 19, 2010, 06:48 PM
I think a base can only truly be assessed, if it is used in conjunction with It's creators spice masala and even precooked meat.
Ray

Hey Ray

I agree with the above, well the first part of it anyway. It's not about assessing the quality of the base but finding an easier way to compare them.

Quote from: Razor on April 19, 2010, 06:48 PM
If the reason for the comparison table is to create a new base, then hasn't this been done already? 
Ray

Developing a new base is not what I'm thinking of, I suppose for myself I'm trying to make sense of what seems a lot of different bases. I am thinking that in table form the similarities and differences might be a bit more apparent.

Hi Ray

I suppose I am looking more at ingredients and say, the proportions of spices to vegetables, that sort of thing. I could look at basic techniques, e.g. frying onions (or not) but the detailed technique would be gleamed from the recipe itself.

Steve

I found a copy of The New Curry Secret by Kris Dhillon, at a reduced price of ?3.99 in "The Works" today. I'd nothing to lose, so thought I would give it a try. I immediately went to the base section and compared the base in the new book with that of the original book "The Curry Secret". This got me to thinking about the bases on this forum. There are lots of bases on this site but I don't know if there has been a comprehensive comparison of them.

My question then is this - would this be useful exercise to undertake?

If so, what kinds of information would members like to see? My initial thoughts would be something along the lines of a table or grid where the key ingredients for each base could be compared, e.g.

onions
garlic/ginger
other vegetables
spices

Would this be a useful thread?

My thinking is that this could serve as a useful reference point for new and existing members.

Which bases would you like to see included? The ones that seem to have attracted most attention on the site over the last while are BE, CA, Ashoka, Admin, Saffron, SNS and more recently, Dipuraja. Are there bases which you think should not be included either because they have not generated enough interest or are not seen to be part of the BIR approach?

Please let me know your thoughts and if there is enough interest in this exercise I'll start doing some work on it.

regards

Steve L

I agree with you Bobby, I think the 30 secs frying at a million degrees C is one of the myths that perpetuates the notion that there is a secret to making curries that is only shared amongst the great alchemists.

I usually mix my spices with a little water in a ramekin and fry at a medium temperature. This stops them burning and also ensures you don't have to go hell for leather with your next ingredients.

To me, reproducing BIR at home is about taking the essential elements of restaurant cookery and discarding those that are about producing food in commercial quantities and I think hot frying at incendiary temperatures falls into the latter category.

I can't see any reason for not frying chillies with the spices unless they are being thrown in at the end to be used for visual purposes.

Quote from: peterandjen on April 16, 2010, 10:15 PM
Ive been told and i believe that mustard oil brings out a lot more flavour from your spices when you fry them.

I don't think mustard oil brings out the flavour in spices so much as actually adds flavour to the ingredients as it is a very strong oil. It is not a "neutral" oil like say, sunflower oil, but imparts its own flavour like, say olive oil.

Harvey Day recommends the use of mustard oil in cooking curries and he his books were the first I used to cook curries way back in the 1970s. However he wrote his books in the 50s and 80s and they are not representative of current custom in cooking curries and certainly a fair bit removed from BIR cuisine.

I make my own curry masala all the time, the problem with the IG spice mix is that the curry powder used is not specified - change the powder, and the mix will of itself change.

Try Panpot's Ashoka Garlic Ginger paste recipe

I am moving house in 4 weeks and one of my plans for the back garden is a wood burning oven and a tandoor - probably won't be able to afford that for a few years though.

I now have a really stupid question - 65% hydration - how do you measure that?

that's a fair point Jimmy - the industry perpetuates the myth of the "secret" ingredient or technique.  Even some people on this forum have bought into that idea in their search for the curry "holy grail".

I really don't think this forum should start slagging off others who cook curries using different ingredients as there is a danger it becomes elitist and therefore unwelcoming to new members.

Perhaps an to email Jamie Oliver inviting him to check out the site and try a couple of recipes would be worth a go. Hell he might even think it's pukka!