Dirk the other thing to think about with base recipes is that they differ in the way they cook the onions. Some call for frying in oil before adding the liquid ingredients whilst others call for putting them straight into a pot and boiling. Neither method will make any difference to the finished sauce.

If you wanted to be really cheffy about this and achieve the smoothest of sauces you could push the whole thing through a sieve but I think most people on here would agree that this is not necessary and doesn't represent the techniques used by BIRs which is basically the core interest of this site.

Have never had a problem blending a base using a jug blender as per CA's pic. I think quartering onions is not enough, they need to be chopped or maybe thinly sliced.

Looks good Jimmy!!

This is a super thread because it recognises the value of non BIR curries. I agree with CA's comment that the commercial need to produce curries in volume has driven the need to produce "standardised" recipes by rote.

I have a small collection or Indian or curry recipe books from the 60s and 70s and none of them mention curry bases. All the recipes in these books describe cooking curries from scratch starting with cooking onions (and usually garlic and ginger) in oil, adding the masala (spice mix), browning the meat then adding various liquid ingredients, e.g. tomatoes.

Indeed these books are not even attempting to describe BIR curries. They are promoting traditional home style cooking. They are none the worse for that. They are just different.

Quote from: Secret Santa on November 28, 2009, 06:06 PM
Don't ponce around with muslin or spice balls, do what the BIRs do, blend the damn things in with the base!

I would not recommend blitzing these spices as the final dish will be over the top with cinnamon and cardamom flavours. Keeping them whole ensures the dish is fragranced correctly.

Quote from: 976bar on November 28, 2009, 01:41 PM
What is Panch Phoran please?

Panch Phoran is a mixture of 5 spices in equal quantities:

Fenugreek
Nigella seed
Mustard seed
Fennel seed
Cumin seed

It is rarely if ever mentioned in BIR recipes, but you will fine it in older curry cookery books dating from the sixties and seventies. When you make up Panch Phoran use small measures, e.g. a half teaspoon of each spice.

Quote from: chriswg on September 21, 2009, 08:07 AM
Next time you make a batch try starting off with the batter as runny as possible so it still sticks to the onion and potato.

I make my batter the consistency of yoghurt and have repeatedly had good results with this approach.

Looking forward to reading your posts Panpot!

I have been making my own garam masalas, tandoori masala and other spice mixtures for about 15 years and I usually make them in batches about the size of a jam jar full. I only buy those spices which I can't but whole (e.g. turmeric) in ground form. I dry roast my spices in a medium oven in a large roasting dish, so for example if I am using ground coriander or cumin in a recipe it is whole seeds that I have ground in advance and stored in tubs in the dark.

For a masala I put the whole spices all together in the roasting dish and check it every minute or so. One the spices darken and give off an aroma I take them out of the oven, empty them into a cold roasting dish or baking tin so that they will cool down quickly. I then grind in an electric coffee grinder and use or store. Success guaranteed with every batch using this method!

As far as BIR are concerned, whilst some may use products off the shelf, I understand that some restaurants get wholesalers to make up masalas to their own recipes.

Bobby I would interested if you felt able to give that place a go as I would love to know what you thought of it. In the meantime I will email my friend regarding the link you mentioned and see if we can't give it a try when I am next through in Edinburgh (probably end of August)