Hi all,

Continuing with the Onion? debate I am about to embark on another base sauce trial that I posted a while ago.
It is the "Daag" base sauce that asian women use as a time saver in their busy lives.

Here it is again.

Ingredients

2 lbs Onions, chopped finely
1 ?? x ? ? piece of fresh Ginger, chopped
6 large Cloves Garlic, chopped
3-4 Green Chliies, chopped
6 small Tomatoes, pureed
100 ml?s Veg Oil
4 tsp Coriander Pwdr
? tsp Cumin Pwdr
? tsp Turmeric Pwdr
? tsp Garam Masala
? cup chopped Coriander
1 tsp salt

Method


Heat Oil in a pan and fry Onions until Dark Brown (20-30 mins).
Add Ginger, Garlic and Chilli?s fry 3 min?s
Add Coriander Pwdr, fry 4 min?s , keep stirring
Add 2 Tbsp?s Water if mixture starts sticking
Add Cumin, Turmeric and Garam Masala
Stir 30 sec?s and add Tomato and Coriander Leaves, stir
Add 400 ml?s Water and the Salt and cook on low for 15 min?s
Remove from heat, store in airtight container in fridge.

On the face of it you can see a resemblance to the majority of bases on this site. However, interestingly it suggests to cook the Onions until DARK BROWN and also has a far greater proportion of Ground Coriander than any other spice!!..............Hmmmm!

There was no specific recipe given for the use of this sauce as it seems to suggest it is ready to add just meat and it's complete but I will choose a standard Madras / Vindaloo recipe from the site and try this as well.

I will report back once I have given it the once over.

Ray

Quote from: Mark J on October 02, 2005, 07:24 AM
Looks good, black cumin is very aromatic, I use whole when making pilau rice

Yes, that would certainly add to the flavour.
She also uses it on her Naan breads and in her "Balti Garam Masala" which is far superior to shop bought brands. Try it!

Here's the recipe.

Balti Garam Masala

15 g Brown Cardamon Seeds
15 g Whole Green Cardamom Pods
25 g Cassia Bark or Cinnamon Sticks
15 g Cloves
15 g Shahi Jeera ( Black Cumin )
7 g Black Peppercorns
2 Whole Nutmegs, lightly crushed

Method

Pre-heat heavy based frying pan, add all spices and dry-fry whilst stirring until the spices release their aroma. Do not allow to change colour, just heat through. Spread on a plate to cool , then grind in a coffee grinder until fine. The smell in your kitchen will be fantastic!

Ray

I will add this much. Cooking Onions in their raw state without pre-frying does tend to leave  a raw taste in the sauce. Adding spices etc afterwards masks this raw taste somewhat. However, frying onions until golden or even caramelised does add a depth to the taste so is worth that extra effort.

Ray

Hi Darth,

Do you think halving your recipe ( for those of us who don't have a cauldron as big as your's! ) would still give us the same end result?
I don't think there would be much difference so might well try this reduced amount next time.
At least we will get the rest of the shopping in the freezer as well!! Or what about a bigger freezer..................now there's an idea!!

Ray

Hi All,

I wonder whether this pre-frying method is much of a consequence to the real taste we seek!

I don't want to be a spanner in the works but when I see my local take-aways and restaurants cooking the masses of curries we buy ( tons every week ) they are so fast at cooking your order, surely they don't have time to include those special secrets and methods in their dishes that makes the answer so special we can't work out what the unknown secret is, if there is one at all !!.

For me I cannot believe? there is so much untold, secret information in such a hugely popular business that refuses to give us more simple clues to the answers we seek.

Keep digging and we will get there in the end....!!!

Ray

Hi All,

I have made Darth,s base with success and can add these comments.
Don't worry too much about the amount of water.
Cook with what you think is the right amount, i.e. just cover the veg etc and cook down . It should end up thickish but as has been suggested about the consistency of cup-a-soup, perhaps a bit thicker
Add more water if required or cook down more to thicken, use your own judgement.

I used East End Madras Curry Powder but don't think any particular brand will make a noticable difference or will it??.

The Onion chopping was a ball-ache and made my eyes stream but I reckon halving the recipe would not be detrimental.
Shoot me down in flames if you dissagree.
I only just had a pot big enough to take all this but I think Darth uses an old tin bath in the back garden so he has plenty of room!!

I did get the "Golden Orange" colour and not green. Having said that I don't think the colour is as important as the final taste.

I do think there is too much "Heat" in this recipe to fully appreciate the real taste, for me at least. I reduced the Chilli content by at least a half and that was far more acceptable for me.

At least with a few folk trying this we can share our ideas and perhaps help Darth "fine tune" his end result to achieve the result we all want to achieve!!

Ray

Hi All,

Here is the entire Mridula Baljekar?s recipe for Chicken and Potato Balti.


I added pre-cooked Chicken from the Balti Kitchen DVD ( but don?t see why Darth?s simple method can?t be used! ) and pre-cooked Potato using Bruce Edward?s pre-cooking method with Panch Phoran in the cooking water ( Panch who?? ). This isn?t  essential, just my personal choice so follow the recipe below for an excellent curry. This may look like a large list but is quick and easy to put together.

Makes 1.2 litres (2 Pints)

Ingredients:-

450 g ( 1 lb )Onions, rough chopped
40 g ( 1 1/2 ozs ) Garlic Cloves, peeled
40 g  ( 1 1/2 ozs ) Fresh Ginger, chopped
2 tsp Coriander Seeds
1 tsp Ground Turmeric
1 1/2 tsp Salt
425 g ( 15 ozs ) Can Tomatoes with the juice
1 TBSP Paprika
2 TBSPS Methi Leaves
1 TBSP Sunflower or Corn Oil
600 mls (1 pint ) Water

Method.

Put all ingredients in a large saucepan with the water
Bring to Boil
Reduce heat, cover pan and simmer 35-40 mins
Remove from heat and cool
Blend in a processor

Chicken with Potatoes

Ingredients

1 oz Ghee
1 tsp Shahi Jeera ( Royal Cumin ) or ( Black Cumin )
2 ? Piece Cassia Bark, halved
1 Fresh green Chilli, chopped
1 tsp Ginger Paste
1 tsp Garlic Paste
1 tsp Ground Coriander
1 tsp ground Cumin
10 ozs Chicken Thighs or Breasts cut into 2 ? cubes
2 ozs Natural Yoghurt
? tsp Chilli Powder, or to taste
15 fl ozs ( 450 mls ) Kadhai Gravy
8 ozs pre-cooked Potatoes
1 tspSalt, or to taste
? tsp Garam Masala
3 TBSPS  Fresh Coriander, Chopped

Pre-heat Balti Pan over medium heat, add the Ghee.
Add Shahi Jeera, Cassia and Green Chili, sizzle 15 seconds. Add Ginger and Garlic Pastes, stir fry 30 seconds. Add Ground Coriander and Cumin, stir-fry 30 seconds.
( I found the mixture started to become dry and could possibly burn so added a spoonful of water ).
Stir in Chicken and Yoghurt and increase heat to high. Stir fry for 4-5 mins and add Chilli Powder. Stir for another 1-2 mins.
Add Gravy, bring to the boil. Reduce heat and cover and cook for 15-20 minutes.
Add cooked Potatoes and Salt, simmer uncovered for 4-5 minutes then add Garam Masala and Coriander Leaves.

Stir for 1 Minute and Serve.

And hopefully???.enjoy


Ray

Leave em whole I reckon. They are pretty powerful as they are!

Next post is the full recipe.

Ray

Roger Darth,

Got me typing head on as we speak. Will post soon.

The Black Cumin really does add a little something

Ray

Hello All,

I have just made the "Restaurant Style" base sauce from Mridula Baljekars "Real Balti Cookbook" and a recipe for Chicken with Potatoes which is one of about 12 recipes she gives for restaurant style curries.

Here is the base sauce:-

Makes 1.2 litres (2 Pints)

Ingredients:-

450 g ( 1 lb )Onions, rough chopped
40 g ( 1 1/2 ozs ) Garlic Cloves, peeled
40 g? ( 1 1/2 ozs ) Fresh Ginger, chopped
2 tsp Coriander Seeds
1 tsp Ground Turmeric
1 1/2 tsp Salt
425 g ( 15 ozs ) Can Tomatoes with the juice
1 TBSP Paprika
2 TBSPS Methi Leaves
1 TBSP Sunflower or Corn Oil
600 mls (1 pint ) Water

Method.

Put all ingredients in a large saucepan with the water
Bring to Boil
Reduce heat, cover pan and simmer 35-40 mins
Remove from heat and cool
Blend in a processor

This sauce is very fast to make.
Minimal preparation before hand makes it an easy and relaxing sauce to make.

The base makes a medium brown and quite thick sauce about the consistency of condensed soup. (see pics ).
My only comment would be the taste of Methi seems to dominate and I would next time reduce this a little. However, it didn?t spoil the taste. You live and learn!
It reminded me straight away of one of the the sauces made using the ?100 Best Balti Curry? book and that isn?t surprising as Mridula?s base is a recipe from a Birmingham Chef!

She say?s the Chicken and Potato recipe is fast to make and it is???.very!

From start to finish the recipe took just 15 minutes so was truly a good one for after work provided you have the base to hand and some pre-cooked potatoes.

In the recipe you need ?Royal Jeera? or ?Black Cumin? seeds.
I think this is worth talking about for a minute or two as it doesn't turn up in many recipes that often.

For those not familiar ?Black Cumin? is a thin dark, nearly black ( surprise! ), slightly curved seed about ?? long. It is supposed to be the highest quality Cumin therefore it?s ?Royal? title.
It does have a different look to ordinary Cumin and a different taste which is more intense nutty.
It is not widely available ( near me ) except in some of the larger Asian stores.

Smelling and tasting it makes me wonder if this has something to do with the ?Missing Taste? we all talk about as it is unusual and does have a very ?curry-like? flavour if that's the right description??
I wonder what might happen to the taste of our curries if this seed was substituted for the more usual cumin!??
Maybe worth some experiment and future discussion.

The Chicken and Potato recipe was simple and I used some pre-cooked chicken made from the Balti Kitchen method and the Potato pre-cooked as in the Bruce Edwards method with a teaspoon of? Panch Phoran added to the water. I don?t think either of these methods are necessary in this recipe but I personally like the extra Oooomph and tenderness it adds to Chicken and added taste to the Potato.

The final dish being a ?Balti Dish? is not the same taste as you would expect in a basic restaurant Madras / Vindaloo but for me it was excellent. The taste of the Black Cumin was a little over dominant as was the Methi but I will reduce both these a little next time.
However, taking account of this small gripe the smell, texture and taste were superb.
All elements of the dish made it a memorable meal and one I shall certainly be making again.

For me the base sauce was a good starting point and tasted like it was going to produce a result straight away. It struck me it has a potential and would perhaps interest many of us on this site for a bit of further experimentation.
I will definately try this sauce again and try adapting it with a standard Madras / Vindaloo recipe to see how it fairs.
I have a feeling it will be favourable.

The Base Sauce, Pre-Cooked Chicken and finished dish are shown. Sorry it?s from a phone camera so colours may not be accurate.

If anyone wants the recipe in full let me know and I can type it out.

Regards

Ray