As the heading says..............any opinions appreciated. I met a guy earlier this year who was from a "curry part of the world" I can,t remember where. He was a huge fan of plum tomatoes. I have used them more often than not since he cooked for me!

Maybe the question should be split between bases and main dishes?

I have been reading many threads on bases and also main dishes..........for hours and hours ;D
In the past I have generally added my spices to the oil in the early stages of a main course. This seems to be the common way. I noticed in some of the base sauce recipes that the spices are added in the "water" stage.

Is it just preference/ease or does it make a difference to the base or main dish?

Quote from: JerryM on November 09, 2010, 08:19 PM
trucker5774,

the basic questions are always the best. we are all keen to hep so just post when you get stuck. the search button works a treat too.

interesting on method. another to add to the pot:

1) flame on full add oil, g/g - quick fry until aroma
2) pan off heat, add puree, spices, chilli, salt, 1 chef spoon base - stir till mixed
3) back on heat fry till aroma - judging this is the  trickiest part (no more than say 60 secs for me - sort of as soon as the liquid had dried around the pan rim)
4) add base 1 off chef spoon at a time
5) cook till surface craters or oil rises

...........and the meat at the end...cooked? uncooked? Sorry Jerry, I don't mean to be a pain. I have cooked curries for years, but want to go in as a complete novice and begin a new experience. ........A little like finding my way around the site. I had a donner kebab tonight after a beer or two

Thanks guys. I've had a little time off from Indian and been doing a fair bit of Chinese. Having made up a couple of litres of base sauce do most people freeze it in batch sized amounts?

Thanks Ray. I can see that now. Just wondered if there was a rule of thumb, or if I had missed a basic section or FAQ somewhere.

Cheers, John

Hi all, I'm still fumbling my way around the forum and trying to not ask the usual new boy questions common to all forums. Having had a good look I'm still not seeing a basic method. I keep reading about a base sauce, but not when and how it is used. What I am getting at is, armed with all the ingredients for a madras, rogan josh or any common curry with a similar method, is there an idiots guide as to what goes in when ......base sauce, meat, spices ghee etc.

Sorry if this has been asked a million times......what do I need to read, please?

Hi everyone. I have never seen the site before, or read any of the posts. The site came recommended by a member of another site (for home brewing) so I have joined with blind faith! Looking forward to learning about the "base sauce" and getting that authentic taste which I have always been close to, but never quite got there!