Ok here goes, from 5 years experience i found ......

i always default to the DD spice mix given to me from a real bangledesh bir owner, simply because it is good and never lets me down.  (great for dansak btw)   

2nd...  the kushi spice mix is well rounded and great for rogan josh . a real gem also. (mild + subtle)

3rd  ... the cbm spice mix is pucka. especially with a dash of pataks madras paste to boost it.

i have jars with all 3 spice mixtures in my cupboard always.  i also renew them each 6 months with new spices.

of course each spice mix suits my personal  base,  so i cant guarantee it will work with your own prefered base. but thats another story !!     

Thought my latest experiment should be posted as the results were promising.

initially made chicken soup as dad did when i was a nipper !

chicken carcus,   2 onion 2 celery  2 carrot   left whole

water to cover  salt  oil  knorr chicke stock cube

boil for an hour  then sieve  , so all that remains is soup

I then experimented adding 2 -3 tbs or more to a small portion of base  before making madras

the result was a very meaty savoury taste similar but not identical to illusive bir taste.
Next time i would make the soup more dilute and remove more fat from the soup.

my conclusion was that part of the missing 5%   has to be down to good chicken stock added to base.
Adding a little stock to the base during base prep would also seem the next step to try

Unclefrank , visiting 6 bir kitchens is a new record isn't it !!     

Sounds like you guys are thinking along the same lines to me. It makes me wonder how similar or different our basic madras would taste.  very different i would bet. 

 

Quote from: Salvador Dhali on March 12, 2013, 02:05 PM

Quote from: spiceyokooko on March 12, 2013, 01:46 PM

Quote from: Derek Dansak on March 12, 2013, 09:54 AM

This is a theme I've seen repeated on here many times - the perpetual search for that missing secret ingredient, the constant twiddling of spice combinations and base sauce ingredients etc.

totally agree with this comment.  I guess its a natural part of the quest for any serious cr0 member.

Hello all

I thought I would throw this question into the mix the get the latest updates

Personally I have finally got a taste which is my own and not just a blend of other peoples recipies.
2 years ago the taste was inconsistent, and lacked anything unique. I was essentially just copying
other peoples ideas with minor tweaks.
Now i am cooking more confidently, with a base sauce which is my own creation, that changes a step at a time.
It needs more work, but has come along way.
I guess its still at the level of a lower standard bir takeaway. But in
Another 5 years i think it could surpass many local TAs.

For me arriving at this position was down to:
1) Finding a base sauce which works for my own style.
2) Tweaking the base sauce 1 stage at a time. Then seeing how this effects the final dish
3) Trying as many spice mixes as possible from cr0. Finding 3 that work best for your base.
4) realisation that base sauce is everything.

By this i mean the base sauce colors the whole dish. This is why bir guard their base sauce so secretly.
The reason all the bir recipe books so far are crap , is the base sauce is no better than ours.
In fact usually worse.
I expect many cro members have a better personal base sauce than any
base sauce from a bir book?  what do you think ?

2 penneth time !
when i had some bir lessons many moons ago, the chef said you must fry the fresh chopped spanish onion at full temp for few minutes while vigerously stirring . I find this works well and gives the dish a slight extra tangyness. not sure why but it just works. 

Hi Jay

sounds interesting ! thanks

Will message you with my details

Hi all , after 10 years as a software test engineer been made redundant !  the usual story in these tough times ! on the plus side plenty of time to improve my curry making skills ! 
   I know some of you are fellow IT workers and was wondering where outside london the jobs are coming up ?   and is the IT job market recovered from the recession? 

cheers DD  , ps glad the forum is still alive and kicking !   

Hi all

Phil (if you read this post) , i liked your madras post recently, the chicken stock is a fresh approach which fits with my understanding of how the chef at my local prepares his curries.  Seems like the way to go forward.

Could you explain the basaar curry masalla ?  is it off the shelf or made by hand?

cheers DD

Hi phil , good to hear that ! 

Rye has a new bir , which is pretty good , up the main  high street

if i am driving thru , a takeaway usually suddenly appears in my car !   from where i do not know   

Each time it grows in size