976bar.

do please let us know how it turns out. i keep getting family requests for onion bhajee - which in itself is not a problem.

the trouble is you've got to have the little green stuff for it all to work.

i've never been able to get it right (i've never tried the CRO recipe though - hence the request).

Malacara,

your post is very comforting - it reinforces the existence of a "threshold" for a base. i too make rajver and saffron frequently and on most recipes (CTM being the only exception when i think the rajver has the edge) and would say there is very little discernable difference in the result ie final curry taste (both being spot on, the ifindforu is also spot on but slightly different).

Quotethe perfect sweetness for a madras

would you say this is down to the overall balance of the recipe or does the longer medium heat cooking of the onion do it for u.

would also appreciate your thoughts on the methi both it's addition in general and it's addition in the spice mix.

the onion cooking, spice mix and methi being the key differences to the madras i make. i've tried adding the methi after the bulk of the base has gone in but did not find a significant difference. i would need to make the SNS spice mix to compare against my interpretation of LB's - it's similar with the SnS mix having no paprika and a relatively high proportion of methi (3 tbsp or 44%).

a very good link supplied by SNS.

try to buy spices from asian stores or online - i'm convinced much better quality.

having wrestled with make or buy curry powder for many yrs i now buy it and would say buy the garam masala and tandoori masala the same. (i do make my own garam but it's taken a long time to perfect and your time is best spent on other aspects).

would suggest u taste each of the spices with a wet finger so that u get an understanding of them. u need to get a coffee grinder (essential for grinding the whole spices ie coriander seed)

Mickdabass,

i will look out for the Romano.

i'm from near brum and i don't feel potato side dishes to be in any real demand. i can only therefore assume these red pots are going into the curry bases (and probably why they are so good IMHO  ;D).

the disintegrating bit is surprising as this suggests they are removed prior to blending which for me would be like defeating the object.

i must admit i was really taken aback when i bought salad pots (white) - the taste difference was quite something. Although I?ve made the base since with normal pots I still feel a niggle that the better pots are worth it.

Davy/Malacara,

appreciate your help.

Quotecreamed cocoanut seem to be reluctant to give up the oil

very interested on this observation and potential pitfall - 2 of my firm fav bases (rajver and ifindforu) have creamed coconut so i will need to try hard on the reclaim when i make these.

Quotetoo much tends to mask the finished flavour

totally agree that too much oil will for sure mask the flavour. i appreciate some do reclaim from the cooked curry - that's a step too far for me - i am only going to use it to cook with and then add back any left to my next base.

Quotewithout any special procedure

Malacara - it sounds very special to me - priceless - will do exactly as u say - thanks

Quoteis the reclaimed oil  a healthy thing

i am 100% convinced u can't get BIR without it. i know from medicals that i'm above average health for my age and I?ve lived BIR for near on 3/4 of it.

what i would say is everything in moderation is crucial - i aim for no more than 17gm of sat fat per day on average.

the appearance as u say on it's own is not good and i must admit i don't like it floating on a finished curry - the taste and smell is 8th wonder of the world for me  ;D

Davy,

agree, i too lean towards UB's recipe but then i get that "sconey" taste . oh nooooo been there and not going back  ;D ;D ;D

SNS,

appreciate your input. i did aim to maintain the thin soup like consistency but being a little nervous would guess i did not do it enough - banked for future.

Matt,

SNS is quite right on the hassle point - hence the post - there must be an easier way - i'm sold 100% on the taste improvement though. these are the posts which got me to try it.

https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,602.0.html 
https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,735.0.html
https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,782.20.html
https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=190.msg1069#msg1069

Tamala/Davy,

i'm now there - have made naans twice now and both times spot on. the key was to leave the SR dough for a while (1 hr) before cooking with it.

i'm still not sure if it needs the yogurt and will test out at some point. i still add 1 tbsp of caster sugar (it is ok without though so i guess optional)

i'm still using UB's stickiness though. so the recipe is as Davy's spec but no egg, 1 tsp baking powder but 310ml of liquid per 455 gm (inc yogurt giving 68% liquid:flour).

interesting though at this stickiness i can still use the rolling pin (with extra dusting flour)

have had a go at reclaiming oil and found it to involve a fair amount of effort and time.

i would appreciate all thoughts on how to do it better.

this is what i did:

a) quick simmer of the finished base stirring now and again
b) removed any scum that appeared in the 1st 1/2 hr (this seemed important as the scum otherwise gets in the way later during the oil reclaim)
c) when oil started to separate i pushed into the middle of the pan and scooped it off with a soup spoon. this was repeated many times as the oil progressively separated over a 2 hr period
d) left base to cool overnight
e) reheated next day reheating to quick simmer and continued with step c for 1 1/2 hrs (at which no further oil was separating)
f) added water progressively back to the base to counter that lost due to the quick simmer

observations/thoughts:

1) the separation of the oil was much faster on the next day
2) i'm not sure what effect stirring has on the separation
3) maybe i should have left all the oil in place until the simmer period was complete and then scooped off
4) maybe i should have only done the oil reclaim simmering the next day (ie 3.5 hrs the day after the original cooking)

i used 3 off 5ml spoons of salt which is what the recipe calls for. i had used 1 off 5ml in the past.

when making ivangough's AIR it called for (and i used) 4 english ie 5 ml spoons of salt - i found this made a difference but the 4th tsp too much in 4.5l of base - hence have settled on 3 tsp.

in terms of difference compared to previous efforts - startling. just the smell of the reclaim oil hitting the pan says it all for me.

i am going to add a new post on the reclaim to gain help. i got back 450ml out of the 600ml put in. it was hard work doing the reclaim and i feel there must be an easier way - hence the new post.