in the local supermarket where i shop for my curry ingredients I keep seeing big bags of dried fried onions.

does anyone have any thoughts on whether they are used by BIR and if so how/when.

Chris,

i remade this week and 100% spot on for my taste buds (tomato, garlic, chilli). it's simply fantastic.

i made the small changes as i said. the fresh toms were brill and really did it for us (i used 4 for 2 of us and chopped medium chunks - just to fit in mouth without need to cut).

i used the same saffron base as last time but changed the ratio/proportion of spice mix per person to 1 tsp LB's and 1/2 tsp of the Rogan Josh Masala (200ml sauce). i also made 1 portion with 1 tsp LB's and 1 tsp of the balti masala (the red one) and we liked that just the same (can't say which was better). Nb the Rogan Josh Masala was the original with the 4 off black cardamom so i have to retract that as with the adjusted proportion the taste was spot on.

sorry but i also added some (i mean a lot) of pre fried slithers of garlic which i do quite often whatever the dish is.

it's a clear 10/10 jobby for me. many thanks

i just put them straight on the grill. i find it best to try to leave them for longer than to turn frequently as they otherwise start to stick ie i try and work out the cooking time (depends on the weather but say 8 mins). i then cook 2 mins and then turn and adjust time if needed so they are cooked after 4 turns

i presume a rotisserie or such would avoid the sticking and would therefore be much better  but would still need to be fairly close to the grill to benefit from the high heat which is why i'm using the bbq in the 1st place.

so overall i think i'm happy to stick as is - directly on the grill.

ps once you've got a gas bbq you will never look back. i have mine outside the kitchen all year round and provided its not too windy i use i all the time. i also use for naan bread.

for me - Too many words confusing the learning. So very simple summary

We crave know-how to make near restaurant/takeaway std curries. We act collectively to help each other as alone we have no chance. We all have opinions which is good. Telling people their wrong only helps self ego.

The post uses a control (rajver madras) to compare 2 bases and finds 1 base better than the other. This is perfectly ligament and relevant.

To satisfy our craving we follow the BIR approach of a base (or maybe two) which delivers the potential to make many dishes. This is a base which passes a threshold (gets the nearest to producing a curry of restaurant/takeaway standard). Individuals will make changes (to the base, dish recipe & technique) as they see fit for their taste buds. This has nothing to do with the threshold and is opinion.

It?s likely that both bases actually pass the threshold. We can postulate on why we think having passed the threshold 1 base is better than another but we don?t know and it probably doesn?t matter (the final cooking stage & recipe now being the crucial factors).

eg

I made the saffron base just recently. It clearly passed the threshold. I will reduce the turmeric by 1/5 in future and swop salad pots to normal pots. This is opinion and does not affect the quality of the base.

I made the ronnoc base a few weeks earlier. It did not pass the threshold. It clearly had potential but I could not work out what was wrong and would take too long by trial an error so it?s off my list. It?s was either the celery or the spices but that?s just opinion.

Thanks once again bobby for spot on post. i won't be making darth's next as planned and will need to look again at the poll for my next challenge (I do remain pretty settled with the rajver parker21 and saffron bases feeling that a significant step up from this quality is unlikely).

i think both lines of thought are spot on.

i feel a base has to be versatile ie a BIR so that with some tinkering at the cooking stage a decent curry can be made whatever specific variety is being targeted ie korma to madras etc.

this is why i mentioned celery. i was searching for why Darth's had not come up to scratch as on paper it looks every bit as good as the saffron (if not better due to the wider selection of bulk veg and spices). consequently i would have expected both bases with a bit of tinkering to the madras recipe at cooking stage to have produced a decent result (albeit slightly different taste) ie both passed the finishing line together but wearing different colours.

what was interesting to me was that Bobby (i think) could not identify any improvement to the cooking of Darth's to bring it up to scratch. on that assumption saffron must be closer to BIR intent.

Bobby,

very good post and much good learning for me in it.

i'm pretty settled on my fav base with parker21 (Rajver) then saffron. the parker21 being slightly more delux (i think due to the addition of coconut milk).

i was thinking of trying the Darth base next being tempted by the high no of pole results. i was particularly interested in the addition of celery (which i don't care for) and was interested on any thoughts you have on the addition of celery.

without doubt having tried grill & oven the best by far is gas bbq.

really sad i know. but nowadays i like to eat it just with a spoon and then naan at the end so as not to waste any.  ;D

absolutely gutted.

hope he is able to stick with the site to continue his vital input.

i can't believe how he managed to do the job as the effort needed was clearly immense.

gary,

appreciate your post. your base is my std as i consistently get my best result using it. i follow exactly and never get any bitterness. your quote

Quoteand in a separate pan brown some ginger and garlic before adding them to the larger cooking pot

is of particular interest. do you think yourself that it's worth the extra effort? i ask as i have no idea except that results are spot on without doing so but i don't know if they could be even better.

best wishes, jerry