looks great chippy must admit I always use spuds in my medium/hot curries - great combination.

Kev.

Quote from: Admin on October 04, 2007, 04:32 PM
There is no doubt this is a good base curry sauce.
However it still comes out a little thick so when compared to a madras from a takeaway its a little different.

perhaps i need to add even more chicken stock.
Still closer now than a few years ago.

Stew

Yeah that's right Stew - last batch I made up used around 2 litres (probably more - I didnt measure it exactly) of stock (water plus a couple of knorr stock cubes)The original Rick Stein recipe was meant to be a full blown curry sauce not a base sauce so more stock would be needed to get the base sauce consistancy imo

I doubled up on my last effort which filled my slow cooker to the top, I used 2 spanish onions and 2 regular white onions and doubled up on everything else - turned out great although I didnt have any garlic paste in stock so peeling 30 cloves of garlic was a bit of a pain 

Kev.

On the subject of blending - last week I bought a large stick blender from argos - less than 4 quid bargain I have'nt quite got the hang of it yet, so when I made my last batch of Stew's base sauce I went back to blending in batches using my liquidiser. There must be a nack to using the stick blender as that's what they use in the restaurants so I believe.

Kev.

I have noticed there are 2 distinct type of coriander seed -

1 - round light brownish seed
2 - oval greenish seed

The round seeds I believe originate from Russia and are of very poor quality imo
The oval seeds are pukka Indian seeds and are far superior (wonderful aroma)

so watch what u buy - I ended up with a load of the poor quality seed bought from an online spice store, now I only buy spices from my local asian grocer. Look on the packet "produce of India" are the magic words.

Kev.

dont forget fresh coriander - i always get a couple of bunches when in town even if i dont need em, 50p for a large bunch - bargain - blend in a liquidiser with a little water then into the ice cube trays

Kev.

Dont pay a fortune for a small bottle of "hot" chilli sauce - make your own extra hot version instead

Hot Chilli Sauce

Ingredients
whole dried extra hot red (bird) chillies
clear distiled vinegar

Method
simplicity itself - just throw the chillies into a blender or spice mill with a small amount of vinegar and pulse - I add just enough vinegar to make a stiff paste but if you prefer a pourable sauce just add more vinegar.

Easy huh

I'm never without this stuff - instant heat! cheap and lasts forever

Kev.

hi matt, for a more balanced view try here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapeseed some good offsite links also

Kev.

This is my take on a old Pat Chapman recipe, basically I've jacked up the chilli level, added a bit of garlic and rounded off the measurements of the minor ingredients to my own taste. - all spoon measurements are heaped.


Extra Hot Curry Paste

6 tbs extra hot (bird) chilli powder
4 tbs coriander
4 tsp cummin
4 tsp garam masala (any will do but Pat's hot GM works well in this)
3 tsp turmeric
2 tsp ground fenugreek seed
2 tsp ground fennel seed
2 tsp ginger powder
2 tsp garlic granuals
2 tsp english mustard powder

5 fl oz clear distilled vinegar
9 fl oz water
6 fl oz veggy oil (I use rapeseed oil)

Method
mix the spices together, add the water and vinegar mix well and leave for around 10 minutes.
Heat the oil then add the spice mixture, reduce the heat and stir fry for around 15 minutes, dont wander off and do something else as the spices will burn then the whole batch will be ruined. If the paste looks to be drying out add some more oil and continue frying.
After around 15 minutes there should be signs of the oil seperating, when this happens the paste is done.
Bottle the paste in a sterilised jar cap off the paste with a little warm oil

Done

I have been using this recipe for a few years now, if you like it hot this paste is for you.

Kev.

yep better known in the UK as rapeseed oil - I wouldn't read too much into that document it's not an official document just someones opinion, Ive been using rape oil for years and I'm still here its a first class oil which is well suited for curry cookery and its cheep also contrary to what ive read elsewhere on this site - not all vegetable oil is rapeseed oil - only if it says 100% rapeseed on the label so beware of imitations. My local Lidl's now sells veggy oil marked as 100% rape at a very nice price

I'm sure if it was as lethal as the document suggests then the good old EU would have done something by now.

Kev. - who will still be using rape oil in his rubies

sorry for the duplicate post

yep better known in the UK as rapeseed oil - I wouldn't read too much into that document, Ive been using it for years and I'm still here its a first class oil which is well suited for curry cookery and its cheep also contrary to what ive read elsewhere on this site - not all vegetable oil is rapeseed oil - only if it says 100% rapeseed on the label so beware of imitations. My local Lidl's now sells veggy oil marked as 100% rape at a very nice price

I'm sure if it was as lethal as the document suggests then the good old EU would have done something by now.

Kev.