Just blended the base and it's exactly the same in colour as the pics SnS posted I'll have to take some pics tomorrow as I'm out of batteries for the camera.

Smells delicious....about another 15-20 mins to go...

**EDIT** OK finished ;D I have a feeling I'm going to like this base, but then again I should as I like both Darth's and Stew's and this seems to be about half-way between the two, but now I'll have to wait 'til tomorrow when I try out a recipe

I'll let you know how I get on

Thanks for the recipe SnS

ooh I don't know yet, I'll cross that bridge tomorrow, unless you can recommend one to me, SnS?

Have to say the base is bubbling away at the mo and it smells great!

Thanks Bobby

The reason I've held off so long in trying that recipe is because I'm not a coconut lover either and having read some replies in that thread, I'd cut the amount too (or could I miss it out altogether?).

Of course it doesn't help that as soon as I get low on bases, someone goes and posts up another base and I never know where exactly to slip it into my list : ....and I'm not saying that's a bad thing but there's only so much time and so many curries....not to mention freezer space ;D

QuoteIn an ideal world each base should come with a handful of the classic curry recipes we would like, to be used in conjunction with it.

Which is exactly why I prefer posters to state which base was used, it's the best way to test a recipe. I'll be making the saffron base tonight and making a saffron recipe tomorrow, the replies in the thread look very promising - excepting the odd one or two - and I'm looking forward to trying it out. ;D

I'll be making this base up tonight (from the revised recipe)....I was going to be making ifindforu's but I can't ignore this one any longer lol

I'll post up some piccies if I can get me camera working

Quote from: JerryM on March 13, 2008, 10:09 AM
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.

Relevant to what, exactly? The only person it has any relevance to is Bobby as it is based solely on his opinion alone. :-X

I think a better way to summarise this experiment is thus:

The rajver bhuna curry recipe (in Bobby's opinion) suits the saffron base better than Darths, however, when used in comparison with the madras recipe, the two bases were very similar (I don't quite see how, given the differences in ingredients, but I'll take Bobby at his word). Maybe if BB had used different curry recipes, the results may have been reversed..... .

Curry houses, no matter how many bases they use be it 1,2 or 3, base their curry recipes around their own particular base and the spices or ingredients used therefore it is natural to assume that any curry recipe must be dependent on the base itself, not the other way around and so I alter recipes to suit the base (unless they already suit it, that is - but only testing and experimenting will show this).

Of course, certain curry recipes may work with a wide range of bases, others will not. A bad curry is not always down to poor technique, lack of cooking skill or inferior ingredients, it may just be that the wrong base and curry recipes have been used in conjunction with one another - this does not mean that one is necessarily better than the other, it just means that the spices/ingredients in one may suit the spices/ingredients better in another , which makes this generally a poor test to me. You may give a curry 6/10 when using one base, but it could get a 10/10 when used with another, differently spiced base. I conclude that each base is as versatile as the person's tastes who is using it

Hence my conclusion that mixing and matching recipes (although it may sometimes work) is not always guaranteed to work. Ergo, it shouldn't always be done, far better to test with the recipe author's base of choice when used in making the curry recipe as it will do away with any inconsistencies technique/ingredient-wise.

Most curry houses use base gravies, yet the difference in taste, flavour and appearance vary from restaurant to restaurant, they could all actually be use the same curry recipe, but the base makes all the difference and so I'd doubt you'd get the same curry from any two curry houses although they all may taste similar, but not identical, although each of us would express a preference there would always be winners and losers however it doesn't mean that anyone is right or wrong.

When I said that Bobby was wrong, it was in his supposition that because a recipe is better suited to the one base rather than the other that the second one must therefore be inferior, which is wrong, but he can't be wrong in saying that he preferred it ;D because that's purely his own, very personal opinion, nothing more...which is always good to read...and it has given rise to some interesting debate.

ah but without experimenting and getting things wrong, you wouldn't have been able to get them right SS You get to know how spices smell too raw or overcooked, which you can't get from just reading a recipe and both of which can ruin a curry.

Every one of us is searching for their own ideal curry, and I'm happy to say I've found mine...but it doesn't mean I'm going to stop looking for more recipes ;D Bases are as important to the old as to the new, we'll all tweak recipes in some way to suit ourselves, but it doesn't then mean that the base is flawed, it's just not to our taste.

Oh....and cooking skills and techniques all come into play too another thing that comes with experience

all the best debates become heated, I'm sure we all have backs (or backsides ) broad enough to bear the strains ;D as long as things don't denegrate into petty back-biting I'm all for it!

Following the recipe is OK for less confident cooks, which is why I feel it's important to specify a base to use. You could make a madras with the saffron base, obviously you'd have to alter the chilli in the curry recipe as the base gravy does not contain it..... but if someone were to use Stew's base recipe, which contains a tablespoon of chilli, the result would be closer to a vindaloo which might not be what the individual is wanting other spices obviously play a part as do tomatoes, too little tomato can ruin a dish, (but it can be salvaged) but if it's in the base and in the final curry recipe, too much tomato in a sauce can ruin it completely.

The more curries you cook, the more you get to know what's right, and instinctively alter a recipe to suit, so differences in bases may not be all that important, but to someone new to curry-making it makes all the difference in the world.

I agree wholeheartedly with what SS said in his post above, the comparison results really mean nothing to anyone but yourself, although it's always good to read what someone's opinion is.....but at the end of the day it's only one man's opinion. I wonder how well the saffron base would measure up against Darth's using his recipe, and vice-versa....which would be a fair test, but it would take the whole forum to cook everything the same way, using the exact same ingredients, which would be too hard to do methinks.

Quote from: Bobby Bhuna on March 12, 2008, 06:05 PM

Quote from: Domi on March 12, 2008, 05:49 PM
so what conclusion do we draw from this? it has to be that mixing and matching recipes does not always work and therefore a "one base that fits all" is a redundant ideal. :-X

In which case, what is your opinion on recipes that ask for "base sauce (any good one will do)"?

What I take that to mean is use a base sauce of your choice (but be aware that different spices are used so modify the recipe?) simply disregarding the base recipe may mean that double quantities of ingredients may be used (with chilli it may be way too hot/mild, too tomatoey/not tomatoey enough, too garlicky/gingery etc etc etc....). Obviously this would explain why some people have wildly differing reviews about the same curry recipe? More experienced curry makers (I would assume) would know what is too much or not enough of some ingredients when they check a recipe out and so modify their recipes whilst others blindly follow the recipe and get different or poorer results. Again, I say that when someone posts a recipe, they should state which base they used to make it - that way people can try the curry as it is meant to be tasted by the author, obviously afterwards you would change the recipe (if you liked it enough) to better suit your personal taste (if it doesn't quite already)  or use it with a different base which is of your own personal preference.

Some curries are only an ingredient or two away from one another, yet totally different dishes and the blend of spices between base and curry is all important to the final taste, for a truly fair comparison of bases we'd have to cook each different curry recipe with each different base recipe and choose the best "all-rounder" based on votes by members, one person's opinion is not enough.....as I'm sure Secret Satan will point out, in one way or another, "opinions are like arseholes.....we all have one - sadly, it doesn't mean we can all toot the same tune" ;D Even then it's doubtful whether a truly accurate measure would out as no doubt people would fight over who's the best cook, who's got the best palate etc etc because at the end of the day, it's all personal preference and no-one will be able to convince anyone else that their ideal curry is the wrong ideal curry......it will always come down to handbags at ten paces I'm afraid ;D