Quote from: merrybaker on June 27, 2006, 05:09 PM
I was taught that in doubling recipes, to use 1+1/2 times the amount of spices and salt, and then to taste and add more as needed.   

That's interesting.  I wonder if that means we should be using proportionally higher amounts of spices when scaling down Mark's 35 onion recipe, or in the scaled down recipes that others on the site have been shown?

Half a full base recipe = two thirds the original amount of spices and salt?

Thanks Layne! ;D

(For hands that do dishes...)

I wouldn't want my opinions to put anyone off trying it for themselves, though.

George - I've still got about a tablespoon left, in the original bag which Terry sent me.  I can send it to you if you like, so you can compare it for yourself.  Perhaps Terry's offer of a free sample for anyone who PMs him still stands.  Some people might find it improves their curries, to their tastes. 

I certainly don't think it's any kind of 'magic ingredient' though, and while there may be a slight aromatic difference to Rajah Mild Madras, they definitely smell like they're both from the same 'family'.  TRS Madras mix, on the other hand, smells markedly different.

Thanks for that answer, Layne.

I'll have to try that next time - my partner prefers madras strength but I'm a vindaloo villain.  It'd make life easier and quicker with less washing up to boot.

So - when the chef's cooking two lots of CTM in one pan, and he's finished the mild one, he just stirs more chilli powder 'dry' into what's left in the pan for your hotter dish?  I only ask because it means the chilli powder won't have been fried off like the other spices. How long does he cook the dish on for after adding the chilli - is it just stirred in and served up? 

I've made Terry's base twice now, to the letter, using the Gold Madras.  I really couldn't swear that it contributed anything special.

I've also used it as the curry powder constituent in the Bruce Edwards Spice Mix, and used that in my usual base and curries - once again, I couldn't register a difference from a BE spice mix using the TRS and Rajah Mild powders.  The smell of the Rajah Mild and Gold powders in the packet, and their raw tastes on the tongue, are very similar - nothing jumps out at me. 

If there is anything to be gained by using it, it must be very subtle.  Certainly not a "crikey, this is what's been missing" type of difference.

Blimey, I sound like an old grump!  I don't mean to.

I did mail Terry to ask if he knew what the ingredients of Rajah Madras Gold were, when I asked him for a sample.  Although he kindly sent the sample, I didn't hear from him about the ingredients.  I can't find them on the net, I'm afraid.

But I am toying with the idea of using what I've got left of it as a replacement for the spice mix in a madras dish, on its own.  Just to see what it's like without being 'diluted' with the other spices.

Quote from: Ashes on June 22, 2006, 01:17 PM
Do curry houses only make individual portions or do they make 3-4 curries in the same pan at the same time, anyone know?

I've been meaning to ask the very same question on here for a while now (but I keep forgetting).

Anyone here seen a BIR chef cooking 2 of the same dish by simply doubling the amounts in one pan?

I get into all sorts of trouble trying to reduce the sauce and seperate the oil if I do that.  To be on the safe side if I'm cooking for someone else, I cook mine first and keep it warm in the oven, wipe the pan and then cook the second.

It would help if I had two suitable pans, I suppose! :

If I've interpreted a comment made on Saturday Kitchen correctly, it's liquid added to hot oil which causes the ignition.  So a runny curry base hitting very hot oil may do it.  Or, as Stew suggests, a squirt of lemon juice at the right time.

The only time a pan's gone up in flames when I've cooked before - and this was by accident - was when I was frying some mushrooms in a saucepan for a fry-up.  I like to fry them whole but without the stalks, open side up so that the juice collects inside.  But I left them too long, tipped the pan and the juice spilled out of the mushrooms and hit the hot oil - woof!  Up it went.

I really want to flame my curry pan, 'cos I need to know if it makes a difference. But when I try I just end up with curry sauce all over the hob.  My pan is too big and deep I think, but I'm getting a new one shortly.

Hi Fat Les

Terry actually mentioned adding the garlic cloves to the onions in a post after George had typed up the first draft, and then George added it in.   But he did hint that it was optional.

Stew - 3 litres of water?  Terry mentioned 3 pints - but that's interesting, because I used three pints and ended up adding more to water the base down at the end.

So many people are saying this is a good base.  Perhaps I've just got stuck in a rut trying to replicate something else.  I'll have to try it again.  But I'll definately back off on the coconut.

I did use coconut block when I tried Terry's base, but something I've been using recently (out of necessity, as the shop had sold out of coconut block at the time) is creamed coconut in sachets.  You get it in packs of 4 x 50g sachets, and pop what you need in hot water to soften it before cutting the sachet open.  It seems to blend in better than the block, and I've added 100g of it to an 8 onion base without overpowering it before, so perhaps I'll try that.

I agree Mark, but blandness wasn't the issue for me.  I found the coconut and garlic flavours overpowering to the point of unpleasentness, which surprises me - I love garlic and didn't think it was actually possible to put too much into a dish!  My partner, however, disagreed with me.

But cooking the spices for the base seperately as part of a tarka was interesting.  I might try that again.  KD's recipe, of course, does the same thing - but only using turmeric and paprika. Most of the bases I've been working on recently either have the spices fried at the beginning or just added in 'dry'.

I suppose it's just that I'm so close now to what I'm after when I cook curries, this base felt like a step backwards.  But I know I'll never be able to resist trying new recipes as and when they appear, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to do so.

I've made this base now, and a couple of curries using it too.  I'm afraid it's way off the mark, for me.

I made it exactly as Terry's recipe states, with no alterations, and with the Rajah Gold and all-purpose seasoning that he kindly sent me.

The fact that CK, CQ and others have said that it produces some of the best curries they've made can only show - I think - how different some of our individual goals in replicating BIR curries must be.  Perhaps we're all searching for a different quality, influenced by our favourite restaurants, experiences, and even region of the country.

I now think it's entirely possible that if some of you tried a curry from my favourite local takeaway, you wouldn't like it at all.

But anyway, thanks again Terry for sharing the recipe and making the necessary spices available to us.