Looks similar to the BE, but you've dropped the onions by a third. At the same time you've left of the other weights the same. Not sure if that is a good idea or not.

You might want to reduce the coriander if you're reducing the onion volume. I found 1 oz. to be a lot of coriander, so it will be even more noticeable with your reduced onion volume. Also suggest frying the onions in the oil for a while before adding the water and other ingredients. I found it improved my BE base.

-- Josh

That looks about right to me. The BE is more towards the yellow colour than the red.

The oil itself will be red.

-- Josh

Nah, go for it yourself and do the roasting. Its pretty easy. Low heat until the aroma comes out. Doesn't take long.

I dry roast and grind my own cumin, coriander, and garam masala. The other key ingredients like turmeric and curry powder its easier to buy the stuff from the grocers. The Rajah Madras Gold seems to get good reviews.

-- Josh

Hi Al Frezi,

That's the beauty of working with a base... the idea is that you can make any curry you like. The Madras is just one. You will see under the recipes for Vindaloo, Korma, Bhuna, CTM, Jalfrezi, etc, etc, etc that they call for an amount of curry base in every one.

That's how the BIRs can turn them out so fast.

The trick is to pick a base that works well for the types of curries you prefer.

-- Josh

Quotehave u tried cooking same without the peg to confirm it's making a difference

Not with this base yet, but I'm not sure that's the crux of it. Keeping away from the curry fumes while cooking seems to have an effect how one perceives the taste/smell. I will try with a Madras (minus the clothespin).

Quotedid the frying of the onion make a significant difference?

Not sure, but the base is definitely sweeter. I didn't fry until browning. 3 pounds is a lot of onions. Next time I may fry the onions longer for more caramelisation.

-- Josh

Tamarind? Are you sure? Not turmeric?

Tonight I made a king prawn Vindaloo (basically the BE curry recipe with added garlic/ginger and about 1.5 tablespoons of chilli powder). I decided to experiment a bit... I used a clothespin to keep my nostrils closed while I made the curry using this modified BE base gravy.

I took the clothespin off only once the finished curry was poured into the serving dish.

WOW.  

The smell was amazing. The curry was the best Vindaloo that I've ever produced.

Try it and see if your "perception" changes on how close your efforts are to BIR.

And the changes to the base (including using the spiced oil) are a definite thumbs up for me.

--- Josh

-- Josh

Quoteosh, what type of onion did you use? First thing that hit me when tasted the base was the sweet factor but I did not fry, have you made it before and not fried the onion. I ask because I have started to wonder about the types of onion (seeing there was 12 onions in my last BE base) this side of the pond could be sweeter. I used Vidalia yellow onion (grown in Georgia, maybe just originally) which I've researched to be a very sweet onion.

Hi Chowie,

I use the standard bulk yellow onions. Having lived in the UK long enough, I know these are the same as the ones used there. I've thought about using Vidalia onions before (as well as reds and spanish!) but based on the posts here, I feared I'd be going away from BIR practice, even if other varieties may be sweeter.

I've made this base 3 or 4 times, and this was the first time I fried the onions. Prior was just straight boiling with the other veg.

-- Josh

Today I made a new batch of base gravy, based on the BE recipe, with the following changes:

- Significantly more oil
- Twice the carrots
- I fried the onions in the oil first for about 15 mins before adding the other ingredients. The garlic/ginger puree was added about 10 minutes into the onion frying period
- After blending, I continued to simmer the gravy for about another hour, adding water to maintain the original level

Everything else was per the BE recipe. I reclaimed about a cup of oil at the end. Having seen the discussions on the use of spiced oil, and realizing that some BIRs do it and some don't, I decided to return to that practice, having preferred my own results using spiced oil in the curries.

Observations:

- This twist on the BE recipe created significantly more gravy scum that I had to remove - Bruce's original produced no scum at all
- The taste of the finished gravy was noticeably sweeter - not sure if this was down to the added carrot, or pre-frying the onions

I knocked up a quick Madras sauce afterwards and it was very good. I will try again tomorrow once I'm a bit more objective. I can't smell curry at all having been at it for last few hours.

-- Josh

Bruce, thanks for the post.

QuoteThis base works well with most. I wouldn't say that it's my favourite, but I do see it as a bit of a classic which is easily modified

Interesting. I take it then that this base is tuned for the curry/madras/vindaloo variety. What changes would you suggest for, say, a Rogan Josh, or a CTM or a korma?

Quoteif there is sufficient interest, I thought I might give some pointers on making dishes other than the basic curry next time

Bruce - the interest is there! Please post away. Really trying to nail Chicken Tikka Masala