Having made many base sauces, the new base from Saffron and the Darth 100 Percent Madras Clone are, in my mind, the two best recipes to date.
At first, I preferred Saffron. Then after an excellent curry making weekend, I jumped ship and decided that Darths base was indeed superior.
Since I had them both in my freezer, and they are both relatively fresh, I decided this weekend, to put them head to head, in the base off to end all base offs.
Ideally for comparisons sake, I would have made two identical Chicken Madras but since my girlfriend was involved in the judging panel, I resorted to making two otherwise identical Chicken Bhunas.
Here are the ingredients laid out on my living room table.
The Bhuna recipe I used was delicious and went as follows. This serves one.
IngredientsStage 11 cracked green cardamom pod
1/2 a small onion finely chopped
1/4 green pepper finely chopped
1 tsp garlic paste
1/4 tsp salt
Stage 21 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp Spice Mix
1/4 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp dried fenugreek
Base sauce (I cant say exactly but you should be able to figure it out)
1 medium sized breast of chicken (cooked)
2 quarters of a fresh tomato
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tbsp fresh coriander chopped
Here are the ingredients chopped and the two base sauces laid out on my living room table. Darth?s is on the left (the browner of the two as it contains no tomatoes)
Cover the base of your curry pan with sunflower oil and heat until extremely hot.
Add all the ingredients from stage 1 in the order provided, stirring and shaking so as to avoid burning. Once the onions start to change colour (around 1 minute) remove the pan from the heat.
Add all the ingredients from stage 2 and place the pan back on the heat. Shake and stir vigorously to avoid burning the spices.
Add half the base sauce and let most of the water evaporate off. Add the chicken and coat it fully in the mixture. Add the rest of the base sauce and Garam Masala and stir. Once you have the right consistency, add the fresh coriander and serve.
ResultsAt this point you should note that I used the Darth method to cook the chicken. I like this because its simple and it works.
So, I dished out two plates with pilau rice, the Bhuna with Saffron base and the Bhuna with Darths base. My girlfriend and I then sat down to bear judgement upon the unsuspecting curries. The Saffron base is at the bottom here and the Darth at the top.
And the winner is...Saffron, unanimously.
When quizzed, my girlfriend described it as being more "subtly spiced" and "well balanced" than its competitor, which she described as having a ?raw? taste.
I would say that the Darth base had quite a strong taste, was too thick and dominated the dish too much. I would also say that the taste of green pepper from the base is a little striking.
So now back to the cooker to fill the freezer with another batch of Saffron.
