Hi Mikka,

When I was young and more foolish I ate 4 whole nutmegs and a couple of other mates ate 6! The taste was totally overpowering and the texture made it quite hard to chew them up.

They did have a slight mind bending effect but we all felt ill and out of it for over 24 hours afterwards. I then read a story that a girl had died after eating half a whole nutmeg - but I'm not sure if that is true.

Even to this day 30 years later I steer clear of nutmegs although I appreciate that some masalas I use have a balanced amount of nutmeg in them.

PaulP.

Quote from: joshallen2k on December 16, 2009, 04:54 AM
I remember reading this post a few weeks back but didn't comment at the time.

Two points come to mind.

First, one of my big "a-ha" moments in curry cookery was the frying of the spices in oil (and depending on the curry, garlic, ginger and tom puree) for bit and then adding the base. On high heat, when that base hits the pan - you know you have a serious curry. Bunging in everything to cook together, I can't help but think it would detract from the chemical effect that goes on with the method I described above. I'm not doubting your findings at all, just making a point of what I've noticed (and never looked back upon).

Second, though, is the question of the BIR chef on the other site (which I've been to a small handful of times). I find the layout confusing (for someone inexperienced with the site I guess) and whenever I think I find something, it tells me I need to upgrade my membership (i.e. pay). That's another topic.. But anyway, I am curious to know if the BIR chef's input has enabled the members there to get any further ahead.

Any input?

-- Josh

Hi Josh,

I've been on holiday for a week so missed your question.

This recipe has converted a lot of experienced cooks on the "other forum" including CBM (Mick) himself and has been described as a eureka moment.

What is different here is that the scaled down 3 litre base recipe was devised by Taz himself and is not a badly scaled down version of a 60 litre base, which I think are prone to scaling down issues and accuracy.

I may ask CBM permission to publish the recipe here, as I wouldn't feel comfortable doing so otherwise.

The wife and I both agree that my Taz curries are exceeding my previous SnS 2008 curries but I think I'll try the CA recipes and base before doing another Taz base.

PaulP.

When I make a base they usually already contain the oil and a measured amount of water. I would say there is a lot more liquid in my bases than "enough water to cover the ingredients".

After blending I then reduce the water content to achieve the required volume.

One tip I use: If the recipe says this will produce x litres of base I put x litres of water into the stock pot first then measure the depth with a ruler. Then when doing the final reduction I use the ruler to see if I have reached the required volume.

I've never had your problem but suspect there is not enough liquid in the base when you are blending.

Nutmeg and Mace are perfectly safe to use in normal culinary use.

Nutmeg can act as a narcotic type drug if you eat enough but used as a spice this is not a problem with the quantities we are talking about.

PaulP.

Hi Mikka,

From what I've read you shouldn't eat bay leaves as they don't go very soft during cooking and the sharp leaf edges can hurt your mouth and gums or they can get stuck in your throat.

I think eating ground bay leaves wouldn't be a problem.

PaulP.

Jimmy2x - try this one from CA himself:

https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=1555.0

The good thing is that it doesn't use any pre-made Pataks or anything like that.
You may need a few extra ingredients for the tandoori masala - I know I did .

I found it just a little too garlicky for my tastes but that is easily adjusted.

Thanks for the post Spice-As-Nice.

It does make me think that some of the base recipes on here might be too complex - in my opinion the onions are probably the most important ingredient of a base towards creating a final tasty curry sauce.

Dirk,

It sounds like your hand blender is not working very well.

When I put mine in 3 litres of base it is very powerful and mixes as well as blends the pan contents. Like SS says in five mins it should all be done.

You do have to move the blender around the pot as well. Are you sure you're not getting stuff stuck to the bottom of the pot?

As others have said an upright jug blender will do the job fine - just messy and more washing up to do.

Any type of onion will eventually go soft. Maybe you aren't chopping the onions up enough or maybe you haven't cooked the base for long enough.

Hi Dirk,

I don't usually have this problem unless the base contains whole seeds like cumin or corriander. I use a 400 watt braun stick blender.

Don't run a hand blender for too long as they can overheat.

It is more work and mess but you can use an upright jug blender. The motors in these usually have a cooling fan.