Topic: Interesting Development!

[Razor]

Ok, so one or two of you may recall me making reference to me toying with the idea of a base "paste"?

Now, I'm not going to post a recipe here at the moment because it is still a work in progress but I thought I'd share with you my progress so far.

Just to give a background.  The idea came from having a bit of a row with the much better half.  She was livid that I had filled up the whole bottom compartment of the freezer with my base sauce (just made the 14 litre version) and to use the very articulate words of Shaun Ryder I "kettled er swede" or, done her head in, for those not familiar with Mancunian slang, lol.

Now, as much as I love making curries, I've got to admit, I don't always enjoy making all the precooked stuff, especially the base   It proper pecks mi yed in(more Manc slang).  The storing of it alone, can be a nightmare!  So, I thought of the idea of creating a base, that is so concentrated in flavour, I could get away with using very little of it, and increase the liquid volume at dish stage by simply adding water.

So, this weekend gone, I made a very loose version of Panpots Ashoka bunjarra, not quite sticking to the quantities as such but mostly followed the method.  At the end, I took out the cinnamon stick and bay leaf, and gave it a good blitzing in the food processor (not part of the original method).

Giving the bunjarra a little taste, I thought 'wow, that's quite strong!'  Very oniony, as you would expect, very savoury, quite sweet and a wonderful after taste, infact, every element that I look for in a BIR curry!

Tonight, I thought I would give this bunjarra a bit of a "prototype" status, and try it out as a starting point for my experiment.  I made my standard Chicken Jal Frezi, using precooked peppers and onions.  At the stage whereby I usually add the first 100ml of my base, I added 1 heaped chef's spoon of the bunjarra (4 tbsp) and 100ml of hot water.  I gave this a good stir to mix the paste and water, and then proceeded with the next 100ml followed by the last 100ml of water.  I cooked this off until I had my desired consistency.

I can, hand on heart, tell you, that it was wonderful, really really surprised how well it turned out.  My only gripe, not enough salt easily sorted though.

This has confirmed to me that, I can create a paste, that will give me the exact same result as using my base with the added bonus of not gettin it in the neck of Mrs Razor for robbin all the freezer space. ;D

Phase 2 will be, cooking my next batch of base using absolutely no water whatsoever but slowly frying everything until soft, then blitzing.  I will keep all the other ingredients exactly the same but I will not apply the "two pan" technique as I know for sure that It won't be necessary.

Hopefully, I will post back at the weekend with a full recipe including step by step pictures, as done in my original base recipe.

Any hints, tips or advice at this stage, would be truly welcomed.

Ray

[solarsplace]

Hi Razor

TBH, I think you have only come up with this new idea to 'skive off' finishing the group onion bhaji tests 

Jesting aside, your new project sounds fantastic to say the least! - please keep us posted. Have you got any pictures of your efforts so far?

Cheers

SP

[Razor]

Hi SP,

Hi Razor

TBH, I think you have only come up with this new idea to 'skive off' finishing the group onion bhaji tests 

Hahaha, the thought did cross my mind too lol ;D

Jesting aside, your new project sounds fantastic to say the least! - please keep us posted. Have you got any pictures of your efforts so far?

Unfortunately not, the young un, has had the batteries out of my camera for his Xbox
but in all honesty, there's very little to show in terms of a visual difference.  It looks the part and tastes the part.

One thing that I would say, the house smells very good indeed.  Even nicer than when I cook my standard curries?  which can only be good, I think lol.

Ray

[Domi]

originally by Razor....or Bez as he was formerly known, before he did a runner

robbin all the freezer space.

typical Manc.....tek the teeth out yer 'ead if they could : ;D

Keep us posted, Bezzer....I find your base hard to beat at the mo so if you can top it, please do lol

[Razor]

Hi Domi

typical Manc.....tek the teeth out yer 'ead if they could : ;D

Talkin of teef, have you seen Shaun Ryders new railings? top one or wot? haha

I find your base hard to beat at the mo so if you can top it, please do lol

I'd just be chuffed if I could equal it to be honest.  My thinking behind it is, It should reduce the cooking time dramatically, it will certainly save on freezer space and it may just make it that bit more savoury as it is all fried and not boiled.

Ray

[moonster]

well pleased for you ray.

is this just for space saving or are you also trying to create a better base?

sounds like you are well pleased with your first try mate. ;D

I know you like to perfect your methods before releasing them.

but if you ever want a second opinion as always i will give it a try.

Al ;D

[Razor]

Hi Al,

I'm not really trying to create a better base as such but maybe the benefits of using a concentrated paste could improve the overall flavour?

It is purely a space saving exercise without compromising on taste.

I'm guessing that, those plastic takeaway tubs will hold about 3-4 chef's spoons of this paste, so if you make my "10 litre" base version, you would only need 3 of these tubs in your fridge/freezer.  Massive space saving.

I've got to admit, I have really high hopes for this paste, just got to get the frying right using all my standard ingredients.

As for giving it a go Al, be my guest.  All I'm going to do, is use everything that I usually do, except water but slowly fry, instead of boil.  It's the method that is crucial here I think, not the ingredients.

Ray

[moonster]

Ray,

I must admit its a great idea what you are doing.

To be honest your base doesnt see out the week at my home ;D so space saving is not an issue for me at the mo.

please keep us all updated though as i am very interested how this works out for you.

Al ;D

[TasteTester]

It's really funny that you posted this because when I used your recipe last week, I didn't use all the water. I used less than half of what you called for. That's how thick they made it the Indian restaurants I worked for. Also, I needed to store it ... I was just going to your recipe board (Oh, I can't think of the word) - THREAD - to tell you.

[Peripatetic Phil]

This sounds a great idea, Ray, and I look forward to hearing of further developments, but one thing slightly worries me : when you write

using absolutely no water whatsoever but slowly frying everything until soft, then blitzing

are you confident that this will be successful ?  When I have tried this, I have found it necessary to add liquid to a Kenwood goblet liquidiser in order for it to be able to do its job : in the absence of additional water (or stock), things just rise up the goblet and don't get liquidised ...

** Phil.