I stayed overnight in Ellesmere Port last Wednesday so had to try the best Indian Restaurant I was recommended. I went to 'Holdi' in Little Sutton. Amongst many other dishes, I had the best Lamb Curry I've had in years!!  It wasn't on the menu so had no name because I asked for the best of the best the Chef can cook.  Ol boy!  Superb.....   I got pissed and bothered them so much they finally told me what sauce they'd used to create that flavour.   The answer was 'Sriracha Hot Chilli Sauce'.   Has anyone else cooked with this sauce??  What result did you get??

Like all my Curry cooking techniques, it needs to be quick and simple because it's not me that loves the end result, it's MY GUESTS!!!

STAGE 1. INGREDIENTS;

4  Kilo's Onions
1  Bell Pepper
1  Large Carrot
3  Sticks of Celery
2  Sticks of Leeks
1/2 of average size bunch of fresh Coriander
1/2 to 2/3rds Litre of Rapseed oil
Water.  Enough to cover the ingredients generously.

METHOD :  Roughly chop and boil these ingredients for maximum 1 hour or until the veg is good and soft (your call!).  Don't hold back on the heat but also don't let the bottom burn and DONT COOK THE LIFE OUT OF THEM!!

STAGE 2 INGREDIENTS;

2  Tins of CIRO Plumb Tomatoes
4  TBSP of Garlic & Ginger paste (very finely pasted)
4  TSP Turmeric powder (heaped)
3  TSP Coriander Powder (heaped)
3  TSP Cumin Powder (heaped)
2 1/2  TSP Deggie Mirch (heaped)
1  Hand sized Palm full of Table Salt
2  TSP of Boullion (heaped). (Vegetable seasoning)
1  very good sized squirt of Tomatoe Sauce
2  TSP Sugar (heaped)

METHOD : Add everything and bring back to a good boil for 15-30 minutes until oil comes to the top.  Remove and throw the oil if you wish, or save it to use as "Spiced Oil" to finish your final dishes, or just leave it in there as I often do and blend the whole lot together!
Taste and season if necessary.

Now blend with your hand blender, after which allow to cool a little more.  After which I always find it necessary to strain using a colender to remove the big pieces of Leek.

Now blend again with a very fine blender.  ie.  I use a NUTRi-bullet.

The very fine blending gives the sauce a very nice flavour,  just like if you mash your spuds very well, the taste changes for the better!

The Boullion gives the sauce a nice taste rather than just of 'boiled vegetables'!  After all, it's a week soupy like flavour we are after to achieve the perfect final dish!!

I find it best to store the Gravy while still quite thick to save on freezer space.

Good luck & I hope this helps some of you.

I was always confused so thinking other curry heads may also be confused, that when walking past an Indian Restuarant or takeaway in the afternoon, knowing that they are boiling away their onion gravy, the smell was fantastic BUT nothing like the smell of the base that I make or the same as their gravy. Then it dawned on me the smell from the extractor is the combination of all three aroma's : Base, GM & general cooking of curries that get caught in the exhaust. 
I posted this because for a long time now, I've been trying to achieve this smell in my base gravy.... Dumb I know but just in case any other cook is as dumb as me, this info may help!!!
Good luck

As I said above if I take a dish in to work and heat it, the boys are always asking how I get that restaurant smell and taste. I believe cooking my own curry has even diminished my

The smell we get when pasing by our favourite restaurants in the afternoon when they're most probably cooking their base gravy, may almost certainly NOT be the smell we THINK our base gravy SHOULD END UP SMELLING AND TASTING OF. !!!

REASON:  The extracting ducting from my kitchen to the garden is coated in "OLD OILS etc"'.

This gives out a combined smell of "The base gravy; Whole spices; Garam Masala and largely from general cooking of the restaurant/takeaway dishes" which is I've discovered is "THE BIR SMELL" which we all love and want to replicate?

Realising this, I proceeded with many experiments which I've got good results:

All you need to do to prove this is; cook your normal base gravy, smell the extractor exhaust outside.  IT WONT BE GOOD!  Then cook your normal curry. Again, smell the exhaust but it probably won't be quite right! Then in oil cook some Garam Masala whole spices; Ie. A little Cinammon, Cloves, Green Cardamon, Star Anise & Mace.   Then give it a day or two, turn the extractor on, pop outside and smell what comes out and I guarantee you'll be amazed !!!!!!!!!!!!

It's BIR...  Not only the smell is BIR but also the taste of your curries.

I'll report more when I have time

Cheers
Stupot