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Curry Base Recipes => Curry Sauce, Curry Base , Curry Gravy Recipes, Secret Curry Base => Topic started by: Masala Mark on August 21, 2010, 07:07 AM

Title: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: Masala Mark on August 21, 2010, 07:07 AM
Hi Folks,

Well here is the last of the gravies. Dish recipes will be coming over the next couple of days. Hopefully you'll find them as exciting as I found it when waiting for jb's posts, and still looking forward to more of his with much anticipation!

One of the other chefs that I spoke to regarding lessons used 3 gravies as well, but from what I could gather he made a big base onion gravy and then created the 3 gravies from that. I'm still trying to get him to come around, to see another method in action.

Cheers and happy reading,
Mark

Onion Gravy

Ingredients:
- 0.5 cup Vegetable Oil
- 2 Indian Bay Leaves (broken into bits)
- 4 big Onions, (sorry no measurement on this one, minimum tennis ball size)
- 2 big Tomatoes (sorry no measurement on this one, roughly same size as onions)
- 1 tbsp Ginger/Garlic puree (50:50)
- 2 tbsp Salt level
- 1 tsp panch phoron ( cumin, mustard, kalonji, fennel, fenugreek seeds)
- 1 tbsp Coriander Powder
- 1 tbsp Cumin Powder
- 1 tbsp Garam Masala
- 1 tbsp Kasoori Methi
- 1 tbsp Kitchen King Masala ( or curry powder)
- 1 tbsp Deggi Mirch

Prep Work:
- Very finely chop the onions
- Very finely chop the tomatoes
- Ginger/Garlic puree is made 50/50 rough ratio with a little water to aid processing

Method:
1. Heat oil till just shimmering
2. Add the panch phoron, this should crackle a little, immediately add the bay leaves and stir
3. Add onions and mix well, then add the salt and cook until light golden brown
4. Add a little water to cool the pan ready for the spices
5. Add the powdered spices and fry for a min or so
6. Add the tomatoes and continue cooking till the tomatoes have mushed completely and the onion pieces are barely discernable. This took about 45mins, essentially all the water had to be cooked out and the oil separated, this was his indication of when done. It will be a very dark color once completed.

If it is sticking to the pan too much, add a little water to loosen off, this may happen later on in the process, remember to keep stirring from time to time.

Use:
- From this sauce, 2 1/2 heaped tablespoons of it would be used in a single serve curry
- Used in Madras, Vindaloo, Rogan Josh, Tikka Masala and non-veg Korma dishes (that was an interesting point of his)

Notes:
- Again, this was a very thick paste by the end of cooking. You could still see onion bits though, I questioned him about this and he said they disintegrate in the final dish preparation.
- It is always the same ratio of onions to tomatoes 2:1.
- Cooking to a thicker paste will store better in the fridge rather then the consistency used in the restaurant
- The Panch Phoron was his little addition to the restaurant he works in, he said others may just use cumin seeds. He told me the owners brother was doing the cooking for the first 6 months of this IR opening and apparently nearly bankrupted the owner as his dishes were so bad, he was then given a little leeway with the dishes to try and turn things around, the Panch Phoron was one of his little additions which has apparently been well received.
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: Ramirez on August 21, 2010, 07:30 AM
This is great stuff Mark. Really looking forward to the recipes that accompany these bases!
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: George on August 25, 2010, 11:19 AM
- 4 big Onions, (sorry no measurement on this one, minimum tennis ball size)
- 2 big Tomatoes (sorry no measurement on this one, roughly same size as onions)

This recipe looks good but I'd be hard pushed to find tomatoes the size of tennis balls here in the UK.

Would that be roughly 4 normal-sized tomatoes (equal one tennis ball volume), perhaps?
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: Masala Mark on August 25, 2010, 11:31 AM
- 4 big Onions, (sorry no measurement on this one, minimum tennis ball size)
- 2 big Tomatoes (sorry no measurement on this one, roughly same size as onions)

This recipe looks good but I'd be hard pushed to find tomatoes the size of tennis balls here in the UK.

Would that be roughly 4 normal-sized tomatoes (equal one tennis ball volume), perhaps?

Hi George,

Essentially you need one half the amount of tomatoes as onions, if it's 3 tomatoes to make up half the volume then that will do as well, hope you get what I mean.

We get pretty big tomatoes here by the sounds of it then!

Actually, we just had a season of extreme growth for our Oranges, they were so big they were pretty much un-saleable. Oranges were the size of grape fruit and weighed on average 1kg each!

He was pretty loose with his measurements, it was visual thing for him. For example the ginger/garlic puree that he uses is 50:50. He doesn't weigh it though, he put the two piles side by side and said that looks good, he asked me if I wanted to weigh it! I think he was taking the pi** out of me!

When you look at what's in this recipe, it's essentially the same as the base gravies except for the seeds and a whole lot less water which actually gets put back in when cooking the dishes.

Cheers,
Mark
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: George on August 25, 2010, 09:51 PM
Mark

Thank you again for these recipes. They appear to have great potential not least because I've tended to have better curries outside the UK. The only country worse, in  my limited experience, is the USA.  How do you rate Australian Indian restaurants in general?

My present ranking by region for the quality of curries is:

1.India
2. Middle East, e.g. Dubai
3. Far East, e.g. Singapore
4. UK
5. USA


Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: JivyJ on August 25, 2010, 10:23 PM
- 4 big Onions, (sorry no measurement on this one, minimum tennis ball size)
- 2 big Tomatoes (sorry no measurement on this one, roughly same size as onions)

This recipe looks good but I'd be hard pushed to find tomatoes the size of tennis balls here in the UK.

Would that be roughly 4 normal-sized tomatoes (equal one tennis ball volume), perhaps?

Beef tomatoes would qualify for that size and you can find them in any supermarket
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: Masala Mark on September 05, 2010, 06:56 AM
Here's a pic of the paste after unfreezing. Have used the pastes from frozen now to make about 8 curries, they handle the freeeze/unfreeze process very well, much better then base gravies seem to in my opinion.

(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/9781826cb26045899b2334a0b496736a.JPG) (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/#9781826cb26045899b2334a0b496736a.JPG)
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: Curryswede on January 26, 2011, 05:20 PM
Hi, I'm cooking this right now. Are you sure it's 2 tablespoons salt? I'm tasting it and it seems way too salty.
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: Peripatetic Phil on January 26, 2011, 05:27 PM
Hi, I'm cooking this right now. Are you sure it's 2 tablespoons salt? I'm tasting it and it seems way too salty.

I don't know where to find the recipes to go with this onion gravy, but two things strike me as relevant :

1) The salt content seems to be in proportion to the spice content
2) Only "2 1/2 heaped tablespoons of it would be used in a single serve curry", so I wonder whether further dilution takes place at that point ? 

** Phil.
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: Curryswede on January 26, 2011, 06:22 PM
I ended up having to throw everything out. I tried the madras recipe and it was totally inedible. To anyone making this, I would say use 2 teaspoons salt and add more to taste if necessary.
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: Peripatetic Phil on January 26, 2011, 06:33 PM
That's a shame.  I notice at the end of the Madras recipe he does say "- There is quite a bit of salt in the Base Gravies so very little is added, adjust to your taste though." but can I just confirm that you also included these (which would help to reduce the perceived effect of the salt)

- 2.5 Tbsp Nut Gravy http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=4921.0 (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=4921.0)
- 2 Tbsp Coconut Milk Powder
- 125-250ml Water

and also whether you "add[ed] more water if needed." ?

** Phil.
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: PaulP on January 26, 2011, 06:36 PM
By my reckoning that is about 36 grams of salt (6 teaspoons).

If you aimed for a max of 3 grams per portion then does the finished item look like it would do 12 portions? If not then I would say there is too much salt.

Paul
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: Peripatetic Phil on January 26, 2011, 06:52 PM
If you aimed for a max of 3 grams per portion then does the finished item look like it would do 12 portions? If not then I would say there is too much salt.
Just checked my own norms, since I never normally weigh salt, and on weighing I see that I would add between six and 12 grams of salt to a curry for two; there is relatively little salt in my base (KD1), but I would definitely add more salt to my own meal while I was eating it if I had added only the lower bound (3gm/portion).
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: PaulP on January 26, 2011, 08:30 PM
Hi Phil, I guess I'm lucky that my taste buds (at 50 yo) are still pretty salt sensitive.
Anything above a few grams in a meal tastes really bad to me.

I'm not trying to lecture though, I've got plenty of bad habits I need to kick.  ;)

Damn shame about all that preparation for Curryswede, though.

Cheers,

Paul
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: Masala Mark on January 26, 2011, 10:58 PM
Hi CurrySwede,

Sorry that this didn't turn out for you.

The tablespoons should have been level, not heaped, I just went and measured it out in terms of 5ml teaspoons, and 1 level tablespoon is 3x5ml tsp, so all up it is 30ml salt for the recipe.

Now, the other thing is the size of the onions, we didn't weigh them here, but they were very large, and I would be guessing was approx 1kg of onion.

The resultant paste when cooked down made enough for about 15 portions of curries, so 30ml divided by 15 is 2ml which is about 0.5 tsp salt per curry. As no further salt is used in any of the recipes then it should be ok, and should be further diluted with the other ingredients. In comparison to other bases and recipes that level of salt is similar.

I've used the pastes for the last 4 months and haven't had any problems with them in regards to saltiness for everything from Beef Madras, to Paneer Tikka Masala and many others.

Unfortunately it appears the visual that I know having watched it might not have come through correctly in the explanation of the recipe details.

Again, I'm sorry it didn't work out for you.
Mark
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: Curryswede on January 26, 2011, 11:15 PM
Thank you for the reply. I did of course use level spoons but I used only about 700g of onions in my preparation, which could explain some of the salt overload, but I still think the result would have been a bit too salty for my taste. I do like the technique used in these recipes though and I think I will try experimenting variants in the future. I've always felt most bases had way too few spices in them in the past. Thank you for posting.
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: Masala Mark on January 26, 2011, 11:22 PM
Cs,

No worries, I'll try doing a video of it, or some step by step pictures next time so as to make it much clearer.

Cheers,
Mark

I just went and weighed some of onions downstairs that were about the same as what used and they came to just over 850gm, I thought they might have been up to a kg, but a bit short of that.

I'll also weigh the ingredients in the next batch as well to make it clearer.
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: Curryswede on January 30, 2011, 07:18 PM
I made a new batch using 2 teaspoons salt, 800g onions 500g tomatoes and some alterations to the spices ratio and I was extremely pleased with the result! This will probably become my go-to recipe for base now.
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: Masala Mark on January 31, 2011, 09:09 AM
Hi Cs,

Glad to hear of your retry and results, one thing I have found with the pastes is that they freeze real well, and unfreeze real well and quick due to the little water content in them.

What did you do for your spice variation, would be interested to try it in the next batch that I make.

Regards,
Mark
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: Curryswede on February 21, 2011, 11:18 PM
I unfroze the last bags I had in the freezer a couple of days ago and made probably the best curry I've ever made, just adding some chopped onions and red peppers along with some tandoori masala and Kushi spice mix. You are definitely right about the freezing/unfreezing, it's great. The texture you get with this base is perfect imo.

I'm not sure I remember exactly what I did with the spices for my batch, I know I added at least 1 extra tablespoon of ginger/garlic paste to start with but I think it was halving the cumin and garam masala and added about a tablespoon of Kushi spice mix and maybe a pinch of methi seed powder instead of using the kasoori methi. I might also have dialed back slightly on the chili powder since I'm not a huge fan of super hot curries, and I prefer to have a milder base that I can adjust with chili powder when cooking the dishes. I do sort of wish I had written down what I did because the hotness was just right with what I did. Do you find the 1 tablespoon chili powder to be on the hot side or not? The amount of hotness I'm aiming for is the hotness of a regular plain curry, not a madras or above. I love this base and I will stick to this for all eternity. :D
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: Curryswede on February 22, 2011, 01:10 PM
Btw, I noticed the ginger/garlic is omitted from the cooking instructions.
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: 976bar on February 22, 2011, 01:24 PM
Hi Folks,

- Again, this was a very thick paste by the end of cooking. You could still see onion bits though, I questioned him about this and he said they disintegrate in the final dish preparation.

I don't mean to put a dampner on this recipe, but I have been cooking in general for over 30 years now and I have never known onions to disintegrate in anything.
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: PaulP on February 22, 2011, 03:05 PM
Hi Masala Mark,

Did you ever post a recipe for the "Mixed Powder" on this forum? This is referred to in the beef madras recipe you posted.

That would be really useful. It is interesting the lack of turmeric in the spice list for this onion gravy as well.

Thanks,

Paul
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: caze on February 23, 2011, 06:06 PM
I don't mean to put a dampner on this recipe, but I have been cooking in general for over 30 years now and I have never known onions to disintegrate in anything.
The recipe calls for very finely chopped onions, and onions will most certainly disintigrate if finely chopped. I usually cook my curries in the traditional slow cooked method (no base sauces, etc.), starting with very finely chopped onions (we're talking a couple mm cube), and the resulting sauce is of a good thick texture (doesn't need other thickening agents like yoghurt, etc.) and you'll not find any bits of onion.
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: PaulP on February 23, 2011, 07:36 PM
Hi caze (welcome to cr0),

What do you use to finely chop onions? I'm hoping you don't say you use a knife to get onions down to 2mm cubes  ;)

Paul
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: caze on February 23, 2011, 09:52 PM
Hi caze (welcome to cr0),

What do you use to finely chop onions? I'm hoping you don't say you use a knife to get onions down to 2mm cubes  ;)

Paul
haha, I do actually! It's easy enough with a bit of practice, and a very sharp chef's knife or chinese cleaver (I use the latter).

You can get a similar result texture-wise if you just blend the raw onions and fry them, but that releases too much water so they won't caramelize when you fry them, so it doesn't taste as nice.
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: Masala Mark on February 24, 2011, 12:14 AM
Hi All,

Sorry for not replying earlier, I shall have to learn how to use the Notify option so that I am aware when people are posting.

976bar, onions will disintegrate into nothingness, depends upon how, and how long they are cooked though.

I have been working part time in an Indian Restaurant for the past 3 months and no gravy is ever blended, all comes down to the cooking process.

The curries are silky smooth, taste amazing and so very simple.

I have made a batch or two at home and it is completely reproducible, and the smell while cooking is incredible, so very different to the boil process which I had used before.

The process used is similar to this recipe, but it cooks for a lot longer, approx 3 hours to make a gravy using 10kg of onion, but well worth it and a better recipe as well. At home using a smaller amount of onions, surprisingly it takes only a little less in time, perhaps due to my inferior cooking medium(electric).

Chopping very fine, just do with a knife, I have also tried slicing fine as per the restaurant and that works just as well, so don't stress over it.

Now back to the original recipe and the questions.

* The ginger and garlic should be added after the onions turn golden brown, and cooked for 2 mins/until the raw smell has gone.

* Checked the spice list, there is no turmeric in the spicing

* Salt, halve the amount in the posted recipe. When it was cooked here it was 2 lvl tablespoons, but as cs found it too salty, I don't want anyone else to waste time/money, salt can always be added later

* Mix Powder - the chef used equal amounts of cumin, coriander, garam masala, turmeric, paprika, and kitchen king masala as his.

* Another thing to be careful of is the spices burning, it will turn things bitter so be careful

I can't post the recipe for the restaurant where I am working, although what I could do is use this recipe and do it the way the restaurant I am working in does it. I have no doubt that it would produce a superior result.

I'll either video it, or take timestamped photos so you can see how done if anyone is interested.

Cheers,
Mark

Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: Peripatetic Phil on February 24, 2011, 12:17 AM
I'll either video it, or take timestamped photos so you can see how done if anyone is interested.
Of course we're interested, Mark : video/photograph and post away, please !
** Phil.
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: Curryswede on February 24, 2011, 12:26 PM
A note on the disintegration of the onions etc, the pic on the first page of the finished paste has huge(well relatively) onion bits in it. If you just finely chop (4-5mm squares or so) normally then you will get a smooth creamy sauce without those bits. The only hint of chunkiness I've had in my batches were from the tomatoes, which are a bit harder to finely chop. I like the fact that I don't have to bust out my hand blender for this recipe.

Mark, I'm not sure what your no turmeric in the recipe is in reply to, if it was to me then I didn't say anything about turmeric, so I'm a bit puzzled..
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: PaulP on February 24, 2011, 04:53 PM
Thanks for the replies. It was me Curryswede that asked about the absence of turmeric. I just wanted a confirmation it wasn't missed out.

Caze, I know what you mean about trying to fry pureed onions - it doesn't seem to work too well. I'll have to find a means of fine chopping the onions without losing my fingertips!

One last question, the recipes mean that you would be trying to brown quite a few onions at once. What size and type of pans are you using?

I'm really quite interested in giving these recipes a shot as I feel I could do with a change from my normal cooking.

Cheers,

Paul

Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: Masala Mark on February 24, 2011, 09:33 PM
Hi Paul,

For the new recipe/process that I use, it is 1.5 kg of onions cut in half and sliced fine.

They go into a 26cm stock pot with a half cup oil and a couple of whole spices and cook away with the lid on for about 1.5 - 2 hours. They take up a fair volume at first but reduce right down to about an inch or so after the cooking.

For the posted/original version, I used the largest saucepan that normally comes in one of the 4 pan sets.

I'll hopefully head to the markets and grab some onions to do a batch this weekend and take pics along the way, of the cooking that is, not the trip to the markets. ;)

Cheers,
Mark
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: caze on February 24, 2011, 11:25 PM
Caze, I know what you mean about trying to fry pureed onions - it doesn't seem to work too well. I'll have to find a means of fine chopping the onions without losing my fingertips!
here's how to do it:
How to chop onion (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Eyc4AAF1zo#)
(though the horizontal cut isn't necesarry because an onion is layered horizontally as it is.)

cutting into very thin half-rings will probably work just as well though, when I cook my carameized onions as a side for a steak (I just add a pinch of cumin and salt (maybe chilli powder), no extra sugar needed, then stir-fry at high heat and slowly turn down over about 20 mins), I end up with a jam-like sludge, so I'm sure it would work similar in this recipe.

I just cooked my first curry using a base sauce in over a year, quite pleased with the results, as good as an average takeaway, but not as good as my usual traditional curry or a good quality resteraunt. Next thing is trying to get the mix of the two styles right, the morishness of the takeaway with the added depth of flavour you get when you go the traditional route. Think I'll try this onion paste first next week, I've not tried super-caramelised onions with a curry before and it sounds like a good idea to me.
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: Masala Mark on February 24, 2011, 11:59 PM
Hi,

Here is a youtube link (first of a series) which is similar to how we do it in the restaurant, we take it quite a bit darker though before the ginger/garlic stage so that onion is almost a paste taking a good 2 hours or so, and the lid is kept on whilst cooking the onions which could have been done in this prep as well as we don't see the initial part of the cooking.

Curry sauce base 1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMZ_Wl6UR-U#)

You can tell when it is time for the ginger and garlic to be added as the onions are dark, very very dark, not burnt at all though, and the oil has separated. It's usually given a stir every 15mins or so especially at the later stage to prevent sticking on the bottom of the pan.

Hope this helps some, the process even the use of the tomato paste is the same. One major difference though is that we don't blend the gravy due to using whole spices with the cooking onions, and we add some water when tomato paste is added in. Not a lot of water though, it is still a thick concentrated gravy ready for use in various dishes.

Cheers,
Mark
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: PaulP on February 25, 2011, 09:19 PM
There's no way I'll be chopping up onions like that - not without a chain-mail butchers glove on my left hand  :) I'm just too clumsy. I was thinking of slicing my onions with a mandoline slicer so should be able to get the thickness (or thinness) pretty uniform.

Hopefully I'll get around to trying 2 of these bases pretty soon.

Thanks again Masala Mark - keep posting any new info won't you?

Cheers,

Paul
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: Curryswede on February 25, 2011, 09:28 PM
Masala Mark: Question about the Kitchen King Masala, I've never tried it. Is it any particular brand?

PaulP: I used a 3 liter cast iron pot which worked really well, just make sure you keep the heat at medium/medium low to avoid burning and sticking to the bottom. The smaller diameter you use the longer it will take and you need to stir better. Try to use a thick bottom pan for best results.

caze: If you try the recipe I would strongly suggest not using over 2 tsp salt if you are using around 800g onions. Mark says go with 1 tablespoon but that would be too much salt when using 800g onions as I did imho. You also need to take into account if any of the masalas you add have salt in them or not.
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: PaulP on February 27, 2011, 03:19 PM
Hi CS, regarding the Kitchen King see this search result:

http://www.spicesofindia.co.uk/cgi-bin/ss000001.pl?SS=kitchen+king&ACTION=Go&PR=-1&TB=A&SHOP= (http://www.spicesofindia.co.uk/cgi-bin/ss000001.pl?SS=kitchen+king&ACTION=Go&PR=-1&TB=A&SHOP=)

I bought the Everest brand as it was recommended elsewhere.

Paul
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: caze on March 01, 2011, 05:53 AM
If you try the recipe I would strongly suggest not using over 2 tsp salt if you are using around 800g onions. Mark says go with 1 tablespoon but that would be too much salt when using 800g onions as I did imho. You also need to take into account if any of the masalas you add have salt in them or not.
yeah, I pretty much always disregard salt quantities in recipes. salt should be primarily added to any dish at the end of cooking, after you've had a chance to taste it (you can't take it back out!). I only went with 2 tsp for my last base which had 1kg of onions.
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: the chod on April 22, 2011, 01:11 PM
I watched a chef yesterday cook a vindaloo (the best i have ever tasted,yes the best and favourite)
In the technique ,the things that STOOD out for  me, compared to the general standard way, was;
 
Adding a knob of butter.

And initialy at the beginning, adding about half chef spoon of ,what i can describe as ,an onion mixture (which when quizzed,) suggested it had garlic ,ginger and spices .
that i am investigating now.

It wasnt quite a paste ,as i could still see that there were chopped onions in it,the colour had a kind of tumeric /tomato colour to it .

also to make it clear these were in ADDITION to the usual ingredients, ie. curry base,chilli powder,coriander, tomato paste and lemon juice.

may sound like a daft question ,but,is this post about something like what im describing?
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: Curryswede on May 28, 2011, 05:35 PM
the chod: That sounds like pre-cooked onions which a lot of restaurants use. It should be a bit similar to this recipe, but have bigger chunks of onion, and perhaps not cooked as long.
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: the chod on May 28, 2011, 06:10 PM
Thanks.....
Hmmm getting hungry all over again
Title: Re: Aussie IR Lesson - Gravy 3 - Onion Gravy
Post by: livo on September 09, 2014, 12:27 AM
I can't see where anybody else has picked up on this, but the method makes no mention of where or when to add the listed Ginger / Garlic puree.

I added it at the same point as the other 2 gravy recipes which is at the end of cooking down the onions and before adding the powders. 

Is this correct?

I made 1/2 quantity and it cooked down to approximately 160 g or 5 Heaped Tbsps which is enough for 2 single serve dishes so with this one I'll be cooking full quantity as provided in the OP.

It looks as though this will keep pretty well being cooked down and having the salt content.

Any idea how long this can be kept in the fridge?