Curry Recipes Online
Curry Base Recipes => Curry Sauce, Curry Base , Curry Gravy Recipes, Secret Curry Base => Topic started by: chewytikka on January 19, 2011, 09:51 PM
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Pressure Cooker Gharabi
A quick no nonsense method of preparing BIR curry base at home.
I use a 4 litre pressure cooker and I usually make 3 litres of finished base.
To start with, prepare the veg -
1.5kg Good Onions
1 medium carrot,
1 medium green capsicum
white cabbage (frozen will do nicely) same volume as carrot.
3 inch bunch of fresh coriander/storks.
Put the pressure cooker on medium heat, add 100ml of veg oil, add 2tbsp of ginger garlic paste,
quickly stir fry and cook out (1minute)
Add all the veg, the pan should be just over three quarter full and 90% Onion.
Pour on 500ml or 2 mugs of boiling water and 1tbsp of salt.
Clamp the lid on and turn the heat up high, until the pressure peaks.
Once under pressure, turn the heat down and time it for 20 minutes.
Switch off, transfer to sink and run the cold water on the cooker for a minute
then tip the valve to let the pressure escape.
open and stir in 1tsp of Haldi and stick blend smooth.
(At this stage I pass the gharabi through a food mill/sieve, old school) - optional
Put a clean curry pot on medium heat, add 100ml of veg oil, add 2tsp of ginger garlic paste.
Stir fry and cook out. (30 seconds)
Add 2 heaped tsps of mixed powder and a 100ml of tomato paste mixed with water and
quickly stir fry and cook out (1minute)
Now transfer the gharabi to the curry pot, add two cups of boiling water, mix well
and bring it back to the boil.
'important' leave on a high simmer, a froth will start to appear.
skim the froth off and discard, this will occur three or four times in 10 minutes
You will know when the gharabi is ready, when the froth stops and the oil separates
and starts (as if by magic) rising to the surface.
That's it', a lightly spiced onion water "Gharabi" ready to add to your main event.
If you follow this method as close as you can, you should get good results.
BTW I did a pictoral Madras "how to" in .pdf, for a friend, can anyone tell me how
I can post it here on cR0? as it might be of interest.
cheers Chewy
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BTW I did a pictorial Madras "how to" in .pdf, for a friend, can anyone tell me how
I can post it here on cR0? as it might be of interest.
If you can e-mail it to me, Chewy (PM for e-mail address), I can put it on a dedicated web server and send you the URL, and you can then link it from a message on CR0.
** Phil.
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Chewy, I noticed in one of your other posts you mentioned using a tea ball to infuse whole spices into the base but don't see a reference to this in this recipe or your 3 hour base. Just wondering whether you might sometimes use whole spices in this recipe and if so which?
Also I must say having taken the plunge and sieved my last batch of curry base (inspired by your method) I'm really loving the smooth texture of the curries I'm producing with this batch of base. As you mention in your 3hr base video, it's a lot of work but nay mind! IMHO it's certainly worth doing and the quality of the resulting base justifies the effort.
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Chewy, I noticed in one of your other posts you mentioned using a tea ball to infuse whole spices into the base but don't see a reference to this in this recipe or your 3 hour base. Just wondering whether you might sometimes use whole spices in this recipe and if so which?
Also I must say having taken the plunge and sieved my last batch of curry base (inspired by your method) I'm really loving the smooth texture of the curries I'm producing with this batch of base. As you mention in your 3hr base video, it's a lot of work but nay mind! IMHO it's certainly worth doing and the quality of the resulting base justifies the effort.
My spice ball got crushed (ouch) just use an odd sock now - Kidding. :D
If I want a base with added Bengali flavours, just like spiced water at Az's.
I Just wrap the whole spices in a muslin cloth and put it in the pot with the
veg on the first boil, fish out and discard before I blend.
I also add a Chicken Quarter sometimes, which gives it an added extra. ;)
This is my usual Bouquet Garni
2. Tej Patta Leaves
1. Finger length stick of Cassia Bark
5. Green Cardamoms
5. Cloves
2. Black Cardamoms
1. Star Anise
cheers Chewy
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Thanks chewy. I just received from a seller on amazon a "tea ball" (spice ball) which despite the keen price seems to be good quality with no appreciable gap between the halves when closed. It's this one:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0039KZJWM/ref=sc_pgp__m_A2K9V3T3A3U4K8_1?ie=UTF8&m=A2K9V3T3A3U4K8&n=&s=&v=glance (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0039KZJWM/ref=sc_pgp__m_A2K9V3T3A3U4K8_1?ie=UTF8&m=A2K9V3T3A3U4K8&n=&s=&v=glance)
I see they have a listing for qty 2 for only 69p more which might have been a good idea to cover myself against ball crushing accidents (ouch indeed)! Since realising the importance of the cook, blend, fry, cook again sequence which your base sauce recipes highlight I've had some excellent results with my latest batch of base which was more or less a combination of your method and the spiced water technique from Zaal. Some slight ingredient differences too based on what I had to hand but it's yielding me my best ever curries so I'm very happy. Next time I think I'll try the spice ball out in the initial boiling stage.
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Hi natterjack if you are in the U.K then try any Pound shops and the 99p shops just got 2 spice balls for .. yeah you guessed it 99p.
Also got the little stainless steel pots (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/54da93a85ef3bba256e6e239d6eac554.jpg) (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/#54da93a85ef3bba256e6e239d6eac554.jpg)
The two small pots at the top,on the left 2 and a half inches diameter- 1 GBP for 8
The other pot is 2 and a quarter diameter and 1 and a half inches high- 1 GBP for 8
Bottom Left 4 inches diameter- 1 GBP for 4
Bottom middle is a dish 3 and one quarter inches in diameter- 1 GBP for 6
Bottom right 3 and three quarter inches in diameter- 1 GBP for 4
These are great for dips, chutneys, bombay mix, pickles and even rice.
They help me a lot when i have friends over on darts night etc...
Everybody has their own little dip, chutney etc in a pot.
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Good find Uf. Will be visiting my pound shops at the earliest opportunity. Great for assembling ingredients and for chutneys, pickles etc :D
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I made this recipe tonight. I've sieved it as recommended and after watering it down, the consistency appears to be identical to that of little india's base gravy video from CBM so I'm happy with it.
As I was unsure the spice ball would hold with the pressure, I opted for a separate yakhni stock, using a variation of the whole garam masala that chewy shared above (i.e 1 black card and 3 cloves only) and then strain the water through a sieve and I used that water for (1) watering down a 140g can of tom puree and to do the base. The proof is in the pudding... I'll report later... :)
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I had a quick taste and noticed the base was quite salty. We can always control the amount of salt in the
final dish, but just wanted to confirm if this correct as it took me by surprise and the final dish has a bit more salt than should, though by a small amount I believe.
Made a tikka jalfrezi which I am taking to work for lunch tomorrow. Had a few brief tasters of the sauce and a piece of tikka in the sauce and it's hard to stop from going at it. :)
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Hi natterjack if you are in the U.K then try any Pound shops and the 99p shops just got 2 spice balls for .. yeah you guessed it 99p.
Also got the little stainless steel pots (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/54da93a85ef3bba256e6e239d6eac554.jpg) (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/#54da93a85ef3bba256e6e239d6eac554.jpg)
The two small pots at the top,on the left 2 and a half inches diameter- 1 GBP for 8
The other pot is 2 and a quarter diameter and 1 and a half inches high- 1 GBP for 8
Bottom Left 4 inches diameter- 1 GBP for 4
Bottom middle is a dish 3 and one quarter inches in diameter- 1 GBP for 6
Bottom right 3 and three quarter inches in diameter- 1 GBP for 4
These are great for dips, chutneys, bombay mix, pickles and even rice.
They help me a lot when i have friends over on darts night etc...
Everybody has their own little dip, chutney etc in a pot.
I'm looking for pots such as these. Which poundshop exactly can you get them from ? Thanks in advance.
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I was highly apprehensive about this base yesterday. I thought I may have added too much yakhni water, as the smell of tej patta/cassia was coming through a lot. I made a tikka jalfrezi and left it cooling overnight. Unlike yesterday, I didn't feel salt needed adjustment today (on the final dish, anyway) and just as I pull the container out of the microwaves, I got a fantastic spicing smell highly reminiscent of the curries from my reference TA in Cambridge (Meghna "exotic bangladeshi food" ::)) and the kind that I've always found missing in all other bases that I cooked at home. The smell of tej/cassia was not as intense either. I am absolutely stunned, I think the trick may be to play with the amount of akhni and the actual spices. Look forward to try the highly acclaimed madras with this base sauce, as it's already a staple recipe with every other base :)
Jalfrezi cooked with this base.
(http://i.imgur.com/eg8fZbzl.jpg)
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...and just as I pull the container out of the microwaves, I got a fantastic spicing smell highly reminiscent of the curries from my reference TA in Cambridge (Meghna "exotic bangladeshi food" ::)) and the kind that I've always found missing in all other bases that I cooked at home.
I find that too goncalo. Often when I open the microwave up after reheating, or as it wafts towards me during heating, I get a far more BIR like aroma than I ever do from a fresh cooked, or reheated in a pan, curry.
Now I dare say a lot has to do with not having your senses blasted beforehand, as when cooking fresh, but there must be some other magic going on that the microwave makes happen. Food for thought!
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Now I dare say a lot has to do with not having your senses blasted beforehand, as when cooking fresh, but there must be some other magic going on that the microwave makes happen. Food for thought!
I think you've hit the nail on the head in that statement. I can't smell much when I'm cooking but if my wife comes in from outside she says the house smells like an Indian Take-Away.
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Will be making the chewy base next, although I've got at least 9 portions of CA base to use up. At about 2.45297 curries a week it might be a while ;(
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I agree SS. I also noticed this in the last curry I brought to work a couple of weeks ago. Every time I bring curry for lunch, the lads at work compliment me on the smell and remark it as excellent, today they've asked me when would I make a curry party but I digress.
In any case, I made myself a bhuna today (the picture in my ipad came out rubbish) and although not as good and aromatic as my lunch (for probably the reasons SS mentions above) it was by far my best bhunao'd curry. The base seems to have a je ne sais quoi that I never got with the others and I attribute it to the yakhni stock... I'm quite happy with this base.
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goncalo - it looks awesome
best, Rich
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I do my base in a pressure cooker too. Very similar to this one. However last time I used frozen onions. Three 750 gram bags from Farm Foods ?1 each or three for ?2. I actually think it came out better!
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made this to spec - disappointed - defo a regional thing I think, will stick to the Glasgow base in the future
cheers anyways