Curry Recipes Online
Curry Base Recipes => Curry Base Chat => Topic started by: emin-j on November 01, 2011, 06:28 PM
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Hi all ,
I made my usual Saffron Base on Saturday but wanted some extra kick of some sort and decided to use the Bhaji Oil from my mini fryer as an experiment to see if this made any difference to the flavour, I only use this mini fryer for cooking Bhaji's so 400ml went into the Base mixture also one extra bulb of Garlic plus my Spice Ball filled with Green Cardamom pods,Cloves,Cassia Bark,and Asian Bay Leaves.
I finished the Base and proceeded to make our usual Chicken Madras Curry's plus Bombay Aloo,Rice, etc.
I did expect a full flavour to our Curry's but to be honest it didn't taste any different to my usual Madras without all the extra ingredients :o although very nice and as good as most of the local T/A it didn't have that really savoury flavour and the Aroma wasn't, what I expected either.However, I had some Curry left over and thought I would take it to work on Monday for lunch, so popped it in the Microwave for a few minutes and there it was ! That wonderfull BIR Aroma filling the canteen and many comments from my workmates like ' what T/A did you get that from smells bloody lovely ' ;D
And the taste , 100% BIR and as good as any Curry I've had anywhere !
This flavour must have come from the Curry having time to ' Mature ' and the Spices pass all their flavour into the Curry so do the better T/A's make their Base ' in advance' and leave to increase it's flavour which then results in those really nice Curry's that become our favourite T/A's ? and at busy periods perhaps they haven't time to give their Base ' Standing Time' which then results in disappointing Curry's :-\
This is only a theory of mine but that Curry was excellent.
I can't say to what amount the Oil and whole Spices played in the flavour but the flavour wasn't there when I first cooked the Curry's. ;)
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I have had so many experiences, like this
I have created an ordinairy curry, which I froze
Then I thawed it out, a week or so later,and it was a masterpiece
And I thought "how on earth did I do that?"
The flavours definitely develop, and aren't obvious at the time
It's not because of overexposure to cooking spices
This new flavour, really wasn't there, at the time of cooking
A part of it, is fresh coriander, sprinkled on warm curry
I suppose it cooks a little longer, in the carton, too
The rest is................ I really don't know
But I still reckon you need a savoury oil in the base
I had a madras curry, cooked in front of me, at a takeaway
The chef let me taste it before the carton was sealed
It was really dissapointing (but I didn't say)
I ate the curry, about four hours later ,and it had totally changed
It was brilliant
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Thanks' for the reply Haldi, I freeze Base in T/A containers the Day after making it and possibly the freezing puts a stop to the change in flavour of the Base, my next experiment will be to keep some base in the Fridge for a couple of Days before I make my Curry and see what the outcome is,if it turns out anything like the Curry above I'll be well happy :D
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Hi emin-j try making your base as usual (with vegetable oil) then make your chicken madras using the oil from your deep fat fryer, giving time for the oil (bhaji oil that is) to reach a nice temp'. I generally use half the amount of oil if using "spiced oil" or "bhaji oil" when making a curry.
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How bizarre
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spiced oil...79p from Aldi
http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=6154.0 (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=6154.0)
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I believe Spiced Oil should make a difference to the flavour of a Curry and I have used it before in the Base and in the finished Curry but it seems it's this ' standing time ' that really brings out that BIR flavour and aroma.Could the ' Holy Grail ' really be down to the Maturing of the Base ? We seem to have tried everything else !
I think Haldi's post above say's it all :)
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i've used a base that was a week old (from the fridge). didn't make my curry taste any better tho :(
next on the list is spiced oil..79p from Aldi (I have shares in Aldi)
also,I find if i make a curry on the Friday and eat it both Friday and Sunday it definitely tastes far better on the Sunday.
Same happens when I buy one from local TA. I always leave it for a day to "mature"
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Could the ' Holy Grail ' really be down to the Maturing of the Base ? We seem to have tried everything else !
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I'm sure the secrets in the base somewhere!!!
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Ok guys this is my opinion - and it works for me and its the way i make curries - and i have NEVER posted this anywhere - my SECRET!!!!
I cook a base - then let it stand all day - reheat the base to boiling before bed - next morning reheat to boiling again - let it stand to go cold - my base goes through this sometimes for 3 days definitely 2 days - then i cook curries or freeze the base. My curries are not watery and somewhere this week a comment was posted on my picture how the sauce is like velvet over the chicken - this is why!
Of course everyone makes their base there own way and its up to them - and no i don't hold with the nonsense of having the base on the side for 3 days and im going to get food poisoning - i am healthy never had ill effects from any curry - unlike the rubbish you can eat at a takeaway.
like i say i have been making curries this way for years and will keep doing so.
plus i always put a spoonful of cinnamon in the base - important!!!! Don't ask how much is a spoonful its usually half a chefs spoon because of the amount of base
Best, Rich
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"plus my Spice Ball filled with Green Cardamom pods,Cloves,Cassia Bark,and Asian Bay Leaves"
I do like the idea of a few whole spices in a base sauce,not many recipes on the site use these.I do but I don't have a spice ball so it's a bit of a pain fishing them out at the end!! I presume this idea came from the Authentic Balti Curry Book?
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I cook a base - then let it stand all day - reheat the base to boiling before bed - next morning reheat to boiling again - let it stand to go cold - my base goes through this sometimes for 3 days definitely 2 days - then i cook curries or freeze the base. My curries are not watery and somewhere this week a comment was posted on my picture how the sauce is like velvet over the chicken - this is why!
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Best, Rich
Interesting - over the last 2 months I have combined 2 base reciepes from here (+ hard spices in a spice ball) - which by nature end up at least taking 2 days to finish. I'm still working on it but once finished I'll post it here, but yes heating - cooling - reboiling - simmering - coooling seems to enhance the base and although I can only get the oil to release in the early stage on day 2 (still working on that) I'm sure you have something with this theory
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Loveitspicy i do mine nearly the same way, i cook my base as desired in recipe(when recipe tells you to cook for a certain amount of time) but turn the heat down to lowest possible for an extra hour (with lid on) then turn off heat and leave (as you do) all the next day, but i dont heat it up again (when i have left the base and came back to it the next day there is always a nice redish oil on top of the base),then the following day when i am ready to freeze the base i heat the base up again on a low heat, once it has come up to boiling i ladle into pots still hot and place lid on and leave in my curry room, once cooled down thoroughly i freeze.
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Loveitspicy i do mine nearly the same way, i cook my base as desired in recipe(when recipe tells you to cook for a certain amount of time) but turn the heat down to lowest possible for an extra hour (with lid on) then turn off heat and leave (as you do) all the next day, but i dont heat it up again (when i have left the base and came back to it the next day there is always a nice redish oil on top of the base),then the following day when i am ready to freeze the base i heat the base up again on a low heat, once it has come up to boiling i ladle into pots still hot and place lid on and leave in my curry room, once cooled down thoroughly i freeze.
Its the ONLY way to make a great curry! all the flavours are through as you know - there is simply no way that i would make a base and then make a curry out of it - there aint no flavour in the base at all - its just an onion type gravy but left and reheated a couple of times the flavours shine through
best, Rich
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Loveitspicy i do mine nearly the same way, i cook my base as desired in recipe(when recipe tells you to cook for a certain amount of time) but turn the heat down to lowest possible for an extra hour (with lid on) then turn off heat and leave (as you do) all the next day, but i dont heat it up again (when i have left the base and came back to it the next day there is always a nice redish oil on top of the base),then the following day when i am ready to freeze the base i heat the base up again on a low heat, once it has come up to boiling i ladle into pots still hot and place lid on and leave in my curry room, once cooled down thoroughly i freeze.
Its the ONLY way to make a great curry! all the flavours are through as you know - there is simply no way that i would make a base and then make a curry out of it - there aint no flavour in the base at all - its just an onion type gravy but left and reheated a couple of times the flavours shine through
best, Rich
Perhaps at last were getting somewhere :)
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This looks like an idea with real promise! I, too, freeze my base gravy and yes...it does give better results when used later. It's going to be really interesting to try the cook, cool, re-heat, cool etc method. Also interesting to hear the explanation of the 'head chef's night off' syndroma that we've all experienced before. Thanks for sharing the secret.
al
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If you look at Marinating,the longer you leave it Marinating the better the flavour as it gives the Spices time to 'infuse' right into the Meat or whatever your Marinating,I think it's probably the same principle problem is Freezing might stop this process. :-\
I am going to move my Base from the Freezer to the Fridge tonight for Saturday's Curry then Saturday AM put on the worktop so to get to room temperature for a few hours,certainly going to experiment in various ways.
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THE TWO HOUR RULE
I was reading this thread with some interest yesterday and since things were quiet at work I did some searching for advice on leaving cooked food at room temperature.
It seems that there is a 2 hour rule whereby you don't leave cooked food at room temperature for more than 2 hours before refrigerating or freezing. After this time the amount of bacterial growth just increases rapidly. Apparently cooked vegetables (i.e. base sauce) are a real magnet for bacteria. The situation would be even worse if you used meat stock in your base.
Now I know (in advance - hello Phil ;)) that many of you will have survived such episodes with no harm but that may not be true for everybody that you plan to feed. I found a thread on Chowhound where people were discussing this subject and certainly a few people got sick from leaving cooked food out all night. Usually it is an accident and has happened to me, like making a 4 portion chilli and forgetting to put the half leftovers in the fridge before bed. I binned the food the next day, much to my annoyance, and I didn't know about the 2 hour rule then.
Ignore this advice if you wish but it is the official line on food safety.
Stay safe folks! :)
Cheers,
Paul
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THE TWO HOUR RULE
I was reading this thread with some interest yesterday and since things were quiet at work I did some searching for advice on leaving cooked food at room temperature.
It seems that there is a 2 hour rule whereby you don't leave cooked food at room temperature for more than 2 hours before refrigerating or freezing. After this time the amount of bacterial growth just increases rapidly. Apparently cooked vegetables (i.e. base sauce) are a real magnet for bacteria. The situation would be even worse if you used meat stock in your base.
Now I know (in advance - hello Phil ;)) that many of you will have survived such episodes with no harm but that may not be true for everybody that you plan to feed. I found a thread on Chowhound where people were discussing this subject and certainly a few people got sick from leaving cooked food out all night. Usually it is an accident and has happened to me, like making a 4 portion chilli and forgetting to put the half leftovers in the fridge before bed. I binned the food the next day, much to my annoyance, and I didn't know about the 2 hour rule then.
Ignore this advice if you wish but it is the official line on food safety.
Stay safe folks! :)
Cheers,
Paul
You are right in what you are saying but here's the posing question???????
How many TA's and restaurants have you looked in the kitchen to find the pan of sauce on the stove - being regularly topped up or warmed up - not everyone make a fresh base everyday no matter how busy the place is
best, Rich
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Thanks' PaulP,will move from freezer to fridge and not so long at room temperature then ;)
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If you look at Marinating,the longer you leave it Marinating the better the flavour as it gives the Spices time to 'infuse' right into the Meat or whatever your Marinating,I think it's probably the same principle problem is Freezing might stop this process. :-\
When i make chicken tikka to use for a latter day i make the marinade and mix with raw chicken then freeze it all together in a food bag, while the chicken is freezing its still marinating and when its being defrosted it gets another marinate.
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Hi UF,
I've heard this theory before, and if I'm not mistaken, I think it was CA that pointed it out? I've never actually tried it out but it does make sense.
Ray :)
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I use this method for when we go camping so that when we arrive, set tent and other stuff the chicken has now defrosted so BBQ can now commence.
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Yeah, I do this all of the time too, works a treat.
I just add it directly into the curry with no precooking and always end up with tender juicy chicken tikka
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Nice one, i never knew this would work, i'll put this away with Jerry's freezing yoghurt.
Thanks :)