Following spottymaldoon?s prompt (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=200.msg26219#msg26219) I?ve carried out a few trials on spice/oil frying. The results were not obvious to me or as expected.

Photo 1   

had 2 attempts at this varying amount of oil. 1st was 1 tbsp fresh veg oil, 2nd was 3 tbsp oil both with 1 tsp paprika. Method add oil to hot pan, added spice and stirred (a few secs say 15), poured out into cold dish ? result not good - tasted burnt.

Photo 2

1 tbsp oil, 1 tsp DD?s spice mix, 1 tbsp tom puree. Added all to pan on high and stirred (pretty much like my normal method), poured out into cold dish ? result not bad but spice taste had not fully developed

Photo 3

1tbsp oil, 1 tsp DD?s spice mix, 3 or 4 tbsp of water (covered bottom of 9? frying pan). Added all to pan on high and stirred, poured out into cold dish ? result ok ? spice flavour good and fully developed, no burning


Photo 4

1 tbsp oil, 1 tsp DD?s spice mix, 3 tbsp watered down tom puree. Added all to pan on high and stirred/swirled pan, poured out into cold dish ? result very nice ? spice had fully developed and sweetness of tom puree was strong.

Photo 5 (will add photo later if needed, 4 photo limit to postings)

As photo 4 but using LB spice mix. The chilli present in the spice mix came through giving an extra lift.

Photo 6 (ditto)

As photo 5 but using reclaimed oil. Extra spice in the oil was clearly present and akin to that of BIR oil.

Observations

The dry spice mix burns very easily. The addition of water causes the spice to emulsify in the oil giving a far superior tasting result. The fresh oil does not reach the intensity of taste found in a BIR. Swirling the pan is effective at frying off the water but the spoon is still needed to stop any sticking. This is a good method for evaluating different spice mixes.

Conclusions

Watered down tom puree is a must c/w the paste on it?s own. The spice, oil and watered puree should be added to the pan together (it does not seem to matter if the pan is hot or cold). Combined swirling and stirring is a good way to cook the free water off. The frying of the fresh oil does not produce the BIR intensity.

In summary hot frying to produce the toffee/choking smell needs to start off with plenty of free water to allow the mixture to emulsify and fully develop the taste of the spices.

"A very hot dish, extensively prepared with fresh garlic and chillies in a lingering piquant sauce"

i've tasted this a few times now on restaurant visits and beginning to warm to it.

it's a tomato coloured sauce with losts of fried onion cut in strips. the green chillies are not visible but clearly producing a madras heat.

the whole thing is like a chicken madras curry sauce with slithers of garlic on top and the onion strips but with a completely different spice mix. the trouble is i can't describe it "the piquant sauce".

if anyone?s has/comes across it would appreciate any thoughts on how to get as close as poss.

Has anyone come across or tried using a "boiled onion paste" in making their base.

It refers to using pureed onions cooked in their own moisture without oil as opposed to chopped onions in water/oil to make the base sauce.

I see it as a sort of stage 1 base preparation before adding the veg, oil, water, spice etc.

I'm specifically interested in the difference between using blended onions before the cooking starts as opposed to the normal technique of just chopping them and blending after cooking.

i intend to continue CA's initiative of curry base development but to specifically explore the spice mix which gets closest to BIR base taste in terms of spice.

the current spec is a curry powder which produces a very good result (but not BIR).

i was trying to think of some alternatives and have not found it as easy as 1st thought.

consequently would much appreciate all thoughts.

options in mind include:

1) coriander,cumin,paprika,turmeric (ie saffron)
2) rajah curry powder
3) garam masala

in comparison to my curries (made from this site) i've noticed that BIR curry sauce differs as follows:

1) more oily
2) more onion
3) more tomatoey
4) very little in the way of discernable spice (even in the oil)

for 1 to 3 - i can experiment with. but no 4 is puzzling hence the plea for help.

have had a go at reclaiming oil and found it to involve a fair amount of effort and time.

i would appreciate all thoughts on how to do it better.

this is what i did:

a) quick simmer of the finished base stirring now and again
b) removed any scum that appeared in the 1st 1/2 hr (this seemed important as the scum otherwise gets in the way later during the oil reclaim)
c) when oil started to separate i pushed into the middle of the pan and scooped it off with a soup spoon. this was repeated many times as the oil progressively separated over a 2 hr period
d) left base to cool overnight
e) reheated next day reheating to quick simmer and continued with step c for 1 1/2 hrs (at which no further oil was separating)
f) added water progressively back to the base to counter that lost due to the quick simmer

observations/thoughts:

1) the separation of the oil was much faster on the next day
2) i'm not sure what effect stirring has on the separation
3) maybe i should have left all the oil in place until the simmer period was complete and then scooped off
4) maybe i should have only done the oil reclaim simmering the next day (ie 3.5 hrs the day after the original cooking)