Topic: My base vs Restaurant Base

[jb]

Just out of curiousity, how does the Madras you cook with the takeaway base compare with the takeaway Madras?

Yes that's a good question, and what is your recipe for a madras?
Thanks

You know just about every recipe on here and indeed every video I've seen seems to have pretty much the same ingredients.Even when I had my evening in my local take-away kitchen the chef seemed to use the same old stuff.I usually follow CBM'S book if (like on Friday) I'm doing loads of different dishes.The only thing I add is a small piece of star anise,it seems to give it 'that' taste which I get round here.....BUT,the thing I did use in all of my dishes is spiced oil.Yes the stuff I always dismissed definitely gave my curries 'that' taste and 'that' smell.I've just had a sniff at the two madras dishes I cooked and they have a lovely BIR smell.

[jb]

A couple of questions jb:
The finished madras curries you said both had the taste and the smell but before you cooked the curries:

• how did the smell of the Spice base compare to your own?
• how did the taste of the Spice base compare to your own?
• Did the Spice base have the smell?
• Did your own base have the smell?

In looks they are virtually identical but for the oil content, and even then not visibly by much
Will be interested to hear your reply as "you can't cook it at home" comment has again come up just as "it hasn't got that BIR taste or smell" has.

Like I said the Restaurant base and mine tasted and smelt almost identical.No,they didn't have that smell when cold, although weirdly when both were heated they smelt more savoury and a bit mooerish,although still nothing remarkable,which I've always understand a base should be,a neutral vehicle that can be added to mild or hot dishes.Incidentally my base was cooked and frozen some time ago,so it shows that frozen bases do not loose their taste after defrosting.I cooked my base exactly as the chef did in the original video,albeit scaled down.All I can say is the curries I cooked at the weekend were the best I've done.It all seemed to come together,I had a nice new pan,used the Little India Base/Baba miah's spice mix but the most important thing which I've never done is made my own spiced oil.I litterally had to throw the plastic tubs the stuff was stored in,they just smelt of BIR CURRY.

[solarsplace]

Hi JB

Please can you post your recipe for spiced oil - I really would love to see it!

Many thanks

[Salvador Dhali]

Hi JB

Please can you post your recipe for spiced oil - I really would love to see it!

Many thanks

Me too!

While I'm a firm atheist when it comes to the worship of the spiced oil deity, I reserve this stance specifically for the crap that results from frying hundreds of onion bhajis, which seems to me to be merely an oil recycling / cost saving exercise practiced by some restaurants/TAs, and, from my findings, achieves little in terms of adding an extra layer of flavour.

However, there is no doubt that oil is the primary carrier of flavour in a BIR curry, and I often add a little extra at the beginning so I can skim off enough of the gorgeously scented, deep red oil to save for the next day's cooking. (Just half a chef's spoon. This allows me to skim off a full chef's spoon at the end, without taking too much out of the finished dish.)

To me, the oil you skim off from a curry is the ultimate in spiced oil. It is, after all, carrying all the spices and flavours from all the other ingredients that go into your curry. It also has 'that' smell - especially the next day, and indeed, beyond.

If there's a reliable way of making significant quantities of similarly flavoured oil without knocking up a HUGE curry I'd be well up for that.

[jb]

Hi JB

Please can you post your recipe for spiced oil - I really would love to see it!

Many thanks

Me too!

While I'm a firm atheist when it comes to the worship of the spiced oil deity, I reserve this stance specifically for the crap that results from frying hundreds of onion bhajis, which seems to me to be merely an oil recycling / cost saving exercise practiced by some restaurants/TAs, and, from my findings, achieves little in terms of adding an extra layer of flavour.

However, there is no doubt that oil is the primary carrier of flavour in a BIR curry, and I often add a little extra at the beginning so I can skim off enough of the gorgeously scented, deep red oil to save for the next day's cooking. (Just half a chef's spoon. This allows me to skim off a full chef's spoon at the end, without taking too much out of the finished dish.)

To me, the oil you skim off from a curry is the ultimate in spiced oil. It is, after all, carrying all the spices and flavours from all the other ingredients that go into your curry. It also has 'that' smell - especially the next day, and indeed, beyond.

If there's a reliable way of making significant quantities of similarly flavoured oil without knocking up a HUGE curry I'd be well up for that.

Well it's not really my recipe at all.All it is in fact is the residue oil(passed through a sieve) from the method of pre-cooked potatoes kindly posted by Ifind4u.....

THREEQUARTER CUP OF OIL
1 HEAPED TEASPOON OF PAANCH PHURAN
1 ONION CHOPPED FINE 
4 CLOVES OF CHOPPED GARLIC
2 DESERT SPOONS OF MIX POWDER
1 TEASPOON OF TURMARIC
4 CHEF SPOONS OF LIQUIDISED PLUM TOMATOES
SALT TO TASTE
AROUND 6-7 POTATOES CUT INTO QUARTERS
1 DESERT SPOON OF METHI

METHOD
PUT THE OIL IN A SAUSPAN,AND PUT IN THE GARLIC, FRY FOR ABOUT 3 MINS,NOW ADD THE ONIONS AND PAANCH PHURAN,METHI AND FRY FOR ANOTHER 5 MINS STIRING REGULARILY NOW ADD THE MIX POWDER,AND TURMARIC
AFTER 5 SECONDS ADD THE TOMATOES AND SALT. FRY FOR ABOUT 5 MINS STIRING. NOW ADD THE POTATOES
YOU NEED TO KEEP EXTRA CARE VTHEY DONT START FRYING SO KEEP STIRING  ADD A SMALL DROP OF WATER
IF NEEDED KNOCK OFF FROM TIME TO TIME LEAVING THEM COOK IN THEIR OWN HEAT DO THIS BY COVERING WITH
A PLATE REHEATING EVERY MAYBE  10 MINS BUT ALWAYS STIRING THEM UNTIL COOKED WE USE ABOUT 23 POTATOES IN THIS METHOD AT OUR T/A BUT WELL WORTH THE EFFORT.

I always add a bit more oil depending on how much you are going to need.All the curries I cooked at the weekend had this oil and they tasted fantastic.I actually made more oil in a pan by using a similar method but with no potatoes and more onion.I've still got some in the fridge,here it is....



The first time I made potatoes this way I realised that I had achieved that smell and taste that I had been after.I don't know if it's the panch poran but as soon I lift the lid on the oil tub it's there.Indeed I can smell it on my hands now,the sort of stuff you get from a take-away bag when a carton has leaked.I've never got the used bhaji oil theory,I think you have to cook so many to achive the desired effect but this one is a winner for me.

[harley]

Oil looks the business

Not every TA/BIR around my way has this orange stuff but a few and my fav one over the years has exactly like you say, this stuff leaking out of the carton. Stains your hand easily. I though it was some food dye.

With chewys base I get a yellowish staining but not hard to remove. I'm not sure I want to replicate the extra oil. One thing my family didn't like from the TA is the heavy chest feel afterwards. The curry was never swimming in oil, actually rather thick and rich but did ooze this orange looking stuff. Incidentally their base is rather orangey.

Must admit the extra cost and faffing about to make this also puts me off. How much do you get for the cost?

[Peripatetic Phil]

If there's a reliable way of making significant quantities of similarly flavoured oil without knocking up a HUGE curry I'd be well up for that.

There is : the method I use -- make lots and lots of small curries, all with excess oil, and skim it off each and every one of them

** Phil.

[Salvador Dhali]

Many thanks for that, JB.

I've only recently opened a new packet of panch poran, so I can see I'm going to have to put it to good use.

If there's a reliable way of making significant quantities of similarly flavoured oil without knocking up a HUGE curry I'd be well up for that.

There is : the method I use -- make lots and lots of small curries, all with excess oil, and skim it off each and every one of them

** Phil.

A big thumb-up to that, Phil, but I was thinking in terms of a litre or so at a time. You'd need to make a LOT of small curries to get that much. (Not that I'd be complaining too much...   ).

[solarsplace]

Hi JB

Many thanks for taking the time to reply regarding the spiced oil.

I am beginning to think there is actually considerable significance to the volume of base sauce preprepared by the restaurants compared to what we produce at home too - as per point number #1 in CA's thread over here (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=11190.msg84426#msg84426).

At the moment I base this way of thinking on the personal true belief, that I too feel that recently my curry's also, do have 'that' smell - often not as pronounced as I would like, but it is there on most occasions these days. Basically since using the Zaal base ( on a fairly inconvenient for the home cook to store per batch quantity - 3 to 4KG of onions per batch ) it produces quite a lot more than most recipes on this forum! It basically has all the ingredients of your posted spiced oil recipe apart from the panch poran in the base (with a fry stage such as your oil). However like yourself I use this method when making potatoes anyway so one has the aroma spectrum pretty well covered.

Anyway, going back to the initial point, I do personally think it quite likely that this oil carrier / aroma is amplified considerably as the quantity of base gravy scales - even though the ratios of ingredients probably are not deliberately altered...

Something very viable to consider anyway! - it does seem actually very reasonable that scale of base is a major factor. There are so many posts of people wanting to produce small versions of bases. The small versions often producing delicious curry - but... many still feel they miss the magic. Spot the first, most major difference! - scale... scale, scale...

Just need someone at home with a 60L pot and a big cooker! to try out the experiment for us

Cheers

[jb]

I had the remains of my madras sauce tonight,the one I cooked with my own base sauce,it's been lurking in my fridge for a couple of days.As soon as you open the door it hits you,true BIR smell.The taste is spot on as well,identical to most places round here.I don't know if the flavour has improved with time or if my sense of smell has returned after my Marathon curry-cook but it's fantastic.My brother had a taste and couldn't believe I had cooked it. I'm satisfied now. Another dish I can tick off.