Topic: Syed base gravy

[Secret Santa]

Should all BIR chefs have to demonstrate competence in the use of Excel before being allowed to practice ?!

Well it certainly wouldn't harm if they are incapable of calculating simple proportions would it? Also I haven't looked at the full base quantities yet and I'm wondering if the spice quantities for the Youtube version have been increased in accordance with livo's principle of inverse proportions?

[livo]

There is no significant variation in the ratios of potato or carrot to onion in the video compared to the information in the comments. 1 - 1.2 kg of onions scaled up to 15 - 20 kg. 1 - 2 medium potatoes up to 5 - 6 large and 2 - 3 medium carrots up to 8 - 10 large is easily within the same ratios, and as he says,  "it doesn't make much difference".  From memory in the video he places the importance of including carrot as being for colour.

Spicing is not mentioned but I'd be going with close to linear scaling as it's Base Gravy.  Base Gravy can be scaled up or down contrary to claims it can't, (possibly with the exception of red chilli powder depending upon which type is being used. I'm not sure about the Kasuri Methi either.  Non-linear scaling of strong spices isn't my principle. It is something I've learnt from well-informed and experienced sources, as well as my own personal experiences in bulk cooking.)  You'd have to ask Syed what he does.

It is cooked when there is no frothing on the surface.  Oil separation may not be far off and I'd say there is nothing preventing anybody from doing the extra if they wish, be it necessary or not.

He also says in the comments that other chefs add other vegetables which are optional.  You can't ask for more than that and for what it's worth, I think the person asking (MrCurry) is milking for all he can get.

[livo]

A detailed analysis for the FOAM members, including myself.  (These are my observations but feel free to make any comments as to where you think I may have slipped up.) 
Note:  Extreme accuracy is not required.

In order of ingredients, excluding the water.

1. Cooking oil. 1/2 cup (120 ml).
2. Garlic and Ginger Paste. 2 rounded TBSP (possibly 3 level TBSP).
3. Onions. Syed has used 7 - 8 average sized onions, each chopped up into what appears to be around 8 pieces (ie; quartered and halved again going by the shape of each chunk). By comparison to the size of his little red beach bucket (I have a microwave container close to the same size) and the number of onions I had in a 1 kg net / bag (7), I estimate that he is using approximately 1 kg of onions. 1.2 kg would not hurt in any way.
4. Potato. Syed has used 2 medium potatoes and in the bowl I estimate there to be 16 pieces at around 1 oz or 30 g per piece.  This is 1 lb or 480 g of potato.
5. Carrot. Syed has used 2 medium carrots and there is less in the bowl (same size) than the potato, slightly more than half. I estimate 24 - 30 pieces at around 10 g - 15 g per piece so I'd say there is 250 g - 300 g of chopped carrot.
6. Coriander.  I estimate there to be 20 - 30 @ 2" lengths of cut stalks with leaf.  This is from looking at the lengths both in the little bowl and counting the freeze frame when about half is visible on the left hand side of the pot when first added and stirred.
7. Salt. 2 tsp is listed but you can just glimpse the 1st spoon and it is well rounded / heaped, so there is probably 3 - 4 level tsp.
8. Tomato Puree. We call concentrate Tomato Paste and what he uses is still concentrate.  Syed adds 2 well heaped TBSP so there is possibly 4 - 5 level TBSP added.
9. Butter ghee. The ghee added is room temperature and only slightly over 1 level TBSP.
10. Butter. 1 rounded TBSP and in the comments Syed comments that he thinks the Clover is spreadable butter blend.  I'm not familiar with the product brand.  Butter or blend wont matter and he says that it and the ghee is optional according to taste.
11. Mixed curry powder.  2 heaped TBSP.
12. Red Chilli Powder.  We don't actually see this added but as he says 1 tsp and his usual is to use rounded / heaped we can assume the same for the chilli powder.
13. Kasuri Methi.  Syed says 1 TBSP and it is pretty close to being a level TBSP in this instance.

This list of ingredients is exactly double what I actually used to make a half batch with 600 g of onion and it was fine. Really good in fact.

Now the missing ingredient????  Single cream.  The video is titled Creamy Base Gravy and in the detailed replies to the questions on bulk batch cooking Syed mentions the step of adding single cream.  This is missing from the video.  I have asked if it is significant and if so, how much to use?

I am about to start on a "micro" quantity using a single onion @ 200 g chopped, a very small potato @ 80 g (actually 2/3 of the smallest one I have) and 1/3 of a medium carrot at 50 g.  It will be approximately 1/6 full size so all other ingredients will be scaled directly to 1/6 of the quantities listed above.

Edit:
PS: Syed has just answered that he did add Single Cream in the video but lost the clip.  2/3 of a chef spoon.  I found the Base Gravy worked really well without it but I will add a small amount to my micro batch.
 

[livo]

Micro cook of Syed's Base Gravy.  Yield 900 ml cooked in a 6" SS pot.  Enough for probably 4 single serve dishes of 3 to share after further dilution as Base Gravy and then reduction in the dish cooking.  If you are going to use the Makhani Gravy or Korma Gravy as well it will go even further.

I cooked this for 30 minutes after it stopped frothing, at which point Syed says it is ready.  There was some scum surfacing, no clean oil separation but the surface did start to glisten.

[Peripatetic Phil]

Sigh.  I had a wonderful pot of Syed's base sitting on the stove.  Yesterday evening, as I do every few days, I turned on its plate at 20% and left it to come up to temperature, for sterilisation purposes.  Then I went to bed ...

** Phil.

[livo]

While cooking dinner, I put this back on the burner on low flame for the best part of an hour and still no oil separation.  It has glistening oil on the surface but really there is only 20 ml of oil in it and a lot of vegetable matter.  It may look a bit different tomorrow after a night in the fridge.  Nevertheless it is a success and proves to me (in my own mind) that Base Gravy can be scaled down to whatever size you like.  This small pot will easily feed 1 or 2 people for a week of curries if needed. No freezer room required.

Is it exactly the same as a big batch? I don't know, but it doesn't matter to me. I'm over cooking huge batches of Base Gravy and having to freeze it all and this works.  I have asked Syed about linear scaling of spices to up size to commercial quantity.

Answered.

[livo]

Sigh.  I had a wonderful pot of Syed's base sitting on the stove.  Yesterday evening, as I do every few days, I turned on its plate at 20% and left it to come up to temperature, for sterilisation purposes.  Then I went to bed ...

** Phil.

Mmmmm. That's something you wouldn't want to do too often. How's your casserole dish looking?

[Peripatetic Phil]

Mmmmm. That's something you wouldn't want to do too often. How's your casserole dish looking?

Roughly like "I need to go and measure my casserole dish (?32cm?) and then find out how much a Chasseur casserole dish of the same size will cost me today ...".

And now I know the answer, I need to find somewhere quiet to go to lie down and die.

[Donald Brasco]

Micro cook of Syed's Base Gravy.  Yield 900 ml cooked in a 6" SS pot.  Enough for probably 4 single serve dishes of 3 to share after further dilution as Base Gravy and then reduction in the dish cooking.  If you are going to use the Makhani Gravy or Korma Gravy as well it will go even further.

I cooked this for 30 minutes after it stopped frothing, at which point Syed says it is ready.  There was some scum surfacing, no clean oil separation but the surface did start to glisten.

Nice!  How much cream was added and how much difference did it make?

[Secret Santa]

I am about to start on a "micro" quantity using a single onion @ 200 g chopped, a very small potato @ 80 g (actually 2/3 of the smallest one I have) and 1/3 of a medium carrot at 50 g.  It will be approximately 1/6 full size so all other ingredients will be scaled directly to 1/6 of the quantities listed above.

So what's your full recipe for a micro-Syed base?