Topic: Who believes there is a secret ingredient to the curry base?

[JerryM]

Davy,

interesting theory. i'm afraid i'm not convinced.

pondering a bit more would do no harm though. the focus would need to be on us though not the "Indian" people (meaning Indian loosely, the cooks at my fav TA originating from Bangladesh) as the reason why we have BIR today is that the native dishes were adjusted to suit the brit pallet.

the sweetness is an interesting part as just adding sugar does not move towards the BIR taste - it's too sickly. at moment i've adapted the spice mix i us to add sugar the idea being that the sugar caramelises during the frying process. this has moved my cooking on i feel in the right sweetness direction but as you say we need everyone?s' input to get closer.

The smokeyness I?m convinced comes from the hot burners used and I see the Worcester sauce trick as a stop gap measure (I am looking at burners at present)

[Davy]

Hi Jerry,
In truth I would tend to agree. I managed to get bargain in a Blender with coffee grinder attachment this weekend so I decided to grind down some methi leaves. This led to a most interesting experience indeed. To explain, I am a mobile DJ and I had a party to do Saturday night. During the afternoon while I was grinding the spice I had been rubbing it between my thumb and fore finger to check on the smoothness of the blend. When I went out of the front door there it was , the BIR smell as large as life. I was looking around to see if I could locate the source of the smell, it was me ! When I arrived at the venue and got out of the van there it was again. I went inside and set up but could only smell faint whiffs of it. Later in the evening I had to go back out to the van and there it was again as large as life. Proof that fresh air intensifies the smell of this spice. When I made Annams base the Corriander stalks made a big difference to my base so I think I will try putting in about the same amount of unground methi leaves and stalks and see if that makes any odds. I don't think It will adversely effect any dishes as it is quite smooth spice anyway. I am going to try the Famed Darth base next time as it has most of Annams ingredients in and i do like his base!! Thanks for the update on the paste Annam!!

[JerryM]

Davy,

i am convinced a little methi in the dish is definitely a must (i add 1 tsp once the base has been added). decided to try and repeat the grinding but alas could not get the smell like u managed. all i can think is that u maybe did some other spice grinding and it sort of collectively built up. i did just the methi (4 tbsp or 60 ml).

also convinced on coriander in the base (i can't be bothered to take the leaves off so i use the lot - i don't cook & make base on same day so leaves don't tend to keep).

Darth's base has good reviews so would expect u will get good result. I've tried 3 since joining (rajver, saffron & ifindforu - used KD before). all 3 have been spot on with the rajver what i call a delux version. i think once a base has reached a threshold then they are all effectively good albeit they produce slightly different tasting curries. the rajver & ifindforu have coconut in which i like a lot.

[haldi]

This BIR aroma is a real killer isn't it?
I was cooking curry one afternoon, then went out for an hour or so
During this later time, I kept getting a waft of BIR
It was coming from my fingers too (just like Davy said)
And that was because I had been adding dried fenugreek leaves by hand
It's a really strong smell
I needed to assert some self control to stop sniffing my fingers
Finger sniffing is not a habit I want to get in to!
I've tried fenugreek in the base, but I thought it seemed to lose it's character
It didn't dominate the flavour, like I thought it would

[Davy]

I usually grind the spices and then put them through a sieve. Then return the rougher parts to the grinder as well. I find if you only half fill the coffee grinder it does a better job. It's funny how the spice smells stronger outside than I though. It must be so strong that it dulls the smell senses quite quickly. The  day I mentioned I only ground up the Methi and the grindee was brand new. My wife popped out to the shop while I was doing the grinding and all she could smell was methi inn her hair when she was out! That's what caused the smell alright! The resulting curry was excellent as well!! Haldi, sniffing your fingers is an unfortunate by product of the quest!!! I was sniffing the kitchen wall the other day when a found a bit of curry I had missed on cleanup LOL!!! I reckon it all linked in the same way as curry tasting better the next day. It's just that your smell senses have had a rest from it and you get a fresh whiff the next day! Jerry I freeze the corriander leaves and use the stalks they reuse fine after freezing. Just keep them whole and chop them before you use them, otherwise if you chop before freezing you get one big corriander ice block!   

[Domi]

I needed to assert some self control to stop sniffing my fingers
Finger sniffing is not a habit I want to get in to!

oh come on, Haldi, live a little! LOL ;D There are worse things you could be sniffing you know...believe me - I've tried! hehehe Mind you, I also have to say that as a woman, when I sniff things people tend to think I'm sensual....but when a bloke does it, he's a pervert! Double standards I know, but hey! it works in my favour so who am I to argue? ;D

Have to admit I'm partial to a larger dose of methi in my curries too although I haven't tried adding it to the base

[JerryM]

Davy,

thanks for thoughts on freezing the coriander leaves whole which will come in useful for me (i always have too much or not enough).

regards,

jerry

[Davy]

Hi All,
Why is it you always remember things while your offline? ! I just remembered reading somewhere that BIR's sometimes add a touch of Citric Acid to bases to preserve them for a bit longer. How this would effect the taste or not I don't know but maybe the something we are all thinking about that's missing? 

[Wish]

Hi all as ive said before,my local sells curry sauce.bought a chicken madras and a madras sauce.The madras sauce tasted the same as the sauce on the chicken.But the next day the cold madras sauce tasted just like mine tastes the next day.So then made a chicken madras with the sauce,the sauce tasted like one of my Curry's,it didn't have the taste.So have come to the conclusion that something is added at the end of cooking to give it the bir smell and taste.Just wish i new what it is.

[currytester]

I think you all have hit the nail on the head with the the methi. I only started adding it as an ingredient a few months ago but what a difference it makes to the taste of the final curry.
Up until recently using a balti recipe on this board I have included it at the frying stage of the final curry. The aroma instantly transforms into the curry house smell.
Purely by accident when carrying out the test for the "Vegetable Soup" curry base I forgot to add the methi at the frying stage - instead it was added to the patia I made when the chicken was added. The patia was the best I have ever made and I felt it had the true restaurant taste.
Next time I will add it at the frying stage and see if it makes a difference.