Topic: New Base Sauce Recipe -

[lorrydoo]

I have now tried this curry cold (breakfast curry) and it is so good I cant believe it is so close to a GOOD quality BIR curry whilst being so simple to make.  I just hope I can recreate it when I make another batch but I should be able to given that I followed both recipes to the letter.  Like everyone else on here, I have searched for years to create a curry of this standard and this is by far the best one ever, would recommend to all.

[Cory Ander]

I have searched for years to create a curry of this standard and this is by far the best one ever

That's amazing LD! 

Whatever happened to that chicken taste you were so eagerly pursuing then?  For the past 10 years?   

[Cory Ander]

I've made 3 lots of this base this week and not had any bitterness, the only difference between the three batches was the heat (I made one hot, one medium and one very mild, all excellent

Hmmmm...I wonder what you might be doing differently to others then Domi?  Maybe it's the salt!  Do you add any to counteract the bitterness?  If so, how much?? 

[lorrydoo]

CA, this I feel is a stand alone good quality BIR type curry that is close to the real thing.  That said, it does still need tweaking for personal tastes.

In an earlier post I mentioned that chicken stock was needed and was in fact added to my final curry, along with a further adjustment of kerwa.  I also left the finely chopped onions out on the work surface for two hours, as a means of mellowing them and subsequently developing the natural sugars.  The final sauce was also vigorously simmered for two hours and boiling water was intermittently added to maintain the correct viscosity.   

[Domi]

Hi Cory

I haven't had any bitterness using this recipe luv I've only added the amount of salt that's required in the recipe. I was just saying that adding salt to onions is better for counteracting bitterness than sugar as the salt leeches the natural sugars from the onions and kills off the bitter taste (although if your onions are bitter because they're burnt, there's no saving 'em lol just start over). Sugar is usually used to counter sourness (something to do with the tastebuds lol).

I've made madras, bhunas and dopiazas with this base and they've all been fantastic, - just like 100% bir to me and all using the same recipes that I've used with the other bases, some which gave very good results but just lacked that sweetness for me, this base ticks all the flavour boxes for me

[lorrydoo]

Hi Dominatrix, I too find that this base is very good and its actually taken me by surprise at how close it is to a BIR.  One of the strange things I have found is that it produces subtle tastes that are normally attributed to other spices i.e cardamoms.   

The other bases I have tried have been good and I particularly liked ifindforu's base but this new base takes it up a level in my oppinion.  I could be talking a load of hot air and what I produced yesterday was just a fluke but I sincerely hope not.  The only thing missing is the chicken flavour and I added some rose water which gave it a nice exotic depth.

Admin did say this was a real Bradford base and if it isn't, then it is certainly doing a good impression of one, particularly if you tweak it to your personal tastes.

Lorrydoo.

[mike travis]

Hi guys,  Well Dom I gave this a go today based on your enthusiastic recommendation, and you wasn`t kidding! I really enjoyed cooking this.

   Started at 12.30pm getting ingredients prepaired and frying the onions. By 1.30 the blended puree was back in the pot. Can`t believe how quickly it started to darken. Left it cooking for an hour and a half, adding a little chicken stock now and then to keep the consistency and then added the spices. Cooked for another half an hour but didn't see any oil rising to the top.

             3 Large onions = 2 lb 1 3/4 oz
             1 pint of chicken stock.
   Cooked a basic curry tonight and was very impressed, might give that Bhuna a go with it. Now the pictures..............

   Picture 1 Puree in the pot...
 
   Picture 2 After 1 1/2 hours...

   Picture 3 The final base...

Thanks Boss it was Stewpendous! (get it. STEWpendous)..

[lorrydoo]

Good pictures mike.  If I were you I would leave the base simmer until the oil does appear and keep adding hot water to keep the viscosity right.  I found adding rose water helped with authenticity with the final Bhuna and I simply flash fried and then boiled the lamb in a little water without any spices. 

Lorrydoo.

[Yousef]

I am so pleased that you guys like the curry sauce recipe, its a real one adapted from a full recipe.
I find it smells like curry just after the blending of onions/garlic/ginger and tomatoes its got that sort of tangy curry smell and thats without even adding the spices.

I always thought simplicity was they key here.
For those that are experiencing bitterness or acid, make sure you cook the onions for 20 Min's in the pot until the are going brown, then blend.  The longer you cook them upfront the sweeter you final base.

Stew

[Richard W. Rinn]

Stew, I take it your recipe is based on using a hand held blender, thus not removing the stuff from the pot? I feel that because I transferred it from the pot to the jug blender, this was perhaps where my oil deficiency crept in (I think I rinsed the stock pot before putting the blended ingredients back in, and might have lost some in the blender).

R.