Topic: New Base Gravy from visit to Saffron

[JerryM]

have now cooked with the moorish saffron base using the reclaimed oil.

best curry i've ever made (made my std madras and Admin's Jalfrezi).

i'm not looking to improve the base or technique further - it's as close to BIR taste and appearance as i'm going to get in a domestic kitchen.

i'm going to do a repeat tonight but pretty sure this was no fluke

 ;D ;D ;D

[joshallen2k]

Jerry, I'm about ready to replenish my base, and your results look and sound great.

Could you summarize the specific changes you made to the revised Saffron recipe? What was added, where, extra steps, extra oil, etc.

I would really appreciate it!

-- Josh

[JerryM]

i believe the change equally applies to all bases.

in terms of changes very little:

1) 3tsp of salt (as per the spec recipe - only used 1 tsp in the past)
2) 600ml oil (spec calls for 500ml, i got 450ml back as reclaim)
3) 7 cardamon (removed before puree - i then added them back)
4) at the point that i would normally stop cooking i continued for a further 2 hrs
5) the next day i cooked for a further 1 1/2 hrs

the purpose of 2,4 & 5 were to produce reclaimed oil for the cooking stage. the posts on oil reclaim - well worth a look (indebted to curryqueen)

http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,602.0.html
http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,735.0.html
http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,782.20.html
http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=190.msg1069#msg1069

i need to work on the technique for reclaiming the oil easier (took a lot of effort) - but when the reclaim oil hits the frying pan u know exactly where u are

[JerryM]

pic of chicken madras using moorish saffron base and reclaim oil

[SnS]

1) 3tsp of salt (as per the spec recipe - only used 1 tsp in the past)

Just an obervation that you may wish to clarify Jerry.

The actual Saffron recipe uses 1 tbsp salt (15 ml) which is actually 3 x tsp (3 x 5ml)
... unless of course you mean 3 x tbsp (45 ml), which is a lot of salt 

or do you mean that you now use 3 tsp of salt as per spec recipe (only used 1 tsp in the past)?

Regards
SnS

[joshallen2k]

Jerry - that Madras looks the business. How does it compare to previous efforts (using the regular saffron recipe)?

Regarding the oil, did you reclaim it all at the end (i.e. after the 1.5 hours cooking on day two)?

Will try this on the weekend.

-- Josh

[JerryM]

i used 3 off 5ml spoons of salt which is what the recipe calls for. i had used 1 off 5ml in the past.

when making ivangough's AIR it called for (and i used) 4 english ie 5 ml spoons of salt - i found this made a difference but the 4th tsp too much in 4.5l of base - hence have settled on 3 tsp.

in terms of difference compared to previous efforts - startling. just the smell of the reclaim oil hitting the pan says it all for me.

i am going to add a new post on the reclaim to gain help. i got back 450ml out of the 600ml put in. it was hard work doing the reclaim and i feel there must be an easier way - hence the new post.

[mickdabass]

Just to let you know guys Id like to think I am a bit of an authority on potatoes - I grow sell about 3000 Tonnes per year!!! I also supply many Asians around Birmingham, and I can tell you that the potato of choice is a red potato called Romano - especially the small ones or mids as we call them.The reason they prefer them is because they don't start disintergrating when they are boiled for a long time. I personally cant see that the variety is critical, but they all seem to insist on red potatoes!

[JerryM]

Mickdabass,

i will look out for the Romano.

i'm from near brum and i don't feel potato side dishes to be in any real demand. i can only therefore assume these red pots are going into the curry bases (and probably why they are so good IMHO  ;D).

the disintegrating bit is surprising as this suggests they are removed prior to blending which for me would be like defeating the object.

i must admit i was really taken aback when i bought salad pots (white) - the taste difference was quite something. Although I?ve made the base since with normal pots I still feel a niggle that the better pots are worth it.

[matt3333]

Hi mickdabass
I use red desiree potatoes in my veggie side dishes for the reasons you mention.
I suspect the preference for the variety is for side dishes rather than in a base sauce.
Matt