Topic: CBM Little India Base Gravy

[Curry Barking Mad]

Brilliant work and thank you again!
 I've been reading Julian's new E-book, (as many of us have) where the emphasis is on how little water you really  need to cook the onions properly.
Also the use of any spiced oil.?.? -again, as we can see in the video above,these things just aren't happening.
@Curry Barking Mad,i take it you've eaten at  Little India,what's the food like?
It certainly looks the business
Once again,thanks for all your videos and Keep'em coming. ;D

Thanks everyone for your comments.

The knowledge that Julian has learned and passed on is not new to some. I have seen the method and use of bhaji oil before mostly as a way of adding the flavour and not wasting the oil.
I know that works for me when I use the same method, however, a lot of places have moved on. Whether some think that is a good thing is open to debate.
Many more places don't use the old-spiced-bhaji oil (call it what you prefer) these days. I agree that a good base does not need it. You can make a great curry without it.
This restaurant's food is some of the best I have ever had.
Cheers,
Mick

[Curry Barking Mad]

Fantastic Mick,some great footage.I may be wrong but I think that's the first time I've actually seen a complete video of a genuine BIR chef making a gravy that's actually going to be used in a restaurant,nothing hidden or any secrets that's how he does it,brilliant.

No spiced oil so I assume he can achieve 'that' taste without it.The spiced water creeps in again,looking a lot like Az's water he used at the Zaal lesson.

He boiled the onions/carrots quite vigorously with quite a bit of water.This is completely different to the method that Julian from c2go swears by,in fact he says 'that' taste can only be achieved by slowly simmering the onions with very litle water.I just can't see how restaurant chefs could do this,the pot would take forever to heat up to boiling point.

Well done Mick keep 'em coming.

Thanks JB,

Unless someone can prove otherwise I think you may be correct.

The chef did say that the use of bhaji oil was the old way and was quite dismissive of it. He said "old oil, no good"
The use of spice water (Akhni water) has been around a long time. He felt some chefs try to cut corners and were lazy.
Different chefs will always have different ways I suppose.
Cheers,
Mick

[haldi]

This is completely different to the method that Julian from c2go swears by,in fact he says 'that' taste can only be achieved by slowly simmering the onions with very litle water

I just don't know what to think
There's lots of water in this base
Clearly he is mistaken
This base is only two hours cooking as well

I've seen base made lots of times too
Julian actually made me doubt what I saw

[Curry Barking Mad]

For those who haven't seen it
this is Little India Restaurant.
Cheers,
Mick

Little India

[ELW]

Another good video Mick, this really should settle the base argument. Surely no one is going to argue with a restaurant video  I'm still not sure what bhagaring  the gravy brings yet, some methods fry GG/tomato &  spices, some tomato only. I can't tell the difference whether it adds anything worthwhile or not. Whats bhagar supposed to do to a gravy exactly?

regards
ELW

[Curry Barking Mad]

Another good video Mick, this really should settle the base argument. Surely no one is going to argue with a restaurant video  I'm still not sure what bhagaring  the gravy brings yet, some methods fry GG/tomato &  spices, some tomato only. I can't tell the difference whether it adds anything worthwhile or not. Whats bhagar supposed to do to a gravy exactly?

regards
ELW

I don't know that any arguments will be settled by this.  but this is just how this very experienced chef does it.
I tasted the fried/boiled spices, tomato. The resultant liquid was quite sweet. The oil which of course had coloured well was very sweet.
Mick

[ELW]

I don't know that any arguments will be settled by this

Just that the base ingredients were added & cooked just like at home. C2g book may have some people concentrating their time & energy on the boiling of a bag of onions. The blended tomatoes, looked much thinner than the consistency I normally have. Is that usual in your experience?

Regards
ELW

[curryhell]

Excellent video yet again Mick.  All your video work behind the scenes is a great help to us all and a constant source of reference.

Fantastic Mick,some great footage.I may be wrong but I think that's the first time I've actually seen a complete video of a genuine BIR chef making a gravy that's actually going to be used in a restaurant,nothing hidden or any secrets that's how he does it,brilliant.

No spiced oil so I assume he can achieve 'that' taste without it.The spiced water creeps in again,looking a lot like Az's water he used at the Zaal lesson.
Well done Mick keep 'em coming.

I believe you're correct jb.  This is the first video that shows the chef preparing the gravy for the evenings cooking.  I like the fact a lot of what we see is common to what Az taught us, but with both chefs adding their own personal touches.  This also shows the power of those burners.  How quickly were those whole onions cooked

Keep getting in those kitchens Mick and keep that camera rolling  .  Can you just imagine the reaction if this video had be posted some 7 or 8 years ago on the forum :.  It shows just how far this site has advanced over the years as a result of contributions like that of Mick's and others.

Again well done mate

[Masala Mark]

Hey Mick,

Another superb video, thanks again for your efforts. Must have been a long stand by the gravy pot with the camera making sure you captured it all.

Out of curiosity, did you by chance see any Pataks pastes in the restaurant. Only reason I ask is wondering if they use them in their Red Masala/CTM Masala sauce. Being here in Aus we can't get a number of them so would be interesting to see/hear how they make theirs if they do it with or without.

One thing to mention for others commenting on how C2G cooks his onions, here in Aus we cook 10kg of onion with only whole spices and 1-2 large ladles of oil when making a base gravy. It only takes 1.5 hours or so to get the onions done, fully dark and caramelized before other items are added in and then simmered for another hour or less. No water is added when cooking the onions. Another Punjabi chef I know and have watched make his base gravy uses dried onions, and another uses a little oil initially on high heat for 10 or so mins, then adds a little water. All their curries taste great at the end stage, each chef has his way of doing things, not wrong, just different. But what it has shown me is that there is no one particular way to make great curries.


Cheers,
Mark

[Aussie Mick]

Hey Mark, for the masala sauce I use Pataks tandoori paste, and "Prime" or "Ahmed Foods" sauces. They are available in Indian supermarkets here, so should imagine you'd get them over east too. I'm happy with the results.

Thanks for posting the link to the menu Mick. Very interesting that a high class restaurant is so cheap (to us)

Here is the menu for Royal India here in Perth, a similar high class restaurant.

http://www.royalindia.com.au/menus/ri-alacarte.pdf

And here is our local restaurant/cafe

http://www.indian-restaurant-perth.com.au/menu/food-menu/