Curry...!!

[Keruso]

For flavour very well, but texture wise they get quiet mushy.

You can freeze but as others have said they turn mushy, fine if they go into a sauce. I notice that they also have a sour smell, not a sour taste. The stronger the smell the hotter the chilli

 

[Clint]

Hello curry lovers!
Thought I'd share my latest experiment!
Small batch curry gravy,makes enough for 8 to 10 BIR style curries and doesn't take up loads of freezer space.
You need...
1kg onions,3 blocks garlic ginger paste(frozen),medium potato,medium carrot, half each green and red pepper,one chilli (if you want leave it out),good handfull shredded white cabbage,bunch fresh coriander,half cup of oil,third block of coconut or today I used half small squeezy pack of coconut cream,about 125ml,tomato puree(I got a glut of fresh so used a few of those too),mix powder..look up Misty Ricardo,YouTube for this. Two inch piece cassia,two black cardamom,3 green,2 Asian Bay leaves and a star anise.
Chop all the veg and place with the oil,garlic ginger paste a teaspoon of salt and whole spices into a lided pan and cook on a low heat,stirring occasionally until it reduces to a pulp. A tip is to cut the carrots very finely as they take ages to melt down.
When pulped add 3 heaped teaspoons of mix powder and a tablespoon of tomato puree,zi also added 4 or 5 fresh ripe tomatoes. Lid on and cook down for half hour or so,don't let it burn!
Next cover with boiling water and simmer for about a further hour. All the veg will now be done and either disintegrated or just about. Now is time to fish out the whole spices...the leaves are easy the others float so shouldn't be hard to find! Next get your blendevand blitz it to a fine consistency.Now add the coconut cream and half the coriander and simmer again for half hour. Then blitz again! Let it cool and dish it up into take away tubs. I do two ladels to a tub to be diluted on use with the same amount of water. Freeze.
Enjoy.

 

[Cheyne_brewer]

Last base gravy I made was Misty’s 30 minute recipe

Tastes very like East At Home’s packaged base but way cheaper.

Last curry I cooked (yesterday) was Al’s Kitchen 30 minutes garlic chilli chicken - excellent using precooked tikka. Next to try will be his pathia then try the same method for a Jalfrezi, my favourite curry.

 

[SMP Brewery]

Went to the Brother in Laws last weekend and they cooked chicken bhuna, sag aloo & mushroom bhaji with naan. Have to say it was wonderful so it turns out it was from Misty Ricardo’s book. After a few glasses of plonk I ordered the compendium of Amazon. Off to the Asian shop tomorrow

 

[user 47834]

@Clint save freezer room by filling up your containers with base gravy. Ignore measurements.

Thaw, take what you need and refreeze. It doesn't suffer from refreezing at all.

No more dead space in your containers :-)

 

[Clint]

rory that's a good idea but I'm a bit ocd for that!

 

[hop-a-long]

rory that's a good idea but I'm a bit ocd for that!

Something else that works well is by using resealable bags (just double up on the bags) instead of tubs. After filling up, press out as much air as you can before sealing. Then place flat in your freezer to freeze rapidly and also save a lot of space. I usually do this with all kinds of food, as it also helps with thawing quicker.

 

[SMP Brewery]

So base gravy done and the chicken tikka is marinading, ready to go on the Kamado later for our pre cooked meat. Just hope it’s worth all the effort in the end.

 

[user 47834]

From the air frier thread I was thinking of things to lob in the oven while it's on to get the most out of it and of course pumpkin/squash is candidate #1.

But what if I threw in a pile of whole onions and use them for base gravy? Nobel prize discovery or french soup curry monstrosity?

 

[Clint]

Good idea! Check out Latifs bhuna onions.

 

[gavp1979]

I can finally join in this thread been following Al's Kitchen and making my own over the last couple of months. Last week I ordered from my favourite local restaurant, I was surprised that I didn't enjoy it as much as normal and my wife claimed that my Rogan Josh was much better than theirs.

Here is last night's Chicken Tikka Pathia

 

[JockyBrewer]

That’s the problem. Once you start making your own you realise how poor and bland many curry houses food is.

 

[BarnBrian]

Good idea! Check out Latifs bhuna onions.

 

[Alastair70]

Just did a new batch of lamb dhansak in the pressure cooker. This one has come out rather well.

 

[Clint]

Oof! That sounds good!
I broke from the norm the other night and did a beef curry,no pre made gravy,onions,garlic,chillies and tomatoes off the plot,kashmiri chilli,turmeric and coriander. The bulk of the flavour was from lots of whole spices...Asian Bay,cassia,black and green cardamoms,fennel,fenugreek and peppercorns.

 

[Sandimas]

I've not been too well recently so have cheated a bit with my latest curries: I've used Pataks paste but, rather than follow the recipe on the jar, I've applied some principles from Al's Kitchen / Misty Ricardo BIR curries. So cooked well browned onions, then garlic & ginger paste with a bit of chilli, then the Pataks paste, then a pinch of Methi, then slowly add some base gravy and the chicken. Cook on a high heat, then finish off with a splash of coconut milk and some coriander. Comes out surprisingly good.

 

[Jim Brewster]

I've been watching a lot of Al's videos with the non base gravy method where he often pre boils the onions and blends them. I did the base gravy way a few times and it makes a good BIR curry but I don't have the space to store it.

My usual method, obviously not saying it's the perfect way but it works for me with not a lot of time, is to very finely slice the onions and fry in oil with a lid on so they steam and fry simultaneously until they start to turn dark. Due to being thinly sliced they make a good base and become part of the sauce without blending, a good bit of browning gives them a deep flavour

 

[Sandimas]

I've been watching a lot of Al's videos with the non base gravy method where he often pre boils the onions and blends them.

I used to do it that way many moons ago (30 years ago!) when I first started cooking curries - it was the recommended way in the Pat Chapman Curry Club books, which were all the rage at the time: no Internet / Youtube back then.

Must admit the recipes in there were a bit of a faff as you had to make up and store lots of different things, and like you I didn't have the space - I gave up with them in the end.

 

[Rodcx500z]

Just knocking up a quick chicken curry, I blended the onions and garlic for a bit of consistency

 

[JockyBrewer]

Just did a new batch of lamb dhansak in the pressure cooker. This one has come out rather well.

View attachment 90885

Love a lamb dhansak - please would you share the recipe?