Link to parent thread: British Indian Restaurant (BIR) cooking
If there's one component that defines BIR cooking and if it's one thing that is the 'secret' to getting BIR restaurant and takeaway taste, then it will be base gravy. Base gravy is the advance-cooked semi-liquid matrix that allows restaurants to quickly whip up curries in 5 minutes or less and they will make 10-20 litres of it daily and have it bubbling away on a back burner. It's a spiced stock where the body of it is primarily onions that have been cooked down until they've taken on a melted quality and then blended. A ladle or two of it when constructing the final dish gives the diner the impression they are eating a dish that has been stewed for hours (which in a sense they have). I usually make about 2 litres of it when reduced down and freeze it. Each of the containers below can make 2-3 final curries.
I've been through numerous different recipes and they are all fairly similar but I've settled on this one as being straightforward.. Some recipes call for coconut block/cream, but I don't use that; if a dish requires coconut I'll add it during the final cooking. Note that the base gravy is not remarkable tasting in itself; its taste is quite neutral intentionally.
Ingredients
Stage 1
Mise. You can chuck in various veg odds and ends if you feel like it. In my case today I had a random green chilli knocking about in my vegetable drawer so that went in.
Immerse it and boil it.
After half an hour: onions are still quite intact as you can see:
One hour - not a lot of change.
90 mins, Getting a bit sloppy now.
If there's one component that defines BIR cooking and if it's one thing that is the 'secret' to getting BIR restaurant and takeaway taste, then it will be base gravy. Base gravy is the advance-cooked semi-liquid matrix that allows restaurants to quickly whip up curries in 5 minutes or less and they will make 10-20 litres of it daily and have it bubbling away on a back burner. It's a spiced stock where the body of it is primarily onions that have been cooked down until they've taken on a melted quality and then blended. A ladle or two of it when constructing the final dish gives the diner the impression they are eating a dish that has been stewed for hours (which in a sense they have). I usually make about 2 litres of it when reduced down and freeze it. Each of the containers below can make 2-3 final curries.
I've been through numerous different recipes and they are all fairly similar but I've settled on this one as being straightforward.. Some recipes call for coconut block/cream, but I don't use that; if a dish requires coconut I'll add it during the final cooking. Note that the base gravy is not remarkable tasting in itself; its taste is quite neutral intentionally.
Ingredients
Stage 1
- 2kg onions - any kind. I am using half white, half red, roughly chopped
- 1 green pepper, roughly chopped
- 1 small carrot, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp tomato paste OR half a regular can of plum tomatoes
- 2 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
- 1 tbsp turmeric
- 1/2 tbsp salt
- bit of veg oil
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp cumin powder
- 1 tbsp coriander (seed) powder
- Put all the stage 1 ingredients in a large stock pot and cover with water. Boil it for 2 hours checking and stirring every 10-15 mins. Once the onions have taken on a 'melted' consistency, it's time to move on. Now whether you use a lid or not depends on the depth/width of your pot. I like to cook it uncovered for the first hour since the veg gives off its own water and I like the stock reduced nicely for storage reasons. You can dilute it down (the pundits say to a 'semi-skimmed milk consistency') at the time of use. Covering it will impede the evaporation of course, but it may end up cooking quicker since it remains hotter inside.
- Add in the stage 2 ingredients, give it all a good stir and boil for another half an hour.
- Allow the gravy to cool, then blend it with a stick blender until it's smooth. Portion it for freezing.
Mise. You can chuck in various veg odds and ends if you feel like it. In my case today I had a random green chilli knocking about in my vegetable drawer so that went in.
Immerse it and boil it.
After half an hour: onions are still quite intact as you can see:
One hour - not a lot of change.
90 mins, Getting a bit sloppy now.
Last edited: