BRITISH INDIAN RESTAURANT BASE GRAVY | BRITISHIAN FOOD | CHEF SYED |

[@jasonmerchant6686]

Hi syeed, I've been lucky enough to stand and watch my local curry chef cook in his takeaway for some time. I have to say everything you do on your videos are virtually identical. I have to thank you for sharing your knowledge... Not many chefs are willing to do this.... No waffle or 'can't show you that magic spice it's a secret'. I've just finished cooking your gravy, it actually smells and tastes like my local place... Thanks again

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

Hi Jason, sorry for the late response. thank you very for watching and trying my recipes. i am glad you liked it. yes i am trying my best to share my very little knowledge from my 10 years experiences worked as a head of an Indian restaurant. and i am grateful that you guys giving me soo much support. its unforgettable .

[@paulwhittam2974]

Excellent tutorial and the gravy is really flavoursome. Thank you so much for sharing your expertise

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

Thank you 😊

[@calpecap]

Thank you for sharing this recipe - I am making my second batch 😋

[@brummiesteve3825]

Great recipe

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

thanks

[@RinusCuisine]

Delicious recipe 😋😋😋😋😋

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

THANK YOU

[@harpo187bling]

This channel is brilliant.

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

Thank you so much Harpreet 😊

[@michellenewton5092]

Thank you, was just looking to try a new base, can’t wait for a madras recipe to try 😊

[@peterheatliefishingtattooi3364]

This is the third bir base gravy recipe I’ve tried during lockdown, thank you, it’s by far the best. My search is over.

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

Thank you Peter. Please join us in our Facebook group and share your feedback if you wish to. facebook.com/groups/263744901356568/?ref=share

[@TheSideboom]

I Make my base gravy in much the same way Sayed ,except i cook mine in a pressure cooker adding and everything including edible mustard oil, to the pressure cooker, bring it to a boil then bring it to a slow simmer and cook for 1 hour , I let it go cold then blitz it down using my stick blender,then place in freezer bags.

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

Its absolutely fine. It's sounds good you add mustard oil aswell. I love mustard oil. It's gives a strong flavor aswell which I like. But never tried in gravy.

[@bradkneale7580]

Thank you soooo much, could you supply a rough weight for the potatoes ?

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

250g-300g

[@hanaalmasry2982]

Hi Brother, I made a small pot of your curry was really nice. The question is I want to ask you if I want to make this curry for 20 people what shall I do? Thanks. Looking forward to hear from you.

[@RotationFSX]

Going to try this later. Your channel is excellent. Thank you Syed

[@notion14]

Such a gentleman..

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

thank you :)

[@anitahill8848]

I have just made a big saucepan of your base gravy, really lovely, I could just eat it as a soup, very tasty. Thank you again, I love your channel

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

Thank you Anita .I am glad you enjoying the recipe.😊

[@stuartfrazer1764]

Nice video, well put together 👏

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

Thanks stuart

[@petebutler5139]

I hear a Hindi and British accent but am I detecting a bit of Patois as well? WAM Star! Be irie mon! Love the channel!

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

😂

[@ijmc68]

Hi Syed I’ve been cooking BIR curries fir 3 years and this is the best base gravy I’ve used. So simple as well! I would like to make double the amount so do I just double everything?

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

Thank you soo much Ian. I am glad you liked my recipe. Yes just double the amount. If you see it's too dark add some single cream.

[@notion14]

Thanks for reply my friend.. You mentioned nervousness in one of your replies to a fan.. Don't be, if you never uttered a word, your skill and presentation carries you well. Khoda Hafiz..

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

Thanks for the tip :)

[@Martinwhynot]

Aw man, I'm in heaven! This is getting made this weekend. Could I kindly beg for a recipe for the bank holiday, so I can give this a proper try? Madras is a cracking standard! No pressure, but I'm genuinely excited! 😁

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

oh dear 😁

[@chippy3350]

Done the base as per your instruction, cooked chicken and cauliflower balti, the sauce when curry was ready to eat was quite thick and gloopy, any ideas please as could not get that bir taste.

[@philiptaylor9189]

Just made a full-sized batch of your gravy/base, Syed, but I got it slightly wrong and added the ghee and butter one step too soon (just before blending rather than just after). I don't think that this will ruin it, but may I ask why you use ghee /and/ (Clover) butter ? I was tempted to omit the latter (in fact, I had to substitute Anchor spreadable, as I had no Clover) but why the two ? And is it essential that the "butter" element be a spreadable butter/oil mix, or would 100% butter be OK ? I have to say, your base is unlike any I have made previously (I am a great fan of Kris Dhillon's base) but I am looking forward to trying it with some of your dishes, and in particular with your chicken curry, Madras and vindaloo.

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

Na it wont ruin philip. Its absolutely fine. Clover is spreadable. Its not butter as far as i know. If you add butter dnt add ghee. But if you wanna add ghee its fine. Both have their individual flavor. Although ghee actually made from butter. I just added it for extra bit of flavor. It doesnt make much different. But rest will be same as usual.

[@philiptaylor9189]

Fine, thanks Syed - all understood. Special mixed curry powder, base and pre-cooked chicken now all ready to go, next will be your chicken curry ...

[@lazycarper7925]

@@philiptaylor9189 well how was the final curry, good base?, best base??

[@Chaa006]

It is excellent. I keep it in a Chasseur cast-iron casserole on the hob, re-heating it every couple of days just to prevent it from festering, and have used it to make both Syed's basic chicken curry and his bhuna chicken. Prior to starting on Syed's recipes, I was a regular (twice a week) customer at a new Indian T/A which had opened nearby, and which was turning out the best BIR food within a radius of 20 miles, but since starting on Syed's recipes I have stopped using the T/A completely. His chicken tikka is perfect, although I substitute Laziza pastes (1 teaspoon each of Tandoori paste and Tikka Botti) for Patak's Tandoori paste while still using the Patak's Kashmiri masala. I have also adopted his pulao rice recipe, so a big "thumbs up" all round for Syed.

[@lazycarper7925]

@@Chaa006 ill try it out then,infact ill make a batch 2moz, cheers

[@paulsweeney9342]

hi syeed when you cook a chicken tikka starter do you warm the chicken in the microwave with a bit of oil or butter?

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

Hi Paul. I always prefer fresh for chicken tikka starter. But you can microwave it with little bit of butter brushing on top of the chicken or you can pour some.

[@paulsweeney9342]

@@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil thank you for your answer. i made your base gravy but it went bad before I could taste so gonna try make a plain curry with no base gravy

[@lazycarper7925]

ok, just made your mix powder and just made this gravy,exactly as you have, its just simmering away now all done, its a mild balanced taste, and i have no reason to doubt it will make one of your nice currys

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

Let me know which curry you going to try..drop me an email..i will forward the recipe on pdf. I also updated my old recipe videos..so let me know..thank you

[@lazycarper7925]

@@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil going to make a simple chicken bhuna , im not precooking the chicken im going straight in,and the base now, smells absolutely devine, the whole house smells like a good curry shop, and the base after resting get better flavor

[@Xyratex01]

Very good video, the gravy looks perfect consistency, Ive made the mistake so many time's of not thinning the gravy. Just curious have you worked in a BIR.

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

yes. in derby :)

[@Martinwhynot]

Just made it. Smells really nice, a bit different to many other bases I've tried....the base being made in around 1 hour! I'll report how I did on the madras recipe. 😊

[@tonyroolze]

Martinwhynot How was your curry did you find the gravy nice?

[@ukchinesetakeawayrecipesbyalex]

@@tonyroolze I was speaking to Martin and he said to me he was blown away with the base..This is what brought me to your chanel..Martins my mate..Hopefully I'll get a chance to check out your other stuff soon..

[@Martinwhynot]

@@tonyroolze yes mate it was very good. I made 3 curries with it and the rest is in the freezer. This morning when I woke up the kitchen had a smell that just brought a smile to my face. I think I'll get 14 curries from the recipe, which was made nice and quickly in comparison to some others.

[@Martinwhynot]

Sorry, forgot to say, curries were premier league, I've made decent curries for 30 years and this is a very good base and it made a very tasty madras! 3🙂

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

I'm very delighted to hear that both of you enjoy my videos 😃😄😁

[@PVflying]

Hi Syed, thank you for your base gravy recipe. What was the total cooking time from beginning frying the G&G until you blended the mixture? There were a few cuts in the video so I want to make sure I do the frying and boiling stages for the right length of time. Thanks 👍

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

Hi.. boil the gravy mixture until carrot and the potatoes are soften. Onion doesnt take long to get soften.. once all the ingredients is soften you can add the tomato paste. Then cook for more 5min on medium heat..then add spices orl blend it first then add spices. Either way.

[@PVflying]

Britishian Food thanks, this is interesting because over the years I’ve seen a *lot* of base gravy recipes and they generally all emphasise the need to cook the onions a long time, until they sweeten and start to melt away into the water. But your recipe is a shorter cook - maybe because you’re getting more sweetness from the carrots? But I will try your base gravy as I really rate you overall and trust your info 👍

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

@@PVflying once the Onion and the Vegetables are softened enough you can blend it together..it doesn't need to be completely soften.

[@gdlivo3353]

I just did a "Micro-cook" batch (using only 1 onion) in 1 hour start to finish but the only thing that would have taken longer is peeling and chopping more onions, potatoes and carrots. I did cook for an extra half hour after it stopped frothing just to see if oil separation occurred but there isn't a lot of oil in this gravy. I had some small amount of scum rise to the top and the surface became glistened with oil but no distinct separation. I imagine that if I started with more oil I would have had it rise to the surface after that time. I have to ask you Syed. When you make a full 15 - 20 kg batch do you just increase everything by the same amount? do you use 15 - 20 tsp of Chilli Powder, 15 - 20 TBSP of Kasuri Methi and 30 - 40 TBSP of your Mixed Curry Powder or do you adjust it to be less in the whole pot?

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

@@gdlivo3353 Hi livo, oil not necessarily always have to come on the top. Sometime it comes after 1-2 days you keep into he fridge and warm it few times. And you dont need to worry about the oil on gravy..the main thing about gravy is the consistency. Cant be too thick and cant be too thin. your gravy will have oil once he get into your curry. About the bigger batch you dont have to double up every spices. Only few main spices you just need to adjust. Some will be double , some will be bit more then what you adding. Like kasuri methi or chilli powder they dont need be doubled. Just a bit extra. And its balancing. When you are a experience chef you will know automaticly what spices are going double, triple or not even double. Its not like baking cake that you put everything double for a bigger portion.😊 Indian cooking measurement is bit funny. You will never get right ..every chefs estimate the measurements..there is no right or wrong. I am sure you know what i mean.😊 Let me know if you have a plan to make a bigger version.. also if you have any more question .

[@PVflying]

Hi Syed, when you make a big version of this base gravy in a restaurant, how many onions, potatoes and carrots would you be using (roughly) and how long would the cooking time be then? I’m just wondering if you cook much longer before blending when you’re doing a big pot version? Thanks for your patience in answering questions 👍👍

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

Hi, We used to make 15-20kg amount of onion every Thursday and Friday night for the Friday night and Saturday night. Now its for average booking like 60-70 people . If the booking is more than a little more extra onions. But a chef can easily tell how much will be business every night when he works in a place for atleast 2-3 months. So he will get the idea automatically. And I used to start cooking the base gravy at 9pm after almost orders are finished. And we use a huge commercial AL pot. After we add all the mixtures we add enough water to make sure it doesn't burn and can cook the mixture perfectly. Then when we see the onions are soften also the other vegetables then we add tomato paste,butter. Then we cook for more 10min. When the tomato paste is mixed with the mixtures then we add the spices.after adding spices we cook on medium heat for atleast 5min. Then we add water. After we add water cook it on high heat for atleast 10min..when you will see it's boiling then using hand blitzers blend the gravy. Then cook it for another 10min ,also add single cream 5mins before you finish . That's all.

[@PVflying]

Britishian Food that’s really interesting, thanks. And I guess cooking late at night like that it’s left to cool down on top of the cooker overnight, so maybe that gives it some extra cooking time too? Do you remember how much potato and carrots you would add to 15-20kg onions? When you cook on high heat for ten mins at the end, are you looking for any clues that it’s done, like the oil separating and coming to the top?

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

@@PVflying no I never left my gravy outside for cool down. I used to transfer them to big yellow vegetable ghee bucket ,then when it's cool down put them into the fridge. I know lot of restaurant they leave it outside. Potato you can add 5-6 big sizes. And carrots about 8-10 big sizes.

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

@@PVflying and how you will know it's done, when you will see there is no froth on the top of the gravy.

[@PVflying]

Britishian Food great thanks 👍

[@shaziaahmed23]

How to make mix curry powder??

[@0161illusion]

ur op

[@KirkhamWesham]

Could you do this in an electric pressure cooker?

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

Hi there, thanks for your comment. I actually never cooked on electric pressure cooker. But you can try.

[@skullz6666]

Thanks syed I will try this 👍

[@petebutler5139]

Questions? Can a pre-made “base gravy” be purchased at the market for those of us that need this savory deliciousness without all the work? Also, if it is available, what brand do you prefer and how is it identified on the label?

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

I never seen BIR base gravy at the market anywhere. But you can make a big batch and freeze them in portions. Or you can make a small batch for 3-4 curries. I have a small micro base gravy recipe video aswell.

[@petebutler5139]

Excellent, thank you sir. I will investigate the other recipe.

[@mujibahmed450]

How long will it last in the fridge?

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

Depends what type of fridge and the temperature. If it's a commercial one it might last 10-12 days. But if it's a home normal fridge it might last 4-5 days.

[@demonwithglasshand]

It looks like you use fresh minced garlic and ginger paste, I can see it's blended but any tips on how to speed up the peeling of the garlic when dealing with large amounts?

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

Hi there, Yes i got video recipe for garlic-ginger on my channel. And peeling the garlic its bit of a headache . Its the most annoying thing in BIR kitchen😂 I normally crushed them by hand. First you remove the all dead outer skins from one whole garlic.dnt remove the cloves. Put one on hard surface then using your palm press down firmly until you can visibly see the garlic has peeled and slightly crushed.then you can easily peel them rest by using your hand. Or use a small knife to do the final peel.

[@Dawgreen]

Soak the garlic cloves in warm water for 5 mins and the skins come off easier .

[@Anteater23]

Can I ask why restaurants use mixed powder? I think it is partly the reason why a lot of curries taste very similar.

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

It's a very good question. I used to ask myself the same question when I learnt BIR cooking back in 2006. In our traditional curries we add individual spices. I think BIR mix curry powder was created back in days for speed up the curries. There is no any other answer I have to be honest🙂

[@wutangwutang8812]

what's your take on frying the g/g paste with tomatoes and spices separately and then adding it to the main pot?

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

You can do that either way. There is no preference.

[@wutangwutang8812]

@@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil thanks for the swift response. have you tried any other base gravies on curry-recipes and, if so, which were your favourite?

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

I have tried hotel style Gravy. Which I will post soon on my channel.

[@tomsonfire3740]

Were the potatoes cooked?

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

Yes it is cooked with the onion

[@tomsonfire3740]

@@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil I meant before you added them to the pan

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

@@tomsonfire3740 no just washed them and boiled them with the onion

[@tomsonfire3740]

@@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil OK thanks, just done your curry powder mix and it smells amazing. Going to do the korma tomorrow. Watching your recipes all the way from La Réunion

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

@@tomsonfire3740 thank you soo much Thomson. I am glad you enjoying my recipes. Please let me know if you need any help.

[@adamonmp4]

Are they already cooked carrots and potatoes you putting in it?

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

No adam. Freshly cut

[@briandonnelly6943]

How do I store the gravy and how long would this last in storage

[@BritishianFoodbychefsyedrahil]

Normal fridge on the right tempreture you can store it for 1 - 2 weeks. You can store it in the deep freeze for 3-4 weeks, When ever you decide to cook it you use little bit single cream while its on the cooker.if the gravy is darker. Sometime when you put the gravy inside the fridge or freeze it gets darker. Not always 😊

[@MrTonyHeath]

Curry powder!

[@johnmurray8454]

Too much onion