Batch cooking and holding

What gets batched

Components that taste the same or better after resting are made in large batches: stocks, sauces, curry bases, marinated and part-cooked proteins, cooked pulses, rice, and pastes such as ginger-garlic. Fast, fragile elements are cooked to order.

Indian restaurant practice, in general terms

Many Indian restaurants, especially the curry-house style common in the UK, describe working from a pre-made base gravy (a large batch of onion-heavy sauce, often with tomato, ginger, garlic and mild spice, cooked down and blended). Proteins such as chicken are often marinated and pre-cooked, sometimes in the tandoor. To order, a cook fries spices and aromatics in a pan, adds the base gravy and the pre-cooked protein, then finishes with ingredients that define the dish, such as butter, cream, kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves), garam masala, tomato, chillies or herbs. This is a general, widely described approach; kitchens vary and none of this describes any specific restaurant's recipe.

Holding safely

Held food must be kept out of the danger zone (5–60 °C), where bacteria multiply fastest. Hot food is held at 63 °C or above (the UK legal requirement; US guidance is 57 °C / 135 °F or above). Cold food is held at 5 °C or below. Large batches must be cooled quickly before refrigeration (see the food-safety module).

• Hold hot in a bain-marie or on low heat, stirred, above 63 °C
• Portion large batches into shallow containers before chilling
• Reheat to at least 75 °C in the centre (UK guidance; US 74 °C / 165 °F), once only
• Label every batch with what it is and the date made

Related techniques

• Batch cooking
• Slow-cooked gravy
• Bhunao
• Marinating