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Author Topic: Cooked up the Zaal base  (read 5,300 times)

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The discussion revolves around the use of cinnamon versus cassia in a Zaal base sauce, with the original poster experimenting with a recipe that included a significant amount of cinnamon. Several replies clarify the differences between the two spices, noting that cassia has a less distinct flavor and is often preferred in savory dishes, while cinnamon is more suited for sweet dishes. The community consensus leans towards the idea that both spices have unique flavors, but personal preference plays a significant role in their usage in cooking.

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Offline steevee00

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Cooked up the Zaal base
« on: March 18, 2013, 07:18 PM »
Hi all
I had a go at Zaals base at the weekend

2kg onions
1/4 white cabbage instead of potato ,  Used Chewy tikka,s  recipe using cabbage in the base,
same spices as Zaals recipe ,adjust to suit quantity ,easy on the chili,
spices cooked in oil,instead of veg ghee. 2 chefs spoons worth (think a bit more ,next tine)
Akhni stock

Cooked up the Zaal base

sieved out the rough stuff

Cooked up the Zaal base

It left this fiborous material.

Cooked up the Zaal base

Added the spices (couple of bits of garlic sticking out there !!!

Cooked up the Zaal base

consistency of base

Cooked up the Zaal base

nearly done

Cooked up the Zaal base

I did like the fragrance of the Akhni stock in the base ,may be a little less cinnamon next time in the Akhni stock for me .

This made approx 2.5 litres of base sauce

cheers




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Offline Salvador Dhali

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Re: Cooked up the Zaal base
« Reply #1 on: March 19, 2013, 09:31 AM »
That looks spot on. Just a quick question though. You mention that you may use less cinnamon next time, which made me wonder if it was actually pukka stick cinnamon you used and not cassia, which is much more common in Indian cookery and is what usually goes into akhni stock.

See: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=newtip&dbid=31 for the differences.

Certainly, if it was stick cinnamon then its distinctive flavour would come through much more strongly in the base than cassia.

 
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Offline steevee00

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Re: Cooked up the Zaal base
« Reply #2 on: March 19, 2013, 07:26 PM »
Nice one Salvador

I used Cinnamon stick (bark) from Supreme .

does the cassia have a less distinct aroma / flavour

cheers
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Offline Salvador Dhali

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Re: Cooked up the Zaal base
« Reply #3 on: March 19, 2013, 09:40 PM »
Quote from: steevee00 on March 19, 2013, 07:26 PM
Nice one Salvador

I used Cinnamon stick (bark) from Supreme .

does the cassia have a less distinct aroma / flavour

cheers

Yes, cassia bark (which is sometimes referred to as 'bastard cinnamon') definitely has a less distinct aroma / flavour, and lends itself more to spicy dishes, whereas proper stick cinnamon is more suited to sweet dishes.
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Offline Malc.

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Re: Cooked up the Zaal base
« Reply #4 on: March 19, 2013, 11:18 PM »
I would say that Cassia has a unique flavour just as cinnamon does. Though the two are similar I would say that cassia is less refined and has a muffled taste which I find quite overpowering even when used sparingly in a base. Cinnamon I find has a much more refined flavour but can be very intense.

My experience has lead me to use less cassia than stated in recipes. Could it be due to the brand of cassia, possibly.

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Offline spiceyokooko

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Re: Cooked up the Zaal base
« Reply #5 on: March 19, 2013, 11:41 PM »
I find cassia has a slightly more earthy flavour to it and cinnamon a much sweeter more fragrant flavour.

I don't use cinnamon in any BIR Cookery it's too sweet and overpowering, I only only cassia bark.

You also need to be careful when using cassia bark and Indian tej pata bay leaves together as the Indian bay leaf (which is the leaf of the cinnamon/cassia related tree) has a cassia flavour to it which European laurel bay leaves don't have.
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