Curry Recipes Online
Beginners Guide => Hints, Tips, Methods and so on.. => Cooking Methods => Topic started by: bayleafthief on March 07, 2013, 10:17 PM
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My problem is that whenever I've cooked spices in oil, all that happens is that very little flavour releases and everything just tastes like wet sand.
What am I doing wrong? Need the spices be more well ground, higher heat in the pan, what is the problem? I read somewhere in this forum about "cracking" the spices.
How do one achieve this?
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Can you describe how you're frying them? That might help pinpoint where you're not getting the results you expect.
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I've tried many different ways. In last nights effort I just put them in oil that had reached rather low heat, continiued with the low heat and stirred around. The low heat was due to burning the spices in previous attempts.
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I've tried many different ways. In last nights effort I just put them in oil that had reached rather low heat, continiued with the low heat and stirred around. The low heat was due to burning the spices in previous attempts.
I think you need to tell us more. What exactly are you trying to achieve ? "Emulsifying" spices in oil is not a common concept in this forum; we tend to think (loosely, perhaps) in terms of "cooking" spices, the idea being to cause the essential oils to be released. In general, this is accomplished using commercially ground spices (although some perfectionists grind their own), and then the spices are heated in oil plus (optionally) some combination of base, tomatoe puree, ginger and garlic paste, and so on. I think if you could (a) describe exactly what it is you are trying to achieve, and (b) describe exactly how you are setting about it, and what ingredients you are using, we might be in a better position to advise.
** Phil.
P.S. This article (http://www.modernistcookingmadeeasy.com/info/modernist-techniques/more/emulsifying-technique) describes rather well what I think of as "emulsifying" in the context of cookery; could you perhaps take a look at it and tell us whether you are trying to achieve what the author describes ?
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I've tried many different ways. In last nights effort I just put them in oil that had reached rather low heat, continiued with the low heat and stirred around. The low heat was due to burning the spices in previous attempts.
Yes, frying spices in hot oil can easily lead to burning if you're not careful, but frying them on a low heat to avoid burning isn't the answer either and would probably lead to the symptoms you describe.
There are a number of ways of frying spices in hot oil to extract their essential oil (which is where the flavour comes from) and which way they do it tends to be the one that works best for them or the one they feel most comfortable with.
Most people have adopted a method of frying spices in hot oil by adding them to a garlic/ginger paste and/or onion puree or even simply chopped onions. I fry mine in a garlic/ginger paste made with water for this reason and the water content stops the spices from burning or sticking to the pan when they're added.
When the oil separates from the fried spices and garlic/ginger puree mixture it's an indication that the water content has gone and if you continue to fry you'll risk burning your spices, so continue with the next stage of the recipe.
I'd suggest you might like to try this method, heating oil to hot (but not smoking) add your garlic/ginger puree mixture and fry till it just changes colour, add your spices and fry stirring all the time and just as the oil separates, add your next set of ingredients, usually a tomato puree watered down.
See if that gets you better results.
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One tip for frying spices - have a few small pieces of onion. When you think the oil is hot, add a piece of onion. If the temperature is about right, the onion will begin to sizzle nicely. If it doesn't, heat the oil a little more and try again. Add spices when onion sizzles, and fry for around 30 seconds. Usually about right.
Or some recipes fry chopped onions first for a few minutes. When onions are done, just take off the heat for a few seconds then add spices and start to fry, return to heat and cook for 30 seconds. Seems to work for me, anyway.
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Allright, sorry for being so unspecific. http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,2968.0.html (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,2968.0.html)
In the thread above JerryM tested different methods for frying spices alongside tomatopuree which then produced a flavoured spicepaste (the good examples). Especially picture number three is what I think it looks like when I eat indian food at a resturant (I understand that this is not a finished product). But mine always look like picture number 1 or worse and tastes like grit no matter what I do.
Are my spices old and to coarse or what?
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Are you grinding your own spices, or using spices typically available from an asian shop? If the latter, it shouldn't be gritty. If the former maybe you need to grind more! Or try spices from a shop.
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Are my spices old and to coarse or what?
Possibly, how old are they? Are you grinding them yourself?
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That was my thought - old spices that have gone bitter?
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It does sound to me like the spices might be home-ground and are too coarse in texture. Are they ready ground or home ground spices?
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First of all, thanks to everyone that's chiming in. I've tried with both homeground which may be to coarse but also storebought which I think looks very fine ground.
The results always seem to be - oil with the taste of oil (no taste that is) and some sand on the bottom. Also, shouldn't at least the homeground spices scent the oil or at least taste something in their own right. For example my coriander seeds tastes a lot when I eat them before grinding and adding to the oil. But then they just taste like grit as I've pointed out earlier. Maybe I'm also using to much oil.
How do your "pastes" taste like? Of course this depends on the spices used, but in general. Nice and fragrant?
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What is it that you're trying to achieve here? Are you frying and tasting individual spices to understand the flavours they impart?
The flavours from spices is contained in the essential oils, when frying in hot oil the oil infuses with those essential oils. Oil is the flavour carrier, not the gritty spices themselves, so you should only be tasting the oil, not the spices.
The same thing applies when frying in a garlic ginger paste, the oil takes on the flavours of the garlic, ginger and spices, so taste the oil when it separates, not the mixture itself. The garlic/ginger paste when pureed with water helps you to control the heat and frying time - you have a much longer window of time when doing it this way as opposed to say 15-30 seconds when frying in only hot oil.
The point at which spices can burn when frying in hot oil is seconds and you have no indicator to tell you when to move on to the next stage of the recipe and stop frying them unless you understand the smell they produce and the changing colour. Understanding that smell and colour and point to stop them frying takes practice and experience and a lot of burned spices!
Frying spices in a garlic/ginger paste with added water gives you control and protection from burnt spices and also an indicator as to when to stop frying and move on to the next stage - it's a more controllable process.
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Allright, seems then that maybe my spices are just old. Maybe I'll report later if I make any progress.
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Allright, seems then that maybe my spices are just old.
That's quite possible, a lot of the symptoms you're describing here are symptomatic of stale spices.
Spices start to lose their flavour immediately after you open the packet and will continue to decline to the point they become stale which usually happens after about 2-3 months or so in storage but can be less if they're not stored correctly. Ideally you need to store them in an airtight jar away from light and heat which are the two main causes of spice deterioration. Store them in a cool dark place ideally.
Fresh spices should be pungent when you open the jar and you shouldn't have to put your nose into the jar to smell the aroma. Putting your nose into a jar and still not smelling much is a sure sign of stale spices.
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As spicey says you should get a real hit from each individual spice when you open the packet. That being the case it's then virtually impossible to fry them and have no flavour. Once I open a packet I roll the top tight and clip it together with a washing peg so that the packet is then closed tight. I then pack them tightly together in a plasctic bicuit tin (I have four of them) which keeps out the light. They are all then stored in cupboard, again with little in the way of light coming in. Making spice mixes / masalas and cooking curries about 5/6 times a week ensures that I go through the lot every couple of months which helps with freshness also.