Curry Recipes Online
Supplementary Recipes (Curry Powders, Curry Paste, Restaurant Spice Mixes) => Supplementary Recipes (Spice Mixes, Masalas, Pastes, Oils, Stocks, etc) => Topic started by: Cory Ander on February 21, 2008, 11:02 PM
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Posted by Chris303 and moved to here by CA
Seeds, Lovage Seeds, Cumin Seeds, Coriander Seeds, Mustard Seeds, Fennel Seeds, Fenugreek Seeds, Casia, and more.... delicious 8)
That does sound pretty tasty! :P
Full Mix
4 tbsp x Coriander seeds
2 tbsp x Cumin seeds
2 x 2" pieces Cassia bark
1 tsp x Fennel seeds
2 tsp x Black mustard seeds
4 x Cloves
1/2 tsp x Wild onion seeds
1/2 tsp x Fenugreek seeds
1 tsp Dry fenugreek leaves
10 x Dry curry leaves
1 tsp x Green cardamom seeds
1/2 tsp x Lovage seeds
It really is delicious.
....fully mix is here: http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,2454.msg21279.html#msg21279)
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Posted by JerryM
Chris,
it sounds an intriguing mix and what i would call a curry powder. i am very interested in how/where you use it. ie base or final cooking or both, on it's own or with an "LB" style spice mix. what do you do for garam masala?
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Posted by Chris303
I dont really use garam masala often.
I make my balti base which is spices lightly.
The balti mix there is used in my main dishes in different proportions to
some other spices.
I.e I have a Rogan Josh Masala with Black & Green Caramoms, Cloves etc, and I use Rogan Josh masala and Balti masala on a 1:1 ratio.
I have a Madras masala which gets used with blended kashmir chiles, coconut and Balti masala, and a little yougurt in the main dish.
All varies.
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Which Pat Chapman book did you get your recipe from Chris? It's different from the one I have (from "Balti Curry Cookbok:). The full recipe, from this book, is as follows:
Whole Spices:
- 4 tbsp coriander seeds
- 2 tbsp white cumin seeds
- 15g cassia bark
- 2 tsp fennel seeds
- 2 tsp black mustard seeds
- 2 tsp green cardamom seeds
- 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
- 1 tsp lovage seeds
- 0.5 tsp wild onion seeds
- 7 cloves
- 1 tbsp dry fenugreek leaves
- 5 bay leaves
- 22 dry curry leaves
Ground Spices:
- 4 tsp tumeric
- 4 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp ginger powder
- 1.5 tsp chilli powder
Method:
- Roast, cool, grind and sieve whole spices
- Mix with the ground spices
- Store in an airtight container in a cool, dark, dry place
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Same Mix... I forgot some of the ingredients out there. ;D
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Chris,
many thanks - i would encourage you to create some new posts in the relevant sections to share in more detail your methods/approach - it sounds to have a slightly different slant to what i've learnt to date.
just a few clarifications if poss.
1) i guess you have improved the Pat Chapman balti masala by adjusting the qty's slightly
2) do you roast the whole spice or just grind
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I roast each spice individually and then grind. This is so so much
better than any commercial masala which is never roasted.
I dont use exact quantities as such when making up my masalas,
I just get some coriander seeds, some cumin seeds, some lovage seeds
etc to the proportion that feels right.
As long as the quantities are roughly right in proportion to the other
spices the taste will come out the same. A clove more or less isnt going
to make a difference imho.
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I roast each spice individually and then grind.
Why individually? Do you roast some more than others or something? :-\
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Yeah. Because each spice takes a different amount of time to release "just" the right amount of essential oil. To get the best flavour you want to give the effort to each spice rather than bung them all on the hot pan at once.
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each spice takes a different amount of time to release "just" the right amount of essential oil. To get the best flavour you want to give the effort to each spice rather than bung them all on the hot pan at once.
That's seriously involved. I like it ;D
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Chris,
I roast each spice individually and then grind
this is a seriously good idea. i little while ago i had realised that the bigger denser seeds need more time to heat up and so had started the roasting with those first. it then becomes tricky timing wise to decide when to progressively add the smaller seeds and leaves etc (to avoid burning).
adding individually removes the guess work and amazingly i had not thought of it myself.
just for a bit more of a lol. i went to get the lovage seeds yesterday to make your spice mix. the shop assistants were good in explaining they are in fact cloves (which i have already of course)
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i went to get the lovage seeds yesterday to make your spice mix. the shop assistants were good in explaining they are in fact cloves (which i have already of course)
No JerryM, lovage seeds are lovage seeds, they are not cloves. Lovage seeds are often mistaken for Ajwain seeds...if I'm not mistaken myself :P
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i went to get the lovage seeds yesterday to make your spice mix. the shop assistants were good in explaining they are in fact cloves (which i have already of course)
No JerryM, lovage seeds are lovage seeds, they are not cloves. Lovage seeds are often mistaken for Ajwain seeds...if I'm not mistaken myself :P
Yep totally different spices and dont even look alike:
Cloves
(http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/pictures/syzy_01.jpg)
Lovage
(http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/pictures/levi_02.jpg)
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My Ajwain seeds said Lovage seeds in brackets - This is the East End brand so it seems quite an oversight for a large company if Ajwain is actually different from Lovage in reality.
Never the less for the purposes of this recipe. No other Lovage seeds were available except the ones labeled as Ajwain in the asian food store so I would just use these.
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I must say I've never eaten genuine lovage fruit (it's a fruit not a seed) but one thing is certain, lovage and ajwain are from different plants and they are not interchangeable. If your "lovage" smells and tastes like thyme then it is in fact ajwain. The genuine lovage fruit apparently gets mixed in and sold as celery seed so that's the flavour I would expect it to have. You have to wonder if the author of the recipe was actually using ajowain and not lovage, as the genuine lovage fruit(seed) is hard to obtain.
It's not helped by the major spice manufacturers labelling it incorrectly: http://www.spicesofindia.co.uk/acatalog/Indian-Food-TRS-Lovage-Seeds-Ajwain.html
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Yeah I imagine Pat Chapman was using Ajwain as well.
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Some Indian recipes, books, etc refer to Ajowan (carom) seeds as Lovage. This mistake is quite common, but nevertheless it is INCORRECT.
As SS says, Ajowan seeds are thyme-like (also caraway). In fact they are often used as a substitute for thyme. Native to South India, the ajowan plant looks like wild parsley and is used only for it's seeds.
Lovage (a herb) is totally different to Ajowan.
The plant "Levisticum Officinale" from the Mediterranean (but grows well in UK), is a sturdy perennial with cluster of green-yellow flowers in early Summer which change into ribbed seeds.
Either the plant or the seeds can be used as they both have the same flavour (seeds a little sweeter). Seeds (tastes like celery) are used to flavour liqueurs and as a basic ingredient in the perfume industry. In the kitchen seeds are mainly used to spice up soups, salads, rice and potatoes.
Both Ajowan seeds and Lovage seeds have stripes.
SnS ;D
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Chris,
used the spice mix (except for lovage and wild onion which i could not find) and was surprised that the "real" whole cloves blended in very well (without becoming a garam masala).
i was comparing it with the development curry masala (14 spices v 12 in yours).
i can't really comment as i botched the cooking with too coarse a garlic/ginger paste and inconsistent measuring of the same. i am thinking a combination of the 2 is possibly where i want to be. i also need to add in the ajowan.
for info only - a few personal preferences came to mind when i was just tasting the powder these being to reduce the cumin by 1/2 and add star anise (1 tsp).
i intend to try it out for real on your madras thread though which i am looking fwd to.
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Remember the powdered spices as well as following in the full masala mix given by Chapman.
Also... it takes a few days for the smells to really develop in it :)
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yep,
clean missed the powder spices which i think will improve result quite a bit. i think i would still reduce the cumin qty though. i will back add to what i've got left to give me an idea of the change just for info.
Nb have made the Madras Masala and - wow i like it a lot (only tasted powder so far).