Isnt black pepper unripe peppercorns dried in the sun until they go black, white pepper is ripe peppercorns with the husks removed. They taste nothing alike

According to a real chef I know black pepper and white pepper are produced exactly the same except white pepper has the outer removed. I was surprised but he's a bit of an expert on spices.

I have to agree that they don't taste at all the same. When I was a kid white pepper was the only thing on the table that could enliven my nan's boiled veg.

Try making the vindaloo with each type of pepper and see which one you prefer. Usually at home I use pepper from a pepper mill (milled) but making it the other week at Chewy's he used ground pepper (not sure of colour) and it gave it a much fuller pepper flavour than the milled.

According to Taste.com the best way of testing pepper for freshness is to finely grind it and snort.
Isnt whitepepper used a lot in french cooking and in white/cream sauces as it looks better than having black flecks in the sauce.

Quote from: fried on July 16, 2014, 07:21 PM
According to a real chef I know black pepper and white pepper are produced exactly the same except white pepper has the outer removed.

That's my understanding too. Black pepper contains the husk and white pepper doesn't. Red and green peppercorns are just different stages of ripeness.

Quote from: Gav Iscon on July 16, 2014, 08:35 PM
 used ground pepper (not sure of colour) and it gave it a much fuller pepper flavour than the milled.

Thanks for this. Not something I'd considered but know it would work. Will need to check out Asian store. I actually buy White pepper already from Asian store (used heavy in LFC fried chicken). Can't think that I've seen black in ground only whole seed though.

I love black pepper and use it heavy in all none curry cooking. So know there is huge difference in taste.

As Gav Iscon says I need to side by side

Quote from: Secret Santa on July 11, 2014, 05:04 PM
apart from the heat level, the Bird's eye being hotter, there wasn't any real discernable difference in the flavour. Gotta be the humble finger-chilli.

had opportunity to taste karahi in restaurant order i think extra hot (by rsholme123). was extremely hot. no lip burn but plenty of tears and sweat.

the sauce itself was not that hot but the dish was filled with green chilli slices.

we asked what made the dish so hot - was shown fresh green chilli - finger chilli. they make the heat by combination of the fresh chilli and chilli powder.

the taste was definitely a vindaloo key element.

in short using more finger chilli blended combined with chilli powder looks promising.

difficult to be sure but got impression they do not keep birds eye

Quote from: JerryM on July 25, 2014, 08:02 AMwe asked what made the dish so hot - was shown fresh green chilli - finger chilli. they make the heat by combination of the fresh chilli and chilli powder.

the taste was definitely a vindaloo key element.

This is exactly how I've always provided the chilli heat for my vindaloo Jerry. More chilli powder than a madras and then a good tablespoon or two of blended finger chillis, depending on who I'm sharing it with. That along with extra garlic, less tomato paste and some Bassar masala (the proper stuff with the mustard oil in the packet so it looks damp) is basically how I differentiate a madras from a vindaloo. The vindaloo is definitely not just a hotter madras in my book.

The Lalkilla Karahi was a lot hotter than expected (despite having asked for it to be extra hot)... Hotter than their Phall.  I can remember having a jalfrezi a few times in other BIRs which were as hot as last night's Lalkilla Karahi though.  Have had Lalkilla jalfrezi before and it wasn't hot (only a couple of finger chilli slices in that one).

I personally prefer a smooth sauce for hot curries, so Jerry, your idea of blending the fresh chilli into a paste appeals to me.  Have yet to use a vindaloo (or madras) recipe that includes fresh chilli paste, but must give it a go as an addition.  Out of interest, what kitchen implement do you use for blending such a small amount. I have stick blender, pestle and mortar, food processor, and juice blender... can't see any of those being ideal, except for the pestle and mortar with extra effort going in to make the paste smooth.

Quote from: rshome123 on July 25, 2014, 11:51 AMwhat kitchen implement do you use for blending such a small amount. I have stick blender

That's what I use. Bung a handful of finger chillies into an old Pot Noodle container (its width is just right for the diameter of my stick blender). Add a bit of salt and some oil to get it going and job's done. Lasts for ages in the fridge.