As 'interesting' as this thread is, it may be irrelevant as, as we all know, taste is subjective. One person's perfect blend of spices is another person's Trump.

When I used to make more traditional curries, there was nothing better than dry-roasting spices and grinding them. The aroma and flavour was, and is, so fresh and rewarding. Having reached a stage in my BIR journey where I am happy with my (subjective) results, I am tempted back to more, dare I say, creative methods of producing dishes of Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi origin.

Going back to the use of commercial curry powders in BIR spice mixes, I have always avoided 'curry powders' as I have found them to be bland and 'industrial-tasting'. Why would you include, in your spice mix, another mix of spices which you could include yourself? Having said that, I contradict my own argument by using garam masala in both my spice mix and in my base. I fear self-flagellation is the only answer. I think, subjectively, that my own taste prefers the more fragrant flavours of garam masala to the, in my opinion, more bland flavour of commercial curry powders.

A spice mix is a convenient way of making a quantity of ingredients which can be used to make consistently spiced dishes in haste; which is one of the hallmarks of BIR.

It is rare that Garp and I find ourselves in agreement, but with at least two 0f his most recent points I could not agree more :

Quote from: Garp on March 29, 2018, 10:12 PM

• Why would you include, in your spice mix, another mix of spices which you could include yourself?
• A spice mix is a convenient way of making a quantity of ingredients which can be used to make consistently spiced dishes in haste; which is one of the hallmarks of BIR.

Hear hear, dear boy, hear hear.

Here is a excellent example of Garam Masala use in a Bir kitchen. https://youtu.be/n2XDHOvKER8 My understanding of garam masalas being a powerful blend not intended for generic use, but to enhance or give a individual characteristic towards the end of cooking. Skip to 2.50 if you don

Hi Andy, yep the hotter the better sounds good to me. But I do believe they come in differing strengths of heat. So I

I tried Rajah's mixed masala some time ago, but didn't find it very inspiring.  The majority went in the bin.  I am afraid that with the sole exception of Bassar curry masala, almost all of the pre-mixed spice blends that I have tried (Kitchen King, Patak's mixed masala, Mehran chicken/lamb masala, ...) have proved a major disappointment, which is (yet another) reason why I prefer to add individual spices in the quantities and proportions appropriate to each dish.

** Phil.

Morning Phil, yes I believe the method you use is probably unbeatable, also infusing each dish with individual characteristics.

Finally found H4ppyChris post about Garam Masala.https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=11271.0

My Guess is Haldi was probably correct in his observation with this post.

( perhaps he meant that "Peace of Cassia bark and 3 Bay leaves".are already in his base
And they are Garam Masala ingredients)

This was my experience previously mentioned using CT pressure base, I found the double up of Garam masala a bit much for my own preference. Combined with a mix powder containing additional Garam masala used in the curry stage.
I

Quote from: littlechilie on April 02, 2018, 10:15 PMDifference between boiling or frying Garam masala in bas gravy?

If there is no oil at all in the base, then I think that any flavours that leached out from the garam masala would still be effectively raw.  I also think that in the absence of any oil, far less flavour would leach out from the spices than if oil were present.

** Phil (just enjoying a good 6-Puttonyos Tokaj before bed ...).

I made a happy find in my local spice shop.  It is run by the same family that runs the local BIR.  they sell their own mix powder in 300g takaway containers - no need to mix my own when I can use the 'real thing'.  Smells lovely.