Has anyone had any breakthrough thought's

[JerryM]

josh,

no i don't use roast garlic at all. i did a trial following Axe's comment that IG put garlic in their tom puree. i roasted a few garlic whole bulbs and added it to the tom puree. i was very surprised with the result as i expected to have success. unfortunately no good - i could tell no difference in a side by side comparison with plain puree (there's a post on it).

the conclusion was that u would have to put such a lot of the roasted garlic in that it would not be commercially viable (more garlic than puree) - hence my search continues for how BIR's do it (get that taste of garlic in your mouth the day after - but more importantly i think lift the curry in a way that gel's the other ingredients together).

[solarsplace]

Hi

In case it is of any help / interest - the new controversial book that people have been discussing very recently has a interesting mix of a generous amount tandoori masala and powdered garlic added to the tomato puree and then mixed with some oil to lighten the consistency.

I have been using this method ever since reading it and personally speaking very pleased with the results, plus you do get that garlicky after-taste that you describe which is actually very pleasant.

Cheers

[Derek Dansak]

MINT MINT MINT,  ;D  i dont think we use enough, and its quite noticable in several good bir ta's i frequent. its for balti especially. I suspect they use dry mint leaves, if you are wondering.

[JerryM]

very pleased with the results, plus you do get that garlicky after-taste that you describe which is actually very pleasant.

Solarsplace,

not seen any post - must have missed it - which is the book. can u give more detail on typical proportions.

[PaulP]

Hi JerryM,

Have you missed this one:

https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=4776.0

I've got the book but not tried it yet.
That thread is about 32 pages long now!

Paul.

[solarsplace]

very pleased with the results, plus you do get that garlicky after-taste that you describe which is actually very pleasant.

Solarsplace,

not seen any post - must have missed it - which is the book. can u give more detail on typical proportions.

Hi Jerry

Yes, that is a monster thread LOL.

Anyway, not got the book with me, so if no one else can confirm during the day then I will check and let you know exactly what it says later.

But to give you an idea for now (I assume I based this on what it says? can't remember now) I use:

1 x side-dish sized plastic take-away container.
Fill 3/4 full with White Tower tomato paste
1 x heaped tsp of garlic powder
1 x heaped tsp of tandori masala powder

Edit: Then gradually blend in veg oil to reach an emulsion like consistency.

The book (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Undercover-Curry-Insiders-British-Restaurant/dp/0956525709) also suggests that ginger powder could also / either / or be added.

The first time I made it I put all 3 things in and it tasted fantastic, but I just decided this time to start trying things individually otherwise its impossible to be sure what exactly is causing an improvement etc.

Hope that is of some interest.

Cheers

[JerryM]

PaulP/Solarsplace,

thanks for the info on the book - have missed it completely. will read the post next.

i'm not really sold on books these day's in general cooking & curry - i've bought quite a few and they rarely deliver on the promise. i feel this site has better info - it's just being able to sift it economically in terms of avoiding too many disasters.


i've tried garlic & ginger powder in spice mix before (CA's aka mix). at the time i did feel it made an improvement (it also included cardamom seed which i thought was helpful too). it may well be that i just need to up the proportion - i'm thinking more like 4 tsp as opposed to the 1 tsp per TA side container of puree.

i did not feel it sorted the gap i'm looking for hence the trial on using roasted garlic (which needed far too much garlic to make a difference).

trouble is as Solarsplace says it easy to make too many changes. i'm now in a position when i can slow down and makes changes one at a time.

i add tom puree and mix powder at the same time during frying - consequently i can't see powder being any different in the mix powder (ie aka) c/w putting it in the tom puree. i'm not confident it's what i need - hence i still intend getting some garlic puree - then i can do side by side on both.

i do like a tad of tandoori masala in quite a few dishes (i think picked up from CA through several of his recipes or even the aka mix powder). i also put all purpose seasoning in some dishes too (from Secret Santa suggestion).

just to be clear i'm not being negative on garlic/ginger powder in mix powder - i expect to adopt. i just think there's perhaps a place for the puree - going into main dishes -as i've never tried it it's just another thing to be certain of one way or the other.

[PaulP]

I've also used mix powder containing powdered ginger and garlic and it hasn't really got me closer to the elusive taste.

Cheers

Paul.

[Vindaloo-crazy]

After you've blended your base keep it on the hob and precook your chicken in it. It's spot on.

[JerryM]

i ended up making my own garlic paste last week (my local spiceworld looks as if it's no more). based it on ashoka g/g paste but left out the ginger.

thankfully did not have enough base to try it out and now have a jar of the bought stuff to enable side by side taste comparison. quite stagerring the difference in taste. the bought stuff tasting far better (and very nice). the home made being quite sharp and sort of raw (i think it's far too condensed and would need diluting with something).

ingredients for the bought: garlic, soya bean oil, water, acetic acid, lactic acid, sodium isoascorbate, sodium metabisulfite. hence nothing in it for me that sets the taste so far apart.

ps this is now about recipe refinement than taste - two-sheds post "salt how much to add" has sorted me out on the elusive BIR after taste.