Topic: cant get thar aroma smell

[Salvador Dhali]

And don't forget that after spending hours in the kitchen cooking, your senses become anaesthetised. One of the reasons you can't detect 'that smell' may not be because it isn't there - it may be simply because you've gone into sensory overload.

Next time you cook a curry try and get out of the house for an hour or so, get some fresh air, and then see what smell greets you when you go back in.

I used to complain of the same thing - not being able to get 'that' smell. But the first time I prepared a curry round a mate's house and we went down the pub afterwards, on returning as soon as he opened his front door he exclaimed "**** me! You've turned my house into an Indian restaurant! The missus will do her nut!"

And for the first time ever, I too could smell it.

'It' was THAT smell.

And THAT smell was good!   

[chillihothot]

I felt similarly frustrated once.

I can echo what Phil says about stale spices. I noticed an enormous difference when I stopped buying "spices" from supermarkets and started buying from those small indian supermarkets. I look at the date on the packet and make sure they arent too old. I also seal them in airtight containers. I'd also recommend trying Ghee instead of oil.

Also I'd suggest cooking with a window open and if you want a "smell test" go outside underneath the window to smell then you can take a much more accurate smell reading. I find this works better in cold, damp weather.

[harley]

Has anyone got that BIR taste/smell with supermarket brand spices?

I feel many may substitute these as not many live near an Asian grocery. I've compared by tasting them raw and smelling. The stuff you get at the Asian shop are much better to me. The East End Turmeric seems really high quality and familiar taste/smell on its own. When I used to get supermarket stuff, the Turmeric was really bland, I'd leave it and nothing would change. Another extreme I've found is the corriander powder in supermarkets is very strong in smell, almost like some boosted perfume where as the stuff from the Asian shop that the BIR/TA's use is a quarter of that strength. Cumin again has a nice balance to it but the supermarket is pretty singular.

Well I don't want to add to myths but to me if you want to fully replicate then you have to go the extra mile and use what the BIR/TA use. I'm certainly getting the aroma, even when cooking the base I get its smells like an Indian Restaurant.

[ELW]

Hi Harley, I use the retail Rajah spices & less frequently Asda own powders, which will definitely do the the job. Some of the chilli powders may be blends of spices etc, so I'd check them out first.  That aroma smell has been picked up on & discussed on here long before I joined, & has been described as toffee like. I think it has a tomato aroma, and to be honest, I don't find it a particular appealing aroma. But it signals i'm doing thngs correctly. It's not the aroma  of the food that comes to the table, but the smell from the kitchen. Get your pan hot & copy the restaurant chefs videos, not the instructional ones, thats the best advice I can offer

Regards
ELW

[chewytikka]

hi lads ive been trying for 2 years to try and get that aroma smell for a vindaloo or phall curry, but every time i finish the dish and put it into the container there is no smell it just tastes blend. ive followed the recipes exactley  but still no joy what iam i missing out to get that takeaway smell.

Welcome g.main
Just about Impossible, if you make a base to spec and likewise a main dish to the method and recipe
Your house will stink like the back of your local every time.

Post the method and recipes you are following an maybe we can solve your problem.

Chewytikka

[Garabi Army]

I noticed an enormous difference when I stopped buying "spices" from supermarkets and started buying from those small indian supermarkets.

Recently (the last couple of years) I have noticed the major supermarkets (Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's) have started selling good quality spices, like Rahjah etc., although I prefer to support the Asian supermarkets, you will find a much bigger selection, not to mention 10kg bags of onions for a couple of quid   
I live in Sheffield where we are spoiled for choice.

... on returning as soon as he opened his front door he exclaimed "**** me! You've turned my house into an Indian restaurant! The missus will do her nut!

 ;D  ;D I must admit, my missus loves eating the curries but she's not too keen on the aroma, ... I feel quite proud of the smell 

[Stephen Lindsay]

I'm generally quite open minded in all things but we all have a line don't we? In terms of buying spices I will avoid supermarkets in the main for several reasons. My local ASDA stocks mainly Sharwoods which in my  mind today is what Vesta was 40 years ago. There spices may also have been sitting for a long long time, hence may have deteriorated. Why pay such spices when your local Asian grocer will have TRS, East End or Rajah for a fraction of the cost. Lastly even if Tesco does stock them I'd rather support a local business than a corporate machine.

As CT says your house (or kitchen at least) should hit you with the same aroma as you get when you walk through the door of your local takeaway. CT is the video man on this site and he has posted great videos to go with his base and recipes. Why not have a look at these and see if they help?

[g.main]

cheers lads for the feedback, but yet again ive followed the recipes on this site and the methods and every time i make a madras or vindaloo or phall they taste the same and this shouldnt be the case, all my spices are fresh the mix powder, i follow the methods exactley on this site but still cant get that lovley aroma you get from the curry house when you take it out of the container. what else could i be doing wrong, i use raj spice powders and the chilli powder is nacto because it is hot and that is what my local chef uses, i dont know what else to try can someone please heip me its driving me mad.

[harley]

What curry powder if any do you use?

You probably need to state which recipes have failed. Go in to detail how the base went, how long it took and what you do, like buy garlic ginger paste in tubes.

Maybe watch chewys video on the base and study the cooking the madras video, make sure you're getting it right. Following some text may not help and watching someone over and over, noting the times etc might be better.
Chicken Madras (Classic Indian Restaurant Curry) on Vimeo
http://vimeo.com/mikestyne

I blend fresh garlic and ginger with oil and salt for paste, use Natco madras curry powder, then a mixture of east end, trs and natco for turmeric, cumin etc. Various chilli powder shouldn't be a big deal.

One thing I've noticed is if I put too much base in on the second part I can lose TA/BIR curry if cooking for 2/3 people and now do it in more stages if I've got 600-1000mil. To me if you don't get the aroma then probably be down to the base.

Anyway, i'll let more esteemed members try to help but be sure to at least follow chewys 3hr base and madras cooking video to spec before giving up.

[haldi]

I cant get that lovley aroma you get from the curry house when you take it out of the container. what else could i be,  its driving me mad.

Join the club
I've been at this for years
I know this will be contraversial, but I don't think this can be done at home
That is, if you are chasing the same flavour/aroma, that I am
You need the large volumes of onions, and flavoured oils that restaurants/takeaways use

I have actually made the full sized base at two places and cooked curries from them (at the takeaway)
They tasted perfect, so I know that it's no cooking skill I am missing

If you bring home some of their base, and cook to their methods, then that works too
I can cook as well as some of these "new" Indian takeaways
And that is pretty good, but it's not got the aroma/smell, I believe, you are after
I think these new BIR's are such a drop in standard

I'm sure there are tricks, I don't know, to achieve what you want
But at all the BIR kitchen's, I have been to, there is really very little difference in cooking methods
Just look at all the genuine curry cooking videos people have posted
They are pretty much the same aren't they?
And what about BIR cookbooks
Pretty much the same

The difference you want, is in the base
All the many base samples, I have had, already have the basic aroma/smell/taste I want
It's almost like a missing vegetable
A simple smell, a complex flavour
I reckon Julian (curry2go) has raised a very important factor, and that is the long cooking time required for the onions
When you cook a full sized base it can be three hours or more to finish
If you scale down, and cut the cooking time accordingly, it's a very different result
You have no idea how much of my life, I have spent trying to do this
It has, at times, made me very unhappy
I dread to think how many gallons of imperfect curry gravy, I have poured down the sink
Ironically, this gravy is as good as what most modern places are preparing now

And give it a few more months, someone else will ask your question again (there are many threads similar to this)
This runs forever