Topic: a couple of questions

[goncalo]

So I went into town and raided the 4 major spice shops looking for kashmiri chilies. I couldn't find them whole, only ground, so I am going to be making an order from UK over to IE. I picked up however a bag of ground. For recipes where the actual chili is called, how much powder should I compensate with?

I got myself a bag of grounded jaggery. When I open the bag, it has a bit of a vinegar/cheesy like aroma. Is this ok?

I also bought green cardamom powder. Can this be used when recipes call for green cardamoms?

[Salvador Dhali]

Dried and powdered chillies are used for different reasons, and as for compensating with equivalent amounts of powder it's always difficult to be accurate here, gagomes, as dried Kashmiri chillies (and all dried chillies) vary in size, but from my experience in grinding them myself, I'd say that one decent-sized (large) dry Kashmiri chilli will give you around half a teaspoon of powder (maybe a little more).

However, don't forget that the game changes as soon as you turn a dried chilli into powder!

Dried chillies are used to impart a more subtle flavour and heat hit to dishes, whereas powder is used to give more intensity and heat. And, of course, for colour - especially in the case of Kashmiri chillies.

But Kashmiri chillies, whether in dried or powdered form, aren't particularly hot, so you've got a bit of leeway for experimentation - and even if you do use a little too much you're not going to blow your head off with Kashmiris.

I've never used jaggery (which is an unrefined cane suger) so can't comment on the smell. I'm sure others here will be able to help.

Be careful how much cardamom powder (elaichi) you use. The proper stuff is made from grinding just the seeds from the cardamom pod, and a little goes a long way. (It's the same deal as with dried vs powdered chillies).

Apart from it being seriously expensive, too much is going to completely overpower a dish, whereas in recipes calling for whole cardamoms you're just looking for that subtle underlying flavour.

So, again, use with care.

Bottom line is that if recipes call for dried whole spices, and you want to replicate the dish as described in the recipe, then that's really what you should use.

That's not to say if you don't do that it won't turn out well. It will just be a little different.

Maybe brilliantly so!

[goncalo]

Thanks Salvador dali

As for kashmiri chillies, there was an interesting thing which I forgot to detail. When I arrived at one of the stores, the main supplier of vegetables for that asian store, was an indian from kashmir and he was there talking to the store owner and he approached me, after not being successful at identifying them with the store clerk. I asked for the chillies in dried or not-dried form, and he didn't recognize them - even from a ton of pictures. So, is there a more common way to refer to these chillies?

I ended up getting some green/fatty/big chillies which supposedly are milder, but unlikely to add that color which the kashmiri chillies seem to add.

[Salvador Dhali]

Thanks Salvador dali

As for kashmiri chillies, there was an interesting thing which I forgot to detail. When I arrived at one of the stores, the main supplier of vegetables for that asian store, was an indian from kashmir and he was there talking to the store owner and he approached me, after not being successful at identifying them with the store clerk. I asked for the chillies in dried or not-dried form, and he didn't recognize them - even from a ton of pictures. So, is there a more common way to refer to these chillies?

I ended up getting some green/fatty/big chillies which supposedly are milder, but unlikely to add that color which the kashmiri chillies seem to add.

An Indian from Kashmir that doesn't know what one of the region's most famous products looks like? Most strange!

That said, I've had similar responses when I've asked for such things as Ceylon or Sri Lankan curry powder, basaar powder, etc., from Asian stores. There are so many products out there I guess we can't expect them to know every single one - especially if it's not in much demand.

As for the name, there really isn't another way to describe them - they're known as Kashmiri chillies!

They are, as you know, very distinctive. Here's a snap of one from the last batch I bought:



And fresh they look like this (the Kashmiri is the large green chilli in the middle of the bowl - the last of my crop, hence unripened to red):

[goncalo]

Thanks Salvador. I bought green ones, but they definitely don't look similar, but oh well.

[fried]

Cardamom powder is one of life's necessary luxuries. The first time I used it in a recipe I ground whole cardamom seeds, the whole effort put me off ever doing it again.

[Salvador Dhali]

Thanks Salvador. I bought green ones, but they definitely don't look similar, but oh well.

Just get the beggars in there!

It'll be fine!

If you're worried about them being too hot, while there's a general rule that the smaller the chilli, the hottor it will be and the larger, the milder, remember that the hottest parts of any chilli are the seeds and the membrane (the pithy white bit inside). If you scrape the seeds and pithy bit out you'll get the flavour of the chilli but not so much of the heat.

But personally, I find the best way to determine a chilli's heat levels is to simply man up, bite a chunk off, and chew...

Apologies if you know all this stuff already...

[pauly58]

Not being able to find them here in Ireland, I bought some off a supplier on ebay.

Not wanting to run out , planted some seeds last year, they grow like weeds. Grew them on the windowsill, I froze loads that I couldn't use up.

They add a lovely flavour without much heat to any curry.

[goncalo]

Not being able to find them here in Ireland, I bought some off a supplier on ebay.

Not wanting to run out , planted some seeds last year, they grow like weeds. Grew them on the windowsill, I froze loads that I couldn't use up.

They add a lovely flavour without much heat to any curry.

Oh, how ya pauly58! It's good to find a local! What part of Ireland are you in?

[RubyDoo]

Gagomes. I think you are better off grinding your own cardamon. It is a pain but worth it. Seems like the commercial powdered stuff is ground seeds and pod so you get all the crap as well. Do it yourself and you just grind the seeds. Suggest krupps spice mill or similar to do this.