Topic: G&G paste how much do you really know about it?

[h4ppy-chris]

G&G paste how much do you really know about it?
how does it affect your curry?
most vids you watch it goes in first. why? how long do you cook it for? does that make a difference? what difference does it make?

[beachbum]

When I'm doing a small batch of something such as Butter Chicken for the Mrs (I can't use the Glasgow base as it's quite spicy and any hint of chilli I'm a dead man  ;D) I do a fairly quick Australian Indian Restaurant base which is mostly finely diced onions fried in spiced oil until soft then the GGP added and fried in with the onions, until all well caramelised - then the equivalent of dry mix is added, tomato paste, and cooked further till the oil glistens.

Then the curry is assembled with the base, the precooked chicken, coconut cream powder, ground almonds or cashews, and simmered for a few minutes to blend in the flavours then finished with cream.

I did a batch last night and spiced my serve with chilli powder, but heck the garlic and ginger was so mellow and prominent - One of the best I've made. I often feel with BIR that when I nuke the GGP in hot oil I'm possibly driving off aromas that I'd rather retain in the curry?

[natterjak]

Personally I always cook my G&G paste well. More fully than I see in many of the vids which get posted. I think it needs to get past the stage where it is boiling into frying and to the point where it has become brown and sticky in texture (sticks to the chef's spoon). Without doing this I don't find I get the right flavour in the final curry. The arguments against cooking G&G well seem to be that you will introduce a "burnt garlic flavour" but I've never found this to be the case.

I've seen people suggest that G&G paste should never be browned but should only be reduced until it stops sizzling but I never had much success with that approach.

To answer your question of why cook it at the start, I believe it's to flavour the oil - to impart a zingy sweetness which goes right through the curry because it's in the oil.

[Salvador Dhali]

Like Natterjack I always fry mine until the water content has evaporated and it's just starting to take on a little colour.

Sometimes it takes on more colour than is traditionally recommended, but again, like Natterjack I've not found this at all detrimental to the finished dish. (However, I cook mainly hot, heavily spiced curries. In a more subtle, milder dish, any browning of g/g/ may be more noticeable.)

The reasons I like to cook it first, in no particular order, are: a) I love the smell of g/g when it hits hot oil; b) to cook out the water content; c) to provide the first base layer of flavour upon which to build the rest of the dish.

 

[JerryM]

i've stopped using it as a combined paste. i often leave out the ginger but find the dish lacking if the garlic's left out. some dishes seem to like more ginger. i don't understand it yet.

i hardly fry it letting it warm up in the oil until i get that whiff and pan off heat and onto spice. something like 15 secs tops fry for the oil and g & g.

[natterjak]

Interesting but slightly inconclusive thread... How do you cook your G&G paste Chris?!

[Garabi Army]

I wished I had asked this question because I've often wondered if the ginger is really needed as it's already in most bases. Ginger can be quite overpowering. In CBM's recipies it's hardly used as a combination, he just adds the garlic paste.
I look forward to your reply Chris because I'm sure this is a key stage in the finished curry, although I'm most probably completely off the mark.

Cheers.

[RubyDoo]

For what it is worth I shall, from now on, do my g & g in a ratio of 60:40 in favour of the garlic. My stock at the moment is 50:50.  Taken this from my experience doing the Jaipuri set by Naga in the 'test'.

[Peripatetic Phil]

I do like the flavour (and even small pieces) of ginger in my curries, which is one reason why I like Nepalese/Gurkha curries so much.  For that reason, and for "elegant variation", I sometimes deliberately introduce julienne of ginger into my curries, so for me a ratio of 50:50 is absolutely fine.

** Phil.

[Stephen Lindsay]

We Scots have no problem with a bit of ginger in our curries