ghee and oil

[matcurry]

i saw my local Indian using a small amount of oil and some ghee to cook the currys has anybody seen this before?  the other Indians i go to only use oil and all of the bir e books and tutorials only use oil maybe somthing to consider as the curry was awesome.   

[Graeme]

Hi Mat,

I have known cooks to start off a BIR curry with ghee and oil,
for example I do this with BIR korma at times.

I don't know how many others do this but its not uncommon.

Regards Graeme :-)

[Invisible Mike]

I used ghee for the first time the other day. I was alarmed to find it tastes like cheese. Nice mixed in with rice though.

[Graeme]

Yes I have noticed it can over power the dish.
I use about 1/2 to 2/3rd's of a tea spoon of ghee
in a Korma, but not all the time just when it creeps up my back.

[uclown2002]

Is this veg ghee or butter ghee?

[goncalo]

One reason chefs always mix oil with veg ghee is that ghee tends to harden when cold and the oil helps it keeping fluid for longer (think far deliveries). I use some in my base sauce recipe.

Butter Ghee is commonly used in creamier dishes (korma, pasanda, CTM) and naans

[Graeme]

I use butter ghee when possible, but have also used veg ghee.
I have made my own butter ghee in the past, but that was some time ago
however it's worth making at least once.

Hope this helps.

[Geezah]

When I cook a CTM I always use 1 Tbsp oil and 1 Tbsp of unsalted butter, which is sort of ghee-esqu

[Peripatetic Phil]

When I cook a CTM I always use 1 Tbsp oil and 1 Tbsp of unsalted butter, which is sort of ghee-esqu

If the OED can seriously considering incorporating *twerk in its lexicon [1], I think that "ghee-esqu(e)" must surely be guaranteed acceptance

** Phil.
--------
[1] http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/twerk

[Kashmiri Bob]

One reason chefs always mix oil with veg ghee is that ghee tends to harden when cold and the oil helps it keeping fluid for longer (think far deliveries).

Some of the newer chefs also know that using just ghee can spoil the look of leftovers (somewhat) when stored in the fridge.  I've met one chef who is also very aware of the heath benefits of unsaturated fats. The older chefs don't seem to be bothered so much though.

Here's a TA chicken madras from a local I've found recently.  Absolutely top notch. As good as a Bangla madras can get I feel.  There's easily double the amount of dried methi I would normally use, and the depth of BIR flavour is off the chart.





Not much interested in veg oil this chef though. Pure ghee all the way I think  This is some of his aloo chaat (also fabulous) straight from the fridge.





And stood upright after half an hour.





Rock solid. The spuds are going nowhere.  Reminds me a bit of the old Solvite adhesive ads on the telly back in the 80's.

Rob