Topic: UCB Update Please read

[currygit]

Hey CP that sounds like a gear idea.  I get confused with updates on old stuff.  Will you post it as a new topic and close the old one?

Tanks. currygit

[Chilli Prawn]

Hi CG, I will but I will be guided by the members on where it should be posted (keep it clean folks : )

CP

[currygit]

Thanks CP

[Ashes]

i have also read that the day after eating a curry some people get very dehydrated

I always put this down to the copious amounts of salt and MSG in the BIR curries

Yes Mark this could be the answer!

[Ashes]

you s*ds   You have set this up to drag me in......

With respect CP this is open for any member to comment on.... This was not or is not (on my part) a plan to get you to reply ( i have too much respect for any member who wishes not to be apart, you know how i feel), there are plenty of qualified members here who can (if they want to ) interject. This is a serious subject; has the BIR curry garlic powder in it? Well i think i haven't had so much success with it, (as i said before, don't take members words as complete truth) a lot seem to reason that it has. As i also said, it makes sense to use it but i don't think its apart of the taste as a whole.
It goes to make a richer flavour although don't use too much of it. (don't take my word for it.. experiment)

Regards Ashes

[spicysarsy]

Another excellent and informative post Chili my man. If you lived in good old Geordieland I'd buy you a pint myself.

[Chilli Prawn]

Ashes  :  I was only joking (relates to a PM from Darth) and I too have equal respect for all members.  As I said I think the issues of Garlic alone require a topic as do onions.  The techniques in using them play a very important role.  I have posted some responses on another thread regarding Garlic Powder and Ginger powder.  I don't think MSG plays a role in BIR cooking, it would be too risky with current regulations, as I think curry git said.  However, I have tried it and did not like the effect at all. IMHO salt and Garlic are the primary flavour enhancers, followed by ginger (in all forms), chilli (in all forms), and oil as the carrier.  It is interesting that the Asian nation did not use Garlic prior to the Portugese or someone importing it I think,  I am probably wrong as the meory is getting a little dodgy these days. 

And yes there are many qualified to comment as you say.

SA, if I was up there (again) I would take a pint of Exhibition with you with pleasure. I spent many happy times up there over the years from Birtley to Alnwick!

CP

[haldi]

I have never come across any restaurant or takeaway that uses garlic or ginger powder.
Probably, because fresh, is so cheap.
If I cook using garlic powder, it adds an extra something to the curry.
It fills the gap of the missing taste, we can't get.
The only place I ever heard of garlic powder, used in a curry, was from Pat Chapman's books.

[Chilli Prawn]

I am not sure about BIRs today, I go back to the 60s as does Pat Chapman.  The friendly BIR chefs I got to know then all said they used Garlic and Ginger powders, but only for certain dishes espeicially Madras and Vindaloo (which is where I mainly use them).  A lot of restaurants then were run by Punjabis etc not Bangladeshis. 

I also find that Garlic powder is good for accentuating the richness of flavour and smell for certain dishes that use Methi leaves and/or seeds (sorry Fenugreek).

Ashes; on your previous point I have made a new suggestion in a post on 'Lets Talk Curry'

Cheers
CP

[Cory Ander]

The only place I ever heard of garlic powder, used in a curry, was from Pat Chapman's books.

Hello Pete...Sorry!  I mean Haldi   

I have also come across the use of garlic powder in "100 Best Balti Curries" by Diane Lowe and Mike Davidson.  A restaurant called "Kyber Pass", in Birmingham, apparently uses 1 tbsp of it in their chicken tikka masala (CTM).  I used this as a basis for my CTM here:  http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=1325.0

And a damned tasty CTM it produced too! (with a few significant modifications of course!)

It apparently "gives the strong garlic flavour of fresh garlic without the onion-ness of fresh garlic", according to the chef at Kyber Pass.

I use garlic powder often, and often with fresh garlic, to give a balance of garlic flavour.

I agree with what CP says;  I suspect garlic powder is often used in hotter BIR curries (e.g. Madras, Vindaloo, etc), together with ginger powder.  I have no direct evidence for saying this; it's just my intutition...which may be wrong of course. 

And also as CP suggests, I believe the question of using garlic, in its various forms, is important enough to warrant a debate in a separate thread (this thread is about the "UCB" after all  )...anyone want to start a new thread?  If so, I'd be more than happy to contribute to it.

Regards,