Topic: Patak's tandoori paste

[mickyp]

I got mine from Bookers, and my local store does it for about

[Secret Santa]

Total coincidence but I was casting my eye over the Pataks jars in Morrisons today and they had loads of tandoori paste jars so it seems it's still available in the UK. By the way you're not supposed to eat the pastes raw. I emailed Pataks to find out why and got a response but it was a long time ago and I can't remember what the reason they gave was. Of course, like most fools, I ignore such advice and just tuck in.

[Peripatetic Phil]

Of course, like most fools, I ignore such advice and just tuck in.

Now that I find surprising, because although I cannot open a packet of Richmond pork sausages without eating at least one or two raw, and despite the fact that I have eaten pure raw pork (shredded) in Vietnam, I have never considered (and probably would never consider) eating raw Patak's pastes.  Why do you do it, Santa ?

** Phil.

[romain]

Total coincidence but I was casting my eye over the Pataks jars in Morrisons today and they had loads of tandoori paste jars so it seems it's still available in the UK. By the way you're not supposed to eat the pastes raw. I emailed Pataks to find out why and got a response but it was a long time ago and I can't remember what the reason they gave was. Of course, like most fools, I ignore such advice and just tuck in.

Haha. I'm in trouble then. I ate a lot developing the recipe

[livo]

Romain, I don't understand how tasting it raw would be of any benefit whatsoever.  You might as well get a handful of different spices like coriander seeds, cumin seeds, a couple of cloves and a green cardamom, a tej patta and a bit of cinnamon and start to munch on it.  It will give you no indication at all about what would happen when you cook them. SS, the simple question is WHY?

Curry pastes, (and dry masalas) are made as a short cut to achieve a desired outcome "once you know what goes into it in the finished cooked dish that you want to replicate easily". I have a recipe for a Balti Paste that I've made several times.  It is a combination of typical Balti spices blended together in a ratio that is known to work and set into some vinegar and oil to act as preservatives and enable convenient storage.  There is no way that munching on some of it will tell me what the dish will taste like once I've cooked it.  However. add some to a bit of oil and fry it, add some base gravy and whack in some pre-cooked chicken or lamb and you have a nice dish. Quick and easy.

I've also used it to save a few failed curries.  Would I taste it raw? No way. I'm not afraid of poisoning myself but it is the same as eating some flour, salt, and baking powder and trying to predict the flavour of a cake.

[mickyp]

You might as well get a handful of different spices like coriander seeds, cumin seeds, a couple of cloves and a green cardamom, a tej patta and a bit of cinnamon and start to munch on it. 

How could that work Livo, .....?
You missed out the oil

[Secret Santa]

Why do you do it, Santa ?

** Phil.

Purely in the interests of science!

No, what I meant was that I taste anything, not just pastes, even if only in tiny amounts to get a sense of what I'm using in my dishes. And also just for the hell of it too. I'm not eating spoonfuls of the stuff.

Although I must say that knowing that it's not supposed to be eaten raw does add a certain zest to life. I wish I could find that email response though to remind me what the big no-no was about eating it raw. I bet I've posted it on the forum somewhere in the murky past.

[livo]

It was probably just to do with possible microbial hazards.  Preserved foods can contain bacteria that may be harmful, but they are easily killed in the cooking process.  A bit like boiling water to kill off cryptosporidium and giardia.

[romain]

If I were trying to recreate the taste of a cake I would not eat flour. But if I were to try to recreate the taste of flour I wouldn't eat cake either.

I set out to recreate Patak's tandoori paste so I tasted Patak's tandoori paste. Not really understanding why that doesn't make sense...

[romain]

Why do you do it, Santa ?

** Phil.

No, what I meant was that I taste anything, not just pastes, even if only in tiny amounts to get a sense of what I'm using in my dishes. And also just for the hell of it too. I'm not eating spoonfuls of the stuff.

We are alike in this regard. I can't get a new jar of anything into the fridge without tasting it...