Topic: Syed dry-fried mix powder

[livo]

What science I can find tells me that spices degrade over time. If you've ever toasted whole spices, ground them and cooked with them you know that there is a big difference between freshly ground and commercial ground spices.

This degradation is attributable to oxidation of the aromatic compounds. Two key accelerants of the rate of oxidation are light and heat. Heating something to or near to the point of smoking is seriously accelerated.

So the statement that they will last as long as any spice mix is a bit hard for me to just accept. I happen to know first hand that anyone can say anything on the internet

To provide a timeline overlay, Bon Appetit suggests that the shelf life of ground spices at their peak is around 3 months under normal conditions. Not science but at least a semi-reputable source.

https://www.bonappetit.com/story/do-spices-go-bad

This would appear to be what we should expect.  There is plenty of information out there that says powdered spices are not roasted but Syed does it.  In order to follow his recipe set correctly I've made a half quantity so I'll be interested to see how long it lasts.  Fresh spices are obviously best but some of my powdered individual spices are getting a bit old and they are still perfectly fine.

Incidentally Romain, wherever possible in my cook yesterday I bloomed spices in oil which in some of the dishes meant changing the sequence slightly.  I encountered no problems with this.

[romain]

What science I can find tells me that spices degrade over time. If you've ever toasted whole spices, ground them and cooked with them you know that there is a big difference between freshly ground and commercial ground spices.

This degradation is attributable to oxidation of the aromatic compounds. Two key accelerants of the rate of oxidation are light and heat. Heating something to or near to the point of smoking is seriously accelerated.

So the statement that they will last as long as any spice mix is a bit hard for me to just accept. I happen to know first hand that anyone can say anything on the internet

To provide a timeline overlay, Bon Appetit suggests that the shelf life of ground spices at their peak is around 3 months under normal conditions. Not science but at least a semi-reputable source.

https://www.bonappetit.com/story/do-spices-go-bad

This would appear to be what we should expect.  There is plenty of information out there that says powdered spices are not roasted but Syed does it.  In order to follow his recipe set correctly I've made a half quantity so I'll be interested to see how long it lasts.  Fresh spices are obviously best but some of my powdered individual spices are getting a bit old and they are still perfectly fine.

Incidentally Romain, wherever possible in my cook yesterday I bloomed spices in oil which in some of the dishes meant changing the sequence slightly.  I encountered no problems with this.

Delighted to hear that Livo! You mentioned that it was the best curry you have ever made. Love to hear, as this progresses, if any part of that is attributable to the blooming part.

[romain]

Now all we need is a volunteer who will transcribe the recipes into written form in the appropriate categories in the

[Peripatetic Phil]

Question 1: Which dish or supplement recipe has the Chilli Paste Phil?  I didn't come across it. 

Chicken tikka vindaloo

[livo]

In fact, I think you made the full quantity of his dry-roast curry powder, because when I queried his "2 chef's spoons = 12 tablespoons" he agreed and downgraded it to six.  But you may have made it in the wrong ratios !

I don't think I did, going on the visuals. I used half the quantity that Syed used because I used a half sized pan otherwise it wouldn't have fit, and it didn't matter.  The end result was superb and that's what counts. The ratio of the 3 main spices is a given and the traces of Garam Masala and RCP / Paprika are variable of little consequence.

I did take some photographs but I thought it would be better to show the pictures of my cook-top today.

[livo]

As an gentle observation - Syed is trying to build a YouTube channel. At some point he will get enough followers and traffic to get some financial renumeration for his extraordinary effort.

These recipes are his intellectual property. He is sharing. Please just support him unless he offers his explicit permission.

I could not agree more. It is an extraordinary effort and a game-changer for me.  Blooming the spices / pre-roasted spice mixed powder.  Who knows?  I did both and all I can say is this did it for me.  These were Restaurant quality dishes cooked at home.

[Peripatetic Phil]

The ratio of the 3 main spices is a given

Agreed.

the traces of Garam Masala and RCP / Paprika are variable of little consequence.

Possibly ...

[photographs]

[livo]

It was a big day in the kitchen Phil. At least I had foil on the cook-top for this one otherwise Mrs L would be a little upset with me today.

Here are a few more pics:

The curry powder in an 8" non-stick pan and in a very nice green plastic bowl.

Chicken Tikka marinating and cooking some on my new $5.00 cast iron plate. (it had a missing handle).  you can see the base gravy behind right and the pot behind left has pre-cooked chicken going.

Butter Chicken and Chicken Pasanda.

The pre-cook vegies with extra potato.

After that I stopped photographing.

[livo]

Delighted to hear that Livo! You mentioned that it was the best curry you have ever made. Love to hear, as this progresses, if any part of that is attributable to the blooming part.

Romain, I watched your video and found it highly beneficial. It made me realise that I have bloomed spices in the past and it may well have been the difference between my ordinary curries and the ones I really enjoyed without me realizing where the difference came from.  Something for me to watch in the future.  It isn't that difficult to do the spices in the oil and I've achieved it with good outcomes before today. I've rarely burnt anything because I've always erred towards caution.  I guess it's a matter of pushing it to the limit if you really want to test your own ability.

As for my recent big cook with Syed's Spice powder and recipe set, wherever the recipe allowed, I put the spices in early before water liquids.  I won't be able to assess the difference it made without doing side by sides for each dish and to be honest, I doubt I will.  These curries just worked and I can't be more pleased.  I thank both you and Syed.  This has been a brilliant week for me in relation to my curry kitchen.

Yesterday and this morning my kitchen truly had the aroma of a commercial curry kitchen.  I love it.

I think it was the 2 coriander roots I put in the Base Gravy.    

But honestly, I do think it does all matter, and yes, the coriander root is part of it and yes, Kasuri Methi is a big part of the aroma and taste.

I do remember a Base Gravy recipe where it was explicitly stated the importance of using the root, stem and leaf of the coriander plant.  Somebody with better memory than me might recall which one it was.

[Secret Santa]

His measurements certainly don't match his words. I'm just watching his bhaji video and he says half teaspoon coriander powder which he measures with a half teaspoon measure which he heaps so it is equivalent to one teaspoon. Same for other powders. So go by his actions rather than his words I think.