Topic: Syed dry-fried mix powder

[Peripatetic Phil]

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.

Certainly a reference to it here, Livo, so may well be CA's.  Which indeed it was.
** Phil.

[livo]

I knew I'd seen it somewhere and that could well be it, but I seem to recall a more involved discussion on the significance of using the root in base gravy.  It may have been early days when I was on 3 different sites.  As soon as it mentioned again I knew I'd read it before.

[livo]

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.

I don't have a problem with it. The style of cooking is one that relies on experience and using the eye. Any standardised measures are simply comfort to inexperienced followers and can be considered a helpful guide.

[Donald Brasco]

My observation on this is that the

[noble ox]

Donald brasco.
This heating /frying or cooking of spices , could it be as simple as getting rid of the dampness ? 
Spices are purchased in 25 kg bags decanted into containers lurking around in kitchens for who knows how long.
Easy way to get back to factory settings and freshness

[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.

I don't have a problem with it. The style of cooking is one that relies on experience and using the eye. Any standardised measures are simply comfort to inexperienced followers and can be considered a helpful guide.

I don't have a problem with it as long as I use exactly what I see him use. If I cook from his words I'm going to get a different result due to the large difference in what he says and what he actually does.

[Secret Santa]

I do expect that this dry roasting will give you a much improved outcome if you never previously were achieving getting your spices fully cooked during preparation of the final dish, but otherwise probably not so much.

Precisely. If you're doing it the right way, i.e. spices into hot oil without any added liquid then you're not going to see any difference by this dry spice-roasting method. In fact, dry roasting is driving off the very aromatics you want to keep, so potentially it will taste worse. Although the effect would probably be too subtle to notice.

[Robbo141]

My usual rule of only having one small batch of mix powder on the go, for freshness, has gone the journey.  I

[romain]

  Nice to see that Robbo! Thx!

[livo]

Yesterday was just over 4 months since I made my batch of Syed's curry powder. I can say, without any doubt, that I should have made a fresh batch before cooking. I cooked 5 chicken and 2 lamb curries and while they were all acceptable they just didn't have the intensity of the dishes cooked with the mix powder when it was fresh.

I'm not at all surprised by this. It is what I expected as the result of the process. I could have quickly made a new batch but against my own thoughts, I didn't.  Now I know to make small batches for immediate use, or not far into the future anyway.

The dishes were still good, but just not as good.  I didn't mention it to any of the diners and there were no comments made, but I knew.