Topic: Madras curries and other information

[CurryManUKs]

I've decided to pick a powder from East End, TRS or MDH Kitchen King. Has anyone tried any of them?

Bith East End and TRS are excellent, CMUK-my local Turkish grocers sell just them!

Which one smells less pungent?

[CurryManUKs]

Thanks for notifying me that Kitchen King does not substitute a curry powder. I saw a lot of spices and assumed it'd work, but if not, I'll try to use it in some other way.

[livo]

Kitchen King is a curry powder. It isn't a Madras Curry Powder.  There are many different blends of spices used and suited to a particular purpose.  Kitchen King can be used but you need to test it to see if it's what you're after.

Check out Bassar or Bombay Bottle Masala or Sri Lankan Jaffna Curry Powder. All curry powders but not Madras Curry Powder.

[Peripatetic Phil]

Kitchen King is a curry powder.

Well, is it ?  Or is it a masala ?  To be honest, I would incline to the latter.

** Phil.

FWIW, it contains Coriander seeds, Cumin, Red chillies, Turmeric, Black pepper, Iodised salt, Dried ginger, Mustard, Fennel seeds, Garlic, Cassia, Fenugreek leaves, Black cardamom, Cloves, Nutmeg, Green cardamom, Mace, Asaf

[Onions]

I've decided to pick a powder from East End, TRS or MDH Kitchen King. Has anyone tried any of them?

Bith East End and TRS are excellent, CMUK-my local Turkish grocers sell just them!

Which one smells less pungent?

We're currently working our way through a big bag of East End, so I can't really compare of the top of my head.But I can say that EE isn't very pungent, so there's a good chance TRS is more pungent.

I guess that was probably a less than definitive answer I'm afraid 

[livo]

Well, is it ?  Or is it a masala ?  To be honest, I would incline to the latter.

** Phil.

FWIW, it contains Coriander seeds, Cumin, Red chillies, Turmeric, Black pepper, Iodised salt, Dried ginger, Mustard, Fennel seeds, Garlic, Cassia, Fenugreek leaves, Black cardamom, Cloves, Nutmeg, Green cardamom, Mace, Asaf

[Peripatetic Phil]

All of the listed spices can be found in a curry and it is in powdered form, hence it is a curry powder.  Curry powder is a masala; ie, a blend of spices.  A masala is a blend of spices used to make a curry, so if it is in powdered form, it is logically a curry powder.  A powdered masala is a curry powder and a curry powder is a masala.

I (very respectfully) disagree.  All curry powders are masalas, but not all masalas are curry powders.  Garam masala is not a curry powder

[livo]

I have a favourite recipe for a prawn / shrimp dish that is certainly a curry and it uses Garam Masala as the flavouring / spice powder.  In this recipe it is most certainly a curry powder.

[Gaspodia]

This is an interesting debate; I'm not sure there *is* a clear definition of curry powder really.  I guess it comes down to what ingredients it is intended to be a substitute for, which varies quite significantly by brand and style according to the ingredients lists I've been looking at.

Just to muddy the waters a bit further, certain ingredients can end up being added more than once is some recipes (including mine!).  I use cumin at the initial tempering stage, as well as using it in my garam masala.  Coriander is another one, with the seeds going into the masala and the leaves/stalks going in at the end of the cook.

I always thought of curry powder vaguely as a balancing ingredient, though that doesn't quite fit either as some don't include ginger and others don't include garlic.

The only conclusion I am prepared to draw is that it is a variable mix powder that isn't a good substitute for garam masala but can be a good alternative to turmeric on its own.

[Peripatetic Phil]

Tomaito or Tomarto.

All of the listed spices can be found in a curry and it is in powdered form, hence it is a curry powder. 

Silica, magnetite, chlorite, glauconite and gypsum.

All of the listed minerals can be found on a typical beach, and it is in fine particulate form, hence it is a sandy beach.  Wrong.  It is a pile of builder's sand, waiting to be blended with cement and water before being converted into concrete.

** Phil.