Topic: Garlic browning

[Dylan]

I wonder if the missing taste might come from the method of finishing the dishes over a high, flaming heat. When The oil catches it burns. This must alter the taste. Apparently, when barbecuing, the "barbecued" taste is achieved as much from the oil dripping from the food igniting as it is from the actual charcoal.
 Has anyone here risked cooking a dish with the same ferocity they do in a restaurant kitchen?

[Keith]

Does anyone use cloves in their cooking ? I don't see it much in the recipes but it has a great smell . i used it when pre-cooking chicken the other night and it tasted pretty good .

[pete]

I made the curry gravy recipe that I got last week from a chef.
I had to do the browning garlic/ginger stage and so I photographed it.
Here is the recipe again.

Stage 1:-

1 lb onion
1 tablespoon garlic/ginger puree
5% tomato puree (I assume he meant that as a percentage of the  overall amount)
He said use pureed tinned tomatoes or paste.
Both were ok.
1 small green pepper
2 teaspoon salt
Water (you'll have to guess the amount)

Boil the above for at least an hour and then puree

Stage 2:-

Spices  2 teaspoon mix spice
This is Curry powder,Paprika,Turmeric,Cummin,Coriander in equal proportions
Salt as required
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon dried fenugreek
1 teaspoon balti paste

Also:-
1 tablespoon garlic/ginger puree
3 teaspoon oil

Add the spices to the pureed onion mix
Heat the oil and fry the garlic ginger until brown
Then pour in the onion mix (watch out for spluttering)
Cook for at least ten minutes and it?s ready
The first photo shows lots of steam coming off as the garlic ginger puree is cooked.
I had the heat fairly low as it seems to burn suddenly.

[pete]

Here is the second stage
You can see it starting to turn brown at the edge of the pan.
Careful it doesn't burn.
Give a good scrape there

[pete]

Now you can see the whole thing turning a shade darker.
Not long now.
We've been cooking for about five minutes on low with continuous stirring

[pete]

This part happens very quickly so be ready for the next stage.
This is how you want it to look.

[pete]

I have now addied the pureed onion sauce into the browned garlic ginger.
In this recipe it needs another 10 minutes cooking.
I hope this helps.
Although I realise that the browning flavour is not the "be all and end all" flavour, it is never the less, a very important stage to get the depth of flavour you expect.
I hope these photos are a help

[Keith]

Pete.
Do you do the garlic and ginger browning at the end to put in your base ? I thought it went in at the beginning.

[pete]

Pete.
Do you do the garlic and ginger browning at the end to put in your base ? I thought it went in at the beginning.

This latest recipe I was given said to do it near the end.
Just about all the others said to do it at the start.
I think doing it at the start gives a better result as it is a really dominating flavour and probably needs mellowing.

[grimmo]

cheers Pete!

I made a 'Chepstow CTP' tonight using Curry queen/Petes gravy recipe made yesterday. I did veer of the recipe though by adding some coriander stalks  (something the brick lane fella mentioned that I may have omitted from my report). It was the best attempt Ive come up with so far. Pretty close.

That said I went to what is probably the best BIR in my area on Thursday night and had a special called a 'Chilli Garlic Massalla'. It was basically a Chicken Chilli Massala with extra garlic. Tonights curry still lacked something in comparision.

The interesting thing though is that the extra garlic, while very noticeable, did not equate to an extra amount of 'that' taste...