Topic: Fennel In The Base Sauce ?

[Blondie]

Hi all,

What does everyone think about the possibility of there being Fennel seeds in the base sauce.  The reason I bring this up is that for a long time now I have had a suspicion that there is a slight aniseedy taste to my favourite takeaway's curries. I asked them if there was any Fennel seeds in the base and they said there is. Am I being spun another yarn?

Does anyone else detect this taste or is this specific to my locals,

Cheers all,

Blondie

[DARTHPHALL]

If you see some of my posts you`ll see that i sometimes put fennel( 1 teaspoon ) seeds in my Vindaloo,Tindaloo & Phall.Are you sure the taste is in the curry not the rice below as it sometimes has Cassia bark & Star Anisse in it.

[Blondie]

Hi DARTHPHALL,

The aniseedy taste is in the rice for sure (Pillau) but I've tasted it many times when I've eaten the curry on it's own.  My other half has also found Fennel seeds in Rogan.

Cheers DARTHPHALL,

Blondie

[Curry King]

Im not sure they are very strong i put a teaspoon or so in a tikka marinade once and it was way to overpowering.  I suppose a small amount in a great vat of sauce wouldn't be so bad.  Trouble is if its not any good thats another big batch of base thats in the bin, wouldn't be the first time, for me anyway  :

[DARTHPHALL]

To clear up . I put 1 teaspoon of Fennel seeds(whole) in a 5 portion curry batch & i think it makes a nice change to any curry even the ones we just make up (i cant be the only one to do this).
Also as an alternative Star Anisse(2/3 whole seed pods for above batch) or Cassia bark about five 1 inch pieces for above batch.Hope this helps.

[pete]

There are curry base recipes on the in2curry chat site.
I tried a couple, they were ok but not so ok that  I would do regularly.
I posted a curry base from Pat Chapman on this site which includes it too!

[merrybaker]

You could add the tiniest amount of ground fennel to each different curry you make.? If they all taste better with it, then it should be a good addition to the curry base.? If even one curry tastes wrong, then it?s probably something they add later to individual curries.? I?d use ground fennel for the test only because it?s easier to measure a miniscule amount and have it disperse evenly in the sauce.

-Mary? ?

[Blondie]

Hi all,

thanks for the replies. A couple of you mention Fennel powder, has anyone seen this in the shops, or would I need to grind it myself because we have an abundance of asian shops in this area but I have never seen it, does it go by another name in powdered form.

What about Kashmiri Masala?  I have recently bought 2 different ones, Patak's and another that comes in a box made by Mangal.  The Mangal one seems to have the true flavour of the takeaway about it but the Patak's doesn't although they both added a certain smooth roundness to the dishes I used them in.  I was wondering about the use of the Kashmiri Masala in the base YES or NO ?

cheers all,

Blondie

[Blondie]

Hi Pete,

The Pat Chapman base that had Fennel in it, could you please give me a link for it or perhaps post the recipe here,

Thanx Pete,

Blondie

[merrybaker]

A couple of you mention Fennel powder, has anyone seen this in the shops, or would I need to grind it myself

I've never seen it in an Indian grocery, either.? Your best bet is a store that sells only herbs and spices.? Penzey's in the US has it, as does The Spice Shop in the UK.? But since you don't know if it's going to be worthwhile, and since ground spices go stale quickly, and since you could easily be stuck with another useless Indian ingredient, I"d just grind up some in a mortar & pestle or spice grinder to use for the test run.? Of course, if you make a lot of pizza or pasta, you'd probably find enough uses for a whole jar.

-Mary