Topic: newbie saying Hello!!!

[curry-lover26]

Hi All,
I am new here and my name is Sarah. I am going to attempt to make my first curry soon. I am a good cook in general but never made 'real' curries simply because i did not have any recipe.  This Blog is a treasure of recipes, thanks to all the Guys who've contributed.
I quite like Balties so i'm gonna make some. But i need a little help.  I am thinking of following the 'Belting balti' recipe but i am unsure of 2 things. 

Firstly on top of the ingredients list for the base it's mentioned cloves, is that the little flower type spice with a strong smell? and

Secondly after cooking the, cardamons,cinamon,bay leaf and the other whole spice do i have to remove them before blending the sauce?

I would be grateful if anybody could answer my questions.  i will be posting pics of my curries soon, so watch this space.

Many thanks,

Sarah   

[Secret Santa]

Hi curry-lover26

cloves, is that the little flower type spice with a strong smell?

I'm sure cloves all over the world will love you for that description Sarah, and yes those are the ones.

do i have to remove them before blending the sauce?

You can leave them in or remove them - your choice. However, Baltis are more...mmm...aromatic than standard curries so I would leave them in.

We're not massively in to Baltis here because the real deal is sort of centred on Brum so not many have tasted the real deal as it were.

Definitely looking forward to your feedback though.

[Rai]

Hi sarah and welcome to the forum.

Heres a photo of cloves (good for tootheache too  )

I think youre referring to the whole spices in the base sarah?  If so, Id take them out  before blending (especially the Cinnamon sticks).  You can leave the peppercorns in though, theyll be ok.

You can also leave all the other spices in if you wish but Id advise taking them out.  The recipe says to cook the base for only 30 minutes and they may not be soft enough to blend well by then.

Count the whole spices in and out sarah.  If you miss a clove or cardamom (theres always one you cant find!) it wont be the end of the world. 

But make sure you get all the Cinnamon sticks out though.  Otherwise you might get some hard woody bits in your base.  Really not nice.

Look forward to seing your pics

[Secret Santa]

Heres a photo of cloves (good for tootheache too  )

Remeber how we used to wrap our heads in vinegar and brown paper Rai. Ahhh those were the days eh? None of this nancy boy aspirin and such like.

[parker21]

hi sarah  welcome to cr0

if you put the whole spices in a muslin cloth then you can take them all out before blending.

hope you enjoy your stay
if you look on the forum for prawn madras and balti demo there is a recipe and method from a bir try that

regards
gary

[curry-lover26]

hi,
Thanks Gary,secret Santa and Rai for replying. You gave me some useful tips there.  Yes i meant the spices like cinammon cardamons and bayleaf, I thought i'll have to get it out before blending otherwise i will end up with woody bits in my curry!!!.now that my questions have been answered i will attempt to make the 'Balti'.Thanks Guys.

But guess what?i have already made a jalfrezi. It was ok my partner gave it a generous 8/10!!! he was just being nice me thinks, i rate it a 7 out of ten!
here are the pics.

sarah

[Jethro]

Looks good to me!!
Welcome to the gang

[Curry King]

HI Sarah,

Welcome to cr0, great pics 

[SnS]

Hi Sarah

Welcome the forum.

Nice first report.

SnS  ;D

[extrahotchillie]

Hello & Welcome