Topic: How to Make Spicy Oil ? The Secret to Truly Replicating BIR curries?

[curryhell]

Nice report Wickerman.  CA will be impressed.  I look forward to reading subsequent reports on the gravy and the finished dish.
On the subject of spiced oil, i think this is very subjective.  Some people swear by it and some think it adds little compared to the time and effort involved in making it.  Unfortunately for us home BIR chefs we don't have a restaurant kitchen and cook the volume of dishes where it is in ample supply and a by product of the BIR process so hats off to CA for coming up with a method of "manufacturing" the stuff  ;D.  .  Personally for me, the jury is still out.  I can remember back in the 80's visiting a kitchen and my dishes were always prepared using the oil from the top of the gravy pot.  Kitchens visited in recent years, the oil seems to be fresh and untouched, usually sitting in an old ghee tin.

[bmouthboyo]

Hi guys,

Can I ask has anyone tried CA spiced oil recipe without the water added? I would like to make it but bit put off with the faf or having to manually separate it. But worried would burn spices with just oil.

Thanks

[PaulP]

Hi guys,

Can I ask has anyone tried CA spiced oil recipe without the water added? I would like to make it but bit put off with the faf or having to manually separate it. But worried would burn spices with just oil.

Thanks

Hi BMB,

I haven't tried this recipe for spiced oil but have tried another one that didn't involve water. It contained similar ingredients to CA's recipe but with no tomato content, and no sugar.

When I cooked it I used an oil thermometer and was surprised the temperature never rose above 105 degrees C when the ingredients were gently bubbling away. Nothing was burned BTW.

So if you want to try this I would leave out the tomato and sugar, replace the water with extra oil and gently fry for about 1 hour. You won't need to filter it, just use a normal strainer. Any grits left over from the cooked spices will fall to the bottom of the pan.

Right now I'm not using spiced oil. The preparation is as bad as cooking a base (which you have to do as well) and I'm not convinced that it really improved my curries.  This may be because nobody has yet published a good recipe for BIR style spiced oil. In particular I was after the tangy, moorish, sweetness that I find in the leftover oil in my favourite TA dishes and the recipe I tried didn't deliver on that front.

Let us know how you get on if you try this.

Cheers,

Paul

[paul_faz]

Cory. Brilliant, this really works.

I live in NE Thailand and so completely cut off:), I used cheap Thai Chilli oil as a base oil. I added a lot of dried Methi leaves (which I believe adds the Essence of BIR smell?) halved the water and the cooking time.  Strained the "mush" through a standard flour sieve and separated the oil from the bottom residue (which contains the "cracked" spice essence). For a curry (based on your base) I use the oil (usual amount) and then add a spoon of "residue" to finish, which adds sweetness and depth, it smells just great and a real taste of home. Thank you so much for a great idea.

[paul_faz]

Sorry just reading back on previous posts.
 
The Chili oil i use is listed as 8% garlic, its peanut oil, i leave it outside in 30C plus for months on end - never a problem, I have used it for stir fry and Asian style cooking for 15 years now.  If you pre-"boil" Garlic in fresh oil the risk is nil, possibly depending on the type of oil, i think.

Rancid or overly used oil is an issue in Thailand and SE Asia in general, it saves money and adds that lived in taste, I am sure its the same in places like Bangladesh and India and THERE ARE health issues with this. I would assume that BIRs use it as a matter of course, its seems to me a natural progression, though any self respecting BIR would not admit that to its use due to the possibility of H&S breathing down their necks an issue if they are using "American" oils.

Reusing too many times lowers the smoke point, think of it as loosing its elasticity, which is why garlic etc. will not burn and a deep taste results because high temperatures are not reached and germs are not killed, especially in hot, humid climates, especially in Asia/BIRs where a quick stir fry is the Modus Operandi. It only became an issue with the availability of cheaper oils like Rapeseed, Canola, corn became available as a cheap alternative to the "bad" oils like Ghee, Peanut and Coconut.

Infused fresh oil used only once, followed by a hot re-fry will reach the temperatures required and not suffer from this "Hidden" issue.

Any doubts? Look up Botulism / 120C and then further research the smoke point of the oil you are using. I assume you are, like, stir frying your curries?

Always use PEANUT OIL!!!!!!! and not American inventions (Coconut oil if you like your Sri Lankan).

[sp]

How about these?  I haven't tried either yet...

http://www.recipesource.com/side-dishes/oils/00/rec0009.html

http://www.recipesource.com/side-dishes/oils/00/rec0016.html

[jrabata]

I have been attempting to make spiced oil and decided to try making it as follows:

Ingredients:

- 500ml vegetable oil
- 400g onions (coarsely chopped)
- 1 tbsp garlic (pureed)
- 1 tsp ginger (pureed)
- 1 tbsp green capsicum (diced)
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp spice mix (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=3765.0)
- 2 tbsp curry powder
- 1 brown cardamom
- 6 green cardamoms
- 2 inch stick of cassia bark
- 1 star anise
- 1 tsp panch phoran
- 1 clove
- 2 litres water
- 1 tbsp sugar

Method:

- Heat oil and gently fry onions for a few minutes until soft
- Add whole spices and gently fry for 2 minutes
- Add garlic, ginger and green capsicum and gently fry for 2 minutes
- Add tomato paste and powdered spices and gently fry for 2 minutes
- Add water and sugar and gently simmer (covered) for 3 hours
- Skim oil from the surface and filter through a colander to remove any solids
- Filter through several layers of muslin cloth to remove fine particles
- Store in a plastic bottle in the fridge

Results:

The resultant oil was orange/red colour, sweetish, and tasted and smelt pleasantly of onions and spices. 

Comments:

I have no idea if this looks or tastes like the oil that BIRs may use to cook their curries because I have never seen or tasted any, but it looks and tastes similar to the oil that is released from the BIR curries themselves.

I chose a method that resembles the preparation of a curry base except this was made for the sole purpose of making the spiced oil (I ditched the solids).  I am uncertain that removing lots of oil from a curry base is sensible since it is likely to diminish the spice flavours in the curry base.

I believe synthesising spiced oil has merits and would welcome any comments or suggestions on the best way to prepare it.

I haven't cooked with it yet and will provide an update when I have.

Here is a picture:

Hi,

In the recipe above what does curry powder actually mean?

According to the spice mix recipe (link) just before it the spice mix is also known as "curry powder". I'm a bit confused: shall I add 2 x 2 tbsp spice mix (probably not) or curry powder means something else?

Thanks in advance, J.

[Naga]

In this context, it just means generic curry powder. It forms such a small overall percentage of the whole that, whichever brand you use, it makes a marginal impact on the final product. Any curry powder from the appropriate aisle of larger supermarkets will do the trick.

On the other hand, if you really want to use spiced oil, add some extra oil to your base gravies, pre-cooked meats and curries and just skim it off. That will be far better than a synthesised spiced oil.

[George]

On the other hand, if you really want to use spiced oil, add some extra oil to your base gravies, pre-cooked meats and curries and just skim it off. That will be far better than a synthesised spiced oil.

How are you so sure? Have you ever made CA's spiced oil and, if so, how did it compare to your approach?

Whilst I don't consider that many of CA's recipes are all they were cracked up to be, I actually think he may have been on to something with his hypothesis regarding synthesised spiced oil. In fact, that's a key reason why I signed up to his new website several months' ago - just to spy on what's going on and to download the odd recipe which might be worth trying. So far, any benefits have been very few and far between but it's fun to defeat his attempts to keep people like me, out!

[976bar]

The best flavoured Spicy Oil I have ever produced is when I have added additional oil to a curry I am making and syphon it off before serving the curry. Typically when I am making Madras/Garlic, Chilli Masala/Vindaloo etc

I just pour it all into the same bottle. It gives a wonderful flavour to any dish