Topic: Dried Fenugreek Leaves

[Cory Ander]

Hi All,

I think that dried fenugreek leaves are key to the smell and taste of a BIR curry.  They are very savoury and tend to seep out of your pores, smelling distinctly of curry, for several days after the event!

However, my question is, has anyone actually seen BIRs use them?  I can't think that I have.  Also, I have no recollection of seeing evidence of them (i.e. little green leaves) in any BIR curry that I have ever had.....has anyone?

[lightboy]

I always use them in most of my curries and put some in my base .. but you are correct i havnt seen any evidence of them being used in BIR's .. but they definitely have "the taste" i find that frying them first releases the flavour ..

[mickdabass]

I have never seen any evidence of chopped coriander either 

[qprbob]

I use dried Fenugreek Leaves allot in my curry making.
The reason you don't see them in BIR, is that maybe they use powdered Fenugreek leaves. I often crumble them between my fingers as I'm adding them to the curry.

[adriandavidb]

I saw a demo once, I didn't see anything that I recognised as fenugreek leaf; which of course, isn't to say it wasn't there!!

I use fenugreek leaf in most of stuff. I blitz the whole box-full in a spice grinder untill it's a fine green powder.  In a madras I add one quater of a level (5ml) tps to the spice mix and 'fry it in' at the beginning.  I have tried adding it later (flavour too pungent), or not at all (deffinately something missing).  I wouldn't use it in a CTM, but I think it works in madras and bhuna.

[Frying Tonight]

After messing about with curries for years, I got The Curry Secret (original version).  Those recipes called for dried fenugreek leaves, and as soon as I opened the box, I thought, OMG I know this smell!  In Curry Secret, the dried leaves are ground, so there is some BIR precedent for grinding.  Perhaps it's part of a spice mix, and, as such, is not obvious to onlookers. 

[JerryM]

i'm still undecided whether i like the taste (moves towards to BIR or not). i intend to try the fresh at some point.

i certainly can't put them in madras as for me it moves the overall taste away from BIR. i do add sometimes to Bhuna and this is where i can't really decide.

pot 7 on the malik web cam certainly looks like the stuff.

maybe i should try grinding it, given adrian and qprbob's comments

[SnS]

Must admit - I've never seen it used in the dried leaf form either .... but I will ask.

SnS  :

[Unclebuck]

This BIR uses them you can see em next to the spice mix



if i remember watching this he added dried ferugreek after the initial frying of spices.

[Curry Barking Mad]

Just found this on you tube. it shows the use of fenugreek leaves in this sag aloo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hepf4zJCfBI

Bob