Topic: Vegetable Phall Demo

[DARTHPHALL]

Has anyone cooked a Curry & bought a Take-away on the same day ?
Would that not prove once & for all the not being able to discern the taste on the day of cooking theory,& any smells tastes you could notice would that not indicate different ingredients maybe ?
If i`ve got time i shall be doing this on Friday.

[pete]

I have served a home cooked and reheated frozen takeaway together
I thought mine stood the comparison but  lacked that aroma
Boy, are we picky about this!

[DARTHPHALL]

Funny you should say that because mine lacked the aroma too, & if anything its the smell i can get right.

[Mark J]

I remember ages ago I had some spare gravy so I just whipped up a chicken madras to freeze, when I came to microwave it I couldnt believe my nostrils, it smelled like the strongest BIR smell

[pete]

That's brilliant!
That's what we want.
One more thing I recall from the demo was that the chef was really against the use of chilli powder.
He said repeatedly that it was bad for you.
He said green chillies are best and these are actually healthy.
I don't know if I believe that, but what he meant was, to get the heat into your curries use mainly fresh chilli.
I find the chilli powder does have a "powdery" taste, when using more than a teaspoon
You can't lose it.
I will be following the man's advice

[Curry King]

Im fairly sure this is a big part of getting the "taste", ive just cooked a chicken vindaloo and tasted it as I was cooking and there was no taste.? I always smell the spices as there cooking shove my face in the pan and im sure this is the problem, ive just tried it again after an hour or so and a couple of lagers it tastes spot on, with the "taste".

The "taste" is there and I think the "smell"? ;D? is part of the same thing if I go outside for a while and walk back in the restaurant "smell" hits u in the face.? Ive had friends come round before and say they can smell the curry as they are walking up the path and I always say its not that strong, probably as ive just been sniffing it at close range?

[Curry King]

I don't know if I believe that, but what he meant was, to get the heat into your curries use mainly fresh chilli.
I find the chilli powder does have a "powdery" taste, when using more than a teaspoon

I'm not so sure about that Pete, I was told that to much heat is bad for you but theres no way fresh chili is used as the main heat source for a standard vindaloo or madras.? If the powdered spices are fried properly you shouldn't be able to sense the powder, if a curry is powdery then the chili has been put in after the gravy and lumps up.? I used to do this as I was afraid of burning the spices and its definitely wrong!

To make a vindaloo I put in 3 to 4? teaspoons of hot chili powder and I don't get any powder in the finished dish.

[John]

I went to me favorite takeaway last night, and tried to notice as much as i could about stuff,
Anyway what they used for a madras was about 1tsp of chilli powder, well they were using a cooks spoon and it looked about 1tsp, then when they added a pinch of fresh coriander they also added some chilli pickle (mr naga very hot) i don't know how much they used as they had there back to me but it was sufficient for the madras to taste perfect. when i got home i searched for mr naga and found the following picture, which is the same as used in my best takeaway. so im now on the hunt for this additive for me home variety.

Hey Darth, maybe this is the stuff you need to get the heat in your curries without the powdery taste.

[pete]

Well that's a quest for the weekend!
I will have a look for mr naga
I don't know that one

If the powdered spices are fried properly you shouldn't be able to sense the powder, if a curry is powdery then the chili has been put in after the gravy and lumps up.? I used to do this as I was afraid of burning the spices and its definitely wrong!
To make a vindaloo I put in 3 to 4? teaspoons of hot chili powder and I don't get any powder in the finished dish.

When I cook a hot curry the spices are only cooked about five minutes
If I put in a restaurant mix and chilli powder too, that could make about 2 desertspoons of spices.
It is a lot to be absorbed by the sauce
How long are you frying yours?
I would rather use chilli powder

[Curry King]

How long are you frying yours?
I would rather use chilli powder

I normaly fry my spices for about a minute, maybe a minute and a half, in the oil, garlic and tom puree, if theres not enough oil floating around the pan I add a tiny amount of base to keep it moving.  This is usualy on a low heat.  Also the chili powder I use is extra hot so you don't need as much as a standard chili powder, I would normaly put in 3, 4tsp tops plus a tsp of restaurant masala.  As I said before ive had powdery currys and im sure it was where I was adding powdered spice after the gravy so they didn't cook in very well.