Topic: Balbir Singh Goa Vindaloo spice blend

[Ghoulie]

Just made a chicken version as per her recipe with 2 Serrano green chillies blitzed to a paste. Absolutely brilliant. No need for base gravy. Can highly recommend.

[Peripatetic Phil]

Thank you for the recommendation, Ghoulie.  I do use Mrs Singh's spice blends but have yet to try that one — I shall add it to my list.
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** Phil.

[Ghoulie]

Mrs Ghoulie found it a tad hot - so blitzing 1 Serrano chilli would be her level - scoville only 10 to 20,000 supposedly

[Peripatetic Phil]

Right, ordered two tubs (and a Kerala Coconut Curry at the same time) and will report back.
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** Phil.

[Peripatetic Phil]

Well, cooking this today (using lamb) and  I regret that I am unimpressed.  The recipe, quantities and ingredients were followed to the letter (although I had to substitute rice vinegar for the stipulated cider vinegar, as I had none of the latter) and the first point at which I began to wonder whether all was going to turn out as hoped was when I added the Goan vindaloo masala.  By this point the oil had not come out, and I was clearly adding raw spices to water rather to fat or oil.  I perserved, increasing the cooking time to allow the lamb to soften, but so far it is definitely lacking in appeal.  I shall report further when I have finally eaten it as opposed to just tasting it.

OK, eaten it now (well, some of it, with a paratha) and the final verdict :  "singularly unimpressed".  As I had been somewhat unimpressed at the end of the recommended stages, I decided to add a Knorr lamb stock cube dissolved in a further 150ml water, and then continue to cook for a further hour (covered) and a final five minutes uncovered.  Before serving I stirred in some sliced coriander roots and garnished it with torn coriander leaves, but the end results were seriously disappointing.  The curry was far too thick (to my mind) and lacked any trace of the flavour that I would normally associate with a BIR vindaloo.  As I still have a tub and a half of Mrs Singh's Goan vindaloo masala, I shall have another go at some point, but not using the recipe that accompanied the order — I may try the vindaloo recipe from her 1961 Indian Cookery, using the pre-made vindaloo masala in place of her book's recipe for "Spices for Vindaloo" (top of p.~72), substituting lamb for pork, but otherwise following the recipe in the book (where, I am pleased to note, she writes "Uncover and fry until the water dries up.  Add ground spices ...", thus addressing the very point that I made in para.~1).
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** Phil.

[Robbo141]

I hate to waste a curry opportunity Phil.  Always a major disappointment when that happens.

Robbo

[Peripatetic Phil]

I think I may just be losing my mojo, Robbie — even last night's cottage pie was not in the same class as those that I used to make ...

Also (a more serious point), has anyone ever encountered a recipe book in which reasons are given for each ingredient and for each stage in the cooking process ?  I ask because I used Constance Spry's recipe for my cottage pie, and after softening the onions she says to "add [one teaspoonful of] flour [and] allow [it] to colour".  Now why would one add flour to the onions ?  I understand why one would want to brown it if one had added it, but why add it in the first place ?  What is it intended to achieve ?

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** Phil.

[Bob-A-Job]

Also (a more serious point), has anyone ever encountered a recipe book in which reasons are given for each ingredient and for each stage in the cooking process ?  I ask because I used Constance Spry's recipe for my cottage pie, and after softening the onions she says to "add [one teaspoonful of] flour [and] allow [it] to colour".  Now why would one add flour to the onions ?  I understand why one would want to brown it if one had added it, but why add it in the first place ?  What is it intended to achieve ?

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** Phil.

Phil,

My grandmother, mother and so consequently so do I (it was how I was taught) always used to flour mince when it came to adding it to the pan.  I only do it for cottage pie though, never for sheperd's pie, bolognaise, chilli or anything else that uses mince (my grandmother would likely never have heard of them, let alone "...made that foreign muck" I can hear her saying).

There are many opinions and reasons given for the practice I have just found but I will let you do that search yourself; personally I suspect that quality and quantity is probably the original reason.

[George]

Now why would one add flour to the onions ?  I understand why one would want to brown it if one had added it, but why add it in the first place ?  What is it intended to achieve ?

I assume the onions are being fried in oil or butter. The flour will act as a thickener when added to the fat. The process, as you must know, is called roux. Then, depending on how dark you want the sauce, you brown the oil/butter and flour to the level required.

[Robbo141]

George makes a good point regarding roux.  I have a cookbook from renowned Cajun / Louisiana chef Paul Prudhomme.  (Bought for me 20 years ago by the woman who is now the current Mrs Robbo, before we were a thing, but that’s another story).
In this book, he has several pictures of roux in varying degrees of colour, from a fairly light mustardy to a dark brown, depending on the dish being cooked.  He explains in great detail why the roux is cooked to these different stages for various dishes such as jambalaya, gumbo etc.
New Orleans may be an absolute shithole of a place, but damn their food is good, and I met my missis there too. Swings and roundabouts (or traffic circles as they call them here)

Robbo