Topic: Curry Powder or Mix Powder in Main's

[JerryM]

How to get that balance is my question.

In the undercover curry, tandoori massala seems to be used in dishes, often as part of a tandoori marinade (added to dishes like Bhuna during the frying stage). I was wondering how widespread its use has been with members.

telecaster445,

on the balance try the mouchak - it's the closest i've come across to the right balance.

on the tandoori massala i've stopped using it as an "add" spice at frying. i tend to use tikka when i feel the dish needs this different taste that the tandoori massala adds. i still use it for tikka, CTM and bunjarra.

[Derek Dansak]

MY biggest mistake was using other chefs spice mixes for 3 years. yes it works, but it wont teach you how to REALLY cook bir dishes. Each restaurant chef develops his own approach to spicing the curry and the base. They dont just blindly copy another persons  spice mix , and stick to it.  Its important to some times cook using your own spice mixes. this is how you learn and improve. I learnt lots more when I stopped using typical spice mixes . I would highly recomend breaking away from just copying every one elses spice mixes. At least some of the time, if not all the time. Just my opinion, after 3 years of using the bir spice mix from the chef at my local.  For the record i do recomend adding good tandorri masalla to each curry. this really compliments cr0 spice mixes. garam masalla is not something that ever brings me closer to bir taste. other members may disagree?

[solarsplace]

...snip... For the record i do recomend adding good tandorri masalla to each curry. this really compliments cr0 spice mixes. garam masalla is not something that ever brings me closer to bir taste. other members may disagree?

Hi

I'm not sure how many / if at all BIR's would do this. Seemingly from all the videos and real chef tutorials that members have had recently, then it is probably none - or are they hiding something  ?

But I like yourself like to add a decent tandoori masala into many of the curries I cook and agree it makes the results far more like a BIR than adding garam masala.

Regards

But I agree with what you say

[George]

I would highly recomend breaking away from just copying every one elses spice mixes.

If you stop using their spice mixes or, say, the Bruce Edwards mix which seems popular, then what do you use? Are you saying it's easy to develop some blend which is superior to any of the popular mixes? If so, what's you best blend so far?

[Stephen Lindsay]

Interesting post

adding some tandoori mix - yeah have tried this and works quite well but too much and it produces a tandoori flavoured curry (not surprisingly).

use of garam masala - I agree it doesn't bring one closer to BIR, probably further away I would have thought. Garam masala, in home style cooking, is usually added at the end, just before serving. Like mix powders, garam masala is a mix also, but tends towards more aromatic spices as cinnamon, cardamon etc and this may be why it doesn't have the BIR taste.

[telecaster445]

Yes G.M. seems too aromatic.

 There are so may different "mixes", although they are really variations on quantities, rather than ingredients. The theme that runs through is that a good quality curry powder seems to often be the dominant spice. I've been surprised how in some there is so much turmeric! I thought it might be a bit strong.

[mickdabass]

http://www.lionsgrip.com/curingredients.html