Topic: different ingredients

[telecaster445]

My local BIR is in knightsbridge and I guess tries to cater for upmarket Clientele. Like may so "modern" places, they try to be different. I have met the chef Aziz many times and he has been proud to talk about what makes him different.

He said he uses "Grains of Paradise" in with his spice mix. I don't know if any body knows its origins? or indeed what effect this will have on the dish. He mentioned Africa??

I am due to visit this week and he has offered to look at my standard list of ingredients, to give me some guidance. I'll report back once I have more, but he did warn me that I would be surprised how many standard supermarket available products are utilised. I know that Delmonte tinned mixed fruit is a favourite in some CTM recipes!

[moonster]

interesting telecaster,

i have never heard of a spice being called that before. so i done a quick google search and it came back that the spice is from west africa and that the taste is a blend of ginger,cardamon and pepper.

it also says that the spice is a big favourate of all the top chefs. i wonder if any of the members have used this before in there dishes.

i would be interested if you could get the itinery of his spice mix telecaster. i would give this a try myself.

thanks

Alan ;D

[Razor]

Can't say I've ever heard of it?  Grains of paradise eh, mmm, So would I find that next to the "powdered Unicorn horn" or bottles of "Mermaids tear's" ;D  Only messin wich ya lol.

TC, did he say what he uses this spice in?  Ginger, pepper and cardamom doesn't seem all that exotic does it?

Very interesting

Ray

[sgtpepper]

Hi Telecaster,

I have heard of this spice - old curry house I used to frequent about 5 years ago used it in a marinade for quail, of all things!! Perhaps it's for the more "upmarket" establishments! [my old haunt was near Pimlico].

I'd be very interested in more info. re: this masala - keen to give it a try.

SgtP

[Ramirez]

Never heard of it myself.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aframomum_melegueta

[George]

Never heard of it myself.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aframomum_melegueta

Well found! As for tinned fruit, the first time I heard that suggested was in the undercover curry book, earlier this year, and I assumed it was a wind-up.

[telecaster445]

Thanks for the feedback on the Grains. yes on Googling it does reference back to Africa.
I am trying to source some (no pun..)

 As for the tinned fruit, yes I saw it in Undercover as well. it does make sense as I have seen the odd grape floating in the Red Sea, although it is not a dish I'd choose. But if there is a dish on the table, its always worth a dip with some bread

I popped in to my local to ask about the "household" products in use. They seem quite unabashed by using whatever is available. Lemon was courtesy of PLJ (pure lemon juice). I seem to remember as a child this was advertised on TV! Aziz confirmed the Grains of paradise are used sparingly as a garnishing spice, in the vain of garam massala. as the research shows, the ginger/cardamon theme is already present from other ingredients.

Ok here was the surprise. Marvel. yes, that nasty milk powder. he uses a spoon of it in the Cream type dishes (CTM/Korma/Pasanda etc). it thickens the gravy and gives a creamy texture and I guess cheaper than cream. cream is used as garnishing swirl on the sweet Red stuff. I'm all for shortcuts, but this seems a corner cut too far. Having said that, it tastes really good. I'll try and get more detail on quantity and method of the "grains"

[JerryM]

Ok here was the surprise. Marvel. yes, that nasty milk powder. he uses a spoon of it in the Cream type dishes (CTM/Korma/Pasanda etc). it thickens the gravy and give a creamy texture and I guess cheaper than cream. cream is used as garnishing swirl on the sweet Red stuff. I'm all for shortcuts, but this seems a corner cut too far. Having said that, it tastes really good. I'll try and get more detail on quantity and method of the "grains"

telecaster445,

i think of marvel or dried milk powder as an easy available whey powder. whey powder itself is used a lot in food production and often a key ingredient.

it's use in CTM is as you say a surprise. it sits well with me though as a BIR taste (i think too often we think delux is better) - i intend to work on the masala for CTM at some point and will try the powder out. many thanks for what i think is likely to prove a piece of the BIR CTM masala jigsaw.

[sgtpepper]

As for the tinned fruit, yes I saw it in Undercover as well. it does make sense as I have seen the odd grape floating in the Red Sea, although it is not a dish I'd choose. But if there is a dish on the table, its always worth a dip with some bread

When I lived near Brighton, my local BIR chef swore by condensed milk/tinned pineapple and juice [whizzed into a liquid] as an essential ingredient in his Dhansak. Best version I've ever tasted...

SgtP

[Ghoulie]

Just received a sample of Paradise Pepper - grains similar looking to black pepper. Ground them by hand with a pestle & mortar & will try tonight precoating all sides of a fillet steak prior to cooking. Tastes like citrusy black pepper