Topic: Smokey flavour

[andymac]

Hi
Has anybody been able to acheive that "smokey Barbacue flavour" in their curries?, if so how do you do it!
Regards
Andy Mac

[noble ox]

Hi Andymac
I have used smoked Paprika a few times a teaspoon towards the end has a good smoky effect assuming its not too old
Hope this is of some help

[andymac]

Hi Noble
Many thanks
I will give it a whirl and post my findings.
Regards
Andy Mac

[Les]

Hi andymac
On one of Julians (curry2go) Video's he mentions Mustard Oil giving a smokey flavour, might be worth a shot if you don't have any luck with the smoked Paprika

Happy cooking my friend, and welcome to cr0 ;D

Les

[Razor]

Hi Andy,

It really depends on what you mean by 'smokey' I suppose.  I don't really recognise the flavour as smokey but some members do. I had a discussion with another member with regards to this and it seems that the 'smokey' flavour or aroma is created at the frying stage.!

Heat the oil, add the garlic and ginger paste and when it just start to change colour add your spices and take off the heat.  Give it a good stir for 30 seconds then add diluted tom puree.  Back on the heat, low and continue to stir.  You should start to get the aroma of the spices (some people explain this aroma as a 'toffee' smell?  Then carry on as normal.

Anyway, that may be one way of getting the taste that you're looking for?

Hope that helps.

Ray

[spiceyokooko]

Hi there Andy

It's a very good question and one I've been trying to find the answer to for some time as it's the one flavour missing from the dishes I make I just can't seem to be able to achieve and for me constitutes that missing 5%.

I know exactly the flavour you're referring to, but it's hard to describe.

There was an interesting discussion on this very topic I raised here -
http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=6318.msg65981#msg65981

Unfortunately it's long and convoluted and with plenty of fluff, but it's worth reading if you're determined enough to try and replicate this on a repeatable basis.

Unfortunately, despite what others might try and tell you to the contrary, currently there is no easy or conclusive definable answer as to how to achieve this particular flavour, assuming of course we're both referring to the same one.

I've recently run a few tests on dishes I've made, proving or disproving certain theories I have on what's producing it, and I believe I'm getting closer to achieving what I've been looking for.

However it's not reliable or conclusive enough for me to be able to give any details on what might produce it, given how savage the dogs here can be on anyone who dares to post an honest opinion that might possibly conflict with their own.

What I will say is, I believe this particular flavour is achievable in a home domestic kitchen when using the right ingredients and cooking techniques.

I wish you well in your search for achieving it.

[Stephen Lindsay]

I've recently run a few tests on dishes I've made, proving or disproving certain theories I have on what's producing it, and I believe I'm getting closer to achieving what I've been looking for.

However it's not reliable or conclusive enough for me to be able to give any details on what might produce it, given how savage the dogs here can be on anyone who dares to post an honest opinion that might possibly conflict with their own.

What I will say is, I believe this particular flavour is achievable in a home domestic kitchen when using the right ingredients and cooking techniques.

Every dog has it's day spiceyokooko. I for one would be happy to read the outcome of your tests when you get there. I've not contributed much to posts about the "smokey" or "toffee" flavour. I'm not really sure about it's validity because it's so subjective and I don't know if I am sensing what other people are. I do know however that if I have been making curries and I enter the kitchen after a period of being outside then it is exactly the same hit that you get walking into a takeaway. Is that the smokey or toffee smell? I'm not sure but I do know that I like it!

[andymac]

Hi All
Many thanks for your comments, i will try the smokey paprika route and let you know what the outcome is. I was told that the black cardanom was a possibility, but it turned out to be too menthol.
Regards
Andy

[spiceyokooko]

I do know however that if I have been making curries and I enter the kitchen after a period of being outside then it is exactly the same hit that you get walking into a takeaway. Is that the smokey or toffee smell? I'm not sure but I do know that I like it!

Stephen

The smell you're getting that reminds you of a BIR Restaurant/Take Away is a product of frying spices in garlic/ginger/onion puree and particularly the use of fenugreek whether in ground or dried leaf form. That's the smell you get from the indian dishes you cook and the one that lingers in the air afterwards, but it's not the flavour/taste I'm referring to. Bear in mind we're more sensitive to smell than we are to taste.

The smoky/sweet flavour I'm referring to is a hard one to describe or define but it's one that predominates in BIR dishes that many of us struggle to achieve at home and for many constitutes that final 5%.

My experiments at achieving it have centered around the initial frying stage of garlic/ginger/onion puree and spices at different burner flame levels and speed of frying. I've switched from a standard aluminium non stick frying pan on a standard burner to an uncoated thin carbon steel wok used on a wok burner.

The hotter the flame and faster I've cooked the initial stages of the dish, the closer I've come to achieving that flavour but I'm still not 100% there yet. I'm therefore convinced that it's at this initial frying stage where it's produced and not at the introduction of the base sauce or necessarily the makeup of the spice mixture.

I've accepted Cory Ander's view and experiments on replicating the flavour using a high flame burner as this ties in logically with one of the main differences between commercial BIR kitchens who use high flame burners and the general limitations of a home kitchen. However, I also believe the flavour can be produced in a home kitchen by using a higher flame and faster cooking speed using standard gas burners.

But for anyone using an electric hob, I'd say they were wasting their time - they just don't get hot enough fast enough and are far too difficult to control heat wise.

[DalPuri]

Hi Spicy,
   I too love that smokey flavour and believe it IS smoke!!
and NOT from burning spices or caramelising, but from the flames licking up the side of the pan and igniting splattering oil.

there is another method described here:


taken from here:
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=-UFwsluKqM8C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

i heard of this method years ago but was used at the end of cooking the curry rather than only for dry meat. there wasn't any spices mentioned. only oil and charcoal.

Cheers Frank. 

p.s. there is a lot of good info in this book, incl some different dry masala mixes. you might have to use a different browser for each link.
deleting cookies didnt work for me.

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=-UFwsluKqM8C&pg=PA197&lpg=PA197&dq=prashad+masalas&source=bl&ots=BujvGK_nsu&sig=BVx7w8ZFyH_19G9ZmxJvT_yYaDQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=UekFT9aIH9CPsAbh__CBDw&ved=0CDoQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false