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Author Topic: Shop Bought Fried Onion Yes or NO  (read 20,607 times)

AI Summary
The discussion revolves around the use of shop-bought fried onions in curry preparation, with various opinions shared on their effectiveness and suitability. Some users suggest that while these onions can serve as a convenient garnish, they may not be ideal for cooking within the curry base, as they often lack the freshness and flavor of freshly fried onions. A consensus seems to emerge that while they can be used in certain contexts, such as garnishes or specific dishes like biryani, many still prefer to fry their own onions for better taste and texture.

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Offline JerryM

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Shop Bought Fried Onion Yes or NO
« on: March 13, 2008, 07:41 PM »
in the local supermarket where i shop for my curry ingredients I keep seeing big bags of dried fried onions.

does anyone have any thoughts on whether they are used by BIR and if so how/when.


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Offline JerryM

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Re: Shop Bought Fried Onion Yes or NO
« Reply #1 on: March 15, 2008, 11:16 AM »
surely this must have crossed someone else's mind.

my thinking is at cooking stage when a recipe calls for fresh onion. because i am keeping the pan as hot as my hob will allow and being petrified of burning anything i always tend to under cook the onion.

what i was thinking was to replace the raw onion with the shop bought dried pre fired and add to the recipe after the bulk of the base has gone in.

i will ask at the shop next time i'm there in case they know. but would appreciate any thoughts or experiences on the shop bought fried onion.

is it worth looking into or a straight no no?
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Offline Secret Santa

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Re: Shop Bought Fried Onion Yes or NO
« Reply #2 on: March 15, 2008, 12:10 PM »
I think the shop bought prefried onion has been taken well past the point where it might reasonably be expected to be used in a base recipe. I might, however, expect to see it as a garnish to a dish or perhaps an ingredint in something like a dupiaza.
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Offline Domi

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Re: Shop Bought Fried Onion Yes or NO
« Reply #3 on: March 15, 2008, 12:32 PM »
Or you could just pre-fry the onion yourself, Jerry. I wouldn't use the shop-bought dried fried onions though, fresher is always better ;).
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Offline JerryM

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Re: Shop Bought Fried Onion Yes or NO
« Reply #4 on: March 17, 2008, 07:04 PM »
i've gone and bought a packet.

each time i go in the shop i keep seeing em.

the chappy (who knows me as a regular) at the shop said they are good and to use them at cooking stage when adding the spices. i tried to pin point sort of when but he doesn?t cook so i'm none the wiser.

my gut feeling is to add after the sauce goes in. they are very crispy and could be put out in posh little bowls along with bombay mix if they turn out no good. so garnish is definitely thumbs up and pre fry myself may be on the cards.

going to give em try in next curry.
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Offline spicymatt

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Re: Shop Bought Fried Onion Yes or NO
« Reply #5 on: March 18, 2008, 04:17 PM »
They are pretty much the essential garnish for dahl and so much less hassle than using all that oil just to fry up a garnish, good in a pillau rice etc, etc...
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Offline Bobby Bhuna

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Re: Shop Bought Fried Onion Yes or NO
« Reply #6 on: March 18, 2008, 04:46 PM »
Quote from: JerryM on March 13, 2008, 07:41 PM
in the local supermarket where i shop for my curry ingredients I keep seeing big bags of dried fried onions.

does anyone have any thoughts on whether they are used by BIR and if so how/when.

I doubt it. I've only seen it used at those little international markets on bratwursts. I have some in the house and use it as a garnish for sauasages, burgers etc.
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Offline JerryM

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Re: Shop Bought Fried Onion Yes or NO
« Reply #7 on: March 19, 2008, 08:17 AM »
have now tried in my std madras curry adding after the bulk of the base sauce. i don't think i cooked the curry long enough for the onion or should have pre soaked it a little. why i say this is that the texture of the onion was very nice (sort of creamy, moorish) but still had an overtone of the pre frying which was not good.

on balance consigned to the bin i'm afraid. May suit some tastes but definitely not my cup of tea.

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Offline parker21

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Re: Shop Bought Fried Onion Yes or NO
« Reply #8 on: March 20, 2008, 10:35 PM »
hi jerry m
i watched a programme by james martin in a yorshire market and there was a curry shop off the market place that did curry ingredients and the woman gave him some things to make a curry. there was a big board behind her with all the curies you would find in a standard curryhouse and she had pre-fried onions in the ingredients. i think that it was more geared to authentic curries but she gave you a foil carton with the spices and whole spices and even told you how to cook it. i'm sure that you would use this and add water this would then moisten and then make the taste smoother.
htese are great garnish for a salad though

regards
gary
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Offline JerryM

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Re: Shop Bought Fried Onion Yes or NO
« Reply #9 on: March 21, 2008, 04:16 PM »
gary,

thanks for the thoughts. i will try adding a little water to sort of "refresh" them.

i am still sticking to your rajver base as my bread & butter - many many thanks again for sharing it.

just as an aside i don't know if you've tried ifndforu's base and would recommend giving it a try as it's quite interesting both in terms of cooking and taste.
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