Welcome to the forum  ;D

Welcome to the forum matey, you will find all you need here 

Quote from: Cory Ander on June 14, 2007, 03:04 AM

I guess this really means that your're maybe pushing your luck if then reheat your curry leftovers the next day

Eat it cold fer breakfast!!  ;D ;D ;D

Welcome to the site my friend  ;D

Quote from: mike travis on May 17, 2007, 09:08 PM
That`s one heck of a serious set of curry cooking condiments (say that after a beer or 3). Do you manage to get the whole of the spice powder from the packet into your storage container? I keep mine in round plastic containers with snap on lids, and then they are put into a large plastic food box then in a draw in the kitchen cupboard. How often do replenish your stock? Say you hadn`t used a particular spice for ages, how long would you leave it before you threw it away?

                      ;D

Generaly 100 Grams of ground spice will fit into the 180 Ml boxes quite easily, whole spices are another matter. Coriander seed for example takes up a lot of volume for its weight.
As for how long to keep them, well thats a matter of keeping an eye (or nose ) on them as they vary a lot. Delicately flavoured ground spices or stuff like curry/fenugreek leaves I would only keep for about 6 months and then renew them. On the other end of the scale there is stuff like whole black cardomom which is sealed in its own little package and is very highly flavoured and would probably last a year or more.

"The prawns are about 9 inches long"

Prawns!!!!, thems bloody lobsters 

PS, sorry for lack of input over last 2 weeks been in Mexico sampling chillies _

You can do it with Balti bowls/karahai but they need to be nice heavy ones.
Put them on a gas ring until nearly glowing red add a teaspoon of water and a squirt of lemon, dump in your curry and serve immediately.
You have about 20 seconds max to get it to the table before it stops sizzling so timing is everthing.
As CA says best to do this with proper sizzle plates which are thick cast iron and hold the heat a lot longer.

A link if you want some sizzle plates:
http://www.spicesofindia.co.uk/acatalog/Indian-Food-Sizzle-Platter-Small.html

here is one:

http://www.hoohing.com/acatalog/Products__Bicabonate_Soda_244.html

And another:

http://www.wingyipstore.co.uk/product-017475.html


MSG is more Chinese than Indian so search on chinese food stores online.

Hope this helps,

Jethro

As this subject has been a bit neglected I thought I would put my two pence worth in 

There are several factors that will effect the quality of your whole/ground spice collections.


1. Exposure to air. (Causes oxidation which leads to loss/changes of flavour)
2. Light.           (Causes colour loss and loss of flavour)
3. Heat.            (Accelerates the last two factors)     
4. Moisture.        (A killer, it will cause mould and bacterial growth)
5. Age.             (Causes colour/flavour loss and general deterioration)


The perfect spice container would be tube shaped (less spice surface area to contact air), air tight, water tight and opaque, unfortunately this shape is also a pain in the rear end to stack/store in a cupboard, they take a lot of room.
I use Lock 'n' lock containers, they are very secure and stack well to save space.
I keep them in a dark cool cupboard well away from the cooker.
Use small containers and try not to buy more spices than you think you will use in the next six months (whole spices will keep longer than ground)
Keep an eye on how long you have had the spices (I put the date on each container when it is refilled) and renew them regularly.

The worst case scenario is probably a nice spice rack with clear glass containers kept next to the cooker, so if your friends/family want to buy you one as a pressie to indulge your curry passion, carefully decline


Hope this has been of some help and yes, that is Bombay duck on the right, I happen to like the stuff 

Jethro

Welcome to curry heaven friend, feel free to contibute any expierences, recipes, well anything really  ;D