Prefer black cumin, too.
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#182
Curry Videos / Re: Chili Chicken Masala
March 02, 2013, 10:16 PM
Hi DalPuri!
True.
Which cities did you visit? Was talking about the "Taj Mahal" in Bochum. Unlikely, but possible, that you ate there, too (:
The "Taj" offers a heat range counting from 1 to 6 (with additional halfsteps, e.g. 4+), 3 is explained as pleasantly spicy for the western tongue. There's the inofficial 6+, which is described as "Indian heat". Never checked that out, always take a 4 or 4+. Funny fact: Water from the tap is free, and on the menu it's called "Suicidal tendencies" ;O
Tried some german store-bought curry, and although I believe it was imported and produced in India, it tasted like waste nonetheless and I threw it in the trash. On the other hand, another one I tried, tasted pretty good (Dal Makhani), but was a little bit salty. The last pre-packed one I bought, Rajma masala, from MTR foods India, didn't impress me at all. It wasn't that bad, and I only tried it out to compare to the self-made one, but after that experience, I think I will stop buying pre-packed curries once and for all. Till the next experiment :
I WANT to know! So, who's sending me some english curry in a carton/cardboard? ;P
Hi Aussie Mick!
Hahaha, sounds german! ;D
She could get used to it, but not by avoiding all the nice chilis
Personally, I enjoy spicy food very much and usually, don't eat german food at all. Wouldn't say that the food is bad, but it's definitely not my favourite taste.
Didn't mean to hijack this thread, by the way ,)
Greetings!
Quote from: DalPuri on March 02, 2013, 05:52 PMQuote from: chonk on March 02, 2013, 05:25 PM
(I'm from germany). My favourite curry house, which is said to be the best in whole North Rhine-Westphalia and already more than 30 years in the business, could get close to the taste of british takeaways, but I'm not sure.
Greetings!
Hi Chonk,
I've eaten curries all over Germany (not through choice) and i can say without a doubt, they're nothing like a BIR. Even though your favourite curry house has 30 years experience, they are catering for the German palette.
True.
Which cities did you visit? Was talking about the "Taj Mahal" in Bochum. Unlikely, but possible, that you ate there, too (:
Quote from: DalPuri on March 02, 2013, 05:52 PM
All the curries i've eaten over there have been barely spiced and would be similar in flavour to a supermarket curry.
The "Taj" offers a heat range counting from 1 to 6 (with additional halfsteps, e.g. 4+), 3 is explained as pleasantly spicy for the western tongue. There's the inofficial 6+, which is described as "Indian heat". Never checked that out, always take a 4 or 4+. Funny fact: Water from the tap is free, and on the menu it's called "Suicidal tendencies" ;O
Tried some german store-bought curry, and although I believe it was imported and produced in India, it tasted like waste nonetheless and I threw it in the trash. On the other hand, another one I tried, tasted pretty good (Dal Makhani), but was a little bit salty. The last pre-packed one I bought, Rajma masala, from MTR foods India, didn't impress me at all. It wasn't that bad, and I only tried it out to compare to the self-made one, but after that experience, I think I will stop buying pre-packed curries once and for all. Till the next experiment :
Quote from: DalPuri on March 02, 2013, 05:52 PM
On the other hand, you might have a gem there, who knows?
I WANT to know! So, who's sending me some english curry in a carton/cardboard? ;P
Hi Aussie Mick!
Quote from: Aussie Mick on March 02, 2013, 06:29 PM
Our kitchen hand is German. She says our food is very spicy. She does enjoy it, but if we cook her something to take home she always asks me to cook it without any chilli...lol
Hahaha, sounds german! ;D
She could get used to it, but not by avoiding all the nice chilis
Personally, I enjoy spicy food very much and usually, don't eat german food at all. Wouldn't say that the food is bad, but it's definitely not my favourite taste.
Didn't mean to hijack this thread, by the way ,)
Greetings!
#183
Curry Videos / Re: Chili Chicken Masala
March 02, 2013, 05:25 PM
Well, strictly speaking, by using a tadka, you could say I'm using some sort of seasoned oil at leat ;P Must admit that I'm more into the traditional way of cooking a curry, and never even used a base so far! Sometimes I use a few tablespoons of onion bhaji oil, mixed with fresh one to fry some batches of pakora. But I'm not even sure if I've already experienced the real BIR-taste yet (I'm from germany). My favourite curry house, which is said to be the best in whole North Rhine-Westphalia and already more than 30 years in the business, could get close to the taste of british takeaways, but I'm not sure.
Greetings!
Greetings!
#184
Curry Videos / Re: Chili Chicken Masala
March 02, 2013, 01:38 AM
Chris' seasoned oil reminds me of the commercially available "Indian Hot Wok Oil" (AarhusKarlshamn/International Collection). Same colour, maybe even the same or similiar ingredients...? No fishing intended - I don't use seasoned oil, and don't plan to change that ,)
Greetings!
Greetings!
#185
Traditional Indian Recipes / Re: Any Collard Greens recipes?
February 26, 2013, 03:29 PM
It really is "Markstammkohl", isn't it? Can't even use ordinary turnip (Speiseruebe), because we stupid germans use them almost exclusively to feed animals, too. Crazy world!
Greetings!
Greetings!
#186
Traditional Indian Recipes / Re: Any Collard Greens recipes?
February 26, 2013, 02:06 AM
Hey, beachbum!
Which collard greens do you use exactly? I believe I can't get the right ones here in germany. But if it's still up to date, I could deliver some traditional kashmiri recipes. That's the tragedy - couldn't try them out for myself yet. Would be happy about any useful subsitute, too, besides spinach.
Greetings!
Which collard greens do you use exactly? I believe I can't get the right ones here in germany. But if it's still up to date, I could deliver some traditional kashmiri recipes. That's the tragedy - couldn't try them out for myself yet. Would be happy about any useful subsitute, too, besides spinach.
Greetings!
#187
Lets Talk Curry / Re: Rick Stein's Far Eastern Odyssey
February 26, 2013, 01:39 AM
Hey, beachbum!
Had to watch it after reading your description - pretty interesting show!
The biryani looked really awesome. After I thought about the fact, that chilis were still unknown in India a few hundred years ago, it didn't surprise me that much that there are still some recipes out there, that don't use them at all (:
"Struck me as the sort of curry I would make years ago when I only used Turmeric, Cummin, Coriander and Chilli and everything turned out a shadow of BIR (or AIR)."
Wait a moment... I still do that! ;P
Most traditional curries should cook quite a while, to enhance their flavour. Some get cooked overnight or up to 24 hours (usually some dal dishes), but I would never cook a wet curry less than 15 to 45 minutes. I always thought about BIR-style of cooking (and the use of a pre-made base) as some sort of shortcut, to still get the taste of well-cooked onions and whole spices, but without the necessity of the time-consuming, slow-cooking process.
Greetings!
Had to watch it after reading your description - pretty interesting show!
The biryani looked really awesome. After I thought about the fact, that chilis were still unknown in India a few hundred years ago, it didn't surprise me that much that there are still some recipes out there, that don't use them at all (:
"Struck me as the sort of curry I would make years ago when I only used Turmeric, Cummin, Coriander and Chilli and everything turned out a shadow of BIR (or AIR)."
Wait a moment... I still do that! ;P
Most traditional curries should cook quite a while, to enhance their flavour. Some get cooked overnight or up to 24 hours (usually some dal dishes), but I would never cook a wet curry less than 15 to 45 minutes. I always thought about BIR-style of cooking (and the use of a pre-made base) as some sort of shortcut, to still get the taste of well-cooked onions and whole spices, but without the necessity of the time-consuming, slow-cooking process.
Greetings!
#188
Pictures of Your Curries / Re: Samosas not the best looking.
February 25, 2013, 09:58 PM
Hey, h4ppy-chris!
Looks nice! The filling consists of potatoes and peas, or is there some cauliflower, too? You didn't fry them at low temperature, did you? The blisters, or bubbles, look like relatively high temperatures.
Greetings!
Looks nice! The filling consists of potatoes and peas, or is there some cauliflower, too? You didn't fry them at low temperature, did you? The blisters, or bubbles, look like relatively high temperatures.
Greetings!
#189
Pictures of Your Curries / Re: Rajma Masala
February 25, 2013, 03:25 PM
Hey, Axe!
Wow - that "Curry Black Pearl" sure is black! I believe, if you would roast the ingredients till they become that dark, they will not only look like charcoal, but taste like it, too ;P Not sure, if they use colouring (that is natural), or it's the mustard seeds or black peppercorns, that give the colour. Looks a little bit unusual, but sounds pretty nice.
Greetings!
Wow - that "Curry Black Pearl" sure is black! I believe, if you would roast the ingredients till they become that dark, they will not only look like charcoal, but taste like it, too ;P Not sure, if they use colouring (that is natural), or it's the mustard seeds or black peppercorns, that give the colour. Looks a little bit unusual, but sounds pretty nice.
Greetings!
#190
Pictures of Your Curries / Re: Rajma Masala
February 25, 2013, 01:17 AM
Sorry for the delay, Axe! Got caught up in some family business, but here's the "Black Masala from Maharashtra":
12 black cardamom pods (you could use green ones, too)
10 cloves
1 cinnamon stick (3cm)
5 bay leaves, 1 teaspoon oil
1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 tablespoons cumin
2 teaspoons black cumin (Shah Jeera)
4 tablespoons poppy seeds
8 fenugreek seeds
2 tablespoons grated coconut
1/2 teaspoon Hing
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
Roast the cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and the bay leaves in the hot oil for a short time. Let it cool down. Everything else gets roasted at low flame till it gets brown, in another pan. You have to keep attention, so the coconut doesn't get burnt. After the that, you combine both batches and process it further with an electric grinder into a fine powder. There are different outcomes, that depend on the roasting (ligh-brown till dark brown, black).
I don't really use any self-made tandoori masala, but just a hint of black cardamom in addition to any tandoori recipe I make. (at the moment, I simply use the garam masala, because it contains black cardamom as main ingredient) But I know for sure, that there are also some tandoori masala recipes, that use these at first place. I will give you the one I found in one of my cookbooks nonetheless, but I didn't try it out yet, it uses green cardamom originally, and it's a chaat variation. AND it outcome would be like 500 grams or so X.X
Tandoori Chaat Masala:
50 g cumin seeds
50 g black peppercorns
3 1/2 tablespoons kala namak (black salt)
30 g dried mint
2 tablespoons fenugreek seeds
30 green cardamom pods
15 cloves
5 cinnamon sticks (2-3cm)
2 teaspoons ajowan seeds
1 teaspoon hing
1/2 ground macis
125 g amchoor powder
2 1/2 tablespoons Salt
3 tablespoons ginger powder
3 tablespoons yellow cayenne pepper*
Process everything, besides the amchoor, salt, ginger and cayenne pepper in your electric grinder into a fine powder. After that, combine it with the other ingredients and pour through a sieve into airtight container, etc.
* I believe the author speaks of ordinary, red cayenne pepper, but I'm not sure. It's the german translation of Pushpesh Pant's "India" (the original edition is known to contain some errors), but I never heard of powdered, yellow cayenne pepper. Maybe someone here owns the english edition and could check?
Most of the usual tandoori marinades I know, typically consist of curd, ginger and garlic paste, some fenugreek seeds, red chili paste or cayenne pepper (or kashmiri chili, deggi mirch, etc.) and in addition some cardamom seeds or garam masala (and there I would recommend to use a pinch of black cardamom, or garam masala that contains black cardamom as first or second ingredient).
You could try out the garam masala recipe, if you want, and just use it with your typical tandoori dish. If you have none, I could write you some basic recipe for a tandoori marinade down, too.
Hope you enjoy (:
Greetings!
12 black cardamom pods (you could use green ones, too)
10 cloves
1 cinnamon stick (3cm)
5 bay leaves, 1 teaspoon oil
1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 tablespoons cumin
2 teaspoons black cumin (Shah Jeera)
4 tablespoons poppy seeds
8 fenugreek seeds
2 tablespoons grated coconut
1/2 teaspoon Hing
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
Roast the cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and the bay leaves in the hot oil for a short time. Let it cool down. Everything else gets roasted at low flame till it gets brown, in another pan. You have to keep attention, so the coconut doesn't get burnt. After the that, you combine both batches and process it further with an electric grinder into a fine powder. There are different outcomes, that depend on the roasting (ligh-brown till dark brown, black).
I don't really use any self-made tandoori masala, but just a hint of black cardamom in addition to any tandoori recipe I make. (at the moment, I simply use the garam masala, because it contains black cardamom as main ingredient) But I know for sure, that there are also some tandoori masala recipes, that use these at first place. I will give you the one I found in one of my cookbooks nonetheless, but I didn't try it out yet, it uses green cardamom originally, and it's a chaat variation. AND it outcome would be like 500 grams or so X.X
Tandoori Chaat Masala:
50 g cumin seeds
50 g black peppercorns
3 1/2 tablespoons kala namak (black salt)
30 g dried mint
2 tablespoons fenugreek seeds
30 green cardamom pods
15 cloves
5 cinnamon sticks (2-3cm)
2 teaspoons ajowan seeds
1 teaspoon hing
1/2 ground macis
125 g amchoor powder
2 1/2 tablespoons Salt
3 tablespoons ginger powder
3 tablespoons yellow cayenne pepper*
Process everything, besides the amchoor, salt, ginger and cayenne pepper in your electric grinder into a fine powder. After that, combine it with the other ingredients and pour through a sieve into airtight container, etc.
* I believe the author speaks of ordinary, red cayenne pepper, but I'm not sure. It's the german translation of Pushpesh Pant's "India" (the original edition is known to contain some errors), but I never heard of powdered, yellow cayenne pepper. Maybe someone here owns the english edition and could check?
Most of the usual tandoori marinades I know, typically consist of curd, ginger and garlic paste, some fenugreek seeds, red chili paste or cayenne pepper (or kashmiri chili, deggi mirch, etc.) and in addition some cardamom seeds or garam masala (and there I would recommend to use a pinch of black cardamom, or garam masala that contains black cardamom as first or second ingredient).
You could try out the garam masala recipe, if you want, and just use it with your typical tandoori dish. If you have none, I could write you some basic recipe for a tandoori marinade down, too.
Hope you enjoy (:
Greetings!