Hey, Alex!

Quote from: Axe on February 23, 2013, 02:31 PM

Quote from: chonk on February 23, 2013, 02:25 PM
...goes also very nice with any tandoori dish, because of it's smokey flavour. It's the main indgredient of the Garam masala I use at the moment...

Interesting comments Chonk, have you ever come across black masala or black curry powder? I wonder if the black cardamon plays a key part in this?

If you have any suggested recipes for the tandoori pairings, I would love to see them.

Thanks,

Malc.

What I know as black masala, goes also by the name "Goda masala". Not sure if you are talking about the same spice mix, but if so, then yes. Made some of my own a while ago. It depends on the author, but yeah, at least one of the recipes I know ("Black masala from Maharashtra", and it sounds pretty good - but I didn't try it yet) use (black) cardamom. (and in this case, it's also the main ingredient) For colour, I think it's the roasting, that's more essential, though. At least a few recipes use green cardamom instead of the black ones, so they seem interchangeable - besides for taste ,)

The Garam masala I use right now, consists of 1 tablespoon black cardamom seeds, 1 cinnamon stick (5cm), 1 teaspoon black cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon cloves, 1 teaspoon black peppercorns and 1/4-1/3 nutmeg and is originally from "Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking" and described as an old-school, ayurvedic garam mix.

I'm on the jump right now but will respond later. Let me know if you want to know the black masala recipe, too! Will write something about the tandoori stuff, too! (:

Greetings!

Hey, Axe!

Rajma with sweet potatoes sounds pretty good, too - never thought of that! To be honest, just tried sweet potatoes for the very first time, a couple of weeks ago. But as veggie kebabs ;P Would recommend to try out black cardamom more often - goes also very nice with any tandoori dish, because of it's smokey flavour. It's the main indgredient of the Garam masala I use at the moment, so basically, it's in almost every single meal I cook ;O

Greetings!

Hey, Axe!

This curry looks great! I get in the mood for some rajma right now, just by the looks of yours -and I had some cup of my own just few hours ago! ;P Nothing wrong about adding some Garam masala and black cardamom. That gives the dish more of an "punjabi-style", which I personally prefer. But rajma is something, that works almost all the time, with almost any blend of spices. There are, like you said, a few variations out there. Will try some with paneer soon, out of Yamuna Devi's cookbook.

Greetings!

Would love to see the photos, though.

I believe that "Rajma masala" is one of the most awesome curries out there - and pretty healthy, too! Perfect with simple, plain rice, and if cooked properly, just damn tasty! But: Miss a little bit of Garam masala, or just a pinch of black cardamom. Adds another nice earthy, rustic flavour.

Would also love to know, if some of you guys already used some dried, indian kidney beans from, e.g. TRS, and could write something about the taste, in comparison to our european stuff. Heard that in India, there are a few different sorts of kidney beans available, also smaller ones, which are especially flavourful. Ate a ready-to-eat "Dal Makhani" some months ago, and there were sure some kidney beans in it, that were different from the ones you get here. Pretty tasty stuff.

Greetings!

Hey, gagomes!

You could also try to stir-fry the flour in hot ghee, the coconut fat, butter or any other fat first, pouring some cold liquid (water) into it, and let it cool down, before using. Here in germany, we call it "Mehlschwitze". Never tried it myself, but heard it works ,)

Greetings!

Hi, guys!

Quote from: spiceyokooko on February 04, 2013, 08:12 PM

Quote from: h4ppy-chris on February 01, 2013, 06:45 PM
"If the recipe calls for 2 tbsp of tomato paste do you just use 2 tbsp of blended plum tomatoes"

Yes.

Huh?

Two tablespoons of tomato paste (puree) is quite different to 2 tablespoons of blended tinned plum tomatoes.

Personally, I would double the amount.

If I have the time, I simply use fresh, whole, chopped tomatoes, which I let cook, most of the times, together with onions, spices and what else the recipe calls for, into a  pureed tomato sauce. If it has to be quick, I use store-bought tomato puree - not tomato paste / the concentrated tomato out of a tube, but also pureed tomato sauce. I think it's important, that that the puree only contains tomatos, water and/or a little salt. Some products contain herbs and/or citrus acid, e.g.

Greetings!

Hey, gagamon!

Quote from: gagomes on February 15, 2013, 11:53 PM
What are some relevant recipes using hing? and just to be clear, hing is the same as asafoetida right?

For example, any traditional kashmiri pandit dish, like "Dum Aloo" or "Rogan josh".

Greetings!

Hi, RubyDoo!

Like pointed out earlier, Hing is an essential part of the Hare Krishna cuisine, and is also used extensively by the Kashmiri Pandits. It goes well with pulses and dals, and the taste could be described as garlicky, and close to onions, too. Personally, I like it (: If used with garlic and onions all along, I never thought that all too much of its own flavour gets distinguished or stands out. But: I only use powder myself (try to get a hold of the resin next month), so it surely depends on its potency, too. But used in traditional recipes, often with fennel, aniseed or joghurt, it adds some nice touch, and I honestly never missed the garlic and/or onions in them ,)

Greetings!