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Secrets of How to Make Excellent Curry |
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Spices hold many secrets to making a great CurrySpices are fundamental to all Curry Recipes and there is a huge range of spices which can be used but only a few of which form a basic curry powder.
The most important spice is Cumin seeds, then Coriander seeds.
Additional spices in a Curry Powder usually will include Fenugreek,
Ginger, Garlic, Turmeric, and Cardamom. Ground spices and Curry Powders
must always be used fresh and kept in air tight containers. Older stale
spices will add nothing but grit to your finished dish and leave you
feeling dissapointed with the results. The very best reults will always
come from grinding your own spices from whole seeds just before using
them. This of course is not always practical. If however you have the
time to make your own before a curry I would strongly urge you to give it
a try.
Oil and Fat are important in making a good curryOil is essential in all curries as the medium which carries the spices. Without oil the spices are harsher and gritty with much less flavour and aroma. Indian restaurants tend to use Ghee which is a clarified butter, but Olive oil, Sunflower or Groundnut oil can be used instead. Add plenty of oil when starting the dish, it will separate and excess oil can be skimmed off at the end of cooking and kept covered in the fridge for use with your next curry.
Ghee Imparts a rich flavour to dishes
Ghee is basically clarified butter, so unsalted butter can be used instead although ghee does impart its own particular rich flavour and due to the clarifying process, can be heated to a much higher temperature without burning. Ghee is still a little hard to get hold of from supermarkets, but if you can find yourself an Indian grocers you won’t have a problem. |
Recipe Secrets Exposed Get Inside The Hidden Cookbooks Of America's Favorite Restaurants! Now You Can Have the Secrets to America's Most Wanted Recipes. These are the Secret Recipes You Won't Find Anywhere Else. Salt and Seasoning can make or break a good curryOne of the biggest mistakes made when cooking Indian food is that no salt is added on the assumption that there is so much flavour from the spices that you don't need salt. This is wrong and you should always taste your dish and season towards the end if needed. Our mouths can only taste 5 different things, sweet, salt, sour, bitter and umami (or savouriness). All other flavour (as distinct from the term taste) is detected by flavour molecules stimulating our olfactory gland in the nose. A well balanced dish needs basic taste stimulation of at least 2 areas of the five as well as flavour and aroma.
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How Chilli adds subtle dimensions when making a great CurryAs well as heat, chillies can add some subtle dimensions of flavour which can be dramatically different from one chilli to the next. Habanero and Scotch bonnet chillies have a beautiful buttery, oaky and vanilla tones but are so hot that most people can't really take them. Most Indian Restaurants use predominantly Long thin green cayenne or fin ger chillies, they have a good taste and high heat level and can be added chopped, sliced or whole as required. The heat level of fresh chillies is reduced somewhat with the length of cooking so add them earlier if you like it milder and later if you prefer it hotter. Always add chilli in whatever form a little at a time, you can always add some more if needed but you can't take it out once you have overdone it. Chilli powder will permeate the rest of the sauce most readily. Finely chopped fresh chillies will need to cook for a while to add to the sauce in quite the same way. Whole and sliced chillies will add their heat mainly when eaten directly. Adding whole chillies to a mild curry can be one way to satisfy the demands of a
Adding chilli powder to a finished dish is not a good way to add heat as the spices need to be worked in to the dish which is difficult once served.
Is the Secret in The Sauce? See HowMost sauces outside of Indian cooking are thickened with flour either wheat or cornflour. Indian cooking usually requires pureed vegetables, yogurt, cream, coconut milk or similar in order to either thicken the sauce or create the final flourish to differentiate the dish. Some popular choices are:
Tip for releasing all the flavour when making that great Curry
To release all the flavours from your spices, they should be dry-roasted before use. This involves heating up a heavy-based pan, without adding fat, and roasting your spices until you smell their aroma. Remove from the heat and allow your spices to cool then grind if required; either in a coffee grinder or pestle & mortar if you’re feeling energetic. Roasting ground spices will help bring old ones back to life, but be particularly careful not to burn them as it will understandably destroy their flavour.
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