Tan Can Cook

I still have and use my i1 unit from Xrite. It is still working after all these years.

I see you know your way around both your kitchen and your camera. Well done. I am assuming you fixed or corrected for (if any) white balancing issues, yes? Then again, my monitor is calibrated via a dedicated colorimeter.

Fantastic food picture. 🙂 Well done.

Goda (Kala) Masala from Essential Marathi Cookbook The original recipe yields 1.5 kg of Goda (Kala) Masala! Traditionally, families in Maharashtra make enormous batches and distribute them among family members or friends. The original recipe from Kaumudi Marathé was provided in grams, making it easy to scale down by a factor of 8 for convenient storage in recycled jam jars. In my small batch, I opted to use dried Byadagi red chilies from Karnataka and dried Kashmiri red chilies from Kashmir. They are mild in heat and provide vibrant color. In this masala blend, coriander, coconut, and sesame dominate. The color turns dark brown, which is why it’s called "kala" (Hindi: dark color or black). By Tan Can Cook Modified and Adapted from Kaumudi Marathé Ingredients [Reduced by Factor 8 ( Yields ~194 Grams)] 14.36 g virgin coconut oil 1.88 g Indian bay leaves 1.88 g black stone flower (Parmotrema perlatum) 31.125 g grated dried coconut 6.19 g dried Byadagi red chilies 6.19 g dried Kashmiri red chilies 6.38 g cumin seeds 3 g black cumin seeds [Elwendia persica] 43.875 g white sesame seeds 62.625 g coriander seeds 3 g cassia buds [Cinnamomum spp.] 2.625 g cloves 2.625 g cinnamon sticks 1.13 g black peppercorns 3 g asafoetida 2.625 g turmeric powder 1.88 g kosher (coarse) salt Method Gently heat ½ tbsp oil on a griddle. Toast each ingredient separately, except turmeric and salt, in the order listed above for 2-7 minutes each. Toast over medium heat, stirring frequently, till fragrant. Toast larger quantities in batches. Reheat griddle and oil as required. Put toasted ingredients in a large bowl. Powder them fine, in batches if needed. Mix in turmeric. Store goda (kala) masala in jars. To store masala long term, mix in coarse salt, closing the lid tightly, and store in refrigerator. This is not the same recipe for Goda (Kala) Masala from The Essential Marathi Cookbook, but if you search for the name on YouTube, you will find people in Maharashtra sharing their recipes and making it in gigantic portions. Here is an example video in Marathi: .

Hi Mr. Weinstein sir. @weinoo Great to bump into you here. All my spices and blends are laser-focused onto blends from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Iran. I have about 40+ cookbooks that I am still trying to cook through. Here in eGullet, I have started to share some of these masale blends I've made and have presented in the form of mise-en-place collage. I consider myself a "masalchi" in training.

Spices and herbs! I know right. They somehow kept multiplying. Hehe. Variety is the spice of life. As they say. :-)

As someone who loves spices and herbs. I like your collection.

Maharashtrian Malvani Masala from The Konkan Cookbook By Tan Can Cook Modified and Adapted from Sanjeev Kapoor Ingredients (Half Quantity) 30 g dry Byadgi red chilies 9.25 g (2 tbsp) coriander seeds 0.50 g (6 to 7) cloves 1.63 g (½ tsp) black peppercorns 2.70 g (1 tsp) fennel seeds 0.75 g (¼ tsp) cumin seeds 1.00 g (¼ + ⅛ tsp) black cumin seeds [Elwendia persica] 1.00 g (1) black cardamom 4.50 g (5½-inch) cinnamon pieces 1.25 g (2¼ tsp) stone flower 0.40 g (¼ tsp) nagkesar [Mesua ferrea] 1.00 g (¼ + ⅛ tsp) black mustard seeds 4.00 g (1½ tsp) turmeric powder 1.00 g (¼ tsp) asafoetida 2.75 g (½ piece) nutmeg 0.50 g (½ piece) star anise Method Dry roast (on low-medium heat) all the ingredients one by one until fragrant. Cool & grind—allowing the roasted spices to cool completely. Grind them into a fine powder. Store and transfer to an airtight container and in a cool, dry, and dark place.

Bottle Masala from Essential Marathi Cookbook By Tan Can Cook Modified and Adapted from Kaumudi Marathé Ingredients (Quarter Quantity via Tan Can Cook) 25 g Byadgi dried red chilies 18.75 g Kashmiri dried red chilies 18.75 g coriander seeds 6.25 g turmeric powder 6.25 g mango ginger powder [Curcuma amada] 3 g poppy seeds 3 g white sesame seeds 3 g mustard seeds 3 g cumin seeds 3 g black peppercorns 1.75 g green cardamom 1.75 g cinnamon pieces 1.75 g cloves 1.75 g whole wheat flour 1.75 g split chickpeas (chana dal) 0.88 g black cumin seeds [Elwendia persica] 0.88 g Indian bay leaves 0.88 g cassia buds [Cinnamomum spp.] 0.88 g mace 0.88 g rampatri / maipatri [Myristica malabarica] 0.88 g cubeb pepper [Piper cubeba] 0.88 g asafoetida 0.25 g fennel seeds 0.65 g (⅛ piece) nutmeg Method Clean and dry ingredients separately (except nutmeg); roast them slowly on a hot dry griddle, till fragrant and crisp. Grind nutmeg fine. Place it in a large bowl. Grind chillies fine and add to the nutmeg. Separately grind or pound the other ingredients fine. Mix them with the powdered spices. Store in airtight containers and away from light.

Kolhapuri Masala from Essential Marathi Cookbook By Tan Can Cook Modified and Adapted from Kaumudi Marathé Ingredients (Half Quantity) 13 g (½″ piece) ginger 25 g garlic 13 g (½ small bunch) fresh coriander leaves, washed & dried ¼ cup coconut oil 25 g sesame seeds 12.5 g poppy seeds 62.5 g roasted dry coconut 5 g black peppercorns 30 g coriander seeds 10 g cumin seeds 1 (4″) piece cinnamon stick 5 cloves 2.5 g mace ⅛ piece nutmeg 2 Indian bay leaves ½ tsp black stone flower 1 nagkesar [Mesua ferrea] 1 cassia bud [Cinnamomum spp.] 1 green cardamom 1 black cardamom ¾ tsp turmeric powder ½ tsp fenugreek seeds ½ tsp black mustard seeds 2.5 g asafoetida 50 g dry Byadgi red chilies 1 tsp salt Method Grind ginger, garlic and coriander leaves to a paste without water. Gently heat ½ tbsp oil on a griddle. Toast sesame seeds for 3-5 minutes over medium heat. Re-oil the griddle. Toast poppyseeds for 3-5 minutes. Grind them together and set aside. Re-oil the griddle. Toast coconut for 3-7 minutes, till golden and fragrant. Powder it fine. Toast the remaining ingredients separately over medium heat, in the order given, except turmeric powder (if used), chilli powder and salt. Toast each ingredient for 2-7 minutes, on a lightly oiled griddle, oiling and reheating griddle as required. Finely grind each ingredient separately. Place in a large bowl. Combine them with garlic paste, coconut, turmeric powder (if used), chilli powder and salt. Mix well, sifting the masala through your fingers to break up lumps. Store immediately in airtight containers. Note: Wash your hands well after mixing the blend.

Even for me, "locally" is 36.5 km round trip to another nearby city. I started supporting and using that Indian store, because my default (going regularly since 2020) changed ownership and let's just say—quality and customer service went out the window. I vote with my wallet. Between my original default and new Indian grocery is about 2.7 km apart. They're really close, just a few blocks in opposite directions. I tell everyone to simply use (purchase) the imported Indian brands, because those are the same brands widely used by the Indians in India. That's why all of my spices are Indian brands (with offices and branches here in the US), e.g. Deep, Santos, Laxmi, Hans, HB, Guru, etc. Can you find Dabur or Tez locally? Those are popular brands in India amongst others. Make sure to check for kachi ghani (cold pressed) on labels.

I am similar to you. I can't stand shrimp, lobster, crab, or any of them in the similar genus. Mind you, I am in my 40s. As long as I could remember, this was always the case. I am not-at-all allergic to them either. Their smell, their texture, is simply weird to me and almost always provokes my gag reflex. The "funny" (haha!) thing is that if shrimp is ground and mixed in with other ingredients, e.g. like in Vietnamese egg rolls, I will eat them knowing there is shrimp inside. Because—I can't taste the shrimp. I can't smell the shrimp. They are well masked!

Shrimp, lobster, and any of them in the same genus. Same goes for clam, oysters, etc. Even for chicken, I can't stand steamed chicken. Nope. Fish has to be fried (cooked) with spices so that fish no longer smells "fishy." Years ago, my uncle hosted splurged on a super fancy Chinese New Year celebration in San Francisco. It was a huge family gathering. He rented out the banquet room. Because I was taught to eat little bit even though I don't like it, I remember consuming sea abalone was not-at-all a pleasant experience!!! I didn't even bother chewing and swallowed fast. I am sorry, but not sorry. Sea abalone tasted nasty with the capital-N.

I looked up "safe" or "USDA certified" "mustard oil for cooking" on the USA Amazon store and they are costly. Costs for the same volume cost 24.99 USD. There is one brand called Yandilla and cost a whopping 39.95 USD for 16.9 fl oz! This is "cold pressed" from Australia. Not only is this half the volume, but 5 times the price! My Dabur-brand of cold pressed (kachi ghani) locally cost 7.99 USD for 1 L (34 fl oz). Dabur is a famous and large brand in India. I myself only use my bottle when I cook foods from Bihar, Bengali food, etc. I am not using this oil every day. It's specialized oil for me.

You're going to be busy @Tempest63 ji. Happy cooking! Based on my understanding of Marathi spice mixes, they are not at all floral (aromatic) dominant. Sure, it "smells nice" and "pleasing." It should be ground chili dominant followed by cumin, coriander smells. We both have Essential Marathi Cookbook by Shrimati Kaumudi Marathé ji. The recipe was given in grams. Just on this, you get an idea of the percentage composition ratio. In my small batch in a glass jar I shared earlier, I smell peppery from black peppercorns and cubeb berries. I like using Kolhapuri Masala. I sprinkle some of roasted cauliflower or asparagus just to give the flavors an elevated boost.