Monica Bhide

I think we are saying the exact same thing. I agree with what you are saying here. The terms might be confusing to people yes - people outside of India are holding onto a lot of ways that are no longer so at home. i have an upcoming piece on this exact thread in the Washington Post.. I can almost have a bet that if I have a dinner party and make two versions of each dish - one with commercial mixes and one without 99% of the people will not be able to tell the difference

This is true as I know it. That is why the addition of just plain curry powder is a recent addition to the Indian kitchen. Commerical mixes that are specific curry mixes - vindaloo masala, chaat masala etc are very popular now.

Yes as I mentioned earlier our family is the same and this is one masala we make fresh as well - always

this isn't an exact analogy. it would be if we were talking about things like bottled rogan josh sauce or biryani paste or things like that--they do exist. powdered spices don't play this role in the average indian kitchen--whether you buy commercial or make your own you are going to use them, along with things like tomatoes, onions and potatoes, to arrive at the home-made version of the bottled sauce. my advice always to those in search of culinary/cooking authenticity: watch out that you don't become more authentic than the people who actually cook and eat the food on a daily basis. agreed

I do agree with this statement. If good qaulity mixes are used its hard to tell

i'm going to have to disagree with the first statement here. if curry powder isn't used in the indian kitchen i have no idea why there are so many brands of it available in every grocery store in india. and it isn't just people in a rush who use them--i know many, many excellent cooks (my mother among them) who use it. ditto with pretty much every commercial masala (individual or mix). there are many brands, with different blends, and you get to know what you like and how to mix it with other spices to achieve different flavors. it isn't necessarily the case that casual cook begin with commercial mixes and then graduate to painstakingly roasting, grinding and blending their own. in matters like these, whether in relation to indian or some other cuisine, i find it is largely people outside the culture, and sometimes people originally from it who need to for some reason mystify it, who are invested in things like grinding all their spices fresh whenever they need them. (i'm not including people like monica or tryska in this characterization, of course.) more power to those who want to roast, grind and blend all their own masalas (presumably they also make all their mayos and pickles from scratch)--but i'd be shocked if 99% of them would be able to tell the difference between the same curry cooked with commercial curry powder or some home-made mix. as for curry leaves--the indian cuisines that use them the most (largely southern indian cuisines) have very little by way of "curries" that at all resemble north indian curries, which are what most non-indians think of when they see or hear the word. the word "kari" means roughly "thin gravy"--how this became something also associated with chicken tikka masala is a long, confusing story. Note- I said in traditional kitchen in India -- for many years it was not used and this is a fairly recent addition -- spice mixes are used.. but a plain "curry powder" is generally not... commerical mixes are used yes and very much so. So "chicken curry masala" is definately used but a plain old "curry powder" might not be

this is really sad. I just saw this.

One of my favorite cookbooks--Laxmi's Vegetarian Kitchen--has a recipe for 'kari pudi,' which tastes much like store-bought curry powder. Many of her recipes call for kari pudi OR store-bought curry powder. She also has recipes for garam masala, chaat masal, and things like that. A lot of books are now talking about a standard curry powder. Traditionally there was no such thing in India as "curry powder" - there are various spice mixes as you mention. I have started using commerical curry powder in some of my marinades with fairly decent results

Exactly! I agree with you completely. My mom and dad who are the best cooks I know period use some store made mixes. they make their own garam masala and grind their own coriander.. but love to use store made Chaat masala etc. And also the fact that as the cuisine is starting to gain popularity the spice makers are responding by producing a better product. Roopaks spice mixes, pickle mixes etc are really very good.

MDH is really quite good. The best I have to say that I swear by are Roopak's masalas, my whole family uses them quite a bit and they are just fantastic.

I think this happens a lot of times when the spices are not fresh so the mixes might have been old. Have you tried the MDH brand -- they are really very good. Also some of the newer ones on the market are quite good. That being said its gratifying to make your own

How nice is this!!! Congratulations!

I do this too - but the point is that for most people even this little step keeps them away from cooking Indian food - it makes it all seem tedious and hard. eGers are an exception here since most people here really like to go thru the extra steps to make it special. I am really a huge proponent of some of the mixes out there that are really very good.

Yes I think this is what many folks do

Well first - curry powder is not really used in the Indian kitchen.. -- many spice mixes are used - like Garam Masala, Chat Masala, Tandoori masala etc... some of these are easy to make at home like Garam Masala and others like Chaat Masala most people buy. Yes in India and even here many Indian cooks buy the premade masalas. If you like a specific taste its good to make your own but some of the store bought stuff -- some of the newer brands are actually pretty good

The man is right

Rxrfrx -- the jeera is on its way to you thanks to UPS. Let me know how it turns out for you

So raw and overcooked would both be equally bitter, but slightly cooked should taste nice? That seems weird. And in what way would my besan taste bad if it were old? It certainly has a bit of a "funky" flavor to it, and it almost tastes like tea, but I didn't know if that was normal or not. Overcooked and used in excess is bitter.

A lot of free time

well - dont let all my secrets out! Alright - this weekend we are clearing the land and then I will add the seeds based on all the suggestions here. i will take pics and keep you posted on progress Deliad - any chance I can get a cutting of the curry leaves from you next week?

Vikram - I think you are correct in my case in the nostalgia part. I like the taste but I think it takes me back to another time more than the food itself... does that make sense? I dont long for Parisian chocolates the way i do for a five star bar! Its different somehow. Now that i hear how they are made perhaps I will learn to love them from a distance

Hmmmm-- while I agree with the other suggestions here I am wondering if you overcooked it and that accounts for the bitter taste as does using too much. A little goes a long way.... let me know if that was possibly the case