Cardinal sin in Indian cooking

[jw46]

as our lord alton brown has said, dairy products must always be incorporated into sauces in the presence of fat.

Loves to watch Alton Brown...not only for the recipes, but how and why all the complex reactions that happen in cooking occur..

[Mudpuppie]

- Curries that curdle because the yoghurt was not correctly incorporated

This is a particular weakness of mine. Can you give some tips for how to avoid it? Much appreciated!

as our lord alton brown has said, dairy products must always be incorporated into sauces in the presence of fat.

Need more specific advice. How do I manage "in the presence of fat"? Full fat yogurt? Drain the full-fat yogurt? Please explain.

[mongo_jones]

Need more specific advice. How do I manage "in the presence of fat"? Full fat yogurt? Drain the full-fat yogurt? Please explain.

perhaps we should begin by asking what it is you are doing now that invariably leads to curdling? what steps are you following?

[bandregg]

When I read the subject all I could think was "Beef Vindaloo."

[Mudpuppie]

Need more specific advice. How do I manage "in the presence of fat"? Full fat yogurt? Drain the full-fat yogurt? Please explain.

perhaps we should begin by asking what it is you are doing now that invariably leads to curdling? what steps are you following?

I use full-fat yogurt. I've taken to removing the sauce from the heat and slowly stirring in the yogurt. It still separates. I've resolved to let the sacue(s) cool off further, because the heat is the only think I can think of that makes the yogurt curdle. Maybe I'm missing a critical piece, though.

[rkolluri]

I use full-fat yogurt. I've taken to removing the sauce from the heat and slowly stirring in the yogurt. It still separates. I've resolved to let the sacue(s) cool off further, because the heat is the only think I can think of that makes the yogurt curdle. Maybe I'm missing a critical piece, though.

A technique that works for me is to cook the onions in a sufficient amount of oil till they are nicely browned (not undercooked or burnt) and add your spices to the cooked oil. A few seconds after adding the spices you can start adding yogurt. Keep the heat at a medium setting. Add a little yogurt (1 tablespoon or less) at a time, stir continuously, and wait for it to be fully incorporated in your sauce before adding the next tablespoon of yogurt. Continue doing this till all the yogurt has been added and incorporated into your sauce.

Hope that helps!

rkolluri

[bague25]

I'll try to explain in detail the way I add yoghurt to curries - I works well for me:

- get the yoghurt to room temperature

- beat yoghurt till really smooth

- add a tablespoon of yoghurt, mix it in well into the curry; once this tablespoon is well incorporated add in the next tablespoon

Another tip that I've never used but was told about is to add a tsp of besan or cornflour to the yoghurt. I guess this modifies a bit the texture of the curry

[BettyK]

How about tempering the yogurt first? That should work, no?

[Mudpuppie]

Tempering it like you would an egg yolk? I've tried it, but it didn't work for me.

I am obviously doing something waaaay wrong.

Acid wouldn't curdle yogurt, would it? (Say, from tomatoes?) I mean, yogurt itself is pretty acidic.

[BettyK]

If tempering doesn't work then I would follow bague25's advice. To be on the safe side, I would remove the pot from the stove for a few secs then add the yogurt a little at a time. After all the yogurt is incorporated, bring the pot back on the stove on medium heat. High heat seems to be the culprit here.

Good luck

[John Braise]

I think curdling (in general) is due to the protiens binding up in the presence of heat and/or acid. By tempering it, you're basically diluting the yoghurt, spacing the protiens apart so they have less chance of snagging each other in a nasty clotted mess. Fat also helps to "insulate" them from one another. I'd imagine whipping it to incorporate air does the same thing to some extent. So lowering the heat, whisking like crazy, adding small amounts at a time, and tempering, used singly or in combination should help. Also, the less time on the stove the better. I think you're always going to get curdling, but by limiting the amount of contact between yoghurt protiens at high temperature, you should be able to keep the big (unappealing) curds from forming.

Basically, everything that's already been said. Give me a break - I've been reading Harold McGee for weeks on end! My head's going to explode.

[Emily Kaiser]

Would it also make sense to compare brands of yogurt?

Monica, if you are still here, can you add a few words on why floating tomatoes are a sin? I presume they should be mixed in, like yogurt? :)

[Modern Day Hermit]

I personally hate it when I see someone on television making an "Indian curry" and they don't even make a tarka. And, they usually just add tomatoes, onions and some curry powder. That really grates on my nerves.

I once watched Alton Brown make some so-called Indian cauliflower dish, IMO it was more like a raita than an actual veggie to be eaten.

Another is not allowing the dish to cook long enough. As mentioned above, the spices taste raw and the vegetable or meat is not allowed to really soak up the flavors.

In regards to the above comment regarding adding yogurt -- I've tempered mine with great success, I start out with room temp. yogurt that has been whipped well.

My stance on the tomatoes -- if you can see the chunks of tomatoes -- it probably was not cooked long enough.

[Mudpuppie]

I never knew about whipping the yogurt. Thanks so much for all the suggestions.

(Um, I'm sorry to ask, but what's a tarka?)

[Pan]

From http://www.corianderleaf.com/glossary.html:

Baghar/Tarka / Sizzling Oil

  The Baghar is an indispensable process in South Asian cooking - a lot of dishes, mostly daals are finished with this process. It is used as a garnish to perfume a dish and is essentially seasoning in sizzling oil; i.e. the frying of spices in hot oil to release their fragrance and aromas, which is then added to the dish just before serving thus luring one to its seductive and enticing flavours.

I would note that not only spices but onions, garlic, and other things like urad dal can go into a tarka.

[Mudpuppie]

Yea me!

I at least learned to do that part. I just never knew what to call it.

[Monica Bhide]

Monica, if you are still here, can you add a few words on why floating tomatoes are a sin? I presume they should be mixed in, like yogurt? :)

Tomatoes, when they are used to prepare a gravy or curry sauce, are to be cooked down until they completely "break down" (for lack of a better term!). Have pieces of floating tomatoes generally signifies that the cook was in a rush and did not completely cook the dish. I grew up with instructions to cook down the tomatoes until the oil separate from the tomato mixture signifying that the tomatoes were cooked

Our very knowledgeable crew here in the India forum has had some interesting discussions on how much a spice mixture (made with onions and tomatoes) should be cooked and there are (ofcourse) conflicting views.

This one is mine

[mongo_jones]

re. all this yogurt curdling: i have added yogurt (of varying fat content) to sauces (at varying heat settings) for years and years now without ever having it curdle or even being aware of this as a possibility. i've either just been lucky or have in fact been eating curries with curdled yogurt without knowing it. or perhaps i've been instinctively doing whatever you're supposed to do to not have yogurt curdle, though this has never included tempering it, adding besan or removing the sauce from heat first. what i have done, in the case of say a chicken curry, is always add the yogurt after the onions, garlic and ginger have been sauteed and the chicken pieces added and cooked till all the water has evaporated. perhaps this results in the presence of more oil at the surface of the sauce thus preventing the yogurt from curdling?

[jw46]