Color me Red

[scott123]

From this thread here I am aware that there are a few ways of coloring tandoori chicken.

These include:

Red/yellow food coloring

Kashmiri Mirch

Deghi Mirch

Beetroot powder

cochineal dye

Maval (cockscomb flowers)

I'm looking for something that will give me the reddish orange I'm accustomed to eating but won't be potentially bad for my health. Thus I'd like to avoid the red/yellow food coloring. Besides the chilis/food coloring, are any of these available at my local Indian grocer? Should I ask for a particular brand?

Is there anything else that's safe/natural and can be added to this list?

And I know the color provides no flavor but there is a psychological aspect involved. I'm sure that eventually I will graduate out of the need for color, but these first few times, I'd like the familiar hue.

[skunkbunny]

I have never tried this but what about annato seeds (achiote)? they are quite a powerful red dye and shouldn't be too hard to find in Latin american markets, or fillipino markets.

just a thought

Would paprika do it?

[gingerly]

this might be one line to look for.

[gingerly]

just an idle thought-turmeric turns red in an alkaline medium-i wonder if you could improvise with that?and would it stand up to cooking-hmm.work in progress.

[jw46]

I have never tried this but what about annato seeds (achiote)? they are quite a powerful red dye and shouldn't be too hard to find in Latin american markets, or fillipino markets.

just a thought

Would paprika do it?

wondering how you get red from annato?..yellow, yes youbetya...Used to give butter a yellow color in the winter when the cattle do not get fresh forage.

Uses annato seeds in oil to give spanish rice its yellow color...

But have never seen red from those seeds...

Probably missing something...Usually am...

[jw46]

Maval (cockscomb flowers)

Let me guess, that these are NOT the celosia family of flowers we call cockscomb here in the states...

Every time I think I have something that can be grown locally, I find that it only looks vaguely similar... Named that by the (insert your colonizing nation here) and is a totally different species...sigh..

[whippy]

wondering how you get red from annato?..

i'm not sure about the annato seed, but when processed into the little red bricks labeled "achiote" paste, i've found that it can act as a very red coloring agent. i mix the paste with o.j., oil, ground cumin, sugar etc as a quick, bright marinade for fish and chicken. after grilling, you end up with a rich brown crust over background red hues.

because i think it has a non-neutral and assertive flavor of its own (tangy, iodine-y) i haven't imagined using it in an indian context until now.

yours,

whippy

[gingerly]

Maval (cockscomb flowers)

Let me guess, that these are NOT the celosia family of flowers we call cockscomb here in the states...

Every time I think I have something that can be grown locally, I find that it only looks vaguely similar... Named that by the (insert your colonizing nation here) and is a totally different species...sigh..

possiblywrong againjw46?!unless someone thought to rename yet another new world find with an old world name!

lab report(really scientific)a tsp of turmeric(grainy mcormick since i'd run out of my regular finely ground) mixed into a slurry with a little baking soda and water.(left for about an hour while real work was getting done)a slice of test potato was smeared in thick curd and a little ginger and garlic paste to simulate texture of tandoori marinade.fried( to speed things up)-brilliant orange red!no i didn't taste it.if i someone can figure out a better alternative to baking soda by halloween i think i'll have ghoulishly good aloo!

less success with ground hibiscus petals-fried to a lovely crisp brown.

[Monica Bhide]

From this thread here I am aware that there are a few ways of coloring tandoori chicken.

These include:

Red/yellow food coloring

Kashmiri Mirch

Deghi Mirch

Beetroot powder

cochineal dye

Maval (cockscomb flowers)

I'm looking for something that will give me the reddish orange I'm accustomed to eating but won't be potentially bad for my health. Thus I'd like to avoid the red/yellow food coloring. Besides the chilis/food coloring, are any of these available at my local Indian grocer? Should I ask for a particular brand?

Is there anything else that's safe/natural and can be added to this list?

And I know the color provides no flavor but there is a psychological aspect involved. I'm sure that eventually I will graduate out of the need for color, but these first few times, I'd like the familiar hue.

Scott- I use a bit of color for mine. Its only a drop or two.. perhaps I am too big of a risk taker

I owe you a recipe my dear and you will have an authentic one on Monday. i am working on a speech on modern Indian cooking that i get to deliver at the French Embassy on Sat.. I am nervous.. please send positive vibes my way.

[rummate]

From this thread here I am aware that there are a few ways of coloring tandoori chicken.

These include:

Red/yellow food coloring

Kashmiri Mirch

Deghi Mirch

Beetroot powder

cochineal dye

Maval (cockscomb flowers)

I'm looking for something that will give me the reddish orange I'm accustomed to eating but won't be potentially bad for my health. Thus I'd like to avoid the red/yellow food coloring. Besides the chilis/food coloring, are any of these available at my local Indian grocer? Should I ask for a particular brand?

Is there anything else that's safe/natural and can be added to this list?

And I know the color provides no flavor but there is a psychological aspect involved.  I'm sure that eventually I will graduate out of the need for color, but these first few times, I'd like the familiar hue.

Scott- I use a bit of color for mine. Its only a drop or two.. perhaps I am too big of a risk taker

I owe you a recipe my dear and you will have an authentic one on Monday. i am working on a speech on modern Indian cooking that i get to deliver at the French Embassy on Sat.. I am nervous.. please send positive vibes my way.

Hey Monica,

Dont get nervous. With ur kind of knowledge and hold on Indian cooking i am confident the speech would set the forum ablaze. All the best and god bless.

[gingerly]

+vibing.where's the 'reiki' emoticon?

[Episure]

Forget everything else, just use carrot puree. Works like a dream and is healthy too.

[scott123]

Scott- I use a bit of color for mine. Its only a drop or two.. perhaps I am too big of a risk taker 

*shaking my head* Monica, you are living life on the edge.

Thanks, everyone, for your suggestions. Having worked with annato in Mexican cooking, I'm not sure I want to add that flavor to my dish.

Gingerly, I applaud your experiments, but increasing the ph of my chicken is not in my plans. At least not in this dish. Please do keep us informed how your haloween aloo goes, though. Chocolate is alkaline, how about that?

Episure, thanks, normally I'd jump at the carrot idea but having spent 3 months tracking down sugar free honey for this dish, I'm keeping to my plan to make it low carb, no matter what.

I guess a drop or two of food coloring once in while probably won't kill me.

Edited June 24, 2004 by scott123 (log)

[Episure]

Episure, thanks, normally I'd jump at the carrot idea but having spent 3 months tracking down sugar free honey for this dish, I'm keeping to my plan to make it low carb, no matter what.

Sugar free honey is low carb?

[gingerly]

.  Please do keep us informed how your haloween aloo goes, though.  Chocolate is alkaline, how about that?

pity the poor child that ventures to my door...

[Pan]

Episure, thanks, normally I'd jump at the carrot idea but having spent 3 months tracking down sugar free honey for this dish, I'm keeping to my plan to make it low carb, no matter what.

Sugar free honey is low carb?

Is there really such a thing as sugar-free honey? Sucrose-free, sure, but sugar-free???

[scott123]

pity the poor child that ventures to my door...

LOL

[scott123]

Sugar free honey is low carb?

Sugar free honey is kind of a gray area carbwise.

It's made with maltitol syrup and honey flavoring. Sugar alcohols like maltitol syrup have similar properties to sugar but don't have the same glycemic/caloric impact because the body can't digest them entirely.

Unfortunately, because they don't digest, they can cause cramping, bloating, gas and a laxative effect in sensitive individuals. Manufacturers claim that the digestive issues stemming from sugar alcohols are similar to bean sugars that some people are sensitive to. They also claim that, like beans, a tolerance can be built up with regular use.

There is also very little hard data as to how many of the carbs in sugar alcohols are metabolized by the body. The low carb community is divided on the issue. Some steer clear of sugar alcohols altogether, some consume them while treating the carbs in them as entirely digestible while others count half the carbs.

And just to make it a little more complicated, not all sugar alcohols act the same way in the body. Erythritol has almost no caloric impact, no carb impact AND causes little to no digestive problems. It does have a "cooling effect", though, giving foods made with it a minty quality.

For me, I prefer sugar free honey to real honey because of the lower glycemic impact. Even a small amount of real honey gives me a blood sugar spike, something Sugar free honey doesn't do (at least not in small amounts).

Edited June 24, 2004 by scott123 (log)

[Pan]

Thanks a lot for that interesting explanation, Scott.

[nessa]

Oh god. Sugar Alcohols. The stories I could, but will not tell. Lets just say that I am one of those *exceedingly to the power of infinity* sensitive sorts and leave it at that.

As for the tandoori chicken, why is the color important? I'm going to make it for the first time today. I'm going to use the recipe from my new Neelam Batra book. (Thanks Monica!) Ok, after looking at the recipe, I'll be marinading it today and cooking it tomorrow. The recipe calls for paprika, tumeric and cayene. Those are the only things that appear able to impart color. I've *never* liked tandoori chicken in restaurants, its always been dry and flavorless.

I'm going to use my smoker, because I hate my gas grill. Will the smoke totally overpower the spices, or simply enhance?

Edited June 27, 2004 by nessa (log)

[gingerly]

As for the tandoori chicken,  why is the color important? 

  The recipe calls for paprika, tumeric and cayene.  Those are the only things that appear able to impart color. 

I'm going to use my smoker, because I hate my gas grill.  Will the smoke totally overpower the spices, or simply enhance?

the link in the first post explores that issue nessa. your second and third questions have probably been( deliciously)answered by now!

scott123-just wondering if the colour that leaches out of carrots when cooked in oil be off limits too?