Curry Powder

[cinghiale]

No mention of spices. Just "red pepper, turmeric (for coloring)". Agreed, best to make curry powder oneself, but when in haste in someone else's kitchen, it's used to be an OK fallback. No longer...

[waaza]

No mention of spices.  Just "red pepper, turmeric (for coloring)".  Agreed, best to make curry powder oneself, but when in haste in someone else's kitchen, it's used to be an OK fallback.  No longer...

←

then that is a shame, not that I'm advocating the use of 'curry powder', though I can understand its use in an emergency, but this 'hot colouring' seems to spell the end of the road for anything curry-like in the US, unless real spices are used.

Maybe take it as a warning, and carry a jar of your own stuff (for emergencies!). I'm not sure that the US has really embraced curry as perhaps they may, thinking of it only as a means to add spice rather than to prepare many unique dishes, although it was probably the Brits that had more to do with the acceptance of 'curry powder', and all that that has brought about (for better or for worse).

So this may be the opportunity to banish this particular flavouring, now we need to work on the Japanese and Chinese, and those other nations who think 'curry' is a one trick pony.

cheers

Waaza

[Woods]

Do you make any Indian dishes in which you use curry powder?

If not Indian, what other dishes have you used it in?

What brand do you like?

Do you toast your curry powder? 

Do you every make it at home?

Is there a recipe for it that you like?

←

I make my own. The comercial stuff is more British or something. There are hundreds of kinds of "curry powders"-masalas. I'm sure most cooks have their own and their are specific ones for specific kinds of dishes.

[waaza]

Do you make any Indian dishes in which you use curry powder?

If not Indian, what other dishes have you used it in?

What brand do you like?

Do you toast your curry powder? 

Do you every make it at home?

Is there a recipe for it that you like?

←

I make my own. The comercial stuff is more British or something. There are hundreds of kinds of "curry powders"-masalas. I'm sure most cooks have their own and their are specific ones for specific kinds of dishes.

←

I think you may be confusing 'curry powder' with masalas. The 'curry powder' is a distictly British thing, whereas masalas are Indian. Modern masalas have been developed to make make distinct dishes, whereas garam and other masalas can be used in a variety of dishes, although there is a modern thinking that garam masala should be added to every dish towards the end of cooking, which it should not. Discuss.

cheers

Waaza

[Sentiamo]

Wow!

This is really interesting. I have been amazed over the few years I have wandered around ( and totally enjoyed) eGullet, about how many of you accept products such as Miracle Whip, Best Foods Mayo etc etc etc.

But, here we have a discussion about a combination of Indian spices that you have NOT ground yourselves so this product just has to be inferior. And of course it is. Nothing will ever beat a homemade mayo or freshly whipped cream.

But......

I use curry powder for my stuffed eggs, in an egg salad, for my egg and watercress sandwiches. Sorry, I just dont have time to roast off and grind my own wee stash for these particular dishes and I have to add...I prefer a commercial brand for the flavours imparted here.

Now, Im making an Indian curry at home? Out come all the seeds to be roasted and ground. Every time.

There is a time and place for everything but I wont settle for false whipped cream or mayo.

I do agree about Garam Masala. It is to add at the end of a dish.

Garam Masala is sexy, so is a perfect finish..

[Milagai]

Wow!

But, here we have a discussion about a combination of Indian spices that you have NOT ground yourselves so this product just has to be inferior. And of course it is.

I use curry powder for my stuffed eggs, in an egg salad, for my egg and watercress sandwiches. Sorry, I just dont have time to roast off and grind my own wee stash for these particular dishes and I have to add...I prefer a commercial brand for the flavours imparted here.

Now, Im making an Indian curry at home? Out come all the seeds to be roasted and ground. Every time.

There is a time and place for everything but I wont settle for false whipped cream or mayo.

I do agree about Garam Masala. It is to add at the end of a dish.

Garam Masala is sexy, so is a perfect finish..

←

Sentiamo: curry powder is not inferior because it is pre-ground.

It's inferior because it's ONE spice blend added to everything

to create some illusion of Indian flavor, in a one-spice-fits-all approach.

I have specific pre-ground, purchased, spice mixes that I use

for specific dishes (chana masala for chhole; sambar powder

for sambar, rasam powder for rasam, etc.) I use these when in

a hurry and I don't feel like roasting-and-grinding. Often the

commercial ones give me better results. But the point is that

they are specific to each dish, and almost never randomly

added to just any and every dish.

But I don't have curry powder, because I don't make "curry".

I have Thai pastes for Thai yellow curry, green curry etc.

But not "Indian curry" (whatever that is).

The dishes you describe above (egg salad etc.) are not Indian,

and there is no harm spicing them up with curry powder;

anything that adds flavor to an otherwise bland dish must be good.

So the analogy comparing commercial curry powder : home made

::

Miracle Whip : home made mayo

doesn't work.

Milagai

[waaza]

echoed

[porkfat]

The only time I enjoyed curry powder was when I was living in germany. They made curry wurst. Simply a grilled, sliced brat with kectup and curry powder. Curry ketchup can actually be purchased premixed over there. Other than that, I noticed it's a spice with a lot of fibrous bulk that doesn't work well with much of anything.

[Bonnie Deahl]

I am a newcomer to eGullet and am enjoying the indian forums..indian cooking is a hobby for me and I am in a great learning mode. As a great lover and user of spices, naturally i find indian cuisines to be made for my obsession. Indian cooks are masters in the art of using spices.

Now to the topic: Curry powder and how i use it.

I have a couple of "curry powders" that i will use in a pinch: vindaloo, sweet curry, madras curry...and all come from Penzey's spices. I enjoy their blends. If I cook a non-indian type recipe such as a British chicken curry (tamed) or egg or chicken salad, these curry blends are great to use. If I am going to buy a blend, it will likely be from Penzey's. I might also be included to use a curry blend to spruce up a leftover dish like using up cooked lamb and making a quickie lamb curry & rice or potatoes. (now i am getting hungry...)haha

I believe they could also be incorporated into rubs suitable for grilling meats or fish.

I am now learning that indians have many "blends" such as garam masala (also Penzey's) and I have recently bought MDH Chole channa masala and dal makhani masala. I am assuming these are the "finishing spices" for many dishes and there is a staggering variety of them out there. When i look at the ingredient labels, there are obscure ingredients that may be hard to find for many so these finishing masalas seem to be the way to go.

I have played around with a great variety of indian spices including but not limited to amchur, ajwain, fenugreek and even hing...i just bought some curry leaves at my nearest indian shop and put them in the freezer. I just love the variety in this cuisine!

[LindaK]

Welcome to eGullet, Bonnie!

I've been using Penzey's spices forever, including their various curry blends. I like them too, but for a while now have been trying to stay away from the pre-made blends and make my own. Especially with long-simmered legume dishes (I have a pot of chana masala simmering on the stove right now), I find the premade curry powder to be too one-dimensional. But I won't throw away the Penzey's premade. One of my favorites quick dishes is to dust Penzey's sweet curry powder on fish fillets (salt and pepper, too) before giving them a saute in some butter. It's tasty, but I don't fool myself that it's authentically Indian.

[Bonnie Deahl]

Thanks for the welcome Linda. I recently learned how to make channa masala and just love how it all comes together at the end. I have been watching some of Sanjay Thumma's videos and have learned a lot about common techniques in the cuisines itself. It is a dream to one day go on a culinary tour of india...with the right travelers and guide, preferably a chef. I was a Pan Am flight attendant for over 13 years and travelled several trips to India, so was bit by the desire to go back again one day.

There is a general lack of understanding of indian cuisine in many parts of the american culture. This is changing with the melting pot of ethnic cultures here, a growing change toward both organic and vegetarian related cuisines and the internet that brings so many things to us. Give it time...

[indianfoodandy]

I have 2 problems with premade curry powders

Firstly since they are already ground, the oils which give them their flavour evaporate quickly - after 6 months you may as well put sawdust in your food (this applies to individual spices which are ground as well), so I generally buy whole spices which keep much longer.

Secondly I like to each dish that I make a new experience, so generally I make up spices for this dish that I am cooking.

I do have small amounts of curry powder and garam masala that I have made up to use when time is tight.

Recipes for curry powders

[Shalmanese]

For actual curry, I generally try and start with an original spice mix but curry powder is great for adding an easy bit of complexity to a dish without having it being explicitly Indian. Searing some chicken thighs? Dust them with curry powder first for something more interesting. Simple spring vegetables and pasta? A pinch of curry powder will bring out a more interesting flavor. Home made potato chips? Curry is a great flavor for them.

[qrn]

I have been trying to find the British powders from 20 years ago to no avail,

I found Rajah and Sun brand, but they are not close to the ones from the old days....

Gonna make a trip to some Indian markets in the next week or so and see what else I can find...I have many many whole spices in the rack, but don't seem to be able to duplicate the old time Brit stuff...Oh well, hope springs eternal...

Bud

[Snadra]

I'm only posting this because it's a thread about the uses of curry powder, not because I think what I do with the stuff is authentic. I love curry powder in certain circumstances, but I also love a properly made curry, and I don't confuse the two.

When I was a kid my mother made three dishes with curry powder. She knew none of them were authentic, but they were all delicious and I still make them now.

Curry Dip: mayo, curry powder, some salt and a bit of milk to thin. I now do this with half mayo, half yoghurt and it's great as a veggie dip. Without milk it's a nice condiment for a grilled chicken sandwich.

Curried Rice Salad: A curried rice salad served in a hollowed out orange half. I think the recipe came from her Pellaprat book. I can't remember the ingredients, but it was her dinner party appetizer when artichokes weren't in season.

Chicken Curry: An anglo-ish dish (amusing, considering my mother is french). She simmered halved or quartered bone-in chicken breast in water, then added potatoes and curry powder. When the potatoes were done she would add frozen peas, apples, sultanas and bananas, then thicken it with a cornstarch slurry. I still make this. We liked it just hot enough that our noses would threaten to run.

I also ocassionally make a Singapore-ish Noodles (as sold by dodgy takeaways here) using curry powder.

All these are made with supermarket curry powder. Obviously none of these are remotely indian, and the chicken curry will likely make those who care about maximising flavour feel slightly faint (breasts instead of thighs! no frying of the spices! an excess of fruit!). But frankly they taste very good.

Edited February 23, 2010 by Snadra (log)

[nickrey]

I tend to be obsessive about making most things from scratch. This includes making spice mixes for cooking all manner of food, including Indian.

However, I also make a "curry powder" myself that I do store and use to make curries.

The recipe comes from Colonel A.R. Kenny-Herbert's (a.k.a. Wyvern) 1885 book "Culinary Jottings for Madras." It is his version of a "household curry powder."

The recipe goes as follows (it is long out of copyright and the book can be found in its entirety on the web):

"Let us now consider attentively the actual details of curry-making, and since we cannot proceed to work without a good powder or paste, we can hardly do better than commence operations by studying the recipe for a household curry-stuff, concerning which I have already spoken. If faithfully followed, it will, I am sure, be found most trustworthy. It runs as follows :-

4 lbs. of turmeric ... ... Hind, huldi.

8 lbs. of coriander-seed ... ,, dhunnia.

2 lbs. of cummin-seed ... ,, jeera.

1 lb. of poppy-seed... ... ,, khush-khush.

2 lbs. of fenugreek ... ... ,, maythi.

1 lb.. of dry-ginger... ... „ sont.

1/2 lb. of mustard-seed ... ,,. rai.

1 lb. of dried chillies ... ,, sooka mirrch.

1 lb. of black pepper corns. ,, kala mirrch." (p. 291).

All the spices are individually roasted, ground, sieved, and mixed together. The quantities given are post sieving, so you will need more of the seeds that do not grind as finely. Needless to say, I vary the quantities of spices to make less of the curry stuff than the recipe renders.

I also add salt to the mix.

Far from going off and losing its potency, the curry powder seems to mature with some bottle age. It is certainly not musty and doesn't lose its volatile components in the short- to medium- term.

Compared to store bought powders, it is chalk and cheese (or curry powder vs sawdust).

[Blether]

I make what I like to think are fairly authentic Indian dishes, following Pat Chapman (not his restaurant curries book), Mad Jaffrey and Julie Sahni, as well as diverse sources on the net. I do make a 'mild curry powder' from whole spices and store it as a long-lasting paste.

At its most basic, curry powder is cumin + coriander + chilli. Different commercial brands are blended to different formulas, and can taste very different. As I understand it, India doesn't typically use 'curry powder', but as has been mentioned, does use 'sambar powder', 'tandoori masala', 'meat curry masala', 'biryani masala' and so on, where 'masala' means mixture. There are many varieties, but these are all curry powders.

Garam Masala ('hot mixture') is another spice mixture that Indian cooks keep on hand - it's yet another blend of spices, a particularly perishable one. I follow Madhur Jaffrey's recipe for this, using black pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, cardamom seeds picked out of their husks, and a little cumin, making up a little at a time. (If you buy it commercially you typically get a mixture bulked out with cumin and/or coriander). I have one recipe for tandoori chicken from Atul Kochar, chef at the time of Tamarind in London's Mayfair, which uses garam masala.

I use my curry powder in recipes where it's augmented by other spices, and very occasionally to make up a quick-and-dirty curry on its own, using however much garlic, ginger, hot spice and onion I feel like that day and varying it with yoghurt or cream or coconut. It also makes a background flavour in my standard tandoori chicken which also uses ginger, garlic, fresh chilli, lemon juice and a lot of paprika (Atul Kochar's is good but a bit rarefied).

I don't see curry powder as a dirty secret. I believe it's a mistake to see it as the beginning and end of Indian food, or to rely on it too heavily. Just as constantly using the same stock cubes will make all your soups taste the same, curry powder / curry paste is something not to over-do. but used sparingly is a worthwhile kitchen staple.

Edited February 23, 2010 by Blether (log)

[qrn]

However, I also make a "curry powder" myself that I do store and use to make curries.

The recipe comes from Colonel A.R. Kenny-Herbert's (a.k.a. Wyvern) 1885 book "Culinary Jottings for Madras." It is his version of a "household curry powder."

I just made 20.5 grams of your curry powder from the above book,,,Damn, that tastes just like what I am looking for... I had all the spices for it in the rack, so I roasted and ground them (1 gram per pound in the recipe)and will cook up somthing in a few days and report back

Thanks afor posting it!!!!!!

Bud

Edited February 23, 2010 by heidih
fix quote tags (log)

[qrn]

A report Back, on Nickery's "col. Herberts curry powder"..

Very, Very good, I made some Chicken curry with it the other day and it came out Really good...

I just made a new batch of it with a few minor changes....I added the equivalent of 1 pound in the original recipe, salt,star anise,cinnamon ,and clove.... 1.5 lb equivalent of fennel seed, and 2 Lb equivalent of garlic powder..

Will report back....

THANKS AGAIN for posting it!!!!!!!!

Bud

[nickrey]

You can find his entire book here.

Check out the chicken curry recipe on pages 294-296. It is not only a wonderful read but contains the makings of a very tasty curry.

[qrn]

Nickery,,,Thanks for the link, I looked it over and will try some of his stuff....That is a really great book....

have a good winter in "VK "(your ham radio callsign area )

Bud

[LindaK]

I added a little garam masala to some sauted shallots before combining with some butternut squash puree, stock, etc. for a soup. Excellent. Used sparingly, the spices didn't dominate at all, rather they helped temper the sweetness of the squash and give the finished soup a little more complexity. This combo is a keeper.

[Jaymes]

I think it's really foolish and counterproductive to turn up your nose at almost any ingredient, considering it to be beneath you.

The truth of the matter, of course, is that given a certain time, place and circumstance, most everything can be appropriate and useful.

For example, the hated "curry powder," while CLEARLY not valued in high-level authentic Indian cookery is, after all, just a blend of spices. It's not the sputum of the devil.

And it's terrific in some applications.

For example, years ago when I lived in Hong Kong, I came to know one Rolf Heiniger, who was then running what was considered by many to be the finest restaurant in all of Asia - Gaddi's at the Peninsula Hotel - and he continued to preside over this bastion of excellence for some 25 years.

I managed to talk him into sharing the recipe for one of his signature dishes: Prawns au Sherry.

The first step? Shell and de-vein your prawns and toss them with curry powder and let them marinate in the fridge for 4-6 hours.

I did ask him if he was preparing his own curry powder and he said, "Not for this. Any good-quality commercial brand will do."

Somehow, I doubt that the disparaging comments made here would have given him so much as even one moment's pause.

Nor do they me.

_______________________

Edited March 5, 2010 by Jaymes (log)

[ojisan]

The recipe comes from Colonel A.R. Kenny-Herbert's (a.k.a. Wyvern) 1885 book "Culinary Jottings for Madras." It is his version of a "household curry powder."

4 lbs. of turmeric ... ... Hind, huldi.

8 lbs. of coriander-seed ... ,, dhunnia.

2 lbs. of cummin-seed ... ,, jeera.

1 lb. of poppy-seed... ... ,, khush-khush.

2 lbs. of fenugreek ... ... ,, maythi.

1 lb.. of dry-ginger... ... „ sont.

1/2 lb. of mustard-seed ... ,,. rai.

1 lb. of dried chillies ... ,, sooka mirrch.

1 lb. of black pepper corns. ,, kala mirrch."

Could you clarify:

- fenugreek: leaves, or seed?

- mustard seed: yellow or black? Or does it matter?

- dried chilies: what kind?

[nickrey]

Could you clarify:

- fenugreek: leaves, or seed?

- mustard seed: yellow or black? Or does it matter?

- dried chilies: what kind?

Fenugreek seed.

I use yellow mustard seed, it probably doesn't matter.

Dried Indian Chilies (see this post for varieties you could use). Buy them from an Asian food market rather than a Mexican food supplier.