Curry Powder

[violetfox]

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 don't use curry powder in classic Indian dishes. I use curry powder in lots of other things - devilled eggs, tuna salad, chicken salad, curry-mustard-honey dip for veggies to name a few. There would be unpleasant ramifications if I didn't make my famed creamed onions for Thanksgiving, which have a bit of curry powder, not enough to be obvious. I use Penzeys Sweet Curry almost exclusively. I do make my own mixes for Indian dishes, and the recipe varies greatly.

[violetfox]

While I'm on the subject, I completely understand and respect the complexity of curry as used in Indian cuisine. I understand curry powder as something entirely different and perfectly useful in its own right. I'm a little tired of some folks decrying the use of spice mixtures. If they're of good quality and taste good, what's the problem? When I come home after work and want to get dinner on the table as quickly as possible, I use spice mixes, unapologetically. When I have more time, I usually make my own.

[Jaymes]

While I'm on the subject, I completely understand and respect the complexity of curry as used in Indian cuisine. I understand curry powder as something entirely different and perfectly useful in its own right. I'm a little tired of some folks decrying the use of spice mixtures. If they're of good quality and taste good, what's the problem? When I come home after work and want to get dinner on the table as quickly as possible, I use spice mixes, unapologetically. When I have more time, I usually make my own.

Agreed. Completely.

[qrn]

listening to BBC last night and there was a story about a group of Brits going to Deligh (sp) to teach them how to make "British Curry"....

That is the style I guess I have been doing all these years....

Bud

[nakji]

I use commercial curry powder in cold salads: I like potato salad with peas and ham with a curry mayonnaise. Another great one, if you like cold pasta salad, is cavatappi with chicken, mandarin oranges, and red bell pepper in a curry powder mayonnaise dressing.

Also, straight up curry dip: half mayo, half full-fat sour cream. Put that out with wings or crudite, it goes fast.

I've never actually used commercial curry powder to make a curry, except when making a Japanese-style curry. Then it works great - it gives you that mild taste of a goopy, roux-based curry. Great over fried pork cutlets.

[ajitg]

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.

Typically in India black mustard is used in a generic curry powder/garam masala recipe - it has a similar profile to the yellow mustard seed but is a little stronger in flavour. You can use any dried chilly you find in an Asian store because all of these the requisite amount of heat but if you get to an Indian store in your area you should be able to find a pack of these

[ajitg]

I agree too with the curry powder debate. All this started with the rise in popularity of Indian food in the West, and everyone thought adding curry powder to a stock of some sort would make a curry, and while appreciation for the sheer variety of Indian 'curries' has been late in coming, it has started.

However, I think a lot of Indian commentators on this topic take their disdain for this practice too far.Just remember that every Indian home has a variety of curry powders, or masalas, each for a specific dish. Garam masala is the one generic spice mixture used quite a bit in India. Using spice mixes is very much a part of cooking in many regions of India. The important thing is to use a mix that is as fresh as possible, and to store your mixes properly.

And curry powder is indeed useful in many dishes - I love it in a chicken salad!

Edited April 21, 2010 by ajitg (log)

[Jenni]

Personally, I prefer to grind spices as and when I need them. As for commercial curry powder, well I wouldn't touch it because I would rather make my own, and also I cannot imagine adding the same spices to every dish, every time.

What you have to remember is that everyone has their own idea about good quality food and how far they will take that idea. Some people on egullet wouldn't dream of using or eating anything but the very best meat or wine, but they would quite happily buy any old curry powder from the store. Others might be fussier about spices. I guess it depends on how important spices are to your cooking - if they don't play a big role or if you don't use them much, then I guess you may not mind using a generic curry powder.