Curry Recipes Online
Supplementary Recipes (Curry Powders, Curry Paste, Restaurant Spice Mixes) => Supplementary Recipes (Spice Mixes, Masalas, Pastes, Oils, Stocks, etc) => Topic started by: Cory Ander on November 10, 2009, 03:00 AM
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Posted by PanPot an moved to here by CA
Ingredients:
- Garlic cloves 180gms
- Ginger chopped 120 gms
- Turmeric 1 1/2 tsp
- oil 1/2 cup
Method:
- Blend and heat until beginning to fry and flavours are released
- Remove from heat and, once cool, cover with additional oil
Will keep for up to 15 days or can be frozen.
(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/gallery/461_08_12_08_7_26_04.jpg)
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ok i made the garlic and ginger paste last night, later today i am going to make the bunjarra and then i will make the base this evening for a curry tomorrow and will report back with pics
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ok made this , took a while peeling all the garlic lol
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Week done Gary I see you have prepared the G/G Paste, you won't regret it.PP
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Just about to try the Ashoka marinade/pre-cook for the very first time, but am uncertain how to interpret "blend" in "Blend and heat until beginning to fry and flavours are released." Is this "blend" as in "use a blender", or "stir together in the oil" ?
** Phil.
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Phil, it needs to be blended (using a blender) then heated in a frying pan.
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Phil, it needs to be blended (using a blender) then heated in a frying pan.
Many thanks, Ramirez : now full of confidence, I shall make a start !
** Phil.
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OK, I have now made the Ashoka garlic/ginger paste, but in the process this has raised as many questions as it has answered :
1) In "Blend and heat until beginning to fry and flavours are released", how significant is the word "fry" ? In other words, is it necessary to heat the mixture until all the water released by the ginger and garlic has evaporated, and we are then clearly "frying" as opposed to "braising", or are we deemed to be "frying" right from the outset, despite the presence of the water released by the G & G ? And are we aiming for a colour change in the garlic and turmeric to indicate that cooking has definitely taken place ?
2) The recipe calls for 1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric, and of course I used ground turmeric, but given the texture of the other two ingredients (and particularly of the ginger), I wonder whether anyone has experimented with a variant that uses fresh turmeric ?
3) Blending was not 100% successful; the mixture was so thick that it tended to stick in the goblet and not sink down onto the blades, and although I used a plastic masher to push the mixture back down, I clearly had to be very careful when doing this to avoid liquidising the masher :-( Given that it is the ginger that is the hardest to liquidise, because of its fibrous nature, I wonder if there is any merit in liquidising the ginger first, and then adding the cloves of garlic only once the ginger has completely broken down ? Or might it be safe to increase the volume of oil, thereby making the mixture thinner so that it slides more easily down the goblet wall ?
4) Despite soaking the garlic overnight, it still took a long time to peel 180g; has anyone tried one of these electric garlic peelers (http://www.tichkum.com/), and if so, how successful was it ?
** Phil.
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There is a much simpler way of preparing garlic and ginger puree.
I always make these separately and I always keep them in separate jars. This way I can add as much or little of each ingredient as I want.
There is no set amount of garlic or ginger, just peel about 6-8 bulbs of garlic, peel and chop as many root bulbs of ginger as you want. (I guess this will depend on the size of the jar you want to keep it in really).
When cutting the ginger, cut in lengthways first then cut across the ginger. This is because it's very fibrous and if not cut down into small chunks first, it can be a bit of a bind trying to blend it too a smooth puree.
Then add the ginger or garlic to the blender/food processor, add 1 tsp ground turmeric and pour in about 3 tblsp of rapeseed oil. Blend away until you have a yellowish very smooth puree. If it seems a little dry add a little more oil. It should be the consistency of tomato puree out of a tube really, maybe a little more runny.
Pop it in the jar to about half an inch below the lid, then pour on some more oil. This prevents the air from getting to it and it will last 4-6 weeks in the fridge. Mine only lasts about 3 weeks as I use it all up in this time.
Do the same with the ginger :)
I don't think it needs frying at this stage as it gets all the cooking it needs when being added to the final dish plus you will get more aroma from it this way, rather than it being fried first, then stored.
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I don't think it needs frying at this stage as it gets all the cooking it needs when being added to the final dish plus you will get more aroma from it this way, rather than it being fried first, then stored.
Many thanks for your advice, "976bar", but one more question if I may ? As this is to be used in the Ashoka Chicken Marinade (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=3916.msg35418#msg35418) (and therefore won't get any more cooking until the final dish is prepared) do you think that the "heat until it starts to fry and the flavours are released" might be more significant in this context ?
** Phil.
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Many thanks for your advice, "976bar", but one more question if I may ? As this is to be used in the Ashoka Chicken Marinade (and therefore won't get any more cooking until the final dish is prepared) do you think that the "heat until it starts to fry and the flavours are released" might be more significant in this context ?
** Phil.
[/quote]
What are we talking here? 10 - 15 seconds? Remember, we should always heat the pan first, then add the oil, this way the oil takes about 5-10 seconds to heat up to a temperature where we then start to add the ingredients.
When making tikka, I always add the raw garlic and ginger to the marinade, then leave the marinade for 48 hours to infuse.
I think if the ginger/garlic puree is fried and cooked first, would you run the risk of burning it when cooking it again?
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Phil. I am sorry all is not clear here. The recipe assumes like in the BIR you have a hand blender. The half cup if oil together with the garlic and Ginger easily let's the blender do it's thing. Chopping the Ginger to half inch cubes will help. I have never had a challenge with it.
Once fully blended add the turmeric powder and blitz again. finally heat a pan with the paste stiri g as it heats until it just begins to fry and the ingredients release their aroma.
Simples honestly. The Ashoka chef uses powdered turmeric as you would expect.
I freeze the paste once cooled in table spoon sized portions as per The Ashoka recipes. This recipe and the Bunjara gave me the missing ingrdiants after 30 years if searching. It provide the smell, the moorishness, the "sweetness" the lot. Curry without the paste and bunjarra is second best if one is after genuine Glasgow area BIR duPlication
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OK, thanks everyone : got to dash, table tennis this afternoon, more questions (esp. about colour change, if any, during frying) on my return (circa 17:00).
** P.
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Hi Phil,
You may struggle to blend stuff like this in a full size upright jug blender, without adding loads of extra liquid.
I find a kenwood mini-chopper works well for blending smaller amounts like this.
They cost about 20 quid. Or even less see:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=kenwood+mini-chopper&tag=googhydr-21&index=aps&hvadid=6164066821&ref=pd_sl_8yfkfer042_e (http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=kenwood+mini-chopper&tag=googhydr-21&index=aps&hvadid=6164066821&ref=pd_sl_8yfkfer042_e)
Cheers,
Paul
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You may struggle to blend stuff like this in a full size upright jug blender, without adding loads of extra liquid.
I find a kenwood mini-chopper works well for blending smaller amounts like this.
They cost about 20 quid. Or even less see:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=kenwood+mini-chopper&tag=googhydr-21&index=aps&hvadid=6164066821&ref=pd_sl_8yfkfer042_e (http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=kenwood+mini-chopper&tag=googhydr-21&index=aps&hvadid=6164066821&ref=pd_sl_8yfkfer042_e)
Cheers,
Paul
[/quote]
Right on Paul!! :)
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Hi Phil,
You may struggle to blend stuff like this in a full size upright jug blender, without adding loads of extra liquid.
I find a kenwood mini-chopper works well for blending smaller amounts like this.
They cost about 20 quid. Or even less see:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=kenwood+mini-chopper&tag=googhydr-21&index=aps&hvadid=6164066821&ref=pd_sl_8yfkfer042_e (http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=kenwood+mini-chopper&tag=googhydr-21&index=aps&hvadid=6164066821&ref=pd_sl_8yfkfer042_e)
Cheers,
Paul
This is what I use as well. Works a treat!
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Phil,
couple of tips which may help
use cheese grater for the ginger - just wash it and go ie no peel.
i've replaced the fry with 5 min microwave bake. i blend it all in a tall jug with stick blender.
the way i look at the process is that it's a "pre cook". for me this up front part cooking seems to make the final cook at dish frying less hit and miss.
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I freeze the paste once cooled in table spoon sized portions as per The Ashoka recipes. This recipe and the Bunjara gave me the missing ingrdiants after 30 years if searching. It provide the smell, the moorishness, the "sweetness" the lot. Curry without the paste and bunjarra is second best if one is after genuine Glasgow area BIR duPlication
[/quote]
Hi Panpot,
When you freeze this, does it not add ice to the mixture? What happens when you start to cook it? Is there not a watery content from the ice? Does it in you're opinion water the taste down any?
I'm just intrigued............
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I'm gonna let you in on a secret, but don't tell panpot, he'll go mad if he found out ::)
I actually used jarred garlic and ginger once, and followed the rest of the method to spec. I couldn't tell any difference, than when I did the full method to spec.
Shhhhhhhh, don't tell him ;)
Ray ;D
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My sincere thanks to all for their helpful suggestions. There are just two related points to the bottom of which I would really like to get :
Firstly, in response to 976bar :
What are we talking here? 10 - 15 seconds? Remember, we should always heat the pan first, then add the oil, this way the oil takes about 5-10 seconds to heat up to a temperature where we then start to add the ingredients.
The problem is, there is no extra oil that can be brought up to temperature; all the oil that is used is present in the blended mixture, so while I can see that bringing the pan up to temperature first will help (I forgot to do that), I can't unfortunately also bring the oil up to temperature because there is none !
And in response to Panpot :
Once fully blended add the turmeric powder and blitz again. finally heat a pan with the paste stiring as it heats until it just begins to fry and the ingredients release their aroma.
I confess I did not blitz the turmeric, simply to avoid the difficulties of decontaminating the blender later ! But I really want to press you on the "until it just begins to fry" bit : are we talking sizzling sounds here, with a noticeably darkening of the turmeric and garlic, is this a high-temperature fry or a low temperature, and approximately (for the given quantities) for how long would you expect the mixture to remain in the frying pan ?
And finally (!), a question about the "25 mins at 150C in the oven" phase. Spread out on a baking tray, or in a covered casserole dish ?
** Phil.
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Phil,
How do you cook you're final Indian dish, if you add no oil at the beginning?
I always thought that, heat the pan, add some oil, then add the garlic/ginger, then the other spices, then the tomato puree (if used) then the base sauce, then the meat....
What method are you using to create you're dishes?
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Phil,
How do you cook you're final Indian dish, if you add no oil at the beginning?
I always thought that, heat the pan, add some oil, then add the garlic/ginger, then the other spices, then the tomato puree (if used) then the base sauce, then the meat....
What method are you using to create you're dishes?
Sorry, we are posting at cross-purposes ! I am talking about the preparation of the Ashoka Garlic/Ginger paste (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=3915.msg35417#msg35417), which contains oil and which has to be "heated until it just starts to fry and release the flavours" : this "just frying" stage is all part of the preparation of the garlic/ginger paste, and not associated with any main dish at all. Sincere apologies if I have not made myself clear on this.
** Phil.
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Update : well, I have just finished cooking the chicken, and decided to cook it in a closed casserole dish so as not to risk it going dry; the resulting chicken is truly superb, with a flavour reminiscent of Chicken Piri-Piri (the original Madascar version, not the anglicised Nando's version) but of course not as suicidally hot. I omitted the tomato paste and increased the chilli content to two teaspoons, but otherwise made no changes at all.
However : cooking the chicken in the oven in a closed casserole dish did not result in even cooking; some pieces were clearly still near-raw, while others were arguably over-done and may even fall to bits in the final curry. I think that next time I will cook the chicken in two batches, to increase the probability of it all cooking at much the same rate. The near-raw pieces have gone back in the oven for a further 15 minutes.
Future ideas : replaces ground chillis with Bassar curry masala; replaced groundnut oil with mustard oil (but perhaps not all of it : maybe 50%); consider replacing the oven stage with a gentle and prolonged stir-fry, so that pieces cook at the same rate.
** Phil.
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Update : well, I have just finished cooking the chicken, and decided to cook it in a closed casserole dish so as not to risk it going dry; the resulting chicken is truly superb, with a flavour reminiscent of Chicken Piri-Piri (the original Madascar version, not the anglicised Nando's version) but of course not as suicidally hot. I omitted the tomato paste and increased the chilli content to two teaspoons, but otherwise made no changes at all.
I posted a wonderful piri piri chicken dish on here. I wonder if it is the same as you'res? :)
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I posted a wonderful piri piri chicken dish on here. I wonder if it is the same as you'res? :)
Interestingly, no : quite different ! I will post a recipe for my version (which is really Fred Hopper's version) on another occasion : now I am just off to enjoy the results of my Ashoka pre-cooked chicken ;D
** Phil.
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However : cooking the chicken in the oven in a closed casserole dish did not result in even cooking; some pieces were clearly still near-raw, while others were arguably over-done and may even fall to bits in the final curry. I think that next time I will cook the chicken in two batches, to increase the probability of it all cooking at much the same rate. The near-raw pieces have gone back in the oven for a further 15 minutes.
I can only assume that was due to using a casserole dish. I cook mine on a baking tray and it cooks perfectly, moist and tender. Might be worth abandoning the casserole dish next time to see if it makes any difference.
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Update : well, I have just finished cooking the chicken, and decided to cook it in a closed casserole dish so as not to risk it going dry; the resulting chicken is truly superb, with a flavour reminiscent of Chicken Piri-Piri (the original Madascar version, not the anglicised Nando's version) but of course not as suicidally hot. I omitted the tomato paste and increased the chilli content to two teaspoons, but otherwise made no changes at all.
Thread continued (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=3916.msg53006#msg53006) under Panpot's Ashoka Pre-Cooked Chicken (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=3916.msg35418#msg35418), to whiich the continuation is more relevant.
** Phil.
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When you freeze this, does it not add ice to the mixture? What happens when you start to cook it? Is there not a watery content from the ice? Does it in you're opinion water the taste down any?
I'm just intrigued............
976bar,
will be interesting to see how others find the frozen stuff.
i must admit i would not have adopted the practise had panpot not highlighted it.
i think all will agree fresh is best. but if your stuck then the frozen stuff gets you out of many a hole. i particularly like the g/g and the yogurt as i can make tikka any time i need without a visit to the shops.
in terms of using it at dish frying i've tried 2 methods; adding direct from frozen and defrosting 1st. both work pretty good. my preference is to defrost into individual small cups or containers.
i've not noticed any effect of the "frozen" free water - i guess it gets fried off
pic current stockpile
(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/bf0bf15f99520d3516043234b6af3a37.jpg) (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/#bf0bf15f99520d3516043234b6af3a37.jpg)
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