Topic: Storage

[Yousef]

 

[Chilli Prawn]

I hope this OK, but I copied this across from an old post of mine.
CP

Here are some tips about the hot topic of curry powders etc.  In base mixes it is not really that important which powder or masala you use.  If you have a favorite curry house then find the nearest Asian shop and ask them if the supply the restaurants.  If they answer yes ask them which ones.  Then look on the racks for the large packs of spices (whole and powder), this will give you a clue to what brand(s) and what particular spices are being used.  This equally applies to the jars of pastes and pickles.

When you buy check for two things; the use by date (very important, don't buy if it is out of date within 6 months).  If it is powder, hold the bag sides and rub the powder inside between your fingers, if it feels gritty leave it alone and try other bags.  The quality of spice powders varies tremendously; it may have TRS on the bag but the origins of its content may be from many sources.  You may recall that there was a very big scare over the carcinogenic Red Sudan dye that had been put in some Paprikas and chilli powders to make it look redder, TRS was one of the sufferers of this scam.

Look at the colours of the spices. If say, all the cumin powder looks the same colour then chances are it is from the same batch and the shop has a reasonable turnover.  However, as is often the case, you will see variations in colour with cumin and  this is because of age and the origins, if you see one that is paler than the other leave it alone.  This will come with experience.

Check the price labels.  My supplier is notorious for having different prices on the same products (his kids are usually at fault because they think it is a game!).  Prices do go up and down and the Asian grocer is not interested in keeping everything the same.  But price can give you an indication of age sometimes.

Garam Masalas  and Curry Powders.  To me I would rather make my own because they are our signature in some of the more individual dishes we make.  There are thousands of variations of the basic masala, mostly governed by the region of Asia they originate from.  A good general purpose masala I use from time to time is the one you find in Pat Chapman's books, and for that matter his curry powder is quite good too.  I use these with slight a modifications to make my simple Punjabi Gosht (Lamb) which is one of our more popular requests.

Pastes.  Well this can be a very purist subject; some say they would never use a OTS (off the shelf) product and they always make there own.  Quite frankly I use pastes regularly and I have my long time favorite (Ferns) which a lot of restaurants and Asian home cooks use as it is the closest you will get to middle India curries (it is made in Mumbai by Mrs Fernadez).  I always use Simtom Tikka Paste for CTMs and sometimes Jalfrezis as it is pointless making my own as this is simply the best for these dishes.  I do make my own however for Tikkas and Tandoori style, as they are the best in my humble opinion.

Pickles.  Try adding some pickles or chutneys to your dishes as you cook them, maybe instead of a masala.  The BIRs do!  I use some Ferns Chilli Pickle for my Madras dishes as it adds a very subtle hot and slight sweet and sour flavour. 

Vinegars, lime and lemon juices have a special place in Asian cooking. fresh tomatoes have a similar effect.  With the exception of Vinegar in most cases, when these are added to the final stages of the the cooking.  The citric acid reacts chemically with the spices and creates/releases that final flavour.

I think that is enough to kick off this topic.  This is a big area to cover so I am sure there will be plenty of posts.

Happy Cooking
C P