Preferred curry spice format, or preparation method poll.

[Kesher]

Sounds like you're really into your curries when you talk about spice grinders, do you mean storing spice in pepper grinders.

I didn't specify Thai curry spices because I don't know much about them, but I know they use a lot of fantastic fresh spices.

Thai curry based dishes are far tastier than Indian ones because: more herbs, more vegetables and less coconut milk.

 

[Greebozz]

Thai curry based dishes are far tastier than Indian ones because: more herbs, more vegetables and less coconut milk.

I know very little about Thai cooking other than the food is very delicious, wonderful aromas. I've always struggled a bit with fresh chili which is a big feature I understand as I find it too hot and too annoying to prepare. I basically like doing one pot cooking, what would be Thai ingredients for a simple lentil curry? Thanks

 

[Greebozz]

One of the best p & ms I've ever had was a Japanese one bought from a catering supplies place about 30 years ago. The surface of the mortar was similar to a grindstone, with cross-cut abrasive grooves that made really short work of anything. Wish I could find another like that!

I've got one of those, wonderful bit of kit, particularly for mixing any paste such as ground sesame seed with water. I came very close to making my own miso and I found you can buy these bowls online, as they are part of every Japanese housewifes/househusband kitchen

 

[mr steev]

Thai curry based dishes are far tastier than Indian ones because: more herbs, more vegetables and less coconut milk.

Most indian dishes don't contain coconut

 

[Spymaster]

... less coconut milk.

Only South Indian curries use coconut milk.

 

[rubbershoes]

I know very little about Thai cooking other than the food is very delicious, wonderful aromas. I've always struggled a bit with fresh chili which is a big feature I understand as I find it too hot and too annoying to prepare. I basically like doing one pot cooking, what would be Thai ingredients for a simple lentil curry? Thanks

Last night I mixed up fresh ginger, fresh chillies, ground cinnamon sticks, ground cardamon pods, and garlic

i rubbed it on some chicken with coconut milk, left it for an hour. Then browned the chicken and cooked with onions , mushrooms, peas (!) and more coconut milk. And more chillies of course

It wasn't based on a recipe and wasn't authentic in any way but depended on what i had in the cupboard.

Take out the chicken and add lentils

I needed to grind the cinnamon more as i got bits in my teeth. I can cope with getting cardamon pods inmy food but not cinnamon bits as well

 

[mr steev]

I know very little about Thai cooking other than the food is very delicious, wonderful aromas. I've always struggled a bit with fresh chili which is a big feature I understand as I find it too hot and too annoying to prepare. I basically like doing one pot cooking, what would be Thai ingredients for a simple lentil curry? Thanks

Thai curries generally use a paste. The times I make one I will make my own paste (most shop bought ones have fish or oyster sauce in) - garlic, ginger, chillies, fresh corriander, lime zest & juice, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, soy sauce (irrc) all blitzed up in a food processor. It's a bit of a faff to make, but smells amazing, and will keep in a jar in the fridge for a few weeks

 

[Spymaster]

Thai curries generally use a paste. The times I make one I will make my own paste (most shop bought ones have fish or oyster sauce in) - garlic, ginger, chillies, fresh corriander, lime zest & juice, lemon grass, kafir lime leaves, soy sauce (irrc) all blitzed up in a food processor. It's a bit of a faff to make, but smells amazing, and will keep in a jar in the fridge for a few weeks

Malaysian's similar. I made a beef rendang from scratch a few months ago, ground everything by hand with a M&P, toasted the coconut, the whole nine yards. It was ace in the end, but boy oh boy did I work for that!

 

[Greebozz]

Thai curries generally use a paste. The times I make one I will make my own paste (most shop bought ones have fish or oyster sauce in) - garlic, ginger, chillies, fresh corriander, lime zest & juice, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, soy sauce (irrc) all blitzed up in a food processor. It's a bit of a faff to make, but smells amazing, and will keep in a jar in the fridge for a few weeks

Those fresh ingredients you mention sound amazing, I can almost smell them. I have a general query. What is the best way to add measurable heat to a dish. I bought all these curry spices and I forgot to buy chili powder. But is there any merit in using something like chili oil, or flakes or one of the hot sauces instead. I don't really have access to fresh chilis very much.

 

[rubbershoes]

I use chilli flakes

 

[UnderOpenSky]

I use chilli flakes

I do for heat. I quiteike spicy food and they are consistent. Using fresh chilli's I've often made food to spicy for other people. Even the same chilli's left in the fridge can gain potency.

 

[mr steev]

Those fresh ingredients you mention sound amazing, I can almost smell them. I have a general query. What is the best way to add measurable heat to a dish. I bought all these curry spices and I forgot to buy chili powder. But is there any merit in using something like chili oil, or flakes or one of the hot sauces instead. I don't really have access to fresh chilis very much.

Chilli flakes or dried chillies would do. It might be worth considering growing a chilli plant if you can't get hold of fresh ones. They're easy to grow and you'd have a constant supply. Removing the seeds will also remove some of the heat if you're not into particularly spicy food, but will still give you that lovely fresh chilli taste

 

[Greebozz]

Chilli flakes or dried chillies would do. It might be worth considering growing a chilli plant if you can't get hold of fresh ones. They're easy to grow and you'd have a constant supply. Removing the seeds will also remove some of the heat if you're not into particularly spicy food, but will still give you that lovely fresh chilli taste

I'd certainly never thought of growing my own, I don't think I've graduated to that level yet. Do you mind me asking why chili flakes instead of chili powder is there a difference between them makes one better?

 

[mr steev]

I'd certainly never thought of growing my own, I don't think I've graduated to that level yet. Do you mind me asking why chili flakes instead of chili powder is there a difference between them makes one better?

chilli flakes are just dried chillies, whereas chilli powder has other spices in too.

 

[alex_]

chilli flakes are just dried chillies, whereas chilli powder has other spices in too.

Something I never knew.

 

[Spymaster]

Not always, tbf. The stuff you get in supermarkets, like Schwartz etc, is sometimes blended, but you get pure chili powder too.

 

[fredfelt]

I'd certainly never thought of growing my own, I don't think I've graduated to that level yet. Do you mind me asking why chili flakes instead of chili powder is there a difference between them makes one better?

As well as chilli flakes / power to add heat you could also try...

Loads of ginger - sliced is good for stir frys, no need to always grate it.
Paprika - can be hot, depending on the type. Smoked paprika is not to everyones taste. Sweet paprika is less hot
Cayenne pepper - hotter than chilli powder as that's a mix of spices, as already mentioned. Cayenne, I think, can be considered to be all chilli
kashmiri chilli - more smokey flavour. Not very strong, you can get this in powder or whole (dried).
Maybe even mustard for when you are after a different response from your trigeminal nerve

 

[Saul Goodman]

I fkn love curry! I buy bags of individual spices by the kilo, and make up my own recipes.

 

[ViolentPanda]

I'd certainly never thought of growing my own, I don't think I've graduated to that level yet. Do you mind me asking why chili flakes instead of chili powder is there a difference between them makes one better?

Apart from bastardisation - chili powder can have other stuff added to bulk it out - flakes tend to have oxidised less, so retain more of the active elements of the chili.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

Apart from bastardisation - chili powder can have other stuff added to bulk it out - flakes tend to have oxidised less, so retain more of the active elements of the chili.

Yup. Chilli flakes are far superior. I had some ones made from Birds Eye chilli's a while back... Certainly packed a punch. I must see if I can get my hands on some more.

 

[campanula]

Left to my own devices, I would open a jar...but Malaysian D-i-L has shamed me into making a serious effort - seems to involve a lot more cinnamon, star anise, coconut, lemongrass - sweeter, creamier with far less cumin, cardamom, coriander than I had been used to. I do grow chillies but not the hot birds's eye types - I tend to stick with Hungarian Wax or the dark poblano bell pepper types.

 

[Spymaster]

I find it difficult to dose flakes. Same with those bell chilis you get in mixed packs at supermarkets. I know that 5 or 6 regular green chilis are going to be pretty hot in a curry with about a kilo of meat, so I go up and down from there and stick to fresh ones.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

I got some Methi/Fenugreek after Spymaster mentioned it. It seeds so needs to be ground. Going to stick some in my Dahl tonight and see what it's like. Also found some extra hot chilli flakes. Probably just as well I picked up Yougurt as well.

They had chapati/roti you can stick in the microwave. Only a quid for a huge pack. I'm rather hoping they freeze. Love that whole scopping up your food with them thing. Got told once by one of my clients that I eat like an Asian. Despite her parents being from Pakistan, I don't think she was being entirely complementary.

 

[Addy]

Thai curries generally use a paste. The times I make one I will make my own paste (most shop bought ones have fish or oyster sauce in) - garlic, ginger, chillies, fresh corriander, lime zest & juice, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, soy sauce (irrc) all blitzed up in a food processor. It's a bit of a faff to make, but smells amazing, and will keep in a jar in the fridge for a few weeks

A trick for preserving home made pastes longer is to ensure the top/empty section of the jar is covered in oil.
This stops airborn particles colonising on the paste below, and the flavours infuse the oil so you can spoon a bit off to start off your curry.

 

[Mrs Miggins]

Top tip: Make your own chilli powder by buying a big bag of super cheap dried red chillis from the asian supermarket and grinding them to a powder in a coffee/spice grinder. This makes really great chilli powder with lots of depth of flavour but for the love of god, be very, very careful with it as it is a billion times more potent than chilli powder you buy already ground. We found this out the hard way

 

[fredfelt]

I got some Methi/Fenugreek after Spymaster mentioned it. It seeds so needs to be ground. Going to stick some in my Dahl tonight and see what it's like. Also found some extra hot chilli flakes. Probably just as well I picked up Yougurt as well.

They had chapati/roti you can stick in the microwave. Only a quid for a huge pack. I'm rather hoping they freeze. Love that whole scopping up your food with them thing. Got told once by one of my clients that I eat like an Asian. Despite her parents being from Pakistan, I don't think she was being entirely complementary.

Chappati are also dead easy to make - needing only wholemeal bread flour in the cupboard.

Chapatis

 

[Spymaster]

I got some Methi/Fenugreek after Spymaster mentioned it. It seeds so needs to be ground. Going to stick some in my Dahl tonight and see what it's like. Also found some extra hot chilli flakes. Probably just as well I picked up Yougurt as well.

They had chapati/roti you can stick in the microwave. Only a quid for a huge pack. I'm rather hoping they freeze. Love that whole scopping up your food with them thing. Got told once by one of my clients that I eat like an Asian. Despite her parents being from Pakistan, I don't think she was being entirely complementary.

I actually use kasuri methi, which is the dried leaves rather than the seeds but you'll probably need to go to an Asian shop to find it. Whilst you're there check the freezers for Shana roti and paratha. Individually frozen bread rounds that you just dry fry for a few minutes. Shana products have recently become more mainstream and you'll often find them in supermarkets. In Asian stores also look for methi tepla in the bread section. Similar to the Shana stuff but not frozen and with methi mixed into the dough. Heat them the same way. They're ace.

 

[Greebozz]

Top tip: Make your own chilli powder by buying a big bag of super cheap dried red chillis from the asian supermarket and grinding them to a powder in a coffee/spice grinder. This makes really great chilli powder with lots of depth of flavour but for the love of god, be very, very careful with it as it is a billion times more potent than chilli powder you buy already ground. We found this out the hard way

I admire your daring but do you not get clouds of deadly red dust? Speaking of potency I'm looking for some way to calibrate the heat. When I used ground chilis in the past I felt I've almost needed laboratory equipment to measure out the right dose for a dish.

 

[Mrs Miggins]

I admire your daring but do you not get clouds of deadly red dust? Speaking of potency I'm looking for some way to calibrate the heat. When I used ground chilis in the past I felt I've almost needed laboratory equipment to measure out the right dose for a dish.

No as a coffee grinder has a lid!

You just have to experiment. Start with a small amount like 1/4 teaspoon and work your way up to the desired heat.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

Chappati are also dead easy to make - needing only wholemeal bread flour in the cupboard.

Chapatis

I will have another go at them. Last time was messy and slightly time consuming and it's only me eating them.

The purchased ones were lush. Big pack for a quid and just needed to put them in a dry frying pan for 40 seconds. Went light and soft like you may expect.