Indian (balti) Cooking Mixes & Pastes Pt 2 Of 2 Recipe
Yield: 1 info sheetRecipe by luhu.jp
Ingredients:
NO INGREDIENTS
Directions:
Frying a Masala Paste
=====================
Bhoona is the term for the process of cooking a masala paste in hot
oil. This is an important part of the curry-cooking process which
removes the raw taste of the spices, and influences the final taste
of the dish.
Traditionally you should fry the spice paste first, then add the
chopped onion second. This method can easily cause burned spices so I
reverse the order and have found that this works very satisfactorily.
Instructions are given in the recipes, but here is a detailed
description of the process.
1 Take a round sided pan such as a Balti pan, karahi or wok. If you
dont have one, use an ordinary frying pan (a non stick one is best).
2 Heat the oil to quite a high heat (but not smoking). Fry the garlic
(and whole spices if required) briskly for a minute or two, then
reduce the heat, add the onions, and commence stirring.
3 From this point do _not_ let your attention wander. Keep stirring
the onion and gently add the masala paste (and in most cases the main
ingredient). Beware of spattering, but keep stirring. The water in the
paste lowers the temperature. Do not let the mixture stick at all. Do
not stop stirring, not even for a few seconds.
4 After a few minutes the water will have evaporated out and the oil
will float above the mixture. The spices wil be cooked.
Curry Pastes, & Gravy
=====================
Anyone interested in Indian food must have encountered bottled curry
or masala pastes on the grocery shelves. There are many makes and
types, but little explanation as to what they are or what they do.
They are designed to take the labour out of blending a spive mixture,
making it into a water paste and frying it. The manufacturers do it
all for you, adding vinegar (acetic acid) and hot oil to prevent it
from going mouldy. Unfortunately they also add salt and chilli powder
(ground chillies) which makes the pastes a little overpowering. They
are very concentrated and you only need a small quantity for cooking.
These bought curry pastes are already cooked, but to "disguise"
them you will proobably need to add some other whole or ground
spices, and you will certainly need to fry garlic, ginger, onion etc.
Simply add the spice paste after these three are fried and carry on
with the rest of the recipe. Its much better to make your own, and
Ive given you a few recipes
Submitted By IAN HOARE On 05-09-95
Source from luhu.jp
=====================
Bhoona is the term for the process of cooking a masala paste in hot
oil. This is an important part of the curry-cooking process which
removes the raw taste of the spices, and influences the final taste
of the dish.
Traditionally you should fry the spice paste first, then add the
chopped onion second. This method can easily cause burned spices so I
reverse the order and have found that this works very satisfactorily.
Instructions are given in the recipes, but here is a detailed
description of the process.
1 Take a round sided pan such as a Balti pan, karahi or wok. If you
dont have one, use an ordinary frying pan (a non stick one is best).
2 Heat the oil to quite a high heat (but not smoking). Fry the garlic
(and whole spices if required) briskly for a minute or two, then
reduce the heat, add the onions, and commence stirring.
3 From this point do _not_ let your attention wander. Keep stirring
the onion and gently add the masala paste (and in most cases the main
ingredient). Beware of spattering, but keep stirring. The water in the
paste lowers the temperature. Do not let the mixture stick at all. Do
not stop stirring, not even for a few seconds.
4 After a few minutes the water will have evaporated out and the oil
will float above the mixture. The spices wil be cooked.
Curry Pastes, & Gravy
=====================
Anyone interested in Indian food must have encountered bottled curry
or masala pastes on the grocery shelves. There are many makes and
types, but little explanation as to what they are or what they do.
They are designed to take the labour out of blending a spive mixture,
making it into a water paste and frying it. The manufacturers do it
all for you, adding vinegar (acetic acid) and hot oil to prevent it
from going mouldy. Unfortunately they also add salt and chilli powder
(ground chillies) which makes the pastes a little overpowering. They
are very concentrated and you only need a small quantity for cooking.
These bought curry pastes are already cooked, but to "disguise"
them you will proobably need to add some other whole or ground
spices, and you will certainly need to fry garlic, ginger, onion etc.
Simply add the spice paste after these three are fried and carry on
with the rest of the recipe. Its much better to make your own, and
Ive given you a few recipes
Submitted By IAN HOARE On 05-09-95
Source from luhu.jp