I would p&m things like seeds and pods but not leaves.
I've never quite understood what the toasting brings. I would certainly bung them in when saying frying some onions and garlic.
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'Curry kit', impressive
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Re: 'Curry kit', impressive
JMN2 wrote:I am trying a curry kit today. Should I pestle & mortar the dry spices (quite large bay leaf looking things + chilis) and toast them a bit but not burning and in which order? Cheers. I can't believe it is Friday and I can eat food and drink beer.
I'd be surprised if the kit isn't clear on that, as it can matter.
With bay leaves a dried chili then IME/O no. I'd expect them to left whole in the curry through it's cooking and left in to be extracted during eating.
Some dry spices can be pounded, like whole coriander seeds, but you'd think they'd provide coriander powder in the first place as many people do not have a pestle and mortar.
... FWIW 'hard spices', like cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, star anise, cloves, etc, always seem to go in whole and stay whole.
I start-off such hard spices in a TBSP/+ or more of hot oil and gently fry them to get some of their flavour into the oil, via which it then disperses well in the whole throughout the dish. It also 'cooks them off', ie takes the blunt/raw spice edge off them, and turns them more mellow. This applies to raw curry powder, cumin, chili and others.
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Re: 'Curry kit', impressive
The packet inx just said throw them in the sauce but earlier in this thread inx was to toast them a bit...I mucked it up, didn't I ?
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Re: 'Curry kit', impressive
A google on frying off whole spices for curry:
'Realize that working with whole spices is a bit different. Indian recipes, like Bihari Egg Curry, usually call for adding spices directly to oil before any of the larger ingredients. This frying opens the spices up — some will pop, sputter and sizzle — and infuses their flavor into the oil. You'll really notice the difference in the strong aroma, too. Whole spices also lend deeper flavor (like the whole cumin seeds in Aloo Gobi) and keep longer than often lower-quality ground ones'
http://www.tampabay.com/things-to-do/fo ... es/2202922
'Indian Spices 101: The Benefits of Frying Spices
...Why Fry Spices?
Frying spices in oil gives them a completely different flavor than dry-roasting. When dry-roasted, a spice's flavor changes in fundamental ways: volatile aromatics begin to cook off, while compounds in the spice recombine to form new flavors that are often deeper, roasted, and earthier. Frying them in oil, on the other hand, tends to enhance the original flavors of a spice, making them bolder and more intense, almost as if they've become more sure of themselves. In short, oil-fried spices have a brighter and fresher aroma compared to dry-roasted spices. ...
Some recipes call for frying whole spices and some don't. While you can get away with only using powdered spices, fresh whole ones that are fried first and then ground lend the dish a robustness and an unmistakable silkiness and depth that's often unachievable with ground versions alone. Some recipes, meanwhile, have you use a combination of whole and ground spices, usually calling for the whole ones first, since they take longer to cook, followed in quick succession with the other ingredients; the ground spices often come last, as they are more likely to burn.
https://www.seriouseats.com/2014/07/ind ... pices.html
Dry-fry hard spices you wish to later pound in a pestle+mortar, it 'activates' all the oils in them.
Oil fry if leaving whole in the later dish, and to help take the harder edges off, develop the flavours, and get the latter out into the oil.
'Realize that working with whole spices is a bit different. Indian recipes, like Bihari Egg Curry, usually call for adding spices directly to oil before any of the larger ingredients. This frying opens the spices up — some will pop, sputter and sizzle — and infuses their flavor into the oil. You'll really notice the difference in the strong aroma, too. Whole spices also lend deeper flavor (like the whole cumin seeds in Aloo Gobi) and keep longer than often lower-quality ground ones'
http://www.tampabay.com/things-to-do/fo ... es/2202922
'Indian Spices 101: The Benefits of Frying Spices
...Why Fry Spices?
Frying spices in oil gives them a completely different flavor than dry-roasting. When dry-roasted, a spice's flavor changes in fundamental ways: volatile aromatics begin to cook off, while compounds in the spice recombine to form new flavors that are often deeper, roasted, and earthier. Frying them in oil, on the other hand, tends to enhance the original flavors of a spice, making them bolder and more intense, almost as if they've become more sure of themselves. In short, oil-fried spices have a brighter and fresher aroma compared to dry-roasted spices. ...
Some recipes call for frying whole spices and some don't. While you can get away with only using powdered spices, fresh whole ones that are fried first and then ground lend the dish a robustness and an unmistakable silkiness and depth that's often unachievable with ground versions alone. Some recipes, meanwhile, have you use a combination of whole and ground spices, usually calling for the whole ones first, since they take longer to cook, followed in quick succession with the other ingredients; the ground spices often come last, as they are more likely to burn.
https://www.seriouseats.com/2014/07/ind ... pices.html
Dry-fry hard spices you wish to later pound in a pestle+mortar, it 'activates' all the oils in them.
Oil fry if leaving whole in the later dish, and to help take the harder edges off, develop the flavours, and get the latter out into the oil.
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