Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption
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Piggyphile
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Best Asian Spices to BuyI am coming on a rare trip to the UK next week and intend to visit London to pick up some Asian spices for cooking. I want to cook more Asian food, particularly veggie and perhaps have a go at growing things but I don't know enough about what spices are most frequently used and searching for a list brings up a million different spices, I need to narrow them down a bit to things I will actually use.
I hope to get a couple of cookery books (e.g. something by Madhur Jaffrey) but what do folks recommend? I have previous used the usual supermarket ingredients such as cardamom pods, cumin seed, turmeric powder etc but what is tamarind paste, asafoetida, ajowan seeds and rasam powder? Will I use them enough to justify looking for them?
I will be looking for fresh turmeric to try growing and might try to get a small indian curry leaf plant Murraya koenigii back in my suitcase and or a kaffir lime plant.
Your thoughts would be appreciated. Northern Spain only really has Pimenton or supermarket curry powder.
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tahir
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Tamarind is the fruity sourness in HP sauce, it's a great flavour but not essential, nowadays I tend to knock up plum based alternatives.
My essentials would be:
*cloves
*coriander - easy to grow your own, stores for ages
*cumin - never tried it but should be perfectly possible to grow
*cinammon (actually cassia)
*bay leaves - easy peasy in spain
black cardamom
*fenugreek - easy to grow, if you don't want to faff with harvesting seed the dried leaf has a very similar flavour
turmeric - should be relatively easy to grow in spain
*black pepper
other spices I use less often:
*black mustard seed
cardamom
*black cumin
fennel
I use all the starred ones in my garam masala, bulk of it is corainder, cumin and cassia with little bits of the rest.
No point getting stuff you're not going to use regularly as it'll be devoid of flavour by the time you get round to it. Also don't buy ground spices, they'll already have lost most of their aromatics during processing, the rest will go quite quickly in a jar in your kitchen
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tahir
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Obviously my selection is based on Punjabi food (the most similar to what your average UK curry house serves up)
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dpack
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cumin and coriander should both grow well in your climate so it would be worth planting some and cooking the rest.
the same goes for chillis so use the seeds from some nice fresh ones.
some of the spice mixes are useful ,garam masala and puri puri mix are good dry ones,
for the best flavour use pastes (patak's are good) to marinate the meat for tandoori,madras,korma etc etc .you can mix your own but pastes are convienient.
for veggie dishes as well as spices and curry leaves stocking up on blocks of coconut cream (mix with hot water as required)is sensible
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tahir
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for the best flavour use pastes (patak's are good) to marinate the meat for tandoori,madras,korma etc etc .you can mix your own but pastes are convienient. |
Marinades are easy, never bought a paste in me life, I use these quite a lot:
1. Minty Yog
Natural yoghurt
Fresh coriander
Fresh Mint
Chillies (fresh preferably but dried will do)
Garam masala
Salt
Turmeric if you want a bit of colour
Stick it all in a liquidiser and mush to a paste
2. Plum
Heat equal weights of chopped plum and onion with some garlic (say 2 cloves of garlic per onion), chillies, garam masala, salt.
Liquidise when mushy
3. Lemon/Coriander
Finely chopped bunch of coriander
whole cumin
ground coriander
salt
chilli
lemon juice and zest
a touch of coriander
oil
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dpack
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im lazy
fresh made is best but a spoonful of jar paste and yogurt or juice or whatever and chuck it in the fridge is easy .
i do sometimes make spice mixes but i usually spoon
i forgot cinnamon ,the powder is a waste of money unless very fresh,the expensive thin sliced rolled up stuff is ok for making powder or chucking in whole but for rice i tend to use the big lumps of bark which is a lot cheaper than the rolled stuff.
ps all spices are best in airtight jars in a dark draw ,i use square jars as they fit together better
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Nicky cigreen
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I use black onion seeds in bhajis - wouldn't be the same without them imho
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tahir
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im lazy |
Aye. That's what I use mine for. I have some little ones, but they're neither use nor ornament.
Have a marble one and a stone one, both do the job fine.
I couldn't be bothered with a gizmo that needs dismantling and washing.
EV
earthyvirgo
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dont use the coffee grinder it might be wrong in both directions .
i have been thinking that ginger might grow in your climate ,it would be worth a try .
re grinding spices for immediate use ,my method with seeds is to collate them into the correct proportions and then drop them into a hot pan (no oil )until the first to pop do so ,then tip them into the mortar for a grinding
this works very well with most of the seedy spices |
...as long as you catch them before they leave the pan in all directions!
EV
dpack
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a lid often helps
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tahir
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Coriander is the spice I grind most often, I've got a pepper grinder specifically for it v easy
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Shan
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I'll just add that you should get whole spices where possible, I now have a quantity of cumin that's gone a bit tasteless because it was already ground.
I think my basics for Asian-type cooking are cumin, coriander (seed), black onion (actually Nigella) seeds, fennel seeds. |
According to my Encyclopedia of Herbs, Spices and Flavourings, it is a common mistake for Nigella to be confused with onion seeds.
Shan
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Thanks guys, really helpful, I might get a manual grinder as well whilst I am there, My current grinder is for coffee and I don't fancy the mix of the two. Blocks of coconut also sounds useful. |
I have a little Russel Hobbs Spice Grinder, which works a treat. £13.99 from Amazon. It doesn't require dismantling or washing. I brush it out with a dry paint brush.
Shan
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I use these a lot:
coriander
cumin
fennel
dry ginger flakes (I grind it to powder as needed)
green cardamom
black & white peppercorns
cassia
star anise
cloves
yellow and black mustard seeds
nutmeg
I like to have these:
black cardamom
nigella
fenugreek
caraway
saffron
mace
poppy seeds (not a spice but adds great flavour)
tamarind
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