Old fashioned curry powder

[Lusciouslush Profile]

That mango puree when frozen makes a lovely sorbet

[Sakkarin Profile]

That's probably what I'll have to do, there's far too much to use straight away!

Didn't really work with the Kulfi, it swamped the Kulfi's flavour...

[Lusciouslush Profile]

You'll be glad of that mango sorbet when the hot weather returns!

Pity about the kulfi - hit & miss an' all that.

[Sakkarin Profile]

Still some left!

[Badger's Mate Profile]

They simply don't stock it in the supermarkets locally, there being a dearth of Ghanaians hereabouts. I'd have to go back into London to see if it were on offer there.

[strictlysalsaclare Profile]

That mango puree when frozen makes a lovely sorbet

That tinned mango puree also makes a great cocktail when teamed with vodka and fresh lime juice. I made some yesterday and served it in Martini glasses. I'm not sure whether to call it a Lime and Mangotini or a Club Tropicana!

[Sakkarin Profile]

Intriguing that in this week's finals of Great British Menu, TWO of the eight starters involved "curry powder", and not "a special blend I've created myself", just plain old "curry powder"!

[jeral Profile]

Maybe bog standard curry powder has earned a place in cheffiness in the way that tomato ketchup has for several chefs "where nothing else will do".

Appropos of old fashioned: "Heinz 57 varieties" was mentioned on TV this morning. I can only remember beans (1 +1 with sausages maybe) and soup (6 to 10 maybe), so what the heck were all the others?

My favourite and the only curry powder I buy is tandoori marsala (Rajah brand) which surprisingly has a dozen of the typical ingredients, so clearly in strategic proportions.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

There were never exactly 57 varieties - even at the time HJ Heinze started using the slogan there were far more, at least in the USA!
Apparently 57 was his lucky number

Off the top of my head, beans, various forms of spaghetti in cans (tomato, Bolognese, hoops, alphabetti), salad cream, sandwich spread, canned veg salad, toast toppers, mustard, mayo, toast toppers. And a lot of other things in cans and jars, especially in the US

And having now looked at their website, Heinz baby food, don't know how I forgot that, there was at one time at least 20 varieties of that

[jeral Profile]

Thanks Stokey Sue, fascinating that 57 was merely a lucky number which has been proved true since it's one of the few brands that's kept its name over all these years irrespective of corporate takeovers.

How could I have forgotten spaghetti, salad cream (and spreads) not to mention ketchup! I suppose the name is so embedded we don't even notice it in our cupboards even now. It's just there. in some form or other.

Back on spices, I looked up Lebanese spices yesterday to see a typical combo which seems to be very cinnamon and nutmeggy - or that end of the scale. I've never really got cinnamon with meat or even veg, nor anise in five-spice. Is it an acquired taste or an umami that escapes me (as coriander leaf does)?

[karadekoolaid Profile]

Jeral: in my experience, Lebanese ( and Middle-eastern ) food in general uses spices very sparingly. For example, the mixture known as "Baharat" contains very aromatic spices, and a mere pinch can be more than adequate.
A typical baharat recipe is : 4 parts black pepper, 4 parts cumin seeds, 3 parts cloves, 3 parts cinnamon, 3 parts coriander seed, 1 part cardamom pods, 3 parts nutmeg, and 6 parts paprika. Grind all the ingredients together and store in a cool, dark place. This recipe would produce enough to last for a year, so I´d reduce it to 25%.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Baharat is used in Turkish food too, and the name denotes a connection with India - it's not that different to a garam masala

I am not at all a fan of cinnamon in sweet foods (my idea of hell is a US breakfast where it seems to be necessary to roll everything in cinnamon sugar) but I don't mind small amounts in savoury foods - a pilaff for example would be odd without it, and I've not found Middle Eastern or Turkish food to contain too much, though some Moroccan savoury dishes are a bit heavy on the cinnamon and sugar for my taste.

Chinese five spice, and star anise alone, I only really use with meat and poultry. not in vegetarian food which may make a difference. Five spice often contains cassia rather than true cinnamon, which I personally prefer (cheap date, spice-wise). I do use those spices in veg/fruit chutneys and pickles I suppose, and Heston's pears in red wine needs star anise and are delicious.