[capozzoli]

If you are serious about learning Indian cooking the first thing to do is go out and get a good round of the basic spices. You will do best going to an Indian grocery stotre. Dont worry you will find that it is possible to work all of theses spices into your regular cooking.

Also get a coffee grinder dedicated for spices, you wont regret it.

I would say that the first thing to learn is,how to make garam masala. That is basically "real" curry powder. There are all kinds of masalas that consist of various combination of herbs and spices.Sometimes other ingredients. There are wet and dry masalas.

For my garam masala I get a fry pan hot on med heat. Then I toast stiring constantly a mixture of.

Whole cumin seeds
Whole cinnamon stick
Whole bay leaves
Whole black pepper corns
whole fenugreek seeds
Whole balck mustard seeds
whole cloves
whole cardamon seed pods.

Toast till the color starts to change and the essential oils are coming up. About 5 mins. Dont stop stirring cause they can burn.

Then put them into the spice grinder and make it into a fine powder. Store in a jar in the spice cabinet.

Really good stuff and you will find yourself putting it into other dishes.

Ill post some good "curries" next.

[tschmidlin]

I've got all that stuff available to me. Plenty of ethnic stores all over the place - just no clue what to do with it. 

The top one I know by the name nigella, aka kalonji aka black onion seed.  According to Tony Hill's The Spice Lover's Guide to Herbs and Spices you have to make sure you have the real thing, as sometimes you get black cumin (below), black mustard, or even black sesame seeds.  The slew of names for it only adds to the confusion.  The seeds are "almost triangular" in shape.

Tony's got a few recipes that include it, including his Ras El Hanout, which he says is good on roasted meats, in casseroles, stews, or ground as a condiment.  I'd type it all in, but it's got 20 ingredients  Here's his Panch Phoron, which he says gets tossed in bread doughs and ground into rich soups in beans and lentils.

1/4 cup each of nigella seeds, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, and brown mustard seeds.  Use whole or cracked as needed.

The second one is black cumin, aka kala jeera.  It is brown rather than black, thinner than common cumin.  Tony describes it as "musty in character with grassy hay aromas".  He uses it in his Kashmiri Garam Masala:

6 Tbs coriander seeds
4 Tbs Tellicherry peppercorns
2 Tbs cardamom seeds
2 Tbs black cumin seeds
1 Tbs whole cloves
a generous pinch of ground mace
2 tsp freshly shaved nutmeg
2 tsp cassia-cinnamon chips

These should get you started.  Tony's a friend from when he lived in Seattle and owned his spice shop, although he's since moved to London and we've fallen out of touch.  But regardless of that, I highly recommend his book if you're looking to understand some exotic (and even common) spices.  

[beerocd]

I would say that the first thing to learn is,how to make garam masala. That is basically "real" curry powder. There are all kinds of masalas that consist of various combination of herbs and spices.Sometimes other ingredients. There are wet and dry masalas.

For my garam masala I get a fry pan hot on med heat. Then I toast stiring constantly a mixture of.

Really good stuff and you will find yourself putting it into other dishes.

Ill post some good "curries" next.

I got store bought garam masala. I like it a lot in chilli. I'm sure yours tastes better than the mass produced stuff though.

[bluesman]

I have an old coffee grinder that I don't use much anymore and there is an Indian grocery store not too far from me. I think I'd like to start with the basic spices need to make some fresh curry powder.

Step 2...

[nicneufeld]

Fenugreek, or methi, is one of my favorite indian spices, and is a key component of my curries, otherwise, they just seem missing a dimension.  Strange thing is, it is used for artificial maple syrup.  I would have never guessed that except for going back to my methi stash and smelling it.  Did I just say "methi stash"?  Let me be clear that was not a typo!

Panch phoron is good too!  I made up a jar of it, the flavors are a perfect balance, although I usually eyeball my spice mixtures.  Garam masala is integral, but I usually use it as a component of a spice mixture, in that on its own, its a bit too "warm" (that's in the name...garam masala, warming spices, vs chaat masala, cooling spices) with all that cinnamon, nutmeg, and such like.  You could almost make a garam masala pumpkin pie!

Speaking of which, a garam masala sweet potato casserole sounds awesome.  I've already used it with mashed potatoes...

[tschmidlin]

I have an old coffee grinder that I don't use much anymore and there is an Indian grocery store not too far from me. I think I'd like to start with the basic spices need to make some fresh curry powder.

Step 2...

What are you looking for here blues, a recipe for curry powder?  My wife's favorite is this Madras curry powder from Tony's book.

1/4 cup coriander seeds
2 Tbs brown mustard seed
2 Tbs ground turmeric
1 Tbs fenugreek seeds
1 Tbs cumin seeds
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp cardamom seeds

You can also add red chile flakes to it to suit your taste.  The original recipe calls for 1 Tbs, but I typically leave it out of the blend and add it at the table so the rest of the family can tolerate it

Good luck cleaning the old coffee grinder.  Grinding up some salt and then dumping it helps to get some of the stuff out, but mostly it just takes time.  It might be mild enough to give a really interesting flavor to your spice blends.

[beerocd]

funny thing about the garam masala I have. this place opened up that had chicken tikka sammichez and it came with UBER greasy masala fries. Not knowing anything about anything - I goes and grabs me a can of garam masala. 
It's good stuff, but not the spicy red concoction I had all over my fries. Any clue what that's called?

[tschmidlin]

Can you describe the flavor?  There are lots of different kinds of masalas, and even garam masala can have a wide variety of ingredients.

If I had to guess I'd say it was tikka masala, since that's what the sandwich was.  Tikka masala has paprika added, which would explain the red color.  I don't know of any Indian masalas that have paprika, Capetown is the only other one I can think of.

[nicneufeld]

Masala is a generic word that you will find everywhere...it doesn't correspond directly with garam masala, the brown, N. Indian finishing spice blend.  It often means simply a spicy gravy, or spiciness.  So the masala fries could have been anything!

I agree that what we know as curry powder does not equal garam masala...garam masala is one of many blends of spices, and is usually used to just add some aromatics as a finishing spice, after cooking.  To approximate what we know as curry powder.....you need turmeric!

Reading what I wrote again: "You could almost make a garam masala pumpkin pie!" I am struck by the sneaking suspicion that I've read somewhere in these massive threads that Cap has already done this...   

Your almost critical components of Indian flavors...fresh garlic...fresh ginger...fresh green chilies.  Add spices like coriander, cumin, and others (mentioned above), coriander leaf (cilantro), and that's pretty much the core.  Chilies, ginger, garlic, spices!

[beerocd]

Can you describe the flavor?  There are lots of different kinds of masalas, and even garam masala can have a wide variety of ingredients.

If I had to guess I'd say it was tikka masala, since that's what the sandwich was.  Tikka masala has paprika added, which would explain the red color.  I don't know of any Indian masalas that have paprika, Capetown is the only other one I can think of.

Well, I'm horrible at this - but it was the type of spiciness and heat you get in a good bowl of Thai red beef curry. I did have an indian ground red chili powder. That stuff was crazy hot- quarter teaspoon was enough for a pot of chili, half a teaspoon and it was damn near inedible. So that's not it. Maybe something along the lines of Lay's flamin' hot potato chips- but more complex and much less salt.

It's also been a while since I've had em, but sitting here thinking about them, I could really go for some. I have a couple of "rubs" I bet I could use to get spicy fries. Hit the potatoes with some olive oil, and then do the shake and bake kinda thing to coat the fries with some bone sucking sauce or something like that. then just bake em.

[bluesman]

I have an old coffee grinder that I don't use much anymore and there is an Indian grocery store not too far from me. I think I'd like to start with the basic spices need to make some fresh curry powder.

Step 2...

What are you looking for here blues, a recipe for curry powder?  My wife's favorite is this Madras curry powder from Tony's book.

1/4 cup coriander seeds
2 Tbs brown mustard seed
2 Tbs ground turmeric
1 Tbs fenugreek seeds
1 Tbs cumin seeds
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp cardamom seeds

You can also add red chile flakes to it to suit your taste.  The original recipe calls for 1 Tbs, but I typically leave it out of the blend and add it at the table so the rest of the family can tolerate it

Good luck cleaning the old coffee grinder.  Grinding up some salt and then dumping it helps to get some of the stuff out, but mostly it just takes time.  It might be mild enough to give a really interesting flavor to your spice blends.

I want to make my own curry powder.  Thanks for the recipe. There are probably a million or more variations out there.  I also want to try some simple Indian dishes, i.e. curried chicken with some accompanying sides and maybe some freshly made roti or naan bread.

I'm undecided on what to do with the coffee grinder.  They're cheap enough that maybe I'll buy a grinder dedicated to spice grinding.

[nicneufeld]

I'm undecided on what to do with the coffee grinder.  They're cheap enough that maybe I'll buy a grinder dedicated to spice grinding.

Do this...the basic coffee grinders are perfect and you won't want to clean it as thoroughly as you would have to to make coffee with it.

Right now, I have a dedicated spice grinder and no coffee grinder!  I guess I'd rather drink stale preground coffee and have fresh spices!

[tschmidlin]

I'm undecided on what to do with the coffee grinder.  They're cheap enough that maybe I'll buy a grinder dedicated to spice grinding.

Do this...the basic coffee grinders are perfect and you won't want to clean it as thoroughly as you would have to to make coffee with it.

Right now, I have a dedicated spice grinder and no coffee grinder!  I guess I'd rather drink stale preground coffee and have fresh spices!

Me too - spice grinder, no coffee grinder.  The blade grinders are fine blues, and last a long time.  I've had mine for more than 10 years.  It was $20 from Starbucks when I got it.

You're right too, there's a ton of variations and you can add or remove spices until you find a mix you like.  I like to add curry powder to tuna salad, it's delicious

[beerocd]

I'm undecided on what to do with the coffee grinder.  They're cheap enough that maybe I'll buy a grinder dedicated to spice grinding.

Do this...the basic coffee grinders are perfect and you won't want to clean it as thoroughly as you would have to to make coffee with it.

Right now, I have a dedicated spice grinder and no coffee grinder!  I guess I'd rather drink stale preground coffee and have fresh spices!

Me too - spice grinder, no coffee grinder.  The blade grinders are fine blues, and last a long time.  I've had mine for more than 10 years.  It was $20 from Starbucks when I got it.

You're right too, there's a ton of variations and you can add or remove spices until you find a mix you like.  I like to add curry powder to tuna salad, it's delicious

I like tumeric. Depends what's in your tuna salad though - I guess. celery, apple and maybe raisins for me.

[tschmidlin]

You're right too, there's a ton of variations and you can add or remove spices until you find a mix you like.  I like to add curry powder to tuna salad, it's delicious

I like tumeric. Depends what's in your tuna salad though - I guess. celery, apple and maybe raisins for me.

I would add curry powder to that   I don't do it every time though, and when I do I leave out the pickle relish that normally goes in my tuna salad.  When I make curried chicken salad it's got raisins, pine nuts, and chutney in it, the flavors go really well.