Cooking answers
Straight answers to the questions people actually ask about South Asian cooking – in grams, in British English, and without the guesswork. Each one opens with the answer.
How much garam masala per kg of chicken?
Use 8 g of garam masala per 1 kg of chicken – two level teaspoons – stirred in during the final three to five minutes of cooking, because garam masala is a finishing spice and its aromatic oils are driven off by a long simmer.Why does my curry taste raw?
A curry tastes raw because the ground spices met liquid before they met hot fat – powdered spices need 60 to 90 seconds in oil hot enough to shimmer, or eight to ten minutes of bhunai once the onions and tomatoes are in, before the dusty, unfinished note cooks off and the oil separates from the masala.Why is my curry bitter?
Curry turns bitter for four reasons, in the order they usually happen: burnt garlic, over-toasted ground spices, too much fenugreek – seed or kasuri methi – and too much turmeric, or turmeric fried for too long.Why is my karahi watery?
A karahi is watery because it was simmered instead of reduced – a karahi is cooked uncovered over high heat so the tomato water boils off in ten to fifteen minutes and the oil splits out, so a lid, added water, or tinned tomatoes used with their juice will each leave it thin.How much spice blend per person?
Allow 4 g of an all-purpose South Asian spice blend per person for a curry – about one level teaspoon – which is 16 g for a family of four, or roughly 2 g for every 100 g of raw meat or vegetables.How many meals does 250 g of spice blend make?
A 250 g pouch of all-purpose spice blend makes about 60 servings – roughly 15 family curries for four – at the standard 4 g per person, or around 30 curries if you cook for two.Why does my curry taste flat?
A curry tastes flat almost always because of salt and acid rather than spice – under-salted food reads as missing something, and a curry cooked without tomato, yoghurt, lemon, amchur or tamarind has no sourness to lift the spice, so adding more masala makes it duller rather than brighter.Why is my curry gritty or grainy?
Curry is gritty because the ground spices were never hydrated or cooked in fat, so the particles stay suspended rather than dissolving – spices ground too coarsely, or a masala tipped into an already-boiling sauce, both leave the same sandy texture.How long do you fry onions for a curry base?
Fry sliced onions for 20 to 25 minutes over medium heat for a standard Punjabi curry base, until they are deep golden and collapsed – seven minutes gives a pale, sweet base, and 35 to 45 minutes on low gives the dark, jammy base used for a bhuna or a restaurant-style gravy.