Culinary advice

[sbagman]

Hi,

It's a long shot, but does anyone know what I can substitute garam masala for in an Indian dish? I cannot find it in Florence. From my understanding it is a mixture of spices, although the mix seems quite variable.

Cheers,
Sbagman.

 

[Damp Squarie]

There are as many variations of garam masala (which may contain up to 12 spices) as there are Indian cooks. It can include black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, cardamom, dried chiles, fennel, mace, nutmeg and other spices.

 

[sbagman]

So in that case, does it make a difference what mix I use? Does it affect the flavour of the dish much? Particularly considering I'll be using cardamom, cumin, coriandor etc etc in the dish anyway...

 

[mantis]

As long as you don't use too much fennel, cinnamon,or nutmeg, as they will overpower everything.

 

[you_idiot]

And don't forget the curry powder. Every time I've ever been to an Indian restaurant (which can be counted on one hand, by the way), I've always left with a ferocious aftertaste of curry powder flaming from the tip of my tongue.

But anyway, what Topjars said sounds pretty accurate to me. But part of being a cook is having the freedom to create and experiment... so have at it.

Cheers,
William

 

[Fred]

Originally posted by sbagman
Hi,

It's a long shot, but does anyone know what I can substitute garam masala for in an Indian dish? I cannot find it in Florence. From my understanding it is a mixture of spices, although the mix seems quite variable.

Cheers,
Sbagman.

To make it edible, substitute with baked beans, preferably the ones in barbecue or ham sauce. Then leave out the rest of the ingredients.

 

[sbagman]

Re: Re: Culinary advice

Originally posted by Fred
To make it edible, substitute with baked beans, preferably the ones in barbecue or ham sauce. Then leave out the rest of the ingredients.

Oh how I aspire to your culinary prowess, skippy...

 

[Richmondfan#1]

OI!

Get back to work Sbaggy.

 

[Fred]

Re: Re: Re: Culinary advice

Originally posted by sbagman
Oh how I aspire to your culinary prowess, skippy...

When I'm feeling really adventurous, I'll dress 'em up with half a dozen snags.

 

[sbagman]

What's "snags" in Indian please Fred?

 

[Fred]

Originally posted by sbagman
What's "snags" in Indian please Fred?

Inedibull probably.

 

[sbagman]

If anyone actually wants to HELP me here it would be good. I'm trying to impress Italians and show them I can really cook.... it's important!

 

[Fred]

Originally posted by sbagman
If anyone actually wants to HELP me here it would be good. I'm trying to impress Italians and show them I can really cook.... it's important!

Get takeaway at an Indian restaurant before the guests arrive and dirty up the kitchen a bit to make it look as if you did all the work.