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SPICE GUIDE
The Usual Suspects?
As I was growing up, I didn’t realise what a wonderful cook my mum was and the time and effort she took to roast and grind spices, prepare marinades and treat us to fantastic indian food. 35 years later I understand what makes some of these spices so special with the right treatment.
Many people think cooking a traditional “curry” is just garlic, ginger turmeric, chilli and ready made curry powder. The first bit of advice I give is to throw away the curry powder, it should not exist. The array of spices that we use is actually a complete game changer and will give your dish layers and layers of wonderful flavour .The word curry actually comes from the tamil word “kari” meaning black pepper. I refuse to call dishes curry as they should be respected from their origins and their heritage rather than be labeled with a common name to encompass all regions. There are a number of spices available. The following is my personal top ten in which used correctly can make a fantastic dish.
The spices on the slideshow are purely a list of my favourites, which make the top ten. There are so many other wonderful spices and also eseentials like kashmiri chilli powder, kasuri methi (roasted fenugreek leaves), kalonji, fennel seeds, mace and cloves to name a few.
