[Sca-cooks] re:long peppers, etc.

[marilyn traber 011221]

> Geez, guys, why not make your *own* blend, to suit? I've got a 
> really meager ethnic cookbook collection, and even so, I've *still* 
> got more recipes for curry blends than I know what to do with..... 

 --Maire

The thing is, Maire, that many of them are hooked on the Brit's curry blend, 
which is what they think "real" curry is. Real curry, as made by the folks in 
India, actually varies from dish to dish (and cook to cook) depending on what 
the necessities of the food are. Generally, in the recipes I've looked at 
from India, an important step is heating the spices, to release the oils, 
before the rest of the ingredients are added to the dish.

Which is not to say that there's anything wrong with commercial curry powders 
and pastes. They're quite tasty in their own right, and I enjoy using them as 
a flavor element. But, as Americans (which most of us on this List are) we 
have certain cultural habits, and one of them involves grabbing a shaker of 
curry powder from the spice shelf, rather than making it ourselves- 
particularly on a dish by dish basis.

Phlip