Herbs, spices and seasonings

[cookingwithliz]

I love this thread, so informative. I just wanted to add that if you grow your own herbs you can use a food dehydrator for drying. I dry oregano, rosemary, basil, thyme and marjoram from my garden. I give most away as gifts in decorative containers. Living in coastal SC I have the extra bonus of being able to pick fresh oregano, thyme, chives and rosemary all winter.

[The Ironic Chef]

I wish the weather was mild enough here for growing herbs year round.

[Mama Mangia]

GINGER SPICE RUB

Yields rub for 3 to 4 pounds salmon fillet

1/2 cup finely minced ginger
10 tablespoons light-brown sugar
2 to 3 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon finely ground white pepper

Score the salmon lengthwise and crosswise without cutting through the steak. Rub the ginger over the salmon and into the cuts. Mix the rest of the ingredients and sprinkle over the salmon and into the cuts. Grill salmon; store any leftover rub in an airtight container.

[Mama Mangia]

Gomasio


This is even better than plain salt! You find it on restaurant tables in Korea.

A coffee bean mill should do a great job. To clean the grinder, brush out the coffee residue, put in some crumbled fresh bread, grind it and brush it out.

The Oriental combination of salt and toasted ground sesame seeds is used like conventional salt at the table but provides much less sodium.

4 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 teaspoon salt

Toast seeds in a dry skillet until they just begin to color. Use low heat and shake the skillet often. Watch closely, as they can burn surprisingly fast. While still hot, grind in a blender or food processor, or pound fine with a mortar and pestle. When crushed, add salt and process or pound a few seconds longer to coat salt with oil from the seeds.

Makes 1/4 cup.

NOTE: Do not prepare more than this amount at one time (except for quantity cooking), so that the sesame salt is always fresh.

[The Ironic Chef]

4 limes
1 tablespoon of kosher salt

Zest the limes and then mix the zest with the salt. Let your imagination run wild for uses for this lime salt.
It's great in a rub for poultry, steaks and fish. It sure goes great on the rim of a Margarita too.

[jfain]

I grow tons of herbs in the summer. I'm sure a dehydrator would be perfect for preserving them but I don't think I have the space for even one more piece of kitchen equipment. I just hang them upside down on the handles of my kitchen cabinets until they are all dried out. It works extremely well. The oregano and thyme that I dry myself has so much more flavor than the stuff at the store. I dry them and then store them whole. When I want to use some I rub the leaves between my hands so all the essential oils are released.

I also have a pot inside with a huge rosemary plant. I need to find a place to plant it in the yard because it’s getting almost too big to keep in a pot.

[The Ironic Chef]

One of the things about growing fresh herbs is the aroma factor. There is nothing like walking into a garden on an early misty morning and smelling the sweet basil or the dill. I can't wait for growing season to start.

[The Ironic Chef]

I want to make a spicy chicken in coconut curry. I have never made or had a curry before. The recipe I have for this curry is as follows:

Curry Powder (Garam Masala):
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon cardamom seeds
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
2 dried red chilies, broken in pieces, seeds discarded
2 tablespoons turmeric

I have chilies,mustard seed, cloves, peppercorns. I do not have the other spices needed on hand and I'm thinking that to buy them may be close to a 20 dollar investment over what I will pay for the rest of the ingredients such as the chicken and fresh coconut.
I would hate to buy the rest of these spices and then not even care for the curry. I have been told that Curry powder would be a waste to buy pre made.

I am wanting to try something different and am seriously debating buying the spices needed for this Curry. Other Curry recipes call for even more spices. I have seen Indian kitchens with gallon sized jars of curry that they use for almost every meal as the spice for the food. Each Indian family has their own mixture. I can't imagine how much it must cost to fill one of those jars, lol. Well I could do the math but I'm not that motivated this morning.

If anyone has a tried and true recipe for a good curry and suggestions for a first timer I'd appreciate being pushed in the right direction here on exactly what spices I should get. Above all I know that the turmeric and coriander seed are on the top of the list.

[The Ironic Chef]

The Garam Masala recipe that I have differs from the one for the chicken recipe above. Dried chilies, black peppercorns, cinnamon, mace, nutmeg, cloves, coriander seeds and cumin seeds. It's basically a recipe of warm spices.
If I'm going to invest in some spices I'd like to get the right ones without going through to much trial and error.
I'm sensing a visit to Cathy's Flop page coming soon.

[cookie]

Sometimes you can buy sauces in a bottle with Indian curry flavor already in them, pour it over your chicken, add what spices you have, blend into the sauce.
Cook chicken in sauce *remember sauce is Boss in any dish.

I Love to buy already made Indian rice mixtures (frozen) there so Good, they already have all the Indian spices in them already so the base is in them and you don't have to spend a lot of money on additional spices.

In the summer I will stuff sweet green peppers with Indian rice and it is a very Good vegetarian meal, low fat.

I Love those spices you mentioned cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, I put them all in my sweet-potatoes. Yum, Cookie