603409 Fri Mar 13 07:50:01 -0700 2009 6 31 Home Cooking 0 4501035 I've never used curry powder before, or my wife, so I picked some up at the local supermarket. I tasted it and and I liked it. I have some haddock and raw shrimp I would like to prepare some how including this ingredient. Butter, garlic and fresh herbs come to mind as well. Any help out there? I'm sure the McCormick brand may not be the best tasting by far, but it's a start. Thanks - Tim Fri Mar 13 07:50:02 -0700 2009 268647 TimCarroll 1 4501144 Put the shrimp or fish in a zip top bag, add a couple teaspoons toa tablespoon of curry powder, and topp to coat. My first thoguht was to say "don't" as in "don't use that canned generic stuff", but hey; ya gotta start somewhere! Next week get a small container of Garam Masala, another "curry powder" that is sort of 'cinnamon spicy'. Give that a try on seafood or chicken. Fri Mar 13 08:23:43 -0700 2009 4501035 225234 KiltedCook 1 4501280 I make curried herring, and I should think the same sauce would make a lovely curried shrimp salad. Cook and cool the shrimp first, of course. Here's the sauce. I use Gulden's brown mustard and Spice Islands curry powder for this, so with your brands, adjust to taste. Also, I use less fish than called for. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Curried-Herring-103389 Fri Mar 13 08:53:27 -0700 2009 4501035 221993 Channa 1 4502665 Recipes that use curry powder and/or garam masala and involve a saute/frying pan/wok typically call for briefly cooking the powder in hot oil, stirring it well for maybe 15 seconds. This is called "blooming" the spice and really improves the flavor, You will immediately smell the more complex aroma, but have other ingredients at hand, ready to dump in, because you don't want the powder to burn. If you are sauteeing, for example, onions and chicken, the directions might say to cook the onions first, then add and brown the chicken. Then you'd push them to one side, exposing a palm-sized area of the pan, add a little more oil there if the metal is dry, and then your curry powder. When bloomed, you'd stir it into the other ingredients. Indian food uses a lot of ghee, which is like clarified butter, garlic, herbs, and cream, so your instincts are spot on! If you decide to try Indian restaurants but want to start in the shallow end of the pool, I'd recommend Chicken Tikka Masala (not authentic Indian, but the most popular Indian dish in the U.K.) or anything including the words "saag" or "korma". Both have the curry/gm flavors. The former will have creamed spinach and the latter a creamy sauce including raisins and nuts. Dishes that are curries, proper, have thinner and spicier sauce. Fri Mar 13 15:00:49 -0700 2009 4501035 159317 greygarious 1 4503800 Thanks all for your inputs, I used the powder and didn't care much for it. I did not let it "Bloom" however but I will more likely try the garam masala before I use more or any of the "powder" Thanks again - Tim Sat Mar 14 04:47:46 -0700 2009 4501035 268647 TimCarroll 2 4503899 I love curry powder, but my husband hates it (I can sneak a little in sometimes before he notices, same with ginger, so sad). I've moved up to the blue can from India, but that's even stronger. Used the McCormick extra hot for many years, didn't think it was inferior at all. I did make Tiki Masala for the first time recently, figured he'd like it because it's really spicy and no actual curry powder, only garam masala, but that did not go over with him either. Curry spices have so many healthful qualities, ginger too, wish I could get him to eat it: but his sister has the same abhorence of it, won't even taste a dish if I mention the word "curry", so don't be surprised if you don't like the garam masala either. I had the most delicous curried samosas that I got samples of, I could have eaten them for every meal, and when I offered SIL some to take home to try, she was gagging. It's a very strong taste, not for everyone. Best to start with a curry sauce, lots of coconut milk and yogurt, chicken broth, melt in some bananas and/or apples, yams, that type of thing, serve over rice. Rather than coating meat in it and frying. Might make it more palatable to you. Sat Mar 14 06:23:41 -0700 2009 4503800 11097 coll 2 4504185 You may well prefer the garam masala - it is, to my palate, milder and more sweetly aromatic. (I don't like foods with a strong hot-pepper component - the only peppers in my mother's chili were green bell and until I was in college the spiciest thing I ever tasted was pepperoni.) Do you ever make egg salad or devilled eggs? If so, scoop out a little and add a smidgen of curry or gm. Don't taste right away - let it chill for an hour so the flavors can meld. The first recipe using curry powder which I made is still a favorite: Curried Butternut Squash and Apple Soup, which came, of all places, from a TV show about Amish Cooking. I have my doubts about the authenticity but the soup is hearty and addictive. I'll post it if you'd like. Sat Mar 14 08:36:24 -0700 2009 4503800 159317 greygarious