Curry Paste VS Curry Powder
Posted by skwaggles on Apr 19, 2009 · Member since Feb 2009 · 96 posts
hello! i was just wondering, in your opinion, which is best for flavor curry paste or curry powder? i have just recently used curry powder, but i'm curiuos about curry paste. So, please let me know what you think!!!
-- long and pleasant nights.
Brooklyn
They're totally different flavours. Paste usually goes with coconut milk; you fry the curry paste in a bit of hot oil, blend in your coconut milk and add whatever food. Curry powder, I usually saute whatever it is, sprinkle the powder and then add liquid like water or broth.
Bear in mind that there are as many versions of "curry" (spice blend) as there are cooks. One brand or cook's version of a particular blend may be totally different from another, or from what you get from a restaurant.
Certain curries can be made with paste and some best using powders.
It all depends on what you are cooking.
I know that Thai curries use a lot of pastes but Indian curries have
a different approach.
It is a case to case basis here.
NJA
interesting. i was thinking about making the recipe "quick and flexible curry" and it does include coconut milk. they suggest using the paste and i wondered how it would affect the dish if i used the curry powder i have. so does anyone have a few different brands of curry paste they would recommend? or um... tips on picking out a good curry paste?
I'm glad someone brought this up! I've wondered the same thing(s).....
I almost exclusively use curry powder, and I make a lot of Indian-type dishes. Usually I start by sauteeing chopped onion in an ample amount of cooking oil, then I add the curry powder and other dry spices once the onion has gone slightly translucent. I've heard that when making Indian dishes using curry powder, it's best to get the spices all roasted up early in the process...the trick is not to let them burn, so I make sure to have the heat on med-low, have enough oil, and to keep stirring the spices around...do that for a minute or two until a nice spicy aroma fills the kitchen (again, not a burnt one), and then add the next ingredient(s) to be sauteed.
Any time I've made a recipe calling for curry paste, I cheat by mixing my curry powder with some broth/water and a touch of oil. :-[ I'm sure it's not the same, though I don't know why exactly, or really why paste works "better" for some dishes.
I hopped on this thread seeking the same answers, and also to say Hello! from a former Iowan (Yabbitgirl is one, too!) and fellow rat friend.
Anyone on VW who has rats and access to a camera is required by law* to post in this thread:
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=24779.0
..and/or share stories about said ratties in appropriate threads.
so, yes...curry paste vs. powder. carry on.
* not really, I just LOVE meeting other people's rat friends. ;D
I used curry pastes when I first started cooking with curry, it was easy. But now I use both, and I think I like the powder better. Although, I recently found a green curry paste that is really yummy. So I'm not willing to give up my paste.
As far I can tell, curry paste (if we're talkin' Indian) is some blended spices mixed with oil, and perhaps some fresh chilies. I'm not 100% certain how it's manufactured, but the intensity of flavour leads me to believe that the spices have been pre-tempered (heated in the oil until fragrant). You can get the same end result starting from scratch with dry spices and your own oil, if you know the spices you wanna blend, but it would take a bit more cooking time for the flavour to develop.
IMHO, curry paste is tasty and convenient, but long, slow-cooked curries are the besssssst. ;)b
Oh, this has got me hankering for some aloo gobi... but I don't have time tonight; it's already late. ::)
paste is usually pasty because of fresh stuff, no? like ginger, garlic, etc.
i don't know if store bought paste v. home made paste is different (i bet it is), but in terms of home-made it always gets pasty because of the mixture of dry and fresh spices.
in my experience, curry powder is often yellow curry powder and is used in Indian dishes.
Curry paste is used in thai dishes, may contain oil (most I've seen don't), and in addition to spices contains shallot, garlic, fresh chili, and maybe lemongrass and galangal/ginger (depending on the type of paste). It's fresher than using powder, and to substitute it you would grind your own mixture :/ or forego the extra ginger/garlic/onion-ness. I got some pastes online once from efooddepot, but I recently found them at a large Asian market. They sometimes contain fish sauce, so watch out.
There's also curry blocks... used in Japanese curry (I think some Korean brands are out there too)(and to be fair powders are also used in Japanese curry). Usually a block form of roux - solidified fat (often palm or partially hydrogenated), flour, and spices. They're convenient, but buying the spice itself is easier. They're basically only yellow curry (unlike Thai pastes, where there's red, green, panaeng, massamun, etc), and in different levels of spiciness (and versus Thai or Indian, much milder - Japanese curries are usually pretty mild in my experience and sweeter than other curries).
So yeah. depends what you wanna make. If you want to try a paste and normally use curry powder for Indian food, I'd try yellow curry paste first (or maybe massamun) since it's also got the curry spice blend in it.
Faunablues, thanks for the clarification re: block curry. I have seen something called "Vermont Curry" in my Asian store and it is mucho expensivo! And of course not from Vermont at all. It's a "tablet" of curry stuff marked into little squares. I'd like to try it but at 6 Euros for the package...um.
faunablues,
Yellow curry powder IMHO is Turmeric powder. Indian curry powder persay is not yellow.
Again what curry powder you buy decides the final color of the dish you prepare.
NJA
This is so confusing!!
This is so confusing!!
Algae,
I was born where "CURRY" was born of Tamil People and adopted and spread by the British all over the world. Word CURRY in Tamil denotes both Meat and its Spicy preparation. I am posting the recipe of Authentic Curry powder the way it was used by the natives as under.
I am not in favour of using readymade powders but in present circumstances, using Garam Masala powder , Curry powders and sambar Rasam podis has become an integral part of cookery. This is due to paucity of time. So how can I escape from this???.
I am posting recipe of Original MADRAS CURRY POWDER .Madras curry powder is a fantastic blend of spices which was popularized all over the world by the Britishers. Their CHICKEN CURRY and MUTTON CURRY was too hot to handle for the uninitiated . This one curry powder has its humble origins in Madras. The fisherman community and the Pariahs were the people who according to me were the people who should be credited with this curry powder combination. I have taken CURRY RICE in Tokyo which was really so authentic, that I myself was perspiring profusely eating it. My Japanese friends had their faces blood red and their language incoherent. Yet they used to stand in a long line TO ENJOY THIS FIRE DRAGON . You would be surprised to know that in Tokyo and Osaka, the business district has many CURRY RICE CORNERS (Hole in the wall) joints which are extremely popular.
INGREDIENTS
Hot Chili peppers...... 200 gms.
Coriander seeds ...... 150 gms.
Black pepper...... 15 gms.
Fenugreek seeds..... 1 T spoon
Mustard seeds.... 1. 5 T spoons
Cumin seeds..... 1. 5 T spoons
Black gram Lentil .... 1 table spoon
Yellow gram Lentil..... 1 table spoon
Par Boiled Rice..... 1. 5 tsp
Asafoetida 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder 1/2 spoon
Curry leaves 1/2 Cup
METHOD OF PREPARATION
As all the powders in South India, it is important that the ingredients need to be sun dried till chillies crumble when pinched and so should Dhania. But since it may not be possible for most of you, dry roast each ingredient separately in an Iron wok just to let the moisture leave the ingredients. Only rice needs to be roasted till the grains become light pink and curry leaves should crumble. use your blender (asian) to powder all the ingredients properly. Use an uniform all purpose flour sieve to sieve the powder. The powder is to be stored in an air tight container. You must not use plastic jars or pet jars to store powders, a Glass jar is a must. Use this powder to any curry, Please do not confuse this powder with Sambar Powder. this mistake is repeatedly committed by westerners; they think sambar powder and curry powder are same.
ENJOY!!!! And I would love to have your feed back please
NJA
NJA - I meant the general color of the powder (adding turmeric always seems to make things yellow, unless it's got enough red chilis in it). Because I'm much more experienced with Thai/Japanese curries, I sort of view it as the yellow stuff = Indian, because both Thai yellow curry and the yellow-colored curry spice used in Japanese curry are originally based on Indian curry.
yabbit - I think (*think*) Vermont Curry isn't vegan... I forget what the offending ingredient is - dairy, honey, or meaty. But Golden Curry blocks are vegan. Java Curry is another brand, but also not vegan for reasons I can't recall. One (vermont or java) is because of honey... the other I forget :P
S'ok, FB, I'm not vegan either...but I also can't see shelling out boocoos for Vermont Curry when a jar of Thai curry paste lasts me forever and costs half as much...
Yeah, I haven't had that particular brand, but the Golden Curry brand is just decent. Curry paste is... livelier. Blocks are a semi-convenience food, imho.
Yeah, I haven't had that particular brand, but the Golden Curry brand is just decent. Curry paste is... livelier. Blocks are a semi-convenience food, imho.
Semi-convenient? Or semi-food?
I have this chirpy little commercial voice-over in my head now: "All the convenience, without all the food!" LOL
both.
No, haha, semi-convenience. I mean, you still have to cook, you just don't have to do the roux part.
I've only ever used powder, but I have sad curry-related news. Today I made Aloo Gobi, which was good last time I made it, but in between then and now I ran out of and had to buy new curry powder. Unfortunately, I got a different brand than my mom has (she put some in a little container for me, so I don't know the brand) and it was waaaay too spicy for me. The other kind wasn't spicy at all, so I could use a lot and have yummy curry flavor without crying, but this was not the same. Mister Fatty (Sean) ended up eating most of the foods, and I was sad.
The end.