A few questions

[amber]

I will be making chicken tikka masala. The recipe calls for tandoori masala powder. I have no idea what that tastes like, and probably will not be able to find it in any store ( we dont have ethnic stores). Any ideas of what I can substitute?

What is a "flake" of garlic?

What are green chilies? to mean that means jalapenos.

 

[RPCookin]

I will be making chicken tikka masala. The recipe calls for tandoori masala powder. I have no idea what that tastes like, and probably will not be able to find it in any store ( we dont have ethnic stores). Any ideas of what I can substitute?

What is a "flake" of garlic?

What are green chilies? to mean that means jalapenos.

Green chiles are NOT jalapenos. They can be a lot of things... there are a lot of chilies that are green, and it is easy to just lump them all into one category. Often the commonest green chiles are anaheim chiles, I think.

 

[Zereh]

Garlic flakes are a form of dried garlic that you should be able to find in the spice section of most grocery stores. I would think that dried "minced" could be substituted if you can't find flakes.

Green peppers could mean bell peppers, serrano, jalapeno, pablano, etc. I've never eaten the dish you're making so I'm not sure which it calls for. All of the peppers I listed except the bell will add a nice layer of heat to your dish, but I'm not sure if that's what you're looking for. Bell pepper would add more bulk but not heat.

Here's a recipe for Tandoori Masala Powder I found using Google. You probably won't find mango powder at a regular grocery store, but other than that I think these are pretty common spices.


​

Ingredients:
4 tsp ground coriander
3 tsp ground cummin
4 tsp garlic powder
4 tsp paprika
3 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp mango powder
1 tsp dried mint
3 tsp deep red coloring
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp yellow colouring)

Mix all together and store. This will keep for
months if stored in an airtight container.


Z

 

[kyles]

Is it an English recipe? Chicken Tikka Masala was created in England by the Pakistani community. I love it, but the sauce is a bit high in fat for my new lifestyle!

Garlic flakes are pretty horrible, you can easily substitute a fresh garlic clove as well as the minced garlic. English people are scared of real garlic!!!!

You can use any curry powder instead of the tandoori one. I have never heard of mango powder, and I don't think leaving it out would hurt at all.

A green chilli is a small, green hot chilli. They use them in Thai cooking a lot. This was the other thing that made me think it might be an English recipe, we have small green chilis and small red chillis and that's about it!!!! None of these exotic varieties here!!!!

Good luck and let us know how it turns out!

 

[amber]

Thanks everyone! You've been very helpful

Kyles, I posted the recipe in the chicken forum. The person who submitted this recipe is originally from London, so I think it is an indian curry. My husband is from England so I wanted to try to make him an authentic curry. I've never heard of mango powder either, but I do have all the other spices listed onhand, so maybe I'll give it a go without the mango powder.
Tonight I am trying another curry dish called Jhinga curry which calls for prawns but my husband doesnt like them so I'm using chicken instead. Thanks for the tip about garlic flakes in terms of flavor. I'd rather use fresh garlic.

Thanks again everyone, oh and if you have some favorite curry dishes please pm me or put them in the ethnic forum, that would be great.

My mistake, the chicken tikka masala does not call for prawns, but another curry I am making tonight called Jhinga curry does call for prawns but I'm using chicken.

 

[kleenex]

You can get a few different kinds of chilli powder at the grocery store.

I have seen Chili powder, hot mexican style chili powder, Ancho chili powder, Cayenne Pepper powder, and the expensive habanero chili powder.

Pick up a bottle and enjoy.

 

[RPCookin]

A green chilli is a small, green hot chilli. They use them in Thai cooking a lot. This was the other thing that made me think it might be an English recipe, we have small green chilis and small red chillis and that's about it!!!! None of these exotic varieties here!!!!

Good luck and let us know how it turns out!

I'd have to argue this one. Green chiles (here in the American southwest) are only very slightly hotter than bell peppers, which is why I suggested Anaheims for this. They do have a different flavor than bell peppers however, and aren't interchangeable. They tend to be about 5 - 8 inches long and maybe 1-1/2 inches in diameter. We can get them fresh in the supermarket, whole in jars and cans, chopped, dried, and at the end of summer, there are stands along the highways selling the current crop. They are almost a staple food here in the Southwestern U.S.

Recipes I have seen in the past calling for hot peppers usually are very specific about it.

 

[kyles]

Hi Rick, I think you missed my point. In England, where this recipe originated and where I live, we do not sell chillis by variety. I am originally from Australia where you would get a large variety all with individual names and different suggested uses. Here it is either small red or small green. Because this is an English recipe that Amber is using, I believe the originator of the recipe only had a limited range of chilis to hand, hence the description of small green chilli, rather than using a varietal description.

 

[kitchenelf]

That makes sense kyles and good reasoning since the recipe originated where chili peppers come in 2 colors LOL At first I could only think of the green chilies in the Mexican section that come in little cans

 

[kyles]

Another weird cross cultural thing that we come across here every now and then!!! I am not sure why England is so limited in fruit and veggies. It's like cucumber, in Australia there are 8 different cucumbers at least, in England there is whole cucumber or cut cucumber LOL!!! So using Australian recipes is a bit frustrating, and I have been known to shout at the recipe book, "No I can't use a Lebanese lady finger cucumber so there!!!!"

Asian cooking is quite difficult here, if you want to use fresh ingredients. There are plenty of suppliers of dried spices and chillis, so I often use those, but I do miss the Asian shops in Australia that sell a large variety of interesting chillis!

 

[Ishbel]

kyles
It must be a Lancastrian thing about not being able to get fresh ingredients. I have LOADS of Asian stores to choose from - where you can get every kind of fresh and dried Indian type of ingredient. The smells are quite wonderful. I buy coriander by the bucketful as I find it makes a really good alternative to sickly pot pourri as an airfreshener!

Small mediterranean cucumbers are available at every one of our supermarkets locally. Ideal for greek salads and Lebanese or Turkish type salads.

Fresh Chilies too come in all sizes and varieties, but mostly small thin thai ones or larger 'green' or 'red' (no variety named!). BUt I can get Jamaican 'Scotch bonnet' types, Jalapeno too... And, if I want to buy in one of the Indian stores, then there are loads of varieties.

You poor thing, living in such a cuisine-ingredient-challenged area. Come to a civilised country!

 

[kyles]

LOL, there is a good Indian shop in Manchester that's a bit better, but it's way out of my shopping trail, so I rarely go. Bury, despite it's large number of Asians, doesn't have a wide variety of things, but it is good for vegetables and fruit. I can get canteloupe so that makes me happy!!!

I would love to live in Scotland, or Wales (I adore North Wales) but the dh isn't very portable.

 

[Ishbel]

Some (note the word, 'some'!) men are such creatures of habit that moving them from their home turf is just out of the question!

 

[jennyema]

You can get a few different kinds of chilli powder at the grocery store.

I have seen Chili powder, hot mexican style chili powder, Ancho chili powder, Cayenne Pepper powder, and the expensive habanero chili powder.

Pick up a bottle and enjoy.

Chili powder has oregano, cumin and garlic in it -- the oregano would be probably be very wrong for this dish.

In this dish you would not want to use a bell or Aneheim pepper, but rather a small green hot pepper like a bird pepper, serrano or jalepeno.

 

[kyles]

I think we call them birds eye here, and that's the only sort of small green chilli, so that would be the one the recipe writer intended. Can you not get plain powdered dried chili in your side of the pond? We get two types what we call chilli powder, which is just that, plain powdered chillis and the other called Mexican chilli powder which has the oregano and other stuff in it.

 

[jennyema]

You can get dry powdered chiles, yes. Penzey's is a great source.

But if it's labeled "chili powder" (with the i) it'll be a spice mixture. Invented to season chili, I suspect.