ISO some advice on finding some ingredients
- Thread starter georgevan
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Kasumi Methi, are sundried Fenegreek leaves. maybe just use fresh? or ground powdered/seeds?
Kashmiri Chili powder - just looked it up - is a very mild chili powder, possibly use a spicy paprika?
Kashmiri Chili powder - just looked it up - is a very mild chili powder, possibly use a spicy paprika?
pepperhead212
Executive Chef
A good substitute for the kashmiri chili is a mild Numex chili - chimayo powder is a little hotter, but fairly available, and a very similar flavor.
Do you have fenugreek seeds? You can substitute about 1/3 powdered seed, if no leaves are available. And it might be better than many of the dried leaves on the market, even from Indian groceries. I never could find any that had that much flavor - like dried basil! But several years ago, I ordered some directly from India, on ebay, on a whim! I was ordering some other ingredients, that they didn't sell here anymore, and saw those on their "store". The amount I got was incredible, due to the dry herb, and the flavor was also incredible - like it had just been dried yesterday! I vacuum sealed it, in a few batches, and put them in the freezer, and and put some in about a 1/2 c jar, for regular use. The asafoetida (a.k.a. hing) was the spice I was originally ordering from there, and it was much better (I know you're asking "How can asafoetida be good?"
) than the greatly diluted stuff they sell here. And another thing I got, that the markets stopped carrying, was the black salt, that was not in powder form - now, the local markets only sell powder, which is diluted with salt! I was surprised how cheap all this was, with no shipping charges - included in the food cost.
Do you have fenugreek seeds? You can substitute about 1/3 powdered seed, if no leaves are available. And it might be better than many of the dried leaves on the market, even from Indian groceries. I never could find any that had that much flavor - like dried basil! But several years ago, I ordered some directly from India, on ebay, on a whim! I was ordering some other ingredients, that they didn't sell here anymore, and saw those on their "store". The amount I got was incredible, due to the dry herb, and the flavor was also incredible - like it had just been dried yesterday! I vacuum sealed it, in a few batches, and put them in the freezer, and and put some in about a 1/2 c jar, for regular use. The asafoetida (a.k.a. hing) was the spice I was originally ordering from there, and it was much better (I know you're asking "How can asafoetida be good?"
) than the greatly diluted stuff they sell here. And another thing I got, that the markets stopped carrying, was the black salt, that was not in powder form - now, the local markets only sell powder, which is diluted with salt! I was surprised how cheap all this was, with no shipping charges - included in the food cost.
buckytom
Chef Extraordinaire
george, a better question is where do you live, and what access do you have to markets that have various international ingredients? We can help you narrow it down from there.
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That's an excellent point. Where you live will make it easier or harder to find "exotic" ingredients. I'm lucky. Where I live there are a lot of ethnic stores within three or four kilometres: at least three South Asian (Indian, Sri Lankan, Pakistani, etc. cuisine), a number of Middle Eastern and North African grocers, at least two East Asian grocers, five or so Caribbean grocers, Italian, and that's just what I can remember off the top of my head. It does make getting some ingredients a whole lot easier. So, it does depend on where you live. Ethnic stores won't all have everything you are looking for.
I still find it daunting. There are just so many exotic ingredients and before I buy something, I don't even know if I will ever want to use it again.
karadekoolaid
Head Chef
If there´s a Patel Brothers Indian grocery near you, you can find the ingredients there.
You could also but the ingredients online; I always use ishopindian.com
You could also but the ingredients online; I always use ishopindian.com
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