Comments on: Cutting and Browning Onions For Proper Flavor In Indian Food http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2008/03/24/cutting-and-browning-onions-for-proper-flavor-in-indian-food/ Sun, 20 Jul 2008 05:28:26 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=1.5.2 Comment on Cutting and Browning Onions For Proper Flavor In Indian Food by: Lila http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2008/03/24/cutting-and-browning-onions-for-proper-flavor-in-indian-food/#comment-53737 Tue, 08 Apr 2008 21:42:27 +0000 http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2008/03/24/cutting-and-browning-onions-for-proper-flavor-in-indian-food/#comment-53737 Thanks so much, everybody! I've been experimenting, and find that caramelized shallots and a little roasted garlic works beautifully, especially if the recipe has garlic going into it in other forms as well. Also, Barbara, thank you again for describing this procedure, as it has also explained to me why I would occasionally get a curry at a restaurant which did not seem to have onions but nevertheless made me ill. Thanks so much, everybody! I’ve been experimenting, and find that caramelized shallots and a little roasted garlic works beautifully, especially if the recipe has garlic going into it in other forms as well.

Also, Barbara, thank you again for describing this procedure, as it has also explained to me why I would occasionally get a curry at a restaurant which did not seem to have onions but nevertheless made me ill.

]]> Comment on Cutting and Browning Onions For Proper Flavor In Indian Food by: Hadar http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2008/03/24/cutting-and-browning-onions-for-proper-flavor-in-indian-food/#comment-53394 Sat, 05 Apr 2008 22:28:08 +0000 http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2008/03/24/cutting-and-browning-onions-for-proper-flavor-in-indian-food/#comment-53394 And so did my spring soup! http://vegetableadventures.blogspot.com/2008/04/split-personality-spring-soup.html And so did my spring soup!
http://vegetableadventures.blogspot.com/2008/04/split-personality-spring-soup.html

]]> Comment on Cutting and Browning Onions For Proper Flavor In Indian Food by: Hadar http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2008/03/24/cutting-and-browning-onions-for-proper-flavor-in-indian-food/#comment-53393 Sat, 05 Apr 2008 22:21:44 +0000 http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2008/03/24/cutting-and-browning-onions-for-proper-flavor-in-indian-food/#comment-53393 Mejedderah turned out perfect - just like my grandma's! Thank you so much for this. http://vegetableadventures.blogspot.com/2008/04/perfect-mejedderah.html Mejedderah turned out perfect - just like my grandma’s! Thank you so much for this.
http://vegetableadventures.blogspot.com/2008/04/perfect-mejedderah.html

]]> Comment on Cutting and Browning Onions For Proper Flavor In Indian Food by: Barbara http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2008/03/24/cutting-and-browning-onions-for-proper-flavor-in-indian-food/#comment-53195 Thu, 27 Mar 2008 06:16:03 +0000 http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2008/03/24/cutting-and-browning-onions-for-proper-flavor-in-indian-food/#comment-53195 Lila--you can definitely use shallots--follow Diane's admonitions to watch them carefully as they are certainly less moist than onions and will thus cook faster. To make up for the difference in color, you could add a tiny bit of Kitchen Bouquet--which is just caramel, after all. It would darken up the shallots nicely and give the proper color to the curry. You could try leeks, but the texture would be quite different, and I am not sure that it would be good. Roxanne's idea is a good one, too. Add more garlic to your dishes, preferably some of it roasted, which is not an Indian technique, BUT, it will help boost the flavor of the shallots. Oh, and I know two other people who are allergic to onions like you are. It is a crappy allergy to have especially if you are dining out. Christy, when I make barfi or kheer, I read while I stir! It helps the long stirring time go by faster. Molly, I am glad that you are enjoying my blog--it always makes me happy to know that I am helping people along. Good luck on learning the ropes of SAH motherhood. It is a challenging lifestyle--don't ever let anyone tell you it isn't! Kristin--I like your Gospel! Hadar! I hope this method works out for you! And I bet that the fake chopped liver is great, too. Mmmm. Alexis--sherry or Shao Hsing wine are perfect for deglazing caramelized onions for non-Indian foods. Those two wines were made to go with caramelized onions, it is just so perfect. Harry--you can make a large batch and freeze them for certain. I'm planning on doing that at work sometime--go in and make a huge batch of these, then break them up into portions that I would use for a typical curry special, and stick them in the freezer. Our "stove" at work is slow heating, so it takes a while to really caramelize the large amounts of onions I cook for dinner specials. It might be more efficient, time and energy wise, to do the caramelizing all at once. And the freezer would not hurt the texture or flavor at all--just be sure to put them in airtight containers. Lila–you can definitely use shallots–follow Diane’s admonitions to watch them carefully as they are certainly less moist than onions and will thus cook faster.

To make up for the difference in color, you could add a tiny bit of Kitchen Bouquet–which is just caramel, after all. It would darken up the shallots nicely and give the proper color to the curry.

You could try leeks, but the texture would be quite different, and I am not sure that it would be good.

Roxanne’s idea is a good one, too. Add more garlic to your dishes, preferably some of it roasted, which is not an Indian technique, BUT, it will help boost the flavor of the shallots.

Oh, and I know two other people who are allergic to onions like you are. It is a crappy allergy to have especially if you are dining out.

Christy, when I make barfi or kheer, I read while I stir! It helps the long stirring time go by faster.

Molly, I am glad that you are enjoying my blog–it always makes me happy to know that I am helping people along. Good luck on learning the ropes of SAH motherhood. It is a challenging lifestyle–don’t ever let anyone tell you it isn’t!

Kristin–I like your Gospel!

Hadar! I hope this method works out for you! And I bet that the fake chopped liver is great, too. Mmmm.

Alexis–sherry or Shao Hsing wine are perfect for deglazing caramelized onions for non-Indian foods. Those two wines were made to go with caramelized onions, it is just so perfect.

Harry–you can make a large batch and freeze them for certain.

I’m planning on doing that at work sometime–go in and make a huge batch of these, then break them up into portions that I would use for a typical curry special, and stick them in the freezer.

Our “stove” at work is slow heating, so it takes a while to really caramelize the large amounts of onions I cook for dinner specials. It might be more efficient, time and energy wise, to do the caramelizing all at once. And the freezer would not hurt the texture or flavor at all–just be sure to put them in airtight containers.

]]> Comment on Cutting and Browning Onions For Proper Flavor In Indian Food by: Diane http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2008/03/24/cutting-and-browning-onions-for-proper-flavor-in-indian-food/#comment-53194 Thu, 27 Mar 2008 05:11:07 +0000 http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2008/03/24/cutting-and-browning-onions-for-proper-flavor-in-indian-food/#comment-53194 Lila: I do sometimes use shallots when I cook Indian food (when I - horrors! - run out of onions). I don't know if they get *as* carmelized, but they do brown up well and the flavor is good. I would say in a pinch you could try them, although the color cues are not the same. Thy key thing is to cook them until they get past the raw stage, past the brown around the edges stage, and right to melting, falling apart browny goodness. They have less water so keep an eye on them to be sure they don't burn. Lila: I do sometimes use shallots when I cook Indian food (when I - horrors! - run out of onions). I don’t know if they get *as* carmelized, but they do brown up well and the flavor is good. I would say in a pinch you could try them, although the color cues are not the same. Thy key thing is to cook them until they get past the raw stage, past the brown around the edges stage, and right to melting, falling apart browny goodness. They have less water so keep an eye on them to be sure they don’t burn.

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