Spices have launched empires and triggered wars. They have done this while flavoring dishes from souvlaki to tagine. They have done this because they flavor dishes like souvlaki and tagine so well. And Chicken & Apricot Coconut Curry with Basmati Rice – that’s what the ingredients above are going to go into.
A good pinch of curry, Spanish paprika, cumin, or ras al hanout separates a mundane dish from an extraordinary one. That dash of spice allows cooks to cut down on salt and fat, other prime drivers of flavor.
If you read much into the spice literature, you’ll find that many chefs claim not to use pre-ground spices when they cook up the delectable dishes served to you in restaurants. Here’s what they do instead: toast spices in a pan then grind them in a mortar and pestle or an electric spice grinder.
That takes time and energy. It creates a mess.
We believe in flavor, but not at the cost of tons of extra gear to wash and store.
If you read further into the spice literature, you’ll hear recommendations of a plan b. If you can’t grind your own spices, you’ll hear, you should replenish your spices every few months. That practice seems wasteful. It’s hard to toss a half full jar of ground coriander, even if you know it doesn’t taste that great.
Here’s what happens to spices as they sit in jars in your spice rack: they lose their flavor. If you buy curry powder for one recipe in March and then try to make chicken curry again in October, you’ll find yourself pouring in the salt in an attempt to regain lost flavor. That’s a sad situation.
We remedy this. We make the mess on our end. We seek out spices and have them freshly ground for you, then mixed up in customized spice mixtures you’d have to purchase six jars of spice to recreate. This is what we do for chicken curry, and one of the reasons our chicken curry and souvlaki and tagine are so good. Not to brag, you know, But we’ve got a spice solution.
