Chicken Curry and Beyond - The CurryFocus Blog

Have you worn your best white blouse or shirt on a date only to have it stained with the sauce from your favourite chicken curry? Or dropped a forkful of chicken vindaloo onto a friend’s best cream carpet?

How do you get rid of the stains?

An article from the New Statesman magazine explains that turmeric is the main problem in curry stains. Turmeric is very good at making stains and hard to remove. Which is a pity because turmeric is in almost every curry, in one form or another.

There are several ways of trying to remove stains. Please note that care should be taken when removing ANY stain (not just a curry stain) – you should try the removal method on a small part of the stained area to make sure that you don’t ruin the clothing, furniture or carpet.

You try the following at your own risk!!!

1. Clean with methylated spirit and then leave in sunlight.
2. Rinse or wash straight afterwards before the stain has time to set.
3. Clean with equal parts of methylated spirit and ammonia.
4. For washable fabric, keep dipping the article in lukewarm water until the majority of the colour is removed. Then, rub equal parts of glycerine and warm water into the stain and rinse with cold water. Finally, soak in biological detergent and wash as usual.
5. For non-washable fabric, carefully sponge with a solution of a tablespoon of borax dissolved in a 600ml (a pint) of lukewarm water, do not allow the fabric to become too wet. Should the stain remain, dry-clean.
6. For carpets and furnishing, do the same as for non-washable fabric. Shampoo carpets afterwards.
7. For clothes, d on’t put anything on it. Take it to the drycleaners. Leave it to the professionals.

These are some of the more common suggestions found on the Internet.

Good luck and happy cleaning.

Ginger is a widely used pungent herb that is used in cooking. The main producers of ginger are India, Brazil, Jamaica and Nigeria.

When added to curries, the ginger roots are chopped, crushed or grated to release the flavour. You can buy ginger in powder form but most purists say that the root should be used just prior to cooking so that the flavour is fresh.

Ginger is a versatile herb and is used to make pickles, chutneys, curry powder, confectionery, biscuits, cakes, desserts, soft drinks, liqueurs and tea. It seems that ginger can be added to almost anything that you can eat or drink.

There have been claims that ginger helps combat nausea, diarrhoea and morning sickness.

Ginger is used as a dietary supplement and is used in some folk medicine treatments for treating inflammation, arthritis, colic and headaches.

There is evidence that ginger interacts with prescribed medicines so care must be taken when taking ginger whilst using medicines – always check with your doctor.

Research continues on various medicinal uses of ginger.

The nutmeg and mace spices both come from the seeds of evergreen trees in the Myristica family.

Nutmeg is the kernel of the seed of the tree and mace is the lacy red skin (the aril) of the kernel.

The aril is separated from the kernel and is then dried and sold as mace.

The hard shell of the kernel is discarded and the inside is the nutmeg.

Most nutmeg and mace comes from the tree Myristica fragrans that is grown in Indonesia and the Caribbean (Grenada is known as the Nutmeg Island and its flag has the nutmeg colours of yellow, red and red with a nutmeg on the left side).

Not surprisingly, nutmeg and mace have similar flavours with nutmeg having a slightly sweeter flavour.

Nutmeg is usually sold whole and is grated when needed (one nutmeg will usually yield 10-15ml of ground powder). Nutmegs, whole and ground, should be stored in airtight containers, away from sunlight, to keep them fresh.

Be aware that nutmeg is poisonous and must be used in moderation. A pinch or two is safe.

Mace is used in very small quantities, much like saffron.

In India, nutmeg is used mostly in sweet dishes whereas it is used mostly in savoury dishes in the Middle East.

Both nutmeg and mace can be used to make garam masala. A garam masala recipe that contains nutmeg can be found here.. and a garam masala recipe that contains both nutmeg and mace is here.

Nutmeg is also used to make mulled wines and mulled ciders.

Nutmeg has some medicinal applications and is to treat diarrhoea and nausea whilst it has positive uses in improving the appetite.

Nutmeg contains a narcotic called myristicin. Misuse of myristicin can cause hallucinations, epilepsy and large doses can cause death. These side effects will not be caused by normal culinary usage.

Turmeric is a plant belonging to the ginger family. It grows in hot climates that have lots of rain. It’s no surprise that India produces most of the world’s supply of turmeric and uses about 80% of the total crop itself.

The roots of the turmeric plant are boiled, dried and then ground into a yellow/orange powder that is used as a curry spice and a food colouring.

Turmeric powder is contained in most curry powders and gives curries that great brown/golden colour. Almost every Indian curry recipe contains turmeric, in one form or another. Here is a very easy recipe for making curry powder.

There are lots of medical applications for turmeric including being an antiseptic and having antibacterial properties. It also has been used to treat cancer and liver disorders. A lot of medical research is currently being carried out on curcumin, which is the active ingredient in turmeric. A lot of interest is in using curcumin to help treat Alzheimer’s.

Turmeric is also used in sunscreens and some of its compounds are used in cosmetics.

As you can see, turmeric is a very versatile spice indeed.

Cloves are the dried buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae.

Cloves are mainly grown in India and Indonesia and are used as a spice or as a medicine.

The spice is very strong and so cloves must be used sparingly. Most recipes call for cloves to be used in powder form but sometimes a whole clove is added to a dish.

Cloves are also used as an additive in tea.

Cloves should be stored in airtight containers to retain the flavour – ground cloves will stay fresh for 6 months and whole cloves will last for a year when stored like this.

Cloves also have some medicinal uses. The essential oil is used in dentistry for pain relief, as a digestive aid and in aromatherapy. Herbalists use cloves to treat a variety of conditions including morning sickness, diarrhoea, impotence, vaginal discharge and multiple sclerosis. Cloves contain Eugenol which has anti-inflammatory applications. Cloves are also used to treat diabetes, headaches, asthma, stress, blood impurities, athlete’s foot and fungal infections. A very versatile spice indeed!

Cloves are also used in some cigarettes. This apparently started in Indonesia and has spread to other parts of the world. The initial thinking seemed to be that the medicinal powers of cloves would outweigh the bad effects of the cigarettes. This has obviously not been proved. In my opinion, it’s better not to smoke at all.

Cloves are toxic and should not be used in large quantities. Cloves should not be taken by people with colitis or gastric ulcers. Taking too many cloves can cause vomiting, nausea and kidney damage.