Garlic is used in most curry dishes. It’s an essential ingredient that’s usually added at the beginning of cooking to give lots of flavour. To make it easier and quicker to cook it’s used in paste form in BIR kitchens, made from fresh garlic blended with a little oil.

Frozen garlic paste blocks are a good substitute for fresh. These are available in most supermarkets and are convenient to use. 

Avoid any garlic paste in jars and tubes, as these have a sharp, acidic taste. This comes from the preservatives that are used in them which tends to leave an unpleasant aftertaste.

Ginger is another essential ingredient for Indian cooking. For ease and speed it’s used in paste form in BIR kitchens, made from fresh ginger blended with a little oil.

Frozen ginger paste blocks are a good substitute for fresh. These are available in most supermarkets and are convenient to use. 

Avoid any ginger paste in jars and tubes, as these have a sharp, acidic taste. This comes from the preservatives that are used in them which tends to leave an unpleasant aftertaste. 

Tomato puree is too strong and thick on its own and tinned tomatoes too weak and slow to cook for BIR style cooking. A tomato paste combining tomato puree and tinned tomatoes cooked down is used instead. This creates a great tasting tomato base and also speeds up the cooking process. 

A wide variety of curry pastes are prepared in BIR kitchens. These are made by combining spices and ingredients that would normally be added separately into an easy to use paste which simplifies and speeds up the cooking process.

Common pastes that are used include:

Usually made from a blend of spices, chilli, tomato and a souring agent such as tamarind and lemon all combine to create a deliciously rich, spicy and tangy flavour that is the hallmark of a Madras curry.

Typically made from a blend of spices, tomato, coconut and yoghurt along with red food colouring which gives the trademark red colour.