# Where is love, Betty Crocker? OR, I need help adding zip to a flavorless curry dish **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 16, 2006, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-love-betty-crocker-or-i-need-help-adding-zip-to-a-flavorless-curry-dish/369004 "2006-08-16T20:13:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-love-betty-crocker-or-i-need-help-adding-zip-to-a-flavorless-curry-dish/369004/1 "2006-08-16T20:13:52Z")
Confession: I found my “authentic Indian chicken curry” recipe in a Betty Crocker cookbook, which seems roughly analagous to cutting a gangsta CD with Hillary Duff, William F Buckley, Jr., and the late Irving R. Levine. But I digress. My taste testers gave my dish a hearty thumbs down. While the sauce had plenty of zip, they said the bits of chicken breast had zero flavor. I agree. Someone suggested marinading the chicken for a couple of days, before preparing the meal. How do I make a chicken curry marinade? I couldn’t find anything ready made in the grocery store. I went to a local restaurant, whose chef suggested I use a base of either red wine or red wine vinegar. An Asian food store owner, meanwhile, suggested a marinade based on yogurt, salt, garlic and ginger. I’m lost. Please help. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-love-betty-crocker-or-i-need-help-adding-zip-to-a-flavorless-curry-dish/369004/2 "2006-08-16T20:30:15Z")
Red wine! Vinegar! Yuck! Betty Crocker??? Ugh. Definitely the yogurt, salt, and ginger and garlic. DO NOT use any form of prepackaged garlic or ginger. You must get real garlic and ginger. Grate it if you can. Be generous with the garlic and stingy with the ginger. Do you put slits in your chicken? Also, do you make it spicy? Put in some cayenne pepper. A little coriander and cumin powder in the marinade will work wonders, too. Also, don’t be afraid to get down and dirty. Rub the yogurt/seasoning mix into the chicken. With fingertips if necessary. And afterwards, sprinkle a little _garam masala_ on top. You can find this in the grocery store. The reason you can’t find a pre-made mix in the grocery store is curry is not really an authentic Indian dish. I’m pretty sure it’s a Brit invention. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-love-betty-crocker-or-i-need-help-adding-zip-to-a-flavorless-curry-dish/369004/3 "2006-08-16T20:45:59Z")
If your finished curry lacks “brightness” of flavor, try adding a little fresh cilantro to it. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-love-betty-crocker-or-i-need-help-adding-zip-to-a-flavorless-curry-dish/369004/4 "2006-08-17T01:57:49Z")
I’ve come to really dislike chicken breasts. For me, low fat = dry and not enough fat to carry the flavor. I really like boneless, skinless chicken thighs. I’m happier with a smaller amount of dark meat than a bunch of dry, flavorless white meat. ---
**Author:** ![Club\_33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@Club\_33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Club_33)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-love-betty-crocker-or-i-need-help-adding-zip-to-a-flavorless-curry-dish/369004/5 "2006-08-17T02:03:19Z")
I usually go with 1/2 inch cubes when I marinate for a stir fry dish to allow more of the flavor to seep in. I like a little curry powder, fresh ginger, sherry or mirin, and plenty of garlic. Marinating in coconut milk can add a nice flavor as well. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-love-betty-crocker-or-i-need-help-adding-zip-to-a-flavorless-curry-dish/369004/6 "2006-08-17T03:55:02Z")
I’ll second the yogurt-based marinade, with as many spices as you can cram in. I disagree with the long times, however. Chicken probably can’t stand more than 4 to 6 hours of marinade time. IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-love-betty-crocker-or-i-need-help-adding-zip-to-a-flavorless-curry-dish/369004/7 "2006-08-17T12:15:43Z")
[QUOTE=Anaamika] The reason you can’t find a pre-made mix in the grocery store is curry is not really an authentic Indian dish. I’m pretty sure it’s a Brit invention. [/QUOTE] That’s just not true - sure, _some_ curries are British inventions (like Chicken Tikka Masala _shudder_), esp. with “curry powder” or the like, and meat-in-sauce ones like the aforementioned CTM, but “Curry” as in “spicy stew” is definitely authentic S-Asian, “kari” is a Tamil word after all. Not uniquely Indian, though - our local Malay curries predate British rule by a substantial chunk, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-love-betty-crocker-or-i-need-help-adding-zip-to-a-flavorless-curry-dish/369004/8 "2006-08-17T12:52:29Z")
[QUOTE=Anaamika] The reason you can’t find a pre-made mix in the grocery store is curry is not really an authentic Indian dish. I’m pretty sure it’s a Brit invention. [/QUOTE] Want to tell that to my motherand my grandmother? Whilst some curries, like **MrDibble** says are Brit inventions, a lot most certainly are not; the reason that a pre-made mix can’t be found is because different curries use different spices on top a corriander, cumin and (sometimes) tumeric base. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-love-betty-crocker-or-i-need-help-adding-zip-to-a-flavorless-curry-dish/369004/9 "2006-08-17T13:29:34Z")
[QUOTE=Shoshana] If your finished curry lacks “brightness” of flavor, try adding a little fresh cilantro to it. [/QUOTE] But be warned that there is a small but significant minority of people (including, oddly enough, myself) to whom cilantro tastes like soap. ---
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-love-betty-crocker-or-i-need-help-adding-zip-to-a-flavorless-curry-dish/369004/10 "2006-08-17T20:30:15Z")
BTW, the typo in the title sounds appropriate for the musical “Oliver” ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-love-betty-crocker-or-i-need-help-adding-zip-to-a-flavorless-curry-dish/369004/11 "2006-08-17T20:32:02Z")
Yes, I’m sorry, I wasn’t clear. “Kari” meaning spicy stew sure is Indian. But the traditional style of curry that I’ve always seen iis most assuredly not!