How can I improve a dish with badly cooked spices without recooking? [closed]

I am living in a place where the food (namely curries) served is so bad I lose my appetite by just smelling it. I've tried making it taste better by adding some chilli powder, salt, and onions but it hasn't helped. I don't understand why it still tastes bad may be I am mixing in wrong quantity or wrong ingredients.

I asked my friend why is the food tastes bad, and he said that spices need to be cooked to release the flavours and the person making the dish is not cooking them properly so the raw spices are causing a bad taste.

So is cooking necessary for all spices to release flavour? How can I tell whether that's the problem, and how can I improve a dish with badly cooked spices without recooking?

Best Answer

If there are truly offensive aromas (eg burnt smell) in there that you cannot mask with other aromas, or if there are serious textural flaws (brutally adstringent mouthfeel, unpalatably hard pieces...) the dish is beyond help.

If there are aromas missing - add aromatic seasonings, herbs, spices (probably in oil).

If the dish is too diluted (tastes watery, does not stick well to grains or bread...), try reducing it (cooking it down) or thickening it.

If aromas seem to be present but subdued, try adding fat (eg butter or coconut oil) or acid (vinegar, lemon) or sugar.

If there is too much bitter/metallic/strawy taste, it could be missing salt. Or be oversalted, ironically.

If too salty: try diluting it.

If it is too sour, add sugar; if cloyingly sweet, add an acid.

If it somehow isn't fun to eat even if all the elements are there, try adding umami (MSG, nutritional yeast, soy sauce...).

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How do you fix an over seasoned dish?

Dilute the dish. If you have over-seasoned a soup, stew or sauce, you can fix the problem by diluting the dish. Add a splash or two of water and then taste the dish. By adding water, you will cause the overall flavor of your dish to be less intense, but if you have over-seasoned, the results can be positive.

Can you add seasoning after cooking?

Herbs may be added near the end of cooking for more distinct flavor, or at the beginning for more blended flavors. Ground spices and herbs release their flavors readily. In long cooking dishes, such as stews, add these near the end of the cooking time to minimize the \u201ccooking off\u201d of its flavors.

How can I improve my spices?

Seasoning Tips for Improving Flavor

Drop (salt for) acid. ...

Use coarse salt when seasoning meat. ...

Pep up\u2014or tone down\u2014your pepper. ...

Season cold foods aggressively. ...

Incorporate fresh herbs at the right time. ...

Add a little umami. ...

Make adjustments when seasonings go awry. ...

Add a finishing touch.

What happens if you overcook spices?

Avoid overcooking the spices\u2014if the warm spices can linger in every ingredient, then so can an acrid burnt taste. Use a slotted spoon to remove the whole spices before continuing to cook. Use this trick to build a dense chutney.

Reducing excess salt or spice

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Images: Rachel Claire, Dana Tentis, Gagan Cambow, JAMIE DIAZ