Man, come to Rockdale in Sydney. More jars of pickle (mango included) than tomato sauce. Agree. Lime is OK but it's no mango
Just trying to think of a nice campground halfwayish between Syd and Melb where River swimming can be done. Maybe Tom Groggin? Much larger so bogans can be avoided. And we're nice and close to CURRYong if we need to resupply. I'll show myself out
I'd consider driving all the way to Sydney and stocking up. Melbourne is dry. Edit, this is available but it's way too salty. I'm getting desperate though for a fix.
Slight correction, chicken tikka masala was invented in Glasgow (At Shish Mahal, though I was told at Mister Singhs)..... and AFAIK, most western Indian food is derivative of Bangladeshi food as many of the merchant seamen from post colonial times were from Bangladesh and they settled in many of what had previously been the great seaports of the Empire ....... hence Dehli belly, is actually Bangladesh belly AKA The Empire strikes back.... I will now see myself out.
that's my understanding - that, in particular, English curry is essentially Bangladeshi and was created extra hot for the local population when they developed a taste for it. I've heard people claim that curry is different in Melbourne but I can't really pick the difference.
I used to frequent a small chain called Ravi's in dubai when in town. Pakistani joint and oh so ****ing good. It was distinctly for the subcontinent expat population and cheap as hell... $6-8 for an insane selection shared around. about the only worthwhile thing about that place now I have cravings for some decent curry. Thanks for the inspiration Mr T, I'll have to have a think about what I can make that the kids will devour, regretfully we tend to be slack with curry and use pastes etc but I am feeling the urge now. The kids love the curries we make but they tend to be mild thai green/reds or a massaman.
Fenugreek sees are bitter and should be used sparingly. Bangla cooking uses them with whole Cumin, fennel, mustard and nigellla ( onion seeds) and is known as Panch Phoran. Some UK based Curry powders use ground fenugreek seeds in their spice mixes.
The British set up a trading post on the Hooghli river in the early 1600's , what later became Kolkatta. After their trading post in Tamil Nadu they went into cornering the South Asian fabric trade esp. with the fabulous cotton and silks that came from NE India. The greater area that was known as Bengal included Bihar, Assam, Oddisha and What is now Indian Bengal and Bangladesh. The food from that area is quite different to Tamil food. The British seemed to mix them together and some UK dishes were Indianized by local cooks and servants to make them faintly palatable .
You cannot get real Bangla food in Melbourne eateries. You have to go to Kolkatta , Dhaka or a restaurant in South Delhi called " Oh Calcutta!".
Bangladesh a.k.a Eastern Bengal / Former East Pakistan is where the British set up a major jute trading post in the 1600- 1857 period. Many words in English come from this area e.g. Barumndah a.k.a Verandah etc. The design is Bengali and is designed to shield dwellings from tropical rain storms and fierce sunshine.
this is the thing: I may have been led to believe UK Indian is served up by "Bangladeshis..." not necessarily authentic to Bangladesh, or, presumably any region! And if Melbourne is not real Bangla....or perhaps any authentic regional cuisine...then... I am still none the wiser as to what I have ever eaten .. I like the taste, mostly, I know that..
Real Indian food requires a visit to India. This almost certainly have unintended consequences. And never consider India a holiday destination, it is an adventure and you will need a holiday afterwards to recover
I have a theory about diaspora and indian food being great in the right places outside india with high quality ingredients and hygiene... My Ravi's post above being a contributor to that theory along with some epic back street feeds in little india in singapore.
Went to India in 1976 travelled for 3 months there and Sri Lanka, food and experience was hectic but found food very hot . Travelled to Kashmir for skiing 3 years ago , food still good but would say I like hot food better now as we eat some chilli every day.
Real Gujarati food and real Tamil food can be more readily obtained in Melb. Even then they still have some more familiar North Indian dishes on their menus just to remain commercially viable for the great hoy polloi.. These kinds of regional cuisine are clearly different to the usual grab bag menus that most " Indian" restaurants serve.
My Brother also supports this theory but he is almost anti desi , with zero interest in his/our South Asian roots, culture, cuisine , history and languages. I am the opposite. I have over corrected in that sphere.
Try The steamed / spiced Bangla fish recipe I have posted. Trust me , it is the real deal and you will NEVER get that in a restaurant here in 'Striya.
Do rather like a trip to Lau Pa Sat when in Singapore..... makes a change from the air conditioned sameness of hotel fare..... though Chairman's Club upgrade at The Fairmont is worth it for the free booze and food.
Hey this reminds me. Back in the late 1980s, when fluoro was a trendy fashion colour, 19 year old me did a Thredbo season but the snow sucked and business was low and all the good Jindy bar jobs and such were taken so I had to get a kitchen hand gig at the Indian restaurant in the relatively new shiny Nuggets shops. The restaurant’s name was the one word (admittedly with two spellings) which is represented in both ski culture and Indian culture. It was....
OK you've all had long enough. I am shocked - shocked I tells ya! - that nobody remembers Mogul Curry House in Jindabyne. Their onion bhajis, peeled and chopped by me, were excellent.
I can't remember a thing about Jindabyne, I was working in Khancoban for a couple of years but think I only got there once or twice. Now you have to post the Onion Bhaji recipe.
How to make Milk Burfi ( sweet chick pea powder and milk fudge slices ) quickly. Ingredients 1 tin of sweetened condensed milk ( 400 ML) one tea spoon of cardamom powder 400 G. of besan ( gram flour) 8 table spoons of Ghee ( clarified butter) a pinch of salt a handful of slithered almonds. You can use broken cashews or whole Pistachio kernels. Method In a wide pan mix the besan and ghee together and keep stirring over a LOW flame for 15 min.s Now add the salt, nuts and cardamom powder and stir in well for a minute Now add all the condensed milk and stir it in well , keep stirring on a low flame so that it starts to leave the sides of the pan. Prepare a large dinner plate, greased with ghee . Pour this sticky mixture onto the plate and flatten it with a kitchen spatula. Cut it into squares. Cover it with another plate and leave to dry and set overnight. The next day recut the squares and put it in a sealed container for storage in the fridge. It is now ready to eat with hot chai. This is a tasty treat that goes with masala chai, green tea or masala coffee.
How to make Alu Gobhi Dry potato and cauliflower spiced dish , no gravy. A classic Punjabi home favourite .I made this today perfectly by memory!!. Ingredients 1 large cauliflower 3-4 large potatoes 1 large green chilly( finely chopped with the seeds) salt to taste 1 large level teaspoon of cumin powder coriander powder black pepper turmeric( haldi ) powder half a tea spoonful of Kashmiri red chilly powder a tablespoon of whole cumin seeds a tablespoon of whole dry roasted crushed cumin seeds. ( to make this item you need to dry roast them on a Tahvah [ a cast iron skillet ] until they become fragrant . Then put them on a newspaper , fold it over and roll a rolling pin over the roasted seeds. Store in an air tight jar. It is better to make a ship load of this so that you only have to do this so often.) some chopped green coriander leaves for garnish 5 big table spoons of canola or sunflower oil Method Boil the spuds the day before. Drain and refrigerate . Break up the cauliflower into pieces, dispose of the leaves and stem. Soak the cauliflower pieces in freshly boiled water in a big bowl. They must be fully immersed!. I use two electric jugs worth of boiling water. Cover the bowl with a plate. If you do this the night before then you will be ready to cook the dish the next day. Drain the cauliflower well using a pasta strainer/ colander Take the skin off the potatoes and cube them and set them aside. Put the oil into a deep pot , heat it on high and add the raw whole cumin seeds ( not the roasted ones). They should sizzle. Turn the flame down to med. Add the cauliflower and be prepared for a big sizzle as the wet veg. hits the oil. Stir and coat the cauliflower with oil and cumin seeds. Cover and stir often on Med. flame for 10-15 min.s or until soft but not mushy. Allow the pieces to brown in places. Once the Cauliflower is cooked add the pre cooked and cubed potatoes and the entire masala /spice list incl. the green chilly , salt and roasted cumin seed. Stir it all together well so that all the vegies are well evenly coated with this spice mix and change colour as a result. Garnish with chopped coriander and cover to sit with the flame off in its own steam. It should not be oily at all. The vegies should be crisp but well cooked and dry spiced to perfection. This goes well with Indian breads and a daal or chana masala plus mint raita which add fluid and moisture to the meal. A lime or lemon pickle or mango chutney can add interest on the side. I will post my recipe for DIY lemon pickle Indian style. Enjoy .
Most of the dishes I post here are ones that are not done to death at local " Indian" restaurants. I will leave forum members to add salt according to their personal preference for main course dishes but oil and salt are not " no go zones " for this kind of cooking and goras ( Pale non desi types) tend to become anxious when salt and oil are mentioned!.
The British( The East India Company) fought three wars in South India against the French over territory and trade monopolies . The French did not take to Indian spices or mangled Anglicized Indian food at all. The British added tamarind ( Tamar al hind= Arabic for the date of India) to make Worstershire sauce and HP sauce. The competing Portuguese and the Dutch may have had some earlier foot holds in pockets of coastal India prior to the East India company arriving but the East India company aggressively fought their way into the hinterlands and began to topple regional rulers and meddle in local affairs on a bigger scale. They were one of the first Corporate groups in history to wage war in order to defend their bottom line and maximize the interests of their corporate share holders. So I disagree with you over the derivation of the word Curry. Meanwhile the Dutch cornered the spice trade in what is now Indonesia and the British went for the cloth and fabrics of the Sub cont. as their initial focus. However the Dutch and Portuguese and the French all had ports on the Hooghli river when the British built what would become Kolkata. Yes the Portuguese kept their three ( Goa, Diu and Daman ) protectorates in India until they were subsumed by the Central government . Sardar Vallabhai Patel was an instrumental figure in aggressively coercing independent states to join the union of territories under the rule of New Delhi after 1947 . Yes , I love Indian History and William Dalrymple' s books are marvelous.
