The cookery thread

[chokeout]

Impossible to get a nice photo of curry but I'm determined to master Dhaal (also made Naan breads and Parathas) 

[stumobir]

8 minutes ago, chokeout said:

Impossible to get a nice photo of curry but I'm determined to master Dhaal (also made Naan breads and Parathas) 

That looks tremendous and those parathas look absolutely spot on, both crispy and buttery soft which is hard to get right. 
 

Best recipe I’ve used for daal is for Dishoom’s daal makhani, I honestly think I could live off it if it wasn’t for certain gaseous side effects.  
 

Second recipe down.

 

 

[deathrey]

Out of interest, what flavour are your paranthas @chokeout?

[chokeout]

1 hour ago, stumobir said:

That looks tremendous and those parathas look absolutely spot on, both crispy and buttery soft which is hard to get right. 
 

Best recipe I’ve used for daal is for Dishoom’s daal makhani, I honestly think I could live off it if it wasn’t for certain gaseous side effects.  
 

Second recipe down.

 

 

The Dishoom cookbook is fantastic. The pepper masala is one of the best curries I've had in ages. 

56 minutes ago, deathrey said:

Out of interest, what flavour are your paranthas @chokeout?

I just have them plain. Also make them with spring onion for the missus which are very tasty. 

[deathrey]

I'm quite good at fortified ones (fenugreek is common in Asian households, coriander etc) but I'm yet to master a stuffed parantha like my mum makes.

 

A little tip for any left over dahl you might have. You can use it to make paranthas. Use it in place of water when making your dough so flour + dahl and I usually add a little diced onion and some salt and pepper to liven up the flavour and it makes delicious paranthas. They are such a beautiful soft texture.

Edited March 25, 2021 by deathrey

[Carbomb]

My aunt makes amazing parathas (well, in Mauritius, they're called farathas for some reason, but they're basically the same), and even more awesome dhal puri. Mauritians normally have them with butterbeans and gateaux pima (sort of like a falafel, but made with split peas, mint, and chilli).

[Kaz Hayashi]

Not cooking, well, I melted some chocolate, but I made a batch of crisp cakes with the nipper, as we do every month.

However, the point of this post is to say that strawberry flavoured coco pops is a thing now, and as she was the one who pointed them out to me as she sat in the trolley, it felt ridiculous to put off the inevitable.
Dairy milk chocolate, strawberry coco pops, mini eggs and broken giant milky buttons. Arguably the best thing I’ve posted in here.

[Carbomb]

Generally prefer French mustards to American/German mustard when I want something with a mild kick, but more flavour. French brown mustard's tasty too - I remember Colman's used to sell it in a brown-coloured version of the traditional Colman's jar and lid.

[I Bent My Wookie]

Had me a bit of a Yorkshire pudding explosion.

Pan fried the carrots in the steak juices with some chilli garlic and coriander as well. I'm just in practice for cooking for the family when home again at the moment.

[Carbomb]

Looks good! Did the puds taste good? That's the main thing.

[I Bent My Wookie]

2 minutes ago, Carbomb said:

Looks good! Did the puds taste good? That's the main thing.

I got them out just in time, another minute or two and they'd have started to over cook. But it all tasted fantastic, the carrots was actually the best part.

[Carbomb]

Just now, Shy Dad said:

I got them out just in time, another minute or two and they'd have started to over cook. But it all tasted fantastic, the carrots was actually the best part.

Yeh, that's a great idea to cook them in the steak fat. Nice one.

[deathrey]

Slightly off topic but are there any Mauritian resteraunts you would recommend @Carbomb? I've not tried much Mauritian food and it looks delicious, next time I'm in London (God knows when that will be) I'd like to give it a go. I've Googled and there aren't really any in Birmingham.

[Carbomb]

13 minutes ago, deathrey said:

Slightly off topic but are there any Mauritian resteraunts you would recommend @Carbomb? I've not tried much Mauritian food and it looks delicious, next time I'm in London (God knows when that will be) I'd like to give it a go. I've Googled and there aren't really any in Birmingham.

There aren't many (mainly because a lot of Mauritians are very "islander" with their business, and go out of business within a year), but there's Le Chamarel in Turnpike Lane in north London, which is more of a diner than a restaurant. In Wood Green shopping mall food court, there's Paradise Spa (again, more a cafe than a restaurant). 

To be honest, there probably are more places, but I haven't felt the desire to go very often, as we tend to make most of the stuff they serve at home anyway, and the expensive gourmet stuff is very expensive indeed, so I don't know that many. A mate of mine has family in the restaurant business, so I'll ask him and let you know.

EDIT: You'd be very surprised at some of the parallels with some of the Indian and Pakistani cuisines, but it's very much a "mixing bowl", because there are dishes from Chinese cuisine, various Indian and Pakistani cuisines, creole, French, and African cuisines too.

My aunt recently made gateaux brenzel, aubergine fritters - we get the word "brenzel" in creole from "brinjal". And for spices we tend to use a lot of Indian words - haldi, jeerah, dhaniya, garam masala, the usual. The pickles feature a lot more fruits, particularly esoteric tropical ones that not many people know outside the Indian Ocean islands. Oddly, not so much of the South Indian influence - we don't tend to use a lot of coconut milk, lime or lime leaves.

Edited April 4, 2021 by Carbomb

[deathrey]

Thanks @Carbomb, much appreciated. I have noticed the similarity in the food but Mauritian food seems a bit 'fresher' if you know what I mean? And the ingredients slightly more exciting - though I may just be bored after a lifetime of Indian food. Interesting that there isn't much South Indian influence because you would think it would fit quite well with Island ingredients. 

I understand what you are saying about not ever feeling the need to go to a Mauritian resteraunt, an Indian resteraunt would be my last choice of somewhere to eat as we make most of it at home. The only time I want to eat Indian is when it is things like chaat and gol gappay (or pani puri as indian restaurants seem to call it) which is either a lot of work or you just can't make as well at home.