Luke

I have spent at least 20 years perfecting what I want in a Vindaloo (Lamb). I cannot comment on how it compares to authentic vindaloo, but the recipe was originally derived from VahRehVah chef. https://youtu.be/5E3kulJRzGY What I can say is the quality of the chilli powder is key to this dish - so much so I grow my own chillies and use them in this recipe. Whole Masala (add to oil prior to onions) cinnamon - 1 - stick 10cm Black cardamom x 3 cloves x 6 Green cardamom x 6 Bay Leaves dried x 3 Masala Paste: coconut cream - 1 can cumin powder - 1 tsp Black pepper power - 1 tsp Coriander powder - 2 tsp Mustard powder - 1 tsp Garlic - 6 to 7 - number ginger - 1 piece about 25mm long Long Hot Chilli Powder - 5 Tablespoons (depends on heat) Cinnamon powder - 1/2 tsp Turmeric - 1 tsp Garam Marsala - 1 tsp Apple cider vinegar- 3/4 - cup Main ingredients: Lamb Round Chops on Bone - 1kg ghee - 1/2 cup onions - 4 - sliced salt - 0 - as needed Jaggery - 2 - tsp water - 0 - as needed Instructions: Wash lamb, apply salt and tumeric powder in water, cover and keep it a side for 1 hr. Add all items in Masala paste to Blender and blend until fine. Mixture will look curdled, which is OK. After one hour in brine, drain the lamb add all the spice mixture mix well - marinate for 4 hours if possible After 4 hours take a pan add ghee, whole masala, onions and cook until onions soft. Add lamb and masala cook for 5min then add water (about 1 cup) and cook in a low flame. Towards end (1 hour) add jaggary

@Ann_T I tried your recipe as-is for a boule Still need to work on the gluten strength - it was a bit under. My wife is Soy intolerant so loves any bread I can make without bread improver and this one got the thumbs up.

Thanks - I have some Canadian Manitoba flour with protein in the 13's, but I'm using Aussie flour with protein in the 11's Question - Do you think there is any difference if you autolyse with or without the poolish? I'm experimenting with a Vito Lacopelli pizza dough and he autolyses the main flour and water, then adds the poolish - its hard to get the lumps out when adding 100% hydrated poolish to 70% dough, I wonder if it would make it any difference, and noticed your recipe adds it all then rests for the autolyse. Luke

@Ann_T Love the colour on those baguettes. What is the protein % of the flour you use?

Second attempt of my spices fruit block loaf was a fail. For this one, I added 50g of Levain to the Bega. But I still don't think this was the problem. Sat down and reviewed my notes, I don't think I kneaded in the kitchen aid for long enough (compared to the first) - was still wet and sticky during the folds. Tried again, slightly reduced the hydration by 2% to 73.4%, added 2grams Diastatic Malt to help the yeast lift the heavy fruit, and spent a full 20 minutes on the knead. I gave it a 10 minute rest between kneads, and 3 folds during the initial bulk. The dough was really tight after this. Added some water/egg wash to the top to go for some gloss, but I think the oven was still too hot @ 230 deg C Crumb structure was spot on this time. I think I have my baseline reference now - I want to eventually add rye, spelt, increase the fruit and switch in some Levain while lowering the yeast. Will need to make this one more time to make sure it was not just luck - kids are not complaining.

Its just my own mix of dried fruits and spices (weights in grams). I am trying to develop a spiced fruit loaf. Fruit Mix Currents 140.0 Sultanas 140.0 Mixed Peel 140.0 Orange Zest 1 Tab 10.0 Lemon Zest 1 Tab 10.0 Dates 140.0 Green Ginger Wine, Soak Fruits, Drained 50.0 Spices Cinnamon, Ground 2 tsp 7.8 All Spice, Ground 1 tsp 3.9 Apple Cake Spice 1 tsp 3.7 Cocoa, Sifted 1 tsp 3.9

Inspired by Ann_T's Biga based breads, I thought I would try the same recipe in a square tin with a spiced fruit bread mix. I forgot to add the 3g of yeast in the final mix - it took me a while to realise why it was rising so slowly. Considering this stuff up, the end result wasn't too bad (took 8 hours to rise) - I do realise I need to shape properly, hence the hole in the middle, which I didn't as I was in a rush (hence forgetting the yeast). Flavour was spot on. Try again tomorrow.

For those interested, I have attached my Guanciale workbook (Excel). I use the EQ method. 1. Weigh each Jowell and record weight. Measure salt and spices per weight, add to bag and remove air, seal ( I like 2.25% salt, but really you can use 2% to 3.5% depending on your taste and blood pressure) 2. Turn daily in fridge for desired time 3. Remove from bag, wash in white wine, removing spices and brine, then reapply your prefered dry spice mix - i normally use pepper and chilli, sometimes fennel and bay leaf (this is not recorded on my workbook) 4. Hang to cure in cellar or garage in winter, or if temps and humidity not suitable, cure in umai charcuterie bag on bottom shelf of fridge. 5. Aim for 25% moisture loss, about 35 days for me. Guanciale Worksheet 050621.xlsx

I caught a few Rainbow Trout on the weekend from a lake here in Victoria, Australia, and plan to smoke them. There is quite a bit of size difference, so I will probably smoke the smaller one whole, and fillet the larger one. One thing that has confused me in reading this thread and other references on the net is that few recipes actually specify weight, and with salt, that can be dangerous due to size difference of crystals. Just to confirm - roughly 3% salt, 3% sugar, and 3 litres of brine per fish for 8 hours? Thanks Luke

+1 for Roses Chocolate Ice Cream! What tweaks did you make? I have found her other ice creams not so great, too sweet for my tastes. I do understand most Americans like Ice Cream on the sweeter side. I've just made a batch of silky smooth roasted hazelnut paste in the wet grinder and now I'm pulling together a Roasted Hazelnut Ice Cream recipe....

Does Rose mean Pure Malt Powder, as the only Carnation brand malt powder I can find is "Malted milk powder" ? What did you use? Tnx

Recipe for Naan is as follows (sorry for delayed response ) INGREDIENTS 450g (3 cups) bread flour 7g sachet (2 teaspoons) dried yeast 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon caster sugar 185ml (3/4 cup) warm water 90g (1/3 cup) Greek Style Yoghurt 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 30g ghee, melted Sesame seeds, toasted METHOD Step 1 Combine the flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a bowl. Mix in water, yoghurt and oil. Knead dough for 5 minutes or until smooth. Step 2 Place dough in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

I made the Creme Anglaise recipe from Myhrvold Modernist Cuisine - it did look curdled and lumpy coming out of the zip lock bag as described in the recipe. I used my stick blender to smooth it out as instructed, but I think I blended it for too long, and it went from lumpy to smooth to watery. Did I make a fatal mistake of over blending the custard? The recipe does not say how to blend or when to stop. Hoping one of the gurus can give me guidance before I try this again. Many Thanks Luke

We have been baking bread out of Forkish's Flour Water Salt Yeast and what we have noticed is: Breads continue to develop flavor 24 to 48 hours after baking, particularly the large 1.5kg boules The recipes with wholemeal/wholegrain remain moist for longer than recipes dominated by white flour The breads do not develop mold - we keep them in a pillow case/bread bag and eventually the scraps become croutons or bread crumbs once they dry out My wife is also intolerant to Soy, and one would be amazed at how many commercial bakeries use Soy Flour in their bread recipes. My next goal is to replicate Ann_T's Baguette's which look very enticing. Cheers Luke

New York style baked cheesecake from Joy of Baking (https://www.joyofbaking.com/Cheesecake.html) with a raspberry jelly topping. I came up with the idea, my wife (bless her) did the execution. In the process, I almost got executed for coming up with the idea (another story, not related to this recipe).

I follow the instructions here: https://www.weekendbakery.com/posts/classic-french-croissant-recipe/ and agree you cant really measure you're success after the first attempt. Try a few times to eliminate variability. But I have had good success with these instructions. Luke

Has been a long break for me. Despite being time poor, I couldn't handle off the shelf commercial bread any longer... Here is Field Blend #2 from Forkish...baked as the entire 1.5kg boule in a dutch oven. Very happy with the result, although the crust is a little thicker than I would like, but it really does add some complex malty/coffee/bitter overtones to the bread. I'd probably end up with a slightly more open crumb if I baked two smaller boule's instead of one, particularly as the rye makes the crumb a little denser anyway. Cheers Luke

Hi Rotuts, Yes, I do love a sharp knife. Its another passion of mine. I've tried a variety of sharpening methods, but for time vs cost, I settled on a 1" and 30" belt sander and a selection of different grit belts (from Tru-Grit https://trugrit.com/ ) + a leather belt for finishing. I don't have any trouble sharpening the Globals and yes that Cromva steel is not easy. I'm not in the US but you are, so you should have access to that HB brand at the homeless despot shop. You can also search for "harbor freight 1 x 30 knife sharpening" on youtube to get an idea. Cheers Luke

HelloLiuzhou, Adding a small pinch of salt to frying onions helps draw water out of the onion, which assists with the frying process (speeds it up). I'm not an expert, but google has plenty of references to this. Regarding the lid, what I mean is, every so often, remove the lid, stir and replace the lid. In the first phase of cooking the chicken. Hope that makes sense. Cheers Luke

Vel Spices in Carrum Downs http://www.velspices.com.au/ The last time I was at the shop, there were two closely located venues. An Indian grocery shop with a small take away section, and about 50 meters further down the road, a sit down restaurant, all owned and run by the same people. I heard they have changed things around and the shop is now next to the restaurant. Sadly, the business I work for moved and we are no where near it anymore.... Luke

Double Chilli Chicken..... finger licken' good... You can read the pictorial recipe here:

Every now and again I come across a recipe that is awesome. It started with a discovery in my local South Indian take away near work. This is a true South Indian place, not your usual run of the mill Indian restaurant which we get around here. In the bain marie was a red, slightly oily, dry spiced chicken dish scattered with onions and green coriander. A dish with no name. I asked what it was, and they replied it was "spicy chicken". I bought some and I was hooked. It was obviously a favorite of patrons as there was never a day when this dish was not in the bain marie and it sold out quickly. Here is my take on that recipe, which I believe is called Double Chilli Chicken. Apologies in advance, but I dont work to quantities when cooking. Hopefully you can make your own judgement but just ask if you want more clarification. The ingredients you will need are: - oil or ghee (mustard oil if my wife is giving me grief over health, ghee for best flavor) - Chicken mini drumsticks (about 1kg) - About 3 brown onions, cut in half and then sliced (red onions would be better, but I only had one for garnish) - Salt - About 20 curry leaves - Sliced ginger - Sliced garlic - 10 to 15 whole dried chillies (I remove most of the seeds) - Ground dried chilli powder (medium hot) - Ground coriander - Ground black pepper - Jaggery or Palm Sugar - Lime juice - Chopped fresh coriander for garnish - Chopped red onion for garnish I start with a heavy base fry-pan that has a fitted lid and add the ghee. Choose a dried whole chilli of your liking and remove most of the seeds, as they can burn and become bitter. Saute your dried chillies in the ghee for a few minutes You will notice they start to darken quickly Don't let them burn, but take them a bit darker than shown in the photo above and then remove into a spare bowl to cool with a slotted spoon. You can leave the ghee and seeds. Quickly add the onions to stop the remaining seeds from burning. Add salt to help the onions cook. I should have also added the curry leaves to the oil first, but I forgot so I added them later. As the onions soften on the heat, finely julienne some fresh ginger and slice some garlic. Exact quantities dont matter so adjust to your preference. Add the garlic, ginger and chillies to the pan once the onions soften and take on some colour After a few minutes of cooking out the garlic and ginger, add the ground coriander and chilli powder. Again, exact quantities don't really matter but I used about 1 Tablespoon of each. What matters more is the quality of the ground powders. The coriander is ground in my coffee grinder just before use, and I make my own chilli powder from dried Spanish Padron chillies I grow each summer. If you can, always make your own ground spices. For the ground chilli powder, remove the seeds before grinding as you will get a redder product. A quick word on chillies : There are hundreds of varieties, but I choose the Spanish Padron due to the balance between heat and flavour. I want an intense chilli flavour without searing blow your head off heat, and this chilli has that right balance. Stir the powders into the onions and cook for a few minutes. Add the chicken and arrange such that the chicken has good contact with the bottom of the pan. We need this to get the meat to release its own moisture, which is what makes the sauce and prevent the dish from burning Cover with a lid and lower the heat. After 5 minutes you should notice some liquid from the chicken. This increases to a maximum around 15 minutes. Stir every 5 minutes but don't remove the lid until 15 minutes have elapsed. While the chicken is cooking, prepare some jaggery or palm sugar and squeeze the juice out of one lime. After 15 minutes of cooking with the lid on, remove the lid, add the jaggery and lime juice, and now increase the heat. What we are going to do is evaporate the remaining liquid and turn it into an awesome sauce that sticks to the chicken. For another 10 minutes, you will need to pay careful attention to ensure the dish does not stick and burn. You need high heat to help caramelize the sauce and constant movement. Taste for seasoning. Add extra salt, lime juice and heaps of black pepper. Prepare some slived red onions for garnish. And some roughly chopped green coriander. This stuff grows like a weed in my garden as I let the kids loose with the seeds and they scatter them far and wide! Serve the chicken on a bed of steamed basmati rice And garnish with onion and coriander. Serve and enjoy with a glass of cold beer. Awesome stuff! Cheers Luke

Every now and again, you land upon a kitchen gadget of awesomeness that is beyond nirvana. OK maybe not that far, but pretty darn close. Let me first say good pistachio paste is neither available or cost effective in my area. I tried every way possible way using my blender to make decent, smooth paste, without success. Fellow eGulleter "Gap" (also a local for me) suggested I fork out and invest in a Premier Wonder Grinder, and Indian style Wet Grinder. I have no connection to this company, other than a happy user. There are other makes/models which all (probably) do a similar job. Here is the result of pistachios vs grinder: https://youtu.be/n5vvRC-N3nU What you see is pure pistachio and a tiny bit of coconut oil (ie: 1 tsp to get it started). Absolutely incredible...silky smooth. And apart from the pistachio paste, I have already found it makes the best pesto, amoungst several other things... Time to dig out those pistachio recipes for some back to back taste tests... Cheers Luke

100% Sourdough Grissini

A major gardening delima...Two bunches of black muscatels that have grown together and are now fully interlinked.... The only solution was to cut them both off and eat them....Damn shame that. Luke