Kerala

When the moka pot starts bubbling, I love it.

I ordered a cassoulet in Paris once. Given our shared interest as members of egullet, I had of course made a list of places to eat, allowing for budget, although I can't remember the name of this restaurant at this moment. I don't speak French and the staff didn't speak English. The meal took an hour or more to arrive. The waiter felt forced at one point to apologetically mime a joke tapping his watch, pointing his thumb to the kitchen and twiddling his thumbs. I didn't really know what to expect, but it seems to be what is described in this thread. What I did not expect was that it would have readily fed at least four people. It was delicious. I ate it all. I've been to France two or three times since, and not seen cassoulet on the menu. I've brought back tinned cassoulet which has been very enjoyable. What I don't understand is the size of the portion I was served. It was priced like a meal for one. But even for a glutton like me, it was a challenge to eat it all. Is a cassoulet serving always so massive? Did they make a cassoulet just for me as a single serving? Was the language barrier and their courtesy and hospitality too much for them to refuse to serve me a single portion when it would normally be ordered by a table of six? The front of house service in Paris throughout that weekend was just the best I have experienced in all my travels.

We all know the most important ingredient, @Dejah Everything looks so delicious!

@heidih Yeah, definitely will be just me eating them in my house. However, "expiry" dates are many many months in the future,and they are going down fasr!

Dinner on Wednesday and Thursday was shepherd's pie. Also lunch at work on Friday. I left the carrots sliced long and that was fine. There was leftover venison, so there were slices of deer in there. Minced lamb as the main protein. People liked it, and so did i. Cheats... A Knorr lamb stock cube, and two teaspoons of Bisto gravy granules.

Possibly happening in real time... Century egg number three in a box of six. Ive had them before in congee and something Hunanese, but never just in whole eggs. For me, definitely more palatable with a spoonful of some sort of chilli, definitely more intriguing naked.

A few years ago when i moved to a new village I was surprised and delighted to see that the local CoOp sold pigs' ears in snack sized packets. I realised before getting to the till that it was in the dog food section.

It was a quiet night so i just thought I'd make a chicken biriyani from Dishoom. Raita And tarte Tatin to finish.

About 30 years ago my older sister bought herself, my younger sister and me a terracotta pot each of Italian chopped chillies. That was the first really hot European thing I'd ever eaten. It was from John Lewis. Never seen again. I keep an eye out on my travels. Peperoncino? Any brand recommendations? Truly hot.

Encona is a West Indian brand widely available in the UK. This is Carolina Reaper, which is a new version to me. Encona is incredibly reliable across different chillies. They label the heat level from 1 to 5 chillies as above. I have to say 5 chillies is hot, but not insane. The original Scotch Bonnet is great, but each of the peppers really carries its distinct flavour.

Lovely. Thank you.

Never had meatloaf. I've eaten a nut roast and I've eaten a burger- is it somewhere in between?

This Christmas will be at my little sister's. My BiL has banned poultry because of the current avian flu worries, so this will be interesting. There will be 12-15 of us together over about 5 days, 7 of us who will be cooking or prepping at various times I imagine. In the absence of chicken/duck liver pate, I will explore the terrine thread for a surprise substitute! Oh, excitement!

I like it, but I wouldn't even think of cooking it! Not that it is necessarily too complicated. It's very different to the cooking in Kerala. Much much less heat, with subtle and mysterious notes. They use bitterness more, and sourness. They use fermentation- the pickles are different. The use of mustard oil. Asafetida is much more prominent, and also fenugreek. There are jars of herbs and spices, possibly lichen, that I can't identify in MiL's cupboard. Castrated goat curry, mo:mo, choila, barbecued wild boar... these are a few of my favourite things. It's very far from a homogenous Nepalese culture and cuisine. My wife's family are from Kathmandu, and within that, they belong to the Newar community who have their own language, customs and cuisine. As they tell it*, in a traditional extended family the younger women (daughters in law) would each take turns cooking and skivvying for a week before that fell to the next unfortunate in the rota. My dear mother in law refused learn to cook as a child, saying she did not need to: she would employ a cook as she was going to be a doctor. Indeed she became a doctor, and married another. Ironically she ended up in England with no maid and no cook, while her sisters all married into wealth and stayed in Nepal with live-in servants and cooks. Funny how things turn out. *Caveat lector. "They say..." What do I know?

Looks good. Any gravy?

Ooh, must try. Can't get jalapenos vrry easily here, so I'll substitute something. Live dangerously!

I don't usually post my mother in law's cooking. Nepalese chicken curry and potatoes on rice.

Looks delicious! Have to try that!

Shepherd's pie. And on the plate.

So, ongoing investigations. Owned by the evil empire. Chilli flavour is very mild. Some herbal notes from the bay and cucumber. The fish was definitely superior to John West own label, milder in taste, quite soft.

Welcome, @akbarjan Tell us more about yourself! Please post a few in the Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner topics as an introduction. We look forward to hearing from you!

Cawl. I first cooked this more than 20 years ago from Nigella Lawson's How To Eat when I was working in Swansea A+E. Lamb, potatoes, leeks, carrots and parsnips today. Comfort food for a cold, wet November evening.

I've gotten through my stash from Portugal, so I'm back to UK supermarket product. Nice box. Filleted, skinless, boneless. This has a fishier taste than the Portuguese cans, but less than the cheaper UK supermarket brands. Nice firm texture. The piccanti flavour is hotter than Pinhais', with a whole small red chilli providing the fire. I'll definitely try more from this range. On the whole, the Portuguese canned fish seems closer to fresh fish. Perhaps the British taste is for a more thoroughly "cooked" fish? I used the term "denatured" earlier. How this relates to ageing a tin of sardines, i have no idea.

I will see what I can engineer...!

Yeah, generally no vinegar for me. Always tempted to ask for an extra shake of salt.