Kerala

My first experience of British food was school meals as a 7 year old. Every lunch was so bland, I almost cried. At one school assembly I listened aghast as the head master railed against too much spice spoiling the palate. I think he might have been drawing an analogy with too much excitement dulling your experience of life. I was so glad when I discovered mint sauce. Tasted weird, but at least I could taste something! 50 years later, I can appreciate the difference between roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, chips, boiled and steamed new potatoes. Bring me the blandest thing on the menu!

"Challenging personalities" are absolutely the worst part of my job. I imagine it must be the worst part of everyone's work. We lost something important as a civilization when we lost the freedom to tell these people to go away and leave us in peace. Other choices of words were available too.

Oh, I only thought I was ready!

We are ready!

Please pull us.our of our ignorance! How long? How hot? Please give us details of your set-up, including photos if possible. I'm thinking of getting a Big Green Egg sometime soon so any insights are appreciated. .

I am sorry for your loss. She looks amazing in those pictures. It must have been such a special day for her. Well done to you all.

My buddy Nige and I came up with the GP, a Gin and Prosecco. Tastes light like Prosecco but adds a bit more complexity and intensity. Proportions 40:60 G:P but obviously adaptable. Quaffable and deadly.

. I see. I have a massive carbon steel wok my brother in law bought in the market in Trivandrum and brought over in his airplane luggage to England. It's been my favourite bit of kit in the kitchen for the last few years. So versatile for Kerala cooking, stir-fries, fried chicken, tempura... If you're reading this thread you probably know! And it has the added sentimental value. We've recently moved house, and we now have an electric ceramic hob rather than the gas hobs we've had for decades. We're strongly inclined to fit a gas hob, but I do feel the lure of induction. I think that old wok is going to make the decision for me.

Thank you! I need to go and do some research. I was under the impression that the round shape of a wok made it unsuitable for use on induction hobs.

I'm very interested to read this. Please could you share details and pictures?

Potato and sweetcorn soup with croutons and grated parmesan cheese.

Expresso continues to irritate.

In reply to the original question, I have fallen out of love with Indian sweets, although I loved them as a child. Jalebi, boli, halva are all too sweet for me now. They're not inedible, I just don't enjoy them-surely the whole point of sweets. I also can't stand jeerakavellam or cumin tea, which is often the only water served in rural areas of Kerala. Once on pilgrimage as a boy, I was exhausted and dehydrated after a long climb, and the only thing available to drink was jeerakavellam. I drank it thirstily then promptly vomited it all back up. Never again.

Ah, I was hoping for a spicier alternative to black pudding.

What does the Guanngxi sausage taste like? That looks like an excellent fry up!

My kids are asking me, so I need an answer!

How are they able to do what they promise ie air frying on their adverts?

My wife (Nepalese but raised in a convent in Derbyshire) and children (born and bred in Notts) can't eat properly hot food. This is a sadness in my life, as it means I rarely eat the food of my childhood.

I'll contradict myself again.There's a restaurant called Tamatanga in Nottingham which consistently puts out great Indian food from different regions. The cooks are not from all the various regions represented, or even Indian. The Chettinad chicken curry is spot-on; it could really have been done by a home cook from Kerala, and it is consistent the many times I have tried it. So maybe you can get a good marinara sauce in New York. But as Elizabeth Davd says: "It is useless attempting to make a bouillabaisse away from the shores of the Mediterranean."

I don't have expectations of authenticity for Indian food when I eat at a restaurant abroad. Usually I go for the tandoori mixed grill, because I like meat and there's a bit of spice with it. Throw in a naan and some lime pickle, a pint of lager and I'm happy. Supposedly "regional cuisine" restaurants change over time to make the food more Anglo-friendly. I think this is inevitable. Even Italian and French restaurants in the UK have to alter their dishes to make them more tempting to local tastes, so what chance is there for Indian food? It's a tough business environment, margins are slim, they have to offer what sells. Most customers are not from the Kerala (or Emilia-Romagna, or Perigord.) If there is a concentration of expatriates from a particular location, or if there is a large enough population in a metropolis like London, you can probably get close. However, my expectations are low, and I'm rarely disappointed. Having said that, there are certainly degrees of authenticity. There are places where the food is almost right, and I am very happy when I find myself in one of these. Sometimes the food even tastes better than more "authentic" food. My aunt is pukka authentic, but I don't like her cooking one bit. I agree with the opinions expressed earlier in this thread that authenticity is more about intent and technique than ingredients. Whatever my mum makes, even roast chicken, is Malayali without doubt. She can't help it. Neither can we help making food that reflects where we come from, where we grew up, what we ate as children. I can follow all the rules to make a paella or a pasta carbonara, and I think I make damn good versions of both of these, but they will never be "authentic." I think my roast lamb is authentic, but I've spent 30 years cooking it and eating other people's roast lamb, finessing it and tweaking it. I'm confident enough with it that I let it cook to medium or well done rather than medium rare, and it turns out fine. That confidence to do what you want with the food, born out of deep understanding and experience, is what makes for authenticity. It's your own. Well that's a bunch of contradictory sentiments just in this post. To sum up, don't expect authentic food when you go out, and any authenticity you get depends on the cook.

There was a girl in Med School who told me that they couldn't make curry properly in India because they couldn't get the fruits required, such as apples and raisins. That was the precise second I stopped fancying her.

He is not precious about his knives. Brutally straight forward sharpening technique. Theae two videos seem to have been shot at the same session.

New British Classics is going for up to £150 online for paperback!

Nothing happens for a couple of decades and you get careless. Thanks for the reminder!

I'd forgotten I'd posted on this thread 6 years ago. We're moving home soon, and I will be planting a bay bush and a rosemary bush as soon as I move in. I often use bay leaves instead of nutmeg when I'm making a white sauce, and indeed did so this evening making chicken pie. @MokaPot sorry, no idea about dried leaves. I'd suggest doubling the dose.