Kerala

Johnnie Walker Green Label

That's all very nice. Back to basics. Nissin Damae Ramen duck flavour. Fish balls. Pak choi. Egg. Chopped chilli and garlic in oil. Rubbish picture. Quick delicious meal!

Just wow! Great thread. Thank you for painstaking photography and sharing. Much appreciated.

To the OP: your preferred drink is legit, as cdh notes.

This is how we've always done it.

Testing. That's how you plate up baked potatoes and baked beans!

Bayleaves: useful. We have a tree in the garden which I use all the time. Last night, I made bay salt (bay leaf, salt, ground in a mortar and pestle) which I used as a dry rub on a leg of lamb before roasting. Tasted very good.

I'll agree supermarket duck is quick, easy and delicious. I can't really understand the price hike on duck breasts compared to whole duck or duck legs. I like breast, but... Yesterday: Roasted duck thighs (cheap, 6 for £7) with extra virgin olive oil, a bit of salt and pepper and Ras al Hanout, served with roasted pomodoro tomatoes and king oyster mushrooms (thank you Morrison's). Reserved the duck fat and 2 thighs. Today: parboiled quartered potatoes, roasted in the duck fat, and re-cooked the duck thighs in the duck fat, allowing further rendering of the skin. With peas and finely chopped smoked bacon. A lovely lunch for two. Very close to confit... I'm really looking forward to trying the celeriac, kale and lemon salt suggested by the OP.

Beautiful description. I'm sure I nailed it once or twice last summer!

Brian Ferry is Gordon's. Although he'd prefer to be Tanqueray.

Thanks for bringing this topic up again. I will definitely try the individual ratatouilles from upthread, and dig out the cartoon for the children's movie night this weekend.

Wow. That sounds scary! New Zealand lamb has always been frozen when it reaches the UK, although it's often sold after thawing. It's not bad. The Welsh and English lamb at the supermarket tastes pretty good, and is somewhat better. My posh butcher's lamb shanks taste no better than supermarket lamb. I mainly buy mutton or hoggett from the butcher if I'm buying sheep meat. I'm waiting for the outcome of this story. Need pics!

Tom, thanks for posting this. Looks good. Curry leaves add a subtle flavour. You'd hardly notice it if it wasn't there unless you know what you're missing, if you see what I mean. Subbing for kokum: go for tamarind. In fact using tamarind would not strictly be wrong, more a variation.

You might find some variation in the taste from region to region depending on local conditions eg salt marshes, wet pastures, wind-swept craggy slopes, and the breed of sheep. I think the quality on the whole is excellent. If you buy very cheap the freezing/handling might not be very good, which you might notice. Or the meat could be old, generally not a problem from a supermarket. I think there's more chance of getting the age of sheep you want if you know where to go, ie spring lamb/lamb/hogget, mutton. Asian shops are a good source of mutton. Or if you like halal.

Huuuge! How do they taste?

Intrigued by this and the other pork belly thread, and also by Ken Hom who has been going around China on Saturday Morning Kitchen, I tried my own twice-cooked pb. Faux-Chinese preparation: pressure cooked pb strips with ginger, pepper, bay seeds, white vinegar, chilli powder and Chinese five-spice for 50 minutes. Marinade the strips in hoi-sin sauce, namh pla. Finish off in a flat frying pan to get some crispiness and colour. Apologies to all those offended by this utterly barbaric act. You were all responsible for inspiring me. And thank you everyone. Absolutely delicious melt-in-the-mouth unctiousness. I can't wait to do it again!

My local Morrison's is rather confused at present. The misting devices are just a distraction and seem unhygeinic, but they still have proper chillis, root veg etc. The butchger's id s OK by UK supermarket standards- you can get pork cheek, ox tail, lamb shanks, duck and so on.The wine selection's gone downhill. The fish section's still more interesting than Tesco or Sainsbury's- octopus, squid, mackerel. The mega Tesco a little further away has a much better choice of ethnic foods (Japanese, SE Asian, Indian, Caribbean, Polski...) I can't really champion it as well as I hoped a couple of years ago. (Wine selection's terrible in Tesco too now- it's all Tesco Finest!)

I'd call it brawn. Head-cheese sounds the least appetizing translation for fromage a la tete, evoking smegma, hog's hair and foamy cheese from a can. I am both drawn and repulsed. I'm sure I'll give in eventually.

Thanks for posting. The restaurant is not producing pure Chettinad food. It's fairly honest about this. If you were in Chettinad and you went to a restaurant you wouldn't expect pure Chettinad food either. The menu looks tempting. If it tastes good and you like the staff, my top priority would be to work my way down the whole list. Feeling quite homesick looking at that menu... For authenticity: yes to heat, yes to pepper, yes to coconut.

Never been to the place myself, but looking at the website I can see both David's and Jenni's comments being true. They are quite open about not being stuck on tradition. I would prefer a place that tries to do the traditional cuisine to the very best standards rather than try to amuse my palate or surprise me- in Keralan food only. As close to my mother's cooking as possible... David, I know you get to Nottingham once in a while. Why not try Kayal? Service is OK, but the food is authentic and very good. Expect the chef to leave you alone!

Yeah, after years of snobbishness I have had to accept that actually at the moment it offers a more interesting range than the other supermarkets. Still love Waitrose, but I wonder if I'm letting them coast on past glories. Don't know how they make a profit on some of the stuff- fresh octopus and squid sold in a store smack bang in the middle of a (white)inner city. And at least their canned fish section isn't the usual wall of tuna.