h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Its great to know curry has become so popular in the west. Is it as hot as the original subcontinental version, or toned down for the western palate? Have you tried 'Nehari' and Biryani'?

And i'm so glad to meet someone who likes dark chocolate. Cant stand the milky stuff myself. whats your favourite brand?

cheers

sue

Ah, good to get a reply Sue.

Unfortunately Sue, its usually toned down V-e-r-y much. But, we had a Prime Minister (Trudeau), in the late '60's who really opened things up as far as immigration, so it is possible to find the more authentic item. We have a sizeable East Indian community in the south east corner of the city. And a nearby restaurant, thats a favourite of mine, has 5 different spicing levels on it's menu; (the standard here 'mild, medium, & hot), but also nuclear hot, & suicidal hot

Actually, as far as the chocolate, I prefer a fair variety of the dark. I've found some very good eastern European ones, specifically German, a very good Polish - Baron. Right now, the one I've got opened is a German Stollwerck http://www.stollwerck.de Edelbitter bar. But, belgian is certainly good, we have a belgian Chocolatier, that moved here,& set up shop years ago...usimg traditional Belgian metods.

But, the Swiss (owned now - I guess they've become fairly intrnational) Lindt http://lindt.com . The Dutch Droste http://www.droste.nl, or Belgian Cafe Tasse
http://www.cafe-tasse.be . Ahh , !!

I read somewhere that Belgian Chocolate uses a lot more cocoa butter than other brands, so its richer and creamier. I enjoy Droste Pastilles..mmmmm

Sue

Very fond of the Droste Pastilles...had found some of the & cream flavour on sale (& the Extra Cocoa, should've r-e-ally stocked up!), awhile back...but, no Droste's in my stash, right now .

There's also a German baker/confectioner (Bahlsen) that make a wonderful wafer, coated with dark , they're called 'Afrika'. Managed to minimize (somewhat) my consumption of those, over the holidays.

Hi Sue

if you only ever knew Cadbury’s out in the Indian subcontinent, well I don’t blame you for your attitude about milky stuff, not enough true cocoa in it.
I’m a dark, bitter chocolate fan and I think Lindt probably make the best. You can get good chocolate from them, with cocoa contents from about 70% to 99%. The latter must just be cocoa powder held together with 1% superglue! But it tastes good (you don't notice the glue).

Poulain make good stuff too, as do the large supermarkets in France (well they commission it, probably from Lindt and Poulain). So it's all dark lovers down to France and Switzerland, see you there!
On the way, I recommend a bar of Herrenschokolade from the german firm Stollwerk (I notice Jazzedupcurry mentioned them but not the name of their best bar). Not quite the tops, but good for a 'warm-up' session.

I’m also a curry fan (if for simplicity I can use that blanket description for Indian/Pakistani cookery, I know it's more than that). My favourite dishes are probably Roghan Josh and Tandoori Murg, but I like so much, another day I might chose differently.
Is Nehari the same as Nargesi in another dialect/language, a meatball (Kofta) with egg filling?
I make most of my dishes from scratch with the real spices, but occasionally use masalas that a Pakistani friend brings back with him for me when he visits Karachi. In return, I give him tips on growing

My mouth's watering already.....

Ah, hello again '3pw'...I've got a Lindt Excellence 85% Cocoa bar in the fridge, right now. I think we may've been referring to the same Stollwerck bar - it's in a black & gold wrapper & yes, the large print does say "SCHWARZE HERREN SCHOKOLADE"- the Edelbitter would likely just be the bittersweet denotation.

And I have to agree that the term 'curries' here on h2g2 is a blanket, or umbrella term. I had made a wonderful Rogan Josh, with Italian spiced Bison sausage - quite nice complimentary spicing, as the sausage was fairly subtly spiced. But, yes, Biryani's are among my favourites. I'm also extremely fond of Aloo Gobi, & make a number of variations on that...adding things like Okra, turnip, parsnip, etc. Also, very fond of the naan bread!

Hi 3 pickled walnuts (I'd love to know the story behind this name)

Actually i have tried most leading brands of milk chocolate, loved Hershey's kisses and assortments as a kid. I also enjoyed Galaxy (a Mars brand) but now i find all of them too sweet. (though i wouldn't mind a 'kiss' for old times sake).
Cadbury is made locally but we do get imported brands, but hardly any bittersweet. Not much demand i guess. So my supply depends on my friends from Dubai

Nehari is very different from Nargisi Kofte. It's basically a meat curry made from a special cut of beef and cooked till the meat is flaky tender. One usually adds marrow bones for flavour and its VERY spicy. Ask your friend to get you nehari masala next time. Other interesting stuff is Karahi Chicken, Korma and Biryani.
I'm very impressed you use original spices, most people here have switched to recipe mixes

great hearing from you'

sue

Ok. Now over here curry (called 'saalan'in urdu) basically mean foods with gray. It can be of meat or chicken or meat and veggies (meat and potatoe curry is very popular).
Roghan Josh with Italian sausage! Now thats what i call international cuisine
Naann? Is that the packaged variety or the genuine, hot from the oven sort?

Its great to find people familar with Pakistani cuisine on the other side of the world
Sue

Hi Sue



Hope you don't mind, but I couldn't resist!
I know you really meant Hershey - I did eat a piece of dark, bittersweet chocolate beforehand!
Will reply to rest of your message later.

Yes, unfortunately it- the Naan - is usually part of the 'ethnic baking' selection at 1 of our large local groceries. Its actually quite good, & more ofter than not, ends up completing many a mea! Humorous story, here:

I was a bit taken aback. when the grocery put out their weekly flyer, or brochure, highlighting that weeks specially priced items. It was the brand name that made me stop, & reread...& then mumble repeatedly a few times...'Olafsons' . But, I did need to do some shopping,& I was running quite low on the authentic item. My first thought had been, in best Minnesota Norweigan accent ' oh jummpin'jiminy, you betcha! Dey make da best Naan bread, in Minnesota!Ya sure!! (Minnesota being populated largly by people of either direct,or first (or second - or third, generation norweigian, or scandinavian descent.)

Well, there it was, with the Greek Pita bread, the Mexican Tortillas, etc...& it looked quite authentic, so I bought one package. I was shocked when I got home, & tried it, it was definitely better than my expectations - in other quite good.

But, I was lucky enough to visit one of the large East Indian groceries, in the city's south east corner, in time to get freshly made Roti, once. They carry, of course a good variety of spices & ingredients. Among the many things I've bought; are big bulk bags of crushed dried chili flakes, bulk bags of cinnanon sticks, Tamarind paste, etc. I'm also very fond of the various Haldiram's snack mixes
(made in Nagpur), I have a bag of the KHATTA MITHA in front of me as I type . Of course, Haldiram's isn't the only snack mix I buy...I get a small variety, but find them quite addictive .

Hi Sue, ,

the story behind my name isn’t really that interesting: I could make a good or story up, but I’ll keep to the truth!

I was trying to register with a website (not h2g2) and it would never let me in, no matter what name, or how long, or in what case I entered. After a while, and in frustration I wrote in ‚pickled’, meaning it as sort of slang for ‚thwarted’ and went away from the computer.

When I returned the same screen was there and, all of a sudden, I noticed in small print, advice that the registration name should include a number. And then it all fell into place. I like pickled walnuts and often use the term 'pickled walnuts' in what you might call absurd repartee with friends.
As 3 is a good, slightly number, and sounds well as complement to ‚pickled walnuts’, I then tried ‚3 pickled walnuts’ and it worked . However since the site was a business one (like, but not, Amazon), having understood what was wanted, I entered a more formal name with a number there.

But I liked the term I’d arrived at and ‚3 pickled walnuts’ fits my humour quite well. And I also I like sour spicey food like lemon pickle, number theory and maths, and things I associate with France (walnuts). Pickled Walnuts are also a traditional english savoury (if rarely seen nowadays), and I'm from England. So it seemed fitting that I use the term somewhere more appropriate. And so that’s how I came to decide to use it here at h2g2.

I have 9 cookbooks of recipes from the Indian Subcontinent and not one has Nehari in it!!
I also looked at the 6 masala mixes my Pakistani friend last gave me, but they only have Pakistani script on them, so I’ve no idea what they say. He translated the instructions how to use each, and which ingredients, but he never wrote down the names of the masalas or the dish they make. Some of them are very spicey, but I suppose that doesn’t mean they are necessarily Nehari. I shall ask him next time I see him.
Korma and Biryani I know very well, in fact had Korma last Friday evening.

What books do you like? Though I don’t always chose murder stories and thrillers, I’ve read a lot of Patricia Highsmith and also a few crime books by Patricia Cornwell, Minette Walters, Peter Mayle, Tim Parks and others.

For some reason, when you first posted I thought you were in the West; are you still in Karachi? How exciting! And what a contrast it must be to the and here. I might have some to ask you of life there.

3pw

Hi 3 PW
sorry for disappearing...works been hectic, and a very good friend is visiting, so the net had to take a back seat
I did find time to search for a nihari recipe. Try www.pakirecipes.com and search for 'nihari'. They have two variations.
(its in the beef category. Actually nihari is almost always made with beef, so it's probably not very popular in India)

You can also check out nfoods.com (though their recipe section is still pretty limited)

Yes i have always lived in karachi. the furthest west i have been is for a short vacation to london. I would love to go again. Also i have many friends, and a close relative in the states so i definetly need to get over there at some point
Life in Karachi?....
This could be material for an entry, what do you think?

Cheers

Sue