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

Brilliant! Another curry lover! I grew up in Birmingham, where they've got some of the best Balti houses in the world (& VERY cheap too) & have also lived in Africa & Pakistan, the latter of course being curry heaven!

I'm really into the HOT ones too (some of my Pakistani friends couldn't believe it ... till I said that I was from B'ham!
I'm vegetarian, & curry for me is THE best way to eat veg. Now living in France, where I have to say they are complete curry wimps for the most part! I'm living with a French guy who only has one major failing .... he HATES curries! And vegetables. And he's a carnivore. They say opposites attract!

A vaguely Indian shop has recently opened up in the town where I live, so managed to get hold of some decent spices at last. Otherwise I have to rely on kind friends bringing them out when they visit.

Have you ever had a "masala dosa"? Superb, my all-time favourite! I've been looking for the recipe, can't find ti anywhere, so if you happen to know of one...

Mmmm. My mouth's watering at the thought of it!

Great to speak to you, keep in touch.
Terri.

I read your intro., you've been around! I'm the only real curry obsessed one, in my (immediate) circle of friends, here. Although, we do have a good sized East Indian community, in fact, I live near a restaurant called New Asian Village...they have 5 spicing levels, from mild, to suicidal hot.

Did you know there's actually some sort of international scale for rating the hotness of curries? It was a question on some silly quiz show but I later found an article about it.

I must have a look at the "food" section; I only ever seem to chat on here, not use it to search things. Or write articles myself, which was supposed to be the aim of joining!

T

Also, I'll pass something along. I found a site called Death By Curry, I've even submitted a couple recipes, its http://rubymurray.com .

Numerous vegetarian recipes, there (in fact, 1 that I want to try, for a tofu & banana curry - mmmmmmmmmmm!)Only thing there, is that theres an enzyme in the banana, that works on the Capsaicin, so, might be best to add the chili peppers near the end. The veggie 1 I submitted, is for tofu, with potatoes & okra. As I remember, thats about the best result I've had, cooking with tofu. I'd also recently spoken to an h2g2 member in Vancouver (on our West Coast), who said he makes tofu, with chickpeas & cauliflower...sounds good!

As I was going to say, about the spicing, my basic rule is "if it doesn't bite back (spice-wise) when you bite in...it just might not be worth chewing." But, no, I haven't tried Masala Dosa...my brother, who'd worked alongside East Indian Chefs (both in the Caymans, & in Australia) was fairly recently recommending I try that.

You must, it's wonderful! A HUGE wafer thin pancake made from (I think) rice flour, with bowls of: mixed veg in a v.hot spicy gravy, potato,carrot &mustard seed mixture, yogurt & coconut raita.

If you eat it in a "proper" ie where the locals go type place, as soon as your bowl starts getting low they come along & fill it up again; you have to plead for them to stop!

They apparently eat this for breakfast in Southern India, how anyone could get anything done for the rest of the day after this I don't know!

I'll check out that website you gave me

Do you make your own samosas?
Have you ever tried Fruit Chat?

Happy munching!
Terri.

Hello Terri, how're you all doing, there? Probably the chickpea or, lentil flour, thats used for pappadums... We have a predominantly East Indian community in the south east corner of the city, here, with a number of cash & carry grocers, as well as a fair number of restaurants. Even stopped into a grocery called The Spice Bazaar, just in time to get fresh baked Roti, the 1 afternoon . My last meal out, was at the nearby restaurant, New Asian Village, that I mention in my intro., I'd popped in for their lunch buffet...went back up, twice, for more rice & butter chicken, after initially cleaning my plate of assorted veggies, Naan bread, etc. Definitely pricier than, say, a burger, fries, & a coke, but, infinitely better (not to mention, very well worth the price .)

Actually, no, I don't make my own Samosas, I should give it a try, as well as trying to make my own chutney (which I somehow see as being a bit easier...I don't know why.) Fruit Chat...no I haven't tried that. I have to confess to pretty much sticking with a few favourites, & comparing them, from restaurant to restaurant, one of my all time favourites being Aloo Gobi - the cauliflower, onion, & potato dish. I've made numerous variations of that, using a variety of vegetables, fot instance, using both cauliflower & brocoli florets...or adding raisins, or green peas, etc. (Which, for all I know, are some regional vaiations.)

In any case, peace...& yes, happy munching

Darrell

Oh, just thought I'd mention, Terri, I had just posted a brief welcoming, introductory note, to an East Indian (living there...I believe he'd said, a graduate of the university of Mumbai). I, of course, mentioned the collective debt we owe his homeland, for their generous culinary influence/contribution. I had also posted a reply to a health care worker in Oslo, who's a curry-cook.

OOH YES! Sounds like the beginnings of a hootoo curry club to me! Start thinking of great names!
I might not be too chatty over the next week or so as RL in the form of Xmas is looming big-style, but please keep in touch.
What are you having for xmas dinner? Curry or the traditional bit?
Terri
ps: have you seen the new smileys?
might be useful!

Definitely going traditional for Christmas (& I may not be on quite as often either, but will very certainly keep in touch.) Of course, the aforementioned 'traditional' isn't quite what you're used to, I'm sure (& this, I suppose, is something I could submit an entry about...). I'm from a Ukranian background, so that means the traditional Christmas Eve meal, consisting of 12 meatless dishes; starting with a sweet...almost a porridge, of boiled wheat, with honey, nuts, & poppy seeds (, 1 of my favorites!) Borscht (beet soup), a variety of vegetable dishes, & a couple fish courses. Then, of course Christmas day, it's the turkey, or chicken, or whatever.(& I try to sneak in some hot sauce, here & there .)

About a name for that curry club, how about "the h2g2 curry crusaders"? Hmm, a coat of arms, consisting of a steaming bowl, flanked by bunches of cayenne peppers...

Oh, & possibly a couple Samosas, maybe some naan, or roti...

Ooooh, & some nice bright orange Jalebee (that deep fried, syrupy desert/sweet ).

Hey, I've been thinking!

NAMES: what about "CHAT MASALA"!!!

Could you or someone you know do the technical side, ie designing a page etc. I'm not good at that side of things but I'll quite happily chat away to people, make lists , research info etc.

Terri
PS: Also just started up a Brummies Club; a great source of curry info & curry lovers!!!

Yes, that sounds good, too, Terri. I have a cousin, who might know a website designer...don't personally know anyone that could do it. And I've got light-years to go, before I can confidently tackle something like that .

If you've noticed, 1 of the links, on that Death By Curry site, is to a Birmingham based site...I believe its called The Balti Page...yes, thats it, unable to bring the silly thing up, though - keep getting "the page cannot be found", or some such rubbish!

Hi Terri, how're the holidays going? I'm off to my brother & his wife's place, tomorrow, to watch The Fellowship Of The Ring, on DVD.