A quick food recommendation

[Nik+Heather 121]

Pim's might be able to serve as a substitute for Jaffa cakes ... I dunno, as I've never had the latter. They make them in orange and raspberry, and you can find them in just about any supermarket in the U.S. Anyway, I am addicted to them.

This is an awesome thread. I'll be sure to keep Land O Lakes in the fridge for John. As for bread, he loves the King's Hawaiian bread I use for his ham sandwiches, so I don't have to worry about that. And he's got me trained on tea . One of the first things he ever gave me was an electric kettle from Sainsbury's, so we are clear for launch.

I had to giggle about you being "trained on tea"!! His mother does nearly everything in the kitchen, so I sort of try to make myself small and out of the way, but ready to help if she ever asks (she hasn't). However, it seems like everyone makes tea - and when they want tea, they ask if anyone else wants tea, and make a whole pot....

I carefully observed several pots being made, and one time (as I was there over christmas, it was very cold for a desert girl like me!) I wanted something warm, and decided that I would make tea! They made a big deal about how I did everything right - including all the important stirring steps! It was actually a bit embarrassing, but at least I didn't feel like such a bum!

Their brand of tea (PG Tips) is all over here Fry's has it...I'm sure that each person is a bit picky, but maybe it's sufficient?

[blue123 0]

Pim's might be able to serve as a substitute for Jaffa cakes ... I dunno, as I've never had the latter. They make them in orange and raspberry, and you can find them in just about any supermarket in the U.S. Anyway, I am addicted to them.

This is an awesome thread. I'll be sure to keep Land O Lakes in the fridge for John. As for bread, he loves the King's Hawaiian bread I use for his ham sandwiches, so I don't have to worry about that. And he's got me trained on tea . One of the first things he ever gave me was an electric kettle from Sainsbury's, so we are clear for launch.

I want to bring my kettle but it says only for 220-240v do they work anyway on 110v over there or can you buy them in England to work with 110v.

Gravy granules and thick mint sauce from Tesco/Asda is what I will miss.

[Mary Lou 681]

Pim's might be able to serve as a substitute for Jaffa cakes ... I dunno, as I've never had the latter. They make them in orange and raspberry, and you can find them in just about any supermarket in the U.S. Anyway, I am addicted to them.

This is an awesome thread. I'll be sure to keep Land O Lakes in the fridge for John. As for bread, he loves the King's Hawaiian bread I use for his ham sandwiches, so I don't have to worry about that. And he's got me trained on tea . One of the first things he ever gave me was an electric kettle from Sainsbury's, so we are clear for launch.

I want to bring my kettle but it says only for 220-240v do they work anyway on 110v over there or can you buy them in England to work with 110v.

Gravy granules and thick mint sauce from Tesco/Asda is what I will miss.

Bisto is available here at a few shops with international food. Not sure about the thick mint sauce.

Your kettle wont work here due to the voltage difference.

[mr and mrs 187]

you can get decent (cheap) and really nice (expensive and better quality) kettles in the states. no problem.

[Stinky Monkey 1]

Dont bother taking a kettle you can get them there, my boy got me one in target, ok so it is not as quick as over here but not that slow and it also has a keep warm button which is great, so no point taking they are not expensive

[JeremyR 8]

Oh, and I forgot to mention, Walmart sell Twinings English Breakfast and Irish Breakfast tea, which are the best cups of tea I was able to find.

"It's Twinings, Jim, but not as we know it"

Seriously, those bags have roughly enough leaves to turn about a shot-glass of water into a decent brew... Check your local Whole Foods if you have one for over-priced but genuine Yorkshire Tea, PG Tips and Tetley (don't trust that 'British Blend' Tetley you see in Walmart either).

As for kettles, get a whistling metal one for the cooker. We tried an electric kettle but there just ain't enough juice in the mains to boil water quickly. It takes about 4 or 5 minutes to bring half a kettle to the boil yet the cooker-top kettle boils the same amount in about 3 minutes (dependant on your cooker, I suppose). Plus you get that quaint whistle when it boils we got ours in a charity shop thrift store for I think about 3 bucks

[childress_london 3]

When I was moving from England back to the states, the first thing the movers did when they walked in the door was ask me to make tea! I'm thinking I'm all packed up ready to move and they want me to dig out dishes so they can have tea??? (I'm American BTW) lol

[mr and mrs 187]

maybe you guys will be able to help me...

my much adored fiance is rather fond of a particular 'sauce' we used to get at a indian takeaway in the west end of glasgow when we lived there.

im trying to see if i can maybe figure out how to recreate it. but im having a hard time researching it online because i dont really know how to describe it.

here is what i know:

it was usually served when he got an order of onion bhajis

it was bright pink

it was kinda watery

it was mildly hot, but not overly so

it came in a little plastic sauce container

any thoughts?

[blue123 0]

you can get decent (cheap) and really nice (expensive and better quality) kettles in the states. no problem.

Thanks, didn't think I could buy one there, none of my American friends have one so I just assumed you couldn't get them. I don't know anyone in England who doesn't have one

[MARM 7]

maybe you guys will be able to help me...

my much adored fiance is rather fond of a particular 'sauce' we used to get at a indian takeaway in the west end of glasgow when we lived there.

im trying to see if i can maybe figure out how to recreate it. but im having a hard time researching it online because i dont really know how to describe it.

here is what i know:

it was usually served when he got an order of onion bhajis

it was bright pink

it was kinda watery

it was mildly hot, but not overly so

it came in a little plastic sauce container

any thoughts?

Hey Mrs. maybe we can help you with this!

We are Pakistani...but of course very familiar with Indian cuisine (Pakistan-India are neighbors and culture is quite similar...and Pakistan used to be India about 55 years ago...).

In Pakistan, onion bhajis are called pakorey (just an FYI ) but they are cooked the same way as onion bhajis...we even vary the stuffing, in place of onions you can have peppers, potatoes, mushrooms, fish... quite a few varieties.

Now that was the intro^^^

About the sauce you are taking about....

You mentioned it is a but spicy, but not over the top, and if it has a hint of sweet and sour taste, then I can give you the recipe...

It is called in English: Tamarind-Red Sauce (In Urdu, the Pakistani native language: it is called "Imli ki chutney", I think that is what it is called in Hindi as well)

The reddish pink color is dark naturally, but restaurants usually add some food coloring for the dark pinkish color.

The dark reddish/pink color comes from the tamarind mainly (and the peppers of course).

Let me know if this is the one you meant and if you would like the recipe!

This is the picture of Tamarind-Red Sauce (Imli ki chutney):

[Stinky Monkey 1]

hey Marm dont suppose you have a good recipe for Bhuna??

[MARM 7]

hey Marm dont suppose you have a good recipe for Bhuna??

I guess it is called "bhuna" in Hindi...that is why I had to look it up to make sure it is what I thought it was...in Pakistan it depends on whether it is made with chicken or goat/lamb, and we appropriately call it bhuna huwa chicken or bhuna huwa gosht...

But you need to specify, StinkyMonkey:

Do you mean the one with lamb/goat or chicken?

We Pakistanis tend to cook it a bit spicier than the Indian variety, but I would be excited to share recipes if you would like!

ETA: There is a vegetarian variety too (made with assorted veggies)...post which one you are interested in!

Edited April 11, 2009 by MARM

[mr and mrs 187]

Hey Mrs. maybe we can help you with this!

We are Pakistani...but of course very familiar with Indian cuisine (Pakistan-India are neighbors and culture is quite similar...and Pakistan used to be India about 55 years ago...).

In Pakistan, onion bhajis are called pakorey (just an FYI ) but they are cooked the same way as onion bhajis...we even vary the stuffing, in place of onions you can have peppers, potatoes, mushrooms, fish... quite a few varieties.

Now that was the intro^^^

About the sauce you are taking about....

You mentioned it is a but spicy, but not over the top, and if it has a hint of sweet and sour taste, then I can give you the recipe...

It is called in English: Tamarind-Red Sauce (In Urdu, the Pakistani native language: it is called "Imli ki chutney", I think that is what it is called in Hindi as well)

The reddish pink color is dark naturally, but restaurants usually add some food coloring for the dark pinkish color.

The dark reddish/pink color comes from the tamarind mainly (and the peppers of course).

Let me know if this is the one you meant and if you would like the recipe!

This is the picture of Tamarind-Red Sauce (Imli ki chutney):

let see.

its quite possible that the take away was owned by pakistanis. i think i asked the guy we always ordered from one drunken night. : l hee.

i DO want the recipe. yes, please! (im on this kick, now, of finding food i like, getting the recipe and making it healthier and cheaper at home. its fun for jamie and i!)

i was thinking of tamarind sauce. the only thing that throws me off is the color. it was honestly BRIGHT PINK, not a smokey red.

oh and i think you are right, we got it when we ordered pakoras NOT onion bhajis.

i appreciate your response. im in this phase where i am so exicted to have jamie come (three weeks if we are REALLY lucky!), but worried that he will be bored or miss things from home. so im trying to line a few things up that we can have fun doing. (a few? try a few years worth!) cooking is something we both enjoy, so i thought we might make an indian/pakistani feast one evening.

im going to read more about the differences between pakistani and indian food now. : )

[MARM 7]

let see.

its quite possible that the take away was owned by pakistanis. i think i asked the guy we always ordered from one drunken night. : l hee.

i DO want the recipe. yes, please! (im on this kick, now, of finding food i like, getting the recipe and making it healthier and cheaper at home. its fun for jamie and i!)

i was thinking of tamarind sauce. the only thing that throws me off is the color. it was honestly BRIGHT PINK, not a smokey red.

oh and i think you are right, we got it when we ordered pakoras NOT onion bhajis.

i appreciate your response. im in this phase where i am so exicted to have jamie come (three weeks if we are REALLY lucky!), but worried that he will be bored or miss things from home. so im trying to line a few things up that we can have fun doing. (a few? try a few years worth!) cooking is something we both enjoy, so i thought we might make an indian/pakistani feast one evening.

im going to read more about the differences between pakistani and indian food now. : )

Now you got me thinking maybe it is plum chutney...(and now I can go on and on about the different types of chutneys) but the plum chutney is probably bright pink because of added food coloring...and is not usually served with pakorey...so it is tamarind chutney you are taking about then....<<<that was me thinking out loud

And just another FYI, many types of food coloring is common in restaurant varieties of Indian/Pakistani foods. Mind you, food coloring made from natural ingredients...

So this is the recipe for the Tamarind sauce (off the top of my head, I cook Pakistani food on a daily basis)

Ingredients:

~250 grams Tamarind (Imli)

-Salt according to taste

-Sugar according to taste

-1/2 tsp red chilli powder (can use 1 tsp red chilli powder if you want a spicier effect)

-1/2 piece of either fresh or dried ginger

Instructions:

-Soak the tamarind in lukewarm water so it softens (I usually put the tamarind in a bowl with warm water...not too much water, just enough to soak it all in...and I leave it overnight for one night)

-After the tamarind softens (the next day) then separate the seeds from the tamarind, you can use a strainer or even your hands

-Strain out all the juice into a pan

-Put the pan with the tamarind juice on low heat and bring to boil, don't let it boil too much, just when the bubbles start forming.

-Add the sugar, salt and chili powder and keep stirring and cooking on low heat until the mixture starts to become thick, make sure the heat is set to ultimate low, you don't want it to burn, that would ruin the entire sauce!

-Add the ginger into the simmering mixture (this is for taste purposes primarily) and stir in with the rest of the mixture.

-When desired consistency achieved remove from heat and allow to cool before serving (you can also store it in the refrigerator for later use)

***Best served at room temperature

***This recipe makes...oh about...enough for pakorey for 3 people as a one time snack.

[mr and mrs 187]

: D great!