Kiwi actually !  Grate grandfather, Scottish expat in Fiji , Grandfather and father borne there , Engineers in Lautoka Sugar  mills where Indians where emigrated into Fiji to work the sugar plantations .  the Indian Cooks servants and Yayos past on to my ancestors the culture of Indian food , that I intern  picked up and ran with from a very young man ! my father then a high school student was sent to New Zealand to escape Japanese menace in the 1940s and never returned , this  did not stop him befriending every Indian green grocer in New Zealand at that time to hunt down the spices , herbs and vegetables he needed to fuel his addiction in Indian food ! and it seems as I look back at 35 years of cooking and studying spice that this  pursuit of spice has been my endless task  as well ! Living in Cebu I have to travel to Singapore ( Mustafa in little India ) several times a year just to bring back a Port  full of  spice !  today I grow my own curry leaves , Kiffer Lime , Bay leaves , Galangou . we are blessed with fresh coconut and I produce my own oil ! Living in a country that was ruled for  300 years by the Spanish , there is a surprising shortage of spice in local markets

I joined this Forum for two reasons ! one, we all share this interest in spice and two because I have taken on an interest in spice pastes !  Not being able to get Pataks or any other good brands in this region ,I have started to make my own !

I will not except those who shoot down pastes as second to fresh whole spice, as fermented paste and pickels have been part of Indian culture for a millennium and Pataks speaks for itself . Mango and lime pickles , fermented producing natural lactic acids  , and flavors  absorbed into oils in spice paste jars somehow add to the culture and have earned there Place .

I hope that as I make my way through the archives here I can open and expand this subject  beyond simply adding ground herbs and  spice into vinegar and oil into something that gets closer to what Partakes do in a jar !

I ticked the "open to anyone emailing back" box when I joined   ! and I  look forward meeting you all and to mining the Archive

Cheers

Dave

Welcome Dave many good topics here for you.

Welcome, Dave. May I ask your age and what is your first language?

Te Maori.

? Are you saying he or she is Maori?

age ? i don't like to count borne 1959 !  language English !  Ancestors Scottish !
20 years a New Zealander ! 20 years an Australian and 15 years in Asia  !


Dave

Your age is required to facilitate any accuations of inexperience later- if required of course-, and likewise your nationality, to excuse any ad hominem attacks that may be made, under the guise of a communications breakdown.
Hope this clears things up. Happy cooking!

Sorry, Dave. My understanding of ex-pat was that the person had lived somewhere then relocated. The spelling mistakes made me wonder about your native language. Your pro-paste comments made me wonder if you were trying to sell us something.

I have nothing against pastes and have made some lovely ones. I do, however, have issues with commercially-produced pastes, which I believe are bulked out with cheaper spices which, in my opinion, taste bland and 'industrial'.

I'm sure we would all appreciate any recipes for homemade pastes you have 

Were you once named Patrick or Patricia being an Ex pat why a name change? and welcome here

Above  : classic   

Welcome again Dave