The dahl I took away was actually 2 different ones made separately as experimental, and then finally combined. The first was red lentil with mild spice and coconut milk (quite nice) and the second was a 4 lentil mix which my wife said was a bit dry or floury. I allowed both to sit in the fridge for 24 hours before tasting again and deciding to combine them, which gave a nicer dish than either alone.

My next attempt will be to make the dhansak lentil / dhal base without any meat and muck about with that.  What I did find when searching for recipes is that they are all very similar, so the next thing to do would be to search for something that is obviously different in one way or another.

I agree with Santa as well. Several of the recipes I found were indeed very watery / soup like.  This isn't what I was after for my trip away though.

It knocked me about quite badly. Pounding headaches, pain in the chest and breathlessness, lower back pain and general lethargy along with an unstoppable dry cough.  Its now 24 days since my first symptom and the cough has not cleared completely. I am otherwise fine now but it was 14 days of feeling very poorly.

Well, it's been an interesting few weeks. 2 months ago my wife booked us tickets to The Mitchell Creek Rock and Blues Festival where we would camp for 3 nights and 4 days with her family (mother, brothers, sisters in law and a nephew). We would share the meal preparation and I volunteered curries.  This meant a couple of vegan dishes along with basic chicken and lamb.  So, I prepared and froze these in foil takeaway containers. Chicken and lamb curry, Bhindi Masala and Vegetable Navratan using vegan vegetable cream. I also cooked a large dahl and a Rajma. We cooked yellow spiced rice up there and I also took along some mild vegan samosa.  The curries were slow defrosted in an esky (no ice) over the 2 day trip. Yep! 2 days and 1050 km to get there.

Chicken, lamb and navratan all made with Bruce Edwards base and all curries survived the journey and were delicious.

We are currently on a short coastal break for a few days on the way back home from Queensland. Staying at South West Rocks NSW, which is where the historic Trial Bay Gaol was built out of local granite back in the 19th century.  Lovely place and yesterday we enjoyed some whale watching as the mother humpbacks are working their way south with us on their own way back to the Antarctic waters with their new babies.

What made the few weeks interesting is that I had some pre-trip jobs which needed to be done at home and required a fair bit or energy and lifting.  I had to rebuild fences to keep Mrs L's horses in while we were away.  However, 16 days out I became unwell. After 1 week I noticed I had no senses of taste or smell, so a quick RAT confirmed that I had caught Covid for the first time.  Each day was a battle to build fences and then lie down.  Only 3 days out, I told Donna that I didn't think I'd make it but 36 hours before departure I suddenly felt well enough to do the trip.

I'm glad I made it as it's been a great week away and I haven't really left home much for many years.  Although, I didn't enjoy tent camping as much as I used to in my surfing days.

I'm looking forward to getting home and back to a proper kitchen.  I really do have to revisit the Bhindi Masala as it was outrageously good and the clear favourite of everybody.

You wouldn't go back again would you?  Reading about your experience along with George's most recent and I'd have to imagine they won't be around for long.  I certainly don't feel I'm missing out on much.

Quote from: Kashmiri Bob on September 05, 2023, 08:58 AM
Saturday evening's home delivery.  Seekh kebab sizzler and Balti chicken courtesy of Shababs.  Complementary multi-dip and mayo.


Much better than the previous two instalments I had from here.  This time managed to eat 3 whole tsp of the balti before depositing it in the freezer.  Defrosting as I type.  Will see if it can be repaired tonight.

Rob

Am I reading this right Rob?  So, you buy a home delivery balti from Shababs but you can only eat 3 teaspoons of it before freezing it. You then need to defrost it and repair it, and you add that this was much better than the previous purchases. 

I made this dish again last night.  While it is a fair bit of work (well over an hour) it is well worth it.  My daughter's partner is a somewhat fussy eater and he described it as "Don't forget how to make this one!".

The wife and I are going on a trip in 2 weeks with her family (Rock and Blues Festival) and we intend on providing curry dinner for everybody on one night.  We are going to make dishes in advance and freeze them to be thawed and reheated.  The Chicken Dhansak is on the list, as well as a couple of Vegan dishes to cater for the brother-in-law and his Mrs.  I've just experimented with a Vegan Rajma Masala which turned out pretty well and I've bought a packet of Okra to do a Bhindi Curry.

Off topic note:  When we found out at the last minute that the daughter and her partner would be here, I quickly whipped up a Butter Chicken using the Maharajah's Choice Butter Chicken paste.  It is his favourite dish, and this was the first time with this paste and method.  So quick and easy for really quite good results.

Never heard of either Jonesing or gagging for anything.  We do have "keeping up with the Jones's", which is the term used to describe obtaining unnecessary things that others already have, simply to appear affluent, like buying a new TV when there is nothing wrong with the one you already have. 

Over here the appropriate slang would be hangin' or tonguin' or even dyin', as in one would be hangin' for a burger, tonguin' for a beer and dyin' for a swim.  Note that it is usual for Aussies to ignore the g on the end of words.  We would say for example, "Are you comin' or not?

Santa, I have to admit that while I have eaten the Works Burger, pineapple is not on my usual extras list.  Bacon ang egg, must have, and cheese is depending on mood.  I will also say that I fall into the beetroot camp of take it or leave it, but I don't object to it.

Pretty obvious to me the smashing means he would devour it, as opposed to smash burgers, (American) which are also good but refer to the mode of cooking the burger patty.  Putting the pineapple on the side possibly means he would eat it separately, I'd imagine.  Sort of like Hamburger dessert, or maybe just give it a miss.

Speaking of which, I'll now mention a few other very popular Aussie Fish and Chip shop goodies you may not have heard of over there. Banana and Pineapple Fritters. Yep, a half banana (cut lengthways) or a ring of pineapple, which is battered and deep fried and usually served with a sprinkling of Icing Sugar.  Dessert following a meal of Fish 'n' Chips which may or may not have included the Battered Sav (Savaloy) and always a few Potato Scallops.  All gloriously deep fried.  Fish cakes, Tassie scallops, Chiko Rolls and Spring Rolls, Dim Sims and the mysterious Vienna Steak.  (Who knows what that was, but nobody cared.)  Ahh!! To remember the good old days working as the potato boy in Uncle Manny's Fish Shop.  No salad here folks.  You could get a slice of lemon, which apart from cooked potato was the only vegetable / fruit type of thing.  There may have been vegetables in the Chiko or Spring Rolls, but this was unintentional.

You must realise that all of these gastronomic treats came from our UK roots. 

I'm not sure if it's available in the UK or USA, but over here beetroot is sold in tin cans (and now glass jars) in a preserved state.  It is not like raw beetroot but more or less cooked and pickled in a very basic way with minimal spices.  It is very popular and was always part of an Aussie summer table salad. It is not surprising then that it was used on salad sandwiches and burgers.  We have been eating these burgers for at least 50 years of my memory and it goes back further than that.  Apparently it goes back to at least the 1950s.

Beetroot is available in slices and as whole baby beets.  You can also buy or grow fresh ones that are great to bake in the oven with roast meals.  I have grown and preserved my own in the past but they are cheap enough to make it unnecessary.

I once dined upon a roast meal with a bloke from the UK who had married an Aussie.  He refused to eat roast pumpkin, stating that it was stock feed where he came from.  I always say don't knock it till you've tried it but if you can't get the beetroot or you really hate it then you can always leave it off.

Robbo, the beauty of the hamburger is that you can have it however you like it.  Each one is for a person to eat alone so you can always ask for it to be made with or without any individual ingredient.  I'm not a fan of pineapple, as it can be too wet and firm making the whole thing soggy, difficult to eat and prone to falling apart.  I suggest cutting the rings in half thickness and drying with paper towel to alleviate this problem.  Often for me the beetroot is also left off as it too can make the thing difficult to eat and prone to disassembling itself in your hands.  If I'm making them at home, I will re-cut the beetroot to extra thin.  My wife on the other hand, loves the stuff and insists on it being there in full.  While the traditional Aussie Plain Hamburger does have beetroot, there are many who simply order it without.

When you buy a hamburger in the shop, it always comes wrapped tightly in a square of greaseproof paper and then popped inside a white paper bag.  This helps it stay together while you eat from the exposed side, and you simply pull the bag and paper back as you go. Sometimes the wrapping isn't up to the job.