A paw full of spice makes everything nice
Years ago I decided to expand my culinary horizons by attending a Pakistani cooking class. At that time, I knew nothing about Indian and Pakistani cuisine. I wasn’t even a big fan of it back then. However, if an opportunity arises to expand your horizons, take it. Never turn down the chance to learn. The…
A curry here, another curry there… Compare a local mamak (eatery) here in Malaysia with an Indian restaurant back home and you will be puzzled. Granted, a mamak serves a wide range of different Malaysian foods from three (or more) different ethnic groups, not just food from the subcontinent, but if you fancy a curry…
No two curries are the same… It can be a little odd talking about food in Malaysia – and Malaysians do love to talk about food. Dishes that are popular in China, such as Lazijiding (dry fried chicken with chili peppers) simply don’t exist here. The little bottles of black vinegar that are ubiquitous in…
Rogan Josh is a delicious mutton or lamb curry: the name literally means ‘stewed in butter’. No wonder I love it so much. I can’t think of anything that I wouldn’t like if it was slow cooked in butter. Especially if that something was tender bits of lamb with spices. The entire dish is…
Story goes that when Chinese immigrants settled in Malaysia, they married locals who learned to cook Chinese recipes but put their own twist on them by using local ingredients. Hence, Peranakan cuisine (aka Nyonna cuisine) was born and still remains a delicious staple in Malaysia today. One of the more…
I know what you’re thinking….rice, fish, eggs? Why? How can this be good? AND why is it eaten for breakfast? Well, I hate to shatter your prejudices about British cuisine but I have to say that it can sometimes be surprisingly good and kedgeree – a breakfast dish that contains exactly those…
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: no one does vegetarian food better than the Indians. The way they carefully and lovingly work with vegetables and spice is genius. I always judge a new Indian restaurant by it’s vegetarian Thali. Why do I order that specific dish (or…