Southern food

Post by **lomuamart** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 4:26 pm

Actually, one thing I was going to ask Guess is whether you were getting cumin (not sure of your Khamin) and turmeric mixed up. Turmeric's haldi and is yellow and stains badly. Thought Khamin might be another spelling of cumin, which is totally different.

Post by **Norseman** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 7:05 pm

lomuamart wrote:It's maybe just that the spices grow naturally here, whereas back in farangland, the easiest way to transport and keep them is in powder form.

I guess you're right about this lomu, did not think of that.

Post by **Guess** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 3:17 am

lomuamart wrote:I've not seen Thais cook with powder either - that's not to say they don't, though.
As we know, they tend to use paste, as Guess said. In fact duing my visits to India, paste was more often used as well. It's maybe just that the spices grow naturally here, whereas back in farangland, the easiest way to transport and keep them is in powder form.

I have to point out the one notable exception that I had forgotten about is Prik Tai (White Pepper) which is used extensively throught Thailand.

Anyway Lomu just about sums it up. Fresh spices are much more readily available in the West now but dried powdered spices are much cheaper.

As fo India. Not all areas have easy access to the fresh ingredients that they would like and in the North many are seasanal. Pastes can of course be made with powders as well as fresh spices and a great deal of effort is saved to boot.

Post by **lomuamart** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 3:42 am

Na,
Unless you sweat a bit with the ol' pestle and mortar, it just dosn't taste the same.

Post by **chelsea** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 6:11 am

Thanks to veryone for explaing the differences.
I went to Koh Lanta a few years ago, and at the time, it was still fairly unspoilt by tourism.
I am a lover of the Thai Salads and any of the Larb dishes. I found the food to be much hotter in places that I ate there compared to Krabi, Phuket and Phi Phi Island.
With the latter 3 places being more tourist oriantated, I would imagine that I tasted a lot more authentic dishes in Koh Lanta that the other places.
It seems to be a bit like indian food, in some places the Vindaloo is hotter that the Madras and other times is the other way round (dependant on the areas that you are visiting).

Post by **lomuamart** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 10:12 am

You've hit the nail on the head, Chelsea, in as much as the food in southern India is generally much more hot than central or north. A Madras, from Tamil Nadu will always be hotter than a vindaloo from Goa.
Maybe not in the West, but then they're "European Indian" dishes.
I'm talking about local dishes here, not the tourist varieties. I'm sure the same goes for Thailand. The further south, the hotter it gets.
My uncle in India always used to say that Sri Lankan food was the hottest he'd ever tasted. I never did get there to see if it was true.
Then again, a couple of years ago when back in the UK, there was an article in a newspsper - it wasn't April 1st, or The Sun - and a chilli had been cross-produced that was something daft like 30 times more hot than the hottest Mexican at the time. And that came from Assam - NE India. Heaven knows who'd want to try and eat that!!

Post by **Guess** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 3:42 pm

Interesting things about the Chillis which of course are the main ingredient in food to make it hot even though I have had some Pakistani dishes that are quite hot but contain no Chillis.

Some guy has taken the trouble to scientifically measure the heat in a chilli and grade it by variety. The hottest at the time of reading was the Mexican yellow ball chilli which "gave one the feeling that the head was leaving the shoulders"

I wonder what this guy in NE India can do. Maybe this is the secret behind the Indian Rope Trick.

Apart from the exception that Lomu has mentioned it does seem though that the closer you get to the equator the hotter the chillies become. It is also the case that red and yellow chillis are generally hotter than their green counterparts. Somtetimes the colour is dicated by the species/variety and sometimes by the stage of ripeness. I have seen many chilli bushes with gree, yellow, orange and red chillis growing on it.

My wife bought some curry from the stall opposite the Railway Restaurant yesterday and complained that it was not spicey enough. I tried a spoonful and immediately required half a pint of cold water.

Post by **PeteC** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 8:03 pm

Guess wrote:
Apart from the exception that Lomu has mentioned it does seem though that the closer you get to the equator the hotter the chillies become. It is also the case that red and yellow chillis are generally hotter than their green counterparts.

Same as poisonous frogs and lizards and bugs. The more bright and vivid their color....the more they are seen as dangerous..."Don't eat me..!" (said the girl with the zebra panties?) Seriously, NG channel tells all about defenseless little, bright colored critters who pack a wallop.

I think the equator factor is true. It could be for two reasons perhaps: 1) Lack of adequate refrigeration and chillis (as well as curry) act as a preserative. 2) Spicy food in a tropical climate makes one feel cooler? I've heard this is true, I don't know for sure. Pete

Post by **PeteC** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 8:51 pm

REMEDIES:

1) Water: It doesn't work for me. I've been told it simply washes over the acid the chilli has deposited on your tongue and throat.

2) A spoon full of rice: Helps somewhat, but since my nasal passages close up totally at the first sign of on overload of chilli, I can't breathe and tend to turn red and choke as my mouth is full of rice.

3) A piece of bread: See # 2 above.

4) A new one: Just heard it a few weeks ago and have not tried it. Told to me by an old Thai woman, almost 80 so I respect her knowledge. She said eat a teaspoon of namthan see kow(sp) (white sugar) and the burn will stop immediately.

If anyone has a chance to try #4, please let us know the results. Pete

Post by **Norseman** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 10:17 pm

Good advise Pete. I'll go for #4 next time.
You'll get your report.

Post by **chelsea** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 5:09 am

Pete, in most indian resteraunts, if you order the yoghurt and cucumber side dish, that takes away the burning sensation of the curry. is supposedly the yoghurt that helps the most.
Water also does not work at all (even iced), it just makes it 10 times worse.

Post by **lomuamart** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 5:59 am

I'd agree with the sugar rememdy. Relatives in India swore by it and it always worked for me.

Post by **david83** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 7:13 am

I have sometimes gotten some kind of seeds when eating spicy food at indian restaurants. Not sure what they are, taste like licorice, but they take the heat away instantly if chewed

I can try to find out, might need them when coming down there...

Post by **lomuamart** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 8:20 am

I think thet're carraway seeds. Helps digestion.

Post by **Bamboo Grove** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 12:27 pm

Or could they be aniseed?