Asian food question...

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Asian food question...
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sean
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42208
Location: North Devon

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 05 12:26 pm Post subject: Asian food question...
My local Londis has been expanding their Asian groceries range, which suits me. I recognise/know what to do with all of it so far, except Punjabi Tinda (IIRC) which is some sort of tinned vegetable. What is it, and what do you do with it?

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45465
Location: Essex

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 05 12:35 pm Post subject:
Wonder if anybody might know the answer? Tinda is a squash, stays a bit harder on cooking than a marrow and doesn't have the sweetness of say pumpkin or pattypan, can make a useful curry in it's own right but is more often added to lamb curries. I'm not a fan but my mum and dad both love 'em, never had the tinned ones.

sean
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42208
Location: North Devon

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 05 12:43 pm Post subject:
Just giving you a chance to share the knowledge. The picture on the tin looked to have been taken during the days of the Raj so it wasn't overly helpful. Besides, someone else might have known.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45465
Location: Essex

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 05 12:45 pm Post subject:

sean wrote:

The picture on the tin looked to have been taken during the days of the Raj so it wasn't overly helpful.

They're probably at least that old, I don't think they sell in huge quantities even in areas with large ethnic populations, is there an upsurge in us ethnics your way?

sean
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42208
Location: North Devon

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 05 12:50 pm Post subject:
No not really. It's the incomers like meself demanding these fancy foodstuffs I suspect. There aren't any decent 'Indian' restaurants in Devon (source: the consultant paediatrician in Barnstaple), so if that's what you want you've got to cook it yourself. It gives people a reason to go to their shop rather than Spar or Somerfields I guess.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45465
Location: Essex

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 05 12:53 pm Post subject:
I could always send you a food parcel, fresh tinda is available all the year round

sean
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42208
Location: North Devon

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 05 12:56 pm Post subject:
I might send you a shopping list.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45465
Location: Essex

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 05 12:57 pm Post subject:
Oh and they will grow in the UK but you'll need a massive and very warm greenhouse and really rich soil to get them to crop, nice leaves and flowers though. Another asian veg that I've never managed to crop is karela (bitter gourd) lovely rambling vine with pretty white flowers but not enough heat or space to crop.

jema
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28139
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 05 12:58 pm Post subject:

sean wrote:

No not really. It's the incomers like meself demanding these fancy foodstuffs I suspect. There aren't any decent 'Indian' restaurants in Devon (source: the consultant paediatrician in Barnstaple), so if that's what you want you've got to cook it yourself. It gives people a reason to go to their shop rather than Spar or Somerfields I guess.

You need to go to Morrisons, they are currently doing announcements about authentic Indian cuisine on offer... 2 jars for the price on one

Bugs

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 05 12:59 pm Post subject:

tahir wrote:

I could always send you a food parcel, fresh tinda is available all the year round

Where does it come from?

Perhaps Sean could get some seeds from it and grow it on his new allotment?

Is there any Asian veg you could grow here that's sufficiently different/tasty to make it worth while?

I like interesting vegetables.

Bugs

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 05 1:00 pm Post subject:
Ah, you read my mind. Any others?

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45465
Location: Essex

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 05 1:03 pm Post subject:

Bugs wrote:

Where does it come from?

Ilford Lane
Green street
Wembley
Tooting.....

Most "Indian" vegetables come either from SE Asia or places that have large Indian populations like Kenya, Uganda, Fiji, parts of the Caribbean etc which all have either very long or year round seasons

Bugs

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 05 1:04 pm Post subject:

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45465
Location: Essex

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 05 1:12 pm Post subject:

Bugs wrote:

Ah, you read my mind. Any others?

Chick pea
Fenugreek (well worth it)
Fat Hen (I've had 0% germination though)
Mooli (you can let it stand all winter and it can be eaten raw or cooked)
Moongri (Radish seed pods)

The one thing that my mum does but isn't really that common here is to use the leaves of most root veg, any brassica and most umbellifers (carrot family) have edible foliage.

You can grow arbi (eddoe) indoors, a hairy starchy tuber with a bit of the sliminess of okra about it.

Can't think of anything else.

ButteryHOLsomeness

Joined: 03 Apr 2005
Posts: 770

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 05 2:58 pm Post subject:

sean wrote:

you'd love it here in edinburgh sean, we've got loads of ethnic shops here. even quite a few of the newsagents sell loads of indian stuff! suits me just fine

bashmillah is my favourite, i love the halal chicken, so juicy and tender and MUCH cheaper than even lidl. and i'm the weird lady that comes in and buys 2kg bags of 3 kinds of pulses and 3-4 spices and then has to lug it all back to the bus stop, what a site!

i do rather miss my favourite shop in glasgow though, they were owned by a turkish family and sold an enormous 5kg tin of pitted black olives for only £3.99! same thing sells for £5.99 here, i'll probably give in get some eventually!

Last edited by ButteryHOLsomeness on Fri Apr 22, 05 3:04 pm; edited 1 time in total

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