Prepping for a Pandemic - Thread 16

[Sprayitall]

I don’t know why another thread hasn’t been created yet , so here you go. Now as we prep ourselves to the peak of this pandemic, let’s all face it together and appreciate how fragile our lives are and how we need each other to survive and flourish.

Op I will contact council/Mp if needed I'm trying to resist at the moment hoping things will calm even slightly.

I've been a cooking fiend today thanks to an Asda delivery mishap and posters on a food waste minimisation thread.

I've made a chicken casserole, fruit crumble and fridge jam. Completely knackered now though!

@WhereDoWeGo that would drive me nuts it's people like your mum causing lockdown to go on longer and putting others at more risk.

I'm finding it so hard to stay calm now that I am in the position of actually knowing people seriously ill in hospital with this awful virus.m

Op on business side any of these links useful?

www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses

www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2020/03/coronavirus-self-employed-and-employment-help/

@Weedsnseeds1 not too thick that it can’t raise or not too watery. If you ask me it should be similar to the consistency of Yeo valley zero fat yoghurt while grinding and fermenting.

Once the batter is ready, scoop some into a bowl, add some water to make it into “heavy cream” consistency before you cook. leave the rest covered in the fridge.

Don’t trust the ready made mixes ( not good like the batter made at home). Make sure you soak a tsp of fenugreek and add it to the grinder. That will make the batter come out soft. The batter lasts for atleast 3 days at my home. You can try experimenting by adding herbs, top it up with butter or cheese, add chocolates, vegetables etc google South Indian dosa varieties and I’m sure you will find something that’s appealing. Sometimes I mix puréed spinach, puréed carrots or beets, tomato purées to make it colourful and appealing to dd. I also try to be creative & make it in different shapes like Mickey Mouse, star, Peppa pig etc - things we do as mums 😃

@Graphista thank you for the links. I am looking at it now. Saw the government one earlier but looking at the mse one. I know how bad it is outside. I am just thankful for every day I get and if something bad happens I wish to reincarnate as a human again lol I would consider myself very lucky if I get to reincarnate again in Tamil Nadu and fortunate enough to eat dosa and meals, curries daily. I’m sure I will be a vegetarian even in my next birth 😅

Thank you Sprayitall the mix was an impulse purchase that never got used and languished at the back of my cupboard!
The end result was tasty, but not what I was expecting.
Another question ( well, two actually - sorry)
Tawa should be cold or hot? I watched a video that said cold, so I was cooling down with water between dosas. Just watched another and they used hot tawa, but cooled down with a splash of water, wiped off with a cloth.
I would also like to try idli, as its pretty much the same ingredients, but don't have an idli steamer - is there anything I could improvise with?

For the tawa - Keep it in medium flame first and then reduce it to Med-low flame. Traditionally, with tawa in medium flame we add a little oil and put some mustard-when it splutters the heat is just right. (care should be taken as it might splutter over us and might burn the skin). we keep the mustard aside once it starts to splutter and add it for garnishing chutney. then i wipe it with a wet paper towel quickly (again care should be taken not to burn your hands or fingers) Then add the batter that’s of pouring consistency. Heat can be adjusted but it’s always better to keep it in low flame so the browning is even and you don’t need to splash any water in between often -if you are splashing, always do this with the extractor on or with open windows so the smoke alarm doesn’t go off.
For idli try any containers that looks like a cup may be - small stainless steel bowls or katoris - just wipe them with a little oil mixed with water before you pour the batter in. It might come out in that shape though. Another tip is to mix a little semolina with the dosa batter to get the right consistency. This is because eventhough the batter is similar to dosa but the ratio is 1:4 for idli and the batter texture is slightly coarse. You can also add fine semolina if the dosa batter is too thin and watery 😉 my kitchen secrets lol

Mustard here means mustard seeds*

Brilliant, I have black mustard seed.
The power of the Internet, need help with your Indian cooking, there is an expert at your finger tips

And I have semolina too!

Well they sure looked lovely Weeds, hope you enjoyed your chops.

@weeds haha. Thank you and happy to help. Not an expert yet but yes I have a food blog. You reminded me of how much I miss home. Mornings always started with soft fluffy idlis or dosas with an amazing filter coffee. Dosas are made in iron tawa traditionally that adds nutrition and distinct flavour. I just finished making a selection of bhajji’s ( Apple, onion, mirchi, potato, raw plantains and brinjals) you won’t believe there is none left for me except two of the less loved brinjal ones (thankfully I tucked some in while I was making them) I made them first because my British friend craved for some who is shielding her lovely nan and is self isolating with her.

I’m planning to bake some tutti frooti coconut buns and also some soft cream buns for tea treats this week for the charity folks who are delivering around the town. I haven’t made buns much but I am going to try my best. I’m praying that I don’t end up with buns that are crunchy and hard .. dh says not to worry he can always use them for the driveway lol

Oh, you have a blog 😁
Please share a link with me?
I am a bit of a magpie cook, I pick up ideas and ingredients from everywhere, but Indian food is a favourite.
Many years ago I did a cookery course in Goa, so my balchao and xacuti are quite good!

And I have gram flour ( mentally cataloging my vegetable drawer), so bhajis are a possibility too.
So many ideas, how long do we think lock down will last?!

I love the descriptions too "like Yeo Valley yoghurt"
Friends ask me "how much ingredient X should I add?" , me "until it looks/feels right", friend "?"
I can follow you exactly

@weeds if I share my blog then that might give away who I am isn’t it .. but don’t worry you can always pm me here and I am happy to answer them for you if I know it. Apologies for my weird descriptions - I usually describe it as it comes to my mind. Sometimes it’s hard to describe it to someone who is not familiar with what I am trying to say so I try to compare it with things my brit friends commonly use or do. The only yoghurt that’s similar in texture to the Indian curd here is the natural set one. Goa is beautiful but it’s more of a tourist town. Xacuti and Goan dishes all have Portuguese influence and flavours to them .. not authentic indian I should say but may be more appealing to the European taste palette? To appreciate the authentic feel of the places in India you need to live there for more than few weeks or if it’s a short vacation choose staying at relais&chateaux kind of hotels. I find that’s more closer to the living experience there. But with Tamil Nadu’s weather I doubt anyone might come out the hotel’s pool though 😅

I love your descriptions - I do the same, your comparisons make perfect sense to me.
I enjoyed the food in Goa, especially the seafood.
For work I have spent time in Darjeeling, Nilgiri, Assam and Kolkata (Assam was... a little disturbing!).
The managers at the tea gardens were from all different locations in India, so I had some amazing food

Cooked by the wives, not the managers, needless to say!

I particularly remember a prawn dish, cooked inside a young coconut.
I don't know the name, but would love to recreate it one day. Not that young coconuts are widely available in the west country, but I'm sure I could source one in London or Birmingham one day!

@Weedsnseeds1 sainsburys sell those coconuts or the srilankan shops might have some. How I miss tender coconuts? There is also this Thai restaurant near where I live that serves fragrant rice cooked inside them. Amazing isn’t it! Nilgiris is in tamilnadu border. Lovely place.Ooty, muttukadu all those are my childhood vacation spots. So many adventures we had. My dad worked for the government so we get to have some special permissions to see animals in reserved forests etc Our safari jeep were once chased by a group of elephants and we quickly had to climb a tree and seek refuge in a forest tree house for two hours.lol. Nice memories. I haven’t been to Assam but when you remind me of tea, I remember when I was here initially I couldn’t get a proper tasting tea in the U.K. so I decided to travel to paris and pick large quantities up from Mariage Freres . I love their Paris shop. 😀 I don’t drink much of coffee or tea though but I love my drinks and want it to be perfect everytime. I drink one cup of coffee a day and one cup of tea, that’s it. I have a bean to cup for coffee though. I was so disappointed with the chai I get here (that’s full of cinnamon - no authentic chai has cinnamon and you don’t throw all spices in it) I booked my ticket to Paris on my friends recommendation

@WhereDoWeGo thank you. I’m honoured. a nice little distraction to the chaos outside I think

@WhereDoWeGo must be so frustrating for you. My parents are isolating but also blade on other aspects. I asked mum if she'd enough in and she said yes but when I delved further she's only got a week - 2 weeks worth and I said to her to please make sure she has plenty in just in case lockdown restrictions get tightened.

She's normally better stocked but has struggled due to the isolation, but she's also got it into her head that neighbours "will help out if needed" but she's very much in our local "retirement central" so they're likely isolating too!

I hope I got through to her to be better prepared but I still worry.

Ops posts make my mouth water too.

Sorry for asking, is anyone working in the insurance sector here? My friends are saying that it looks like insurances say they don’t cover deaths by pandemics and all the death certificates are now being issued with suspected covid 19 as reason even if they die from some other reason (unless it’s a car crash) which is very suspicious. Is that even true? Can anyone clarify!? I’m now very scared because of this.

@Graphista was thinking of you when I was sorting out the ingredients to make Scottish cream buns as this week’s treats for the local charity that’s delivering free essentials boxes for the elderly 65+