THE PIRATE AND THE BEAST

Deep down in falmouth there lies a pirate who walks the streets in search of the beast.  

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DRIED EEL AND OCTOPUS

I love beef jerky or South African Biltong, and have a deep obsession with fish,so when Rajesh bought me some dried eel and octopus back from his trip to Dubai, I knew these gifts would fulfill my salty needs. 

The eel was extremely tuff and took a good 10 minutes to get through, not the best. And had a slightly stale taste to it.

The Octopus was so good. Moorish and salty, having the same qualities as the Biltong but more subtle and tender. It was lots and lots of fun.

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THE NET SHOP JELLIED EEL BAR,OLD TOWN,HASTINGS

One of the best things about hastings and most sea side towns is the fish bars or jellied eel bars. They serve all kind of fishy goodies. I had whole baby octopus,70p oysters,crayfish tails,mussels,cockles, and with a good dash of vinegar or chili vinegar it really is one of the best british food experiences you can have.

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SEASIDE FOOD PART 1-HASTINGS

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THE BLUE DOLPHIN FISH BAR,61B HIGH STREET,HASTINGS

When I first heard of The Blue Dolphin I assumed it was a gay biker bar that served fish and chips, sadly it wasn't. There are a lot of fish and chip joints in hastings, this is a very popular one, maybe because of its location right on high street in the old town, near the sea front. Cod and chips £4.80. Some days it's better than others but worth an eat. 

MELVIN

COMLONGON CASTLE, CLARENCEFIELD, DUMFRIES, SCOTLAND, DG1 4NA

I'v just got back from Scotland and for the first time in my entire life I ate a squre sausage. In a haunted castle Comlongon Castle at the bottom of Scotland in a place called Dunfries they serve not the best full Scottish fry up. 

• Sauteed Mushrooms
• Lorne Sausage, a sausage prepared in a loaf pan. This one is a beef sausage.
• 2 Slice of Bacon
• Fried Tomato
• Potato Scone
• Haggis
• Poached Egg


Melvin

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Rajesh In Dubai: Adventures in Camel Milk

My Mate Chef Bahadur poses with the Camel Milk

The brand is called "Camelicious" !!! How funny is that?

My mother actually visited the farm where this is made, it's run by a European lady.  Here's the scoop on the lady from my mum: 

"She walked the camels from Syria to Yemen. SHe did it to raise awareness and money for a mobile clinic in Palestine and Syria for women who can afford it. For breast cancer and other issues."

Mum recommended the normal one, she likes it a lot, camel milk is meant to have some good properties, not that I know what they are. While on the farm she said that they were given the straight up untreated fresh-from-the-animal milk and it was very very salty, she prefers the bottled one.

After the first sip of the date bottle I decided not to drink and review them in all one day, so I spread out the review, one camel milk a day...

Camelicious Date
Very sweet, thick and rich. It resembles what milk tastes like at the bottom of the bowl when you've had raisin bran in it and have finished the cereal, leaving the milk thats soaked up the sugary fruitness of the raisins. I liked it, but ultimately way too rich and sweet.  Not too much of a 'Camel Vibe'.

Camelicious Saffron
Well, this was very interesting.  Alot of middle eastern foods and sweets use saffron, the flavour of this one was similar to having a saffron infused dessert. A very unique flavour for a milk, with subtle nutty notes, I could have this after a meal as a dessert on it's own. Again very rich and low on the 'Camel Vibe'.

Camelicious Plain Camel
Wow. Now this was definitely proud to be born of Camel. It was a touch thicker than cow milk, with a slightly meaty undertone, not in a sick way ofcourse, but in the way Goat Dairy products have a bit of Animal in them. Much evidence of 'Camel Vibe', albeit in an inoffensive way.

Final Conclusion

Camel milk is too damn rich to subsitute Cow Milk but is a fun alternative for the adventurous.  Also, I now want to eat Camel, I wonder if this sentiment is related to the drinking of the milk.


Yours in Fatness and radiating with "Camel Vibe",

Rajesh

xx

Dear readers

I'm back from the Middle East and feel a bit fatter.  My suitcase was filled so much food it could be considered smuggling.

Need some advice.  Does anyone know of a good Arabic or Iranian Bakery in London?  I want to make a dish that I need some special bread for.

All help appreciated.

Lots more Posts from my Gastronomic Travels coming soon...

Yours in Fatness,

xx

Rajesh

BILL BUNYAN HAMBURGER TOUR

Bill Bunyan, of Dodge City, had arranged a party at Paddy's Restaurant, in the Rice County town of Sterling, about 15 miles northwest of Hutchinson. He was marking two milestones -- his 65th birthday and his 105th hamburger. Unbeknownst to the Maichels, at the party he also mentioned his favorite burger from a three-year mission -- the one he enjoyed Feb. 18, 2002, at the Maichels' Topeka eatery.

Since June 2000, the retired elementary school teacher has traveled the state with the goal of eating a hamburger in each of the state's 105 counties. He chose locally owned "mom and pop" establishments on his way to achieving the goals of the Kansas Explorers Club -- inspiring, educating and encouraging the exploration and appreciation of Kansas.

Speck's" burger, the specialty at Seabrook Tavern, at 2100 S.W. Mission, is 3 pounds of ground beef, topped with onions, tomatoes, pickles and lettuce on a 14-inch homemade bun.

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Rajesh in Dubai: For the Love of Buttermilk.

Man, this brings me back to my childhood.  

Laban-Up is a Middle East favourite.  A sour buttermilk drink that's so refreshing when served chilled on a sweltering hot day.  It has a very distinct and comforting flavour and a cute old fashioned carton that I miss seeing.

Costs roughly 10 pence, found in all good (and bad) grocery stores and supermarkets around here.

x

Rajesh

PS: For those who have tried 'salty' Indian Lassi, it's similar to that.

Rajesh in Dubai: Pa cooks an Arabic Breakfast

Click photos to Enlarge.

Foul madammas is the traditional arabic peasant's meal.  Meant to fill you up and keep you going for the day.  I woke up with a craving for it and my father seemingly had the exact same craving so he decided to whip it up.  He did warn me that it'll be like "cement in your stomach, you won't eat for the rest of the day"  he was right, this is good cheap desert fuel.  We popped over to the lebanese supermarket to get the needed components.

Foul is Fava Beans, sauteed with green chilly, garlic, lemon and tomato.  Once cooked it's doused in olive oil.  On the side he made some 'reverse' ( as I like to call it) Coarse hummous, whipped up in about two minutes by mashing chickpeas with tahini, garlic, parsley, salt and lemon.  It's a quick hummous fix.  This was all served with slices of onion, chillies and Nabulsi Cheese  - a great salty cheese from Palestine that makes Halloumi look dumb.

The breakfast was amazing, so hearty and filling, I'll be skipping lunch and dinner.  What made it extra special was the Palestinian Olive Oil that my dad doused the hummous and the Foul in.  It's truly special and he treats it like the rolls royce of olive oil.  It's not a commercial brand, it's from a small farm in Palestine, he had it brought over in big barrels.  It's a lot more deep in flavour and complex than the Italian Olive Oils, you could drink this stuff.

I'm smuggling that shit into London this weekend in a cola bottle.

xxx

Rajesh

PS:  My dad said the best Foul he had was in a tiny little joint down a backstreet in Jordan, I keep trying to get him to blog his Jordan trip but he's too lazy.

Rajesh in Dubai: Coming Soon

I'm in Dubai becoming very fat.  

I'll be uploading some new things shortly, including: 'Adventures in Camel Milk', a meat laden lunch of Goat Trotters and other interesting details of Gluttony.  Also a special look at odd products in Supermarkets such as  "Mayo-Chup" - What is Mayo-Chup?  And much, much more, there's still lots to eat out here, and more for my folks to cook too. 

Stay Tuned

Yours in Fatness,

Rajesh xx

PS:  Both Melvin & I have been preoccupied with the real world, we shall resume normal transmissions soon, there's tonnes of posts waiting in the wings.

Guest Recipe: Raphael's Date & Pecan Muffins

Raph is back with Muffins, Rajesh reviews them...

RAPHAEL'S DATE AND PECAN MUFINS

100g Brown suger

300g brown flour

chopped up dates

pecans

100g butter

60ml milk

1 teespoon of baking powda

2 eggs

3 bnanas

1 teaspoon of vanilla essense

wizz up the butter and sugar until they are soft. then put in the mashed bananers, beaten up eggs and vanilla essense and mix that up. then put in the rest of the stuff. dollop the mixture into 12 muffin cases and bake for 25 minits at 190 C. then you have to cool them on a wire thing. they are very nise warm. actually scrumptious

love RAPHAELXXX

RAJESH'S REVIEW

Muffin was brilliant!

I think the hippy flour is the way to go, it worked well with the flavour combination and had that homely rustic vibe a walnut cake induces. I dig!

Rajesh

xx

Watch This: "Fish! A Japanese Obsession"

Check out this interesting documentary all about Japan and it's preoccupation/love for fish.  Lots of insights into Japanese culture and elements of it that we don't get to see much.

Watch out for  the gang of maniacal fishmongers who turn into a rock band by night and play  nothing but songs about Tuna, using song to educate the public about the benefits of fresh fish over processed convenience foods.  Oh, Japan!  We love you...

Watch Fish! A Japanese Obsession on BBC iPlayer Now.

I think I now have about 15 pending posts to put up, I keep eating and cooking like mad and the posts keep piling up, waiting to be released into the world. 

Will I ever get around to putting them up?  Who knows...

Rajesh

Pickled Peppers

Decided to pickle some peppers today...

Roast, grill or griddle them till charred. Let them cool, place into a jar with large pinch of salt, garlic clove, some mustard seeds, oregano and vinegar.  I used regular white vinegar with a bit of White Wine Vinegar thrown in, also decided to add some parsley for no apparent reason.

I shall pickle for 2 weeks.

More belated posts coming soon...

X

Rajesh

Chilli site!!

More wise words from Kebab Guru Mehmet Hussein:
 
 
I just met a geaser in the toilet in the Services off the M4- junction
11. Unbelivable!! He had worse guts than me! Like me, he's addicted
to Chilli and as a result, spends an average of one and a half hours a
day straddling his turd throne. My daily average is 50 mins. The
things we do for flavor!
 
He told me about this site for like minded chilli lovers!
 
http://www.chillisgalore.co.uk/pages/chilli_facts.html
 
M
 
 
 

Guest Recipe: Raphael's Beast Cakes

Raph Returns with a recipe of his, AND he reviews his own creation...

RECIPIE FOR RAPHAELS CHOCOLATE BEAST CAKES

• 150g Chocolate
• 4tbsp Golden syrup
• 50g Butter
• 80g Cornflakes
• jellee bean
  

Melt all the stuff ecep the corflakes and the jellee beans then stir the cornflakes in. put the stuff in paper cases and then put a jellee been on each one and then put them in the fridge for an hour. Abracadabra you have 14 beast cakes!

Review:

"I made these for my school mad hatters cake sale and i tried one and it was scrumptious . they were beutifull made with a few cracs but he cracs made it nicer.

XXXRAPHAEL"

Well done Raphael! They look...beastly.

-Rajesh x

Guest Reviewer- Mehmet Hussein

Mehmet made his mark on the London food scene in the early nineties when he opened the now legendary Kebab Delight - Wood Green. Known as the 'Doner Don' throughout the food world- he is regarded as the inventor of household classics such as: 'Pitta bread and chips' and The Special- (Doner meat with chips in pitta). 

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Guest Reviewer- Mehmet Hussein-Nicky’s Café and Sandwich Bar AKA ‘Phelpsy’s’- 8 WELL STREET LONDON E9 7PX

My Nephew- Youssef has got a Garage over the road from Nicky's Café
and he's been banging on about this place for ages. They all call it
'Phelpsy's' because Olympic swimming legend Michael Phelps- who
munches down 12,000-calories every day- wouldn't be able to cope with
the immense portions of this establishment. I had a bit of time to
kill while the boy replaced the Carburettor on my 'Autumn- beige' S-
Class, 1987, Mercedes Benz so I went over to test my belly.
 
I'd been recommended the homemade Chicken Escalopes on a crusty roll
with Cheese, Salad, Mayo and Chilli sauce. I'd also been warned to
keep an eye on them when they were applying the mayo because they have
a habit of 'Phelpsing it up too hard!' They weren't wrong! The bird
slapped on 2 fat table- spoons of mayo. The Missus has told me that my
expanding waistline is affecting her sexual arousal so I asked them to
scrape a bit of Mayo off. They did.
 
I sat down and they brought me a perfectly coloured cup of tea to go
with my sarnies. I tucked in. What can I say! A true blinder! The
escalope had just been fried so was still warm and crunchy. The crusty
roll had just the right level of resistance. And all for £2.80!!
That's a Credit Crunch Munch!
 
While I was eating I had a bit banter with Moustafa the owner. He's a
Chelsea fan like my best mate Effendi. I told him my Chelsea joke-
"What's the similarity between Kathy from Eastenders and Roman
Abramovich? - They both fucked Phil and Grant!" He laughed. I told him
he could have that one.

Word of warning. One of the ladies who work in there- the slightly
slimmer of the two- wears a particularly strong perfume. Youssef has
told me that from time to time his sandwiches taste a bit like her.
Some of you might find that disgusting, me- I'm a fan of a well-
scented lady!
 
M
 
 

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Mr apple and Miss Orange are having a party with Sir Lemongrass and Dr Mint, when all of a sudden Lord Lemon juice stage dives all over them

 This is extremely tasty. 

. Chopped apple

. Chopped Orange

. Chopped lemongrass about half a stick

. Chopped mint three or four leaves

. Fresh Lemon

Take the lemon close your eyes, squeeze all over the apple and let the juice flow.

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Quick & Easy Recipe: Arabic Snacks

I've mentioned before that I still long for those Middle Eastern flavours while stranded here on Her Majesty's Rainy Shores. The ones below are extremely simple and tasty, either as a light snack on a Sunday, or to serve to guests before a meal. Serve these with real arabic bread, the big flat variety which you can find in most good Arabic/Ethnic Supermarkets, the 'pita' you get in chain supermarkets is rubbish compared to it.

Tahini Dip

• 1/2 Cup Tahini (Arabic Sesame Paste, available in Arabic Supermarkets)
• 4 Heaped Tablespoons of Greek Yoghurt
• 1 Garlic Clove
• Juice of one Whole Lemon
• Optional Fresh Parsley to Garnish
• Sea Salt to Taste
  

Chop Garlic Finely. Add to the Tahini. Plop in the Yoghurt, mix till combined, watch as it thickens up into a nice paste. Incorporate the lemon, (add more depending on your your palette), season with the salt. If the dip is too thick for your tastes, thin it down with a little water till it reaches your desired consistency. This dip also goes well with fish!

Arnabeet Meklah (Fried Cauliflower)

• One Head of Cauliflower
• Sea Salt
• Oil for Frying
• Optional Fresh Lemon Juice

You won't believe how special this is until you try it, and it's so darn simple. The frying unlocks the beautiful flavours in the cauliflower that usually languish in boiling water and dodgy cheese sauces. This nice rustic treat is really addictive.

Slice up the cauliflower into florets. Shallow fry in hot oil, cook till nicely browned and a little crispy in places. Pat down and dry off oil. Sprinkle with Sea Salt (and optional lemon). Serve with Tahini Dip and warmed Arabic Bread. It's cheap too!

Enjoy!
xx

-R

Tip for the Lazy: Most UK Chain Supermarkets sell a Tahini brand called 'Cypressa' if you can't make it to an Arabic shop.

Guest Review: Raphael Returns!

Raphael is back, this time spreading his critique onto Dad Pete's Pancakes...

REVIEW OF DADDYS PANCAKES

"These pancakes were a bit out of shape but very delishus. I had seven pancakes! the not nicest filling was the cheese one and the two lovelyest were the honey and nutella fillings. mummy and daddy tried to make me have strawberry and banana but i said no way daddy.

LOVE RAPHAELXXX"

Thanks Raphael! Come back soon. By the way, where's the recipe for that new snack you created?

-Rajesh x