Travelling the World in Lockdown

Re Curry, my wife and I like them to be fairly mild, with lots of suitable ingredients. Years ago when we lived in BC we had an Indian friend (originally from Kashmir) who provided lots of ingredients (he came fairly often to our place to play tennis, at which we were very evenly matched). He liked his curry a lot "fiercer" and added suitable ingredients, and we loved our milder form, which included banana and pineapple. Richard L

[Jenise]

An important point about curry, Richard: it's not an 'it', it's a 'them'. Curries are essentially highly seasoned stews and there are a zillion different possibilities of both seasoning and ingredients. At a typical Indian meal, one would have several. But this thread's no longer about India, Peter has moved on in his 'tour' to Hungary. Why don't you tell Peter about your experience with Egri Bikaver?

Jenise , I have amended my prior post. Egri Bikaver seemed aptly named "Bull's Blood", and we had more Tokaj. Richard L

I am curious to know more about this Indian vineyard, in particular its climatic conditions. It must be located at an altitude which brings cool enough conditions for Syrah/Shiraz? My only experience of the Indian sub-continent is from a handful of business visits to Karachi in Pakistan well to the north. I found the climate unbearably humid and hot except in December, which was like June in NW Europe (does that include the UK nowadays?) in fine weather.

I had this Sula wine, it was very good, and they had a chenin blanc that was even better. Ample acidity. I too wonder what part of India is temperate enough for wine grapes, as the only folks I have personally known who have lived or visited there all noted that it was stunningly hot and humid

Peter, I hope you take a look at the recipe for goulash I posted in the forum Kitchen. We were lucky enough to have it in Budapest and I think it's a reasonable facsimile, though it does require buying a tube of Hungarian paste which is available on Amazon or at Hungarian stores.

The beans I had was in a small village taverna, it was a long long time ago but I really enjoyed them. The beans take on a new flavour and texture by absorbing olive oil.

Other dishes I remember were moussaka - which I've made in past but no longer do so, fish caught that day and simply grilled by the fisherman's wife at their cottage, and a whole sheep brought down from the hills skinned hanging from a pole carried on the shoulders of two men, this was at lunchtime. They put it on a spit over a fire and dinner that evening was chunks cut off the roasted sheep. Other dishes as well, but it was all peasant food and there were no freezers or pre-prepared foods.

Salads varied as to what was ripe in people gardens that day. I remember being disappointed while in Kos not having the lettuce named after it 'Cos lettuce' (USA name Romaine) but it wasn't in season.

These were islands hosting tourists for the first time. The only way previously to get to them was via inter-island ferry and the ones far out saw very few tourists as it took such a long time to get to them from the mainland.

I remember on my visits to the Greek Islands, every place I visited served rabbit!!

Peter, I hope you take a look at the recipe for goulash I posted in the forum Kitchen. .

Link please, as I couldn't find it.

Peter, I hope you take a look at the recipe for goulash I posted in the forum Kitchen. .

Link please, as I couldn't find it.

Oops, I had sent it to my sister but for some reason I guess I hadn't posted it here! Thanks for the reminder.

RCP: Authentic Hungarian Goulash (Gulyás)