The Lost Ingredient, part two

[desperance]

I know damn well that there is a bottle of mustard oil in this house. Which is why I did not buy mustard oil this morning, when I bought urad dhal and other necessaries; similarly why I did not buy mustard oil when I bought a papaya this afternoon.

However? I am having doubts about my damn fine knowledge. I cannot find the mustard oil, tho' I have searched everywhere and many times. It is not actually impossible that I used it all, to make a pickle. I am profligate that way.

Anyway: the dhal that needs it cannot have it, as I am not going out again today. I will get a bottle tomorrow, and add a little to the leftovers to see what a difference it makes. For reference: the addition of papaya to the mutton curry? Sensational. It was good before; now it is fabulous. I may have to make another one, though, as I still have half a papaya.

Comments

[rhionnach.livejournal.com]

I seem to recall reading somewhere that papaya is used to tenderise meat due to certain enzymes it contains so I guess it will add to the flavour. I can only guess, as being vegetarian, it's not something I am likely to try for myself.

[spaceoperadiva.livejournal.com]

Mustard oil? I've used mustard seed and powder and eaten the greens and even the flowers, but I didn't know there was such a thing as mustard oil.

[possumqueen.livejournal.com]

*takes a wild guess*

Colonel Mustard in the Green room!

[http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/]

Have you checked Mac and Baz? They may well have stashed it somewhere for their midnight drinking binges...

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Yup - the papaya was optional in the recipe, and if using it the original cooking time was cut by a third, because of that tenderising habit. Obviously, as I didn't have the papaya when I cooked the curry yesterday, that no longer applied - which is why I hesitated before adding it to the leftovers today. But it definitely does add to the flavour, and the texture too. Nom-nom-nom.

(There must be vegetarian recipes? I dunno, it's twenty-some years since I was veggie and I don't think we had papaya back then, but surely...)

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Whoo, yeah. It's a bit like sesame oil in Chinese cooking: highly flavoured, so use sparingly. Except in pickles. Where I suspect I must've used the most of a bottle. And forgot to replace it. Sigh...

[rhionnach.livejournal.com]

Oh there will be veggie papaya recipes but I was thinking of the meat aspect.

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Mmm, it is interesting. There's still some left for tomorrow, and I'm wondering if the meat will be conspicuously tenderer, for having sat with the papaya overnight...

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Glug-glug-glug. Ulp. "It, it helps with the hairballs, y'know..." Glug.

[mantichore.livejournal.com]

I know the feeling. I know I have Eddison's Mezentian Gate somewhere in the flat. I just can't find it anywhere. It's maddening.

Urad dhal

[poesmother.livejournal.com]

Where does one purchase such a thing in Newcastle? My Curry Bible keeps asking for it (so to speak!) & I can't find it anywhere in Tesco.

Re: Urad dhal

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Well, I go to my corner shop. Any of my corner shops...

Tesco's won't, but any decent Asian foodstore will have it; your problem is that every decent Asian foodstore is in the West End. Ideally, come to the Brighton Grove Foodstore, which is (not unexpectedly) on Brighton Grove. It's worth the trip, for more than urad dhal.