Your Egypt

[RoughShod]

Today I was watching a chef program and the chef was making goulash. I have heard the term before but for the first time realized that it was more like a soup. So went into wikipedia to find out how to make it. I was surprised I had all the ingrediants at hand to make it.

I noticed the chef had put large amounts of some spice in the mix(this program just shows and does not tell what is being used) and after wikipedia realized this must be paprika. wikipedia also mentioned that dumplings were used together with goulash so looked up how to make them too.

So I filled a pan with quite a large amount of oil(as the chef did)and while it was preheating chopped up an onion finely and a potatoe also finely. then chopped up some pork(is that word allowed here?)into cubes. Then added the onion to the hot oil(olive)then about a minute later some garlic and about 3 minutes later the meat.

I then came back to the pc to see the recipe and found they browned the meat first before doing the onions...well the chef I saw did the onions first.(he then put in what I thought was garlic before putting in the meat)

while all that was going on I looked up paprika and found that that it is red or green bell pepper.It seems this pepper is overloaded with vitamin c and was used as a herbal medicine . somewhere cayenne pepper came up so I looked that up as well and found the name of the ingrediant that makes a pepper very hot. It is a resin like substance called capsaicin. It apparently is also used as a medicine so I decided to throw some of that into the 'goulash' as well.

Capsaicin in the 1912' got a strength rating by a chap called Scoville that allowed the diluting of a sample of chilli extract with copious quantities of sugar water to find the ratio of sugar water to chili sample before the Capsaicn is no longer noticeable. this was a subjective test involving the taste and perhaps olfactory organs of at least 5 participants.

I looked up what the Scoville rating of the red bell paper was and found it to be zero. Yet the word paprika in some languages refer to its object as being 'the hot one' ?

Anyway, the goulash calls for some hot redpeppers and I erred on the safe side and only added one thai pepper depipped.According to the scoville rating that is 50 000 to 100 000 strength . ( 100 000 parts of sugar water to one part of chili sample before its affect is no longer noticeable) .For interest sake the strongest strength measured that way is over 1 million scoville units. it is a japanese chilli called naga jolopia.

Anyway, as the thought of goulash as a soup dawned on me that I may as well add other soup ingrediants so added dried lentils and peas.

I have had some of it...very tasty...very burny...(those red peppers and cayenne no doubt) but it was an interesting different meal to have.

[Harrison]

I am impressed by your ingenuity Roughshod.

I adore Goulash. I usually toss my meat in flour first and then brown it.
Remove the meat, add a little bit more oil and then do my onions, garlic and paprika for a couple of minutes before putting the meat back in.

I also add red, green and yellow peppers for colour to mine and usually serve it with saffron rice.

That has got the tastebuds going to will make it later in the week.

[moll]

I thought you made goulash with beef :?

[RoughShod]

Moll, if you made goulash, I would have thought you made it with care :lol:

[RoughShod]

The real stuff burns the *beep* out of ones lips and tongue...thought it was my measurement faults, underestimated cayenne pepper..

everytime one breathes one feels the cooling flow over resolutedly resolved burning lips and tongue to hold one ransom to pain. Alcohol does not help to get rid of that resin.

Milk helps


no idea why

[RoughShod]

Pizza base with tomato paste and pineapple chunks, whole button mushrooms, bacon, olives , depipped tomato cut into chunks, grated mozirrello and and chedda cheese. That tastes better than ghoulash any day.

[Harrison]

Do you make your own pizza base Roughshod?

[RoughShod]

Unfortunately not Harrison. Tried making dumplings the other day and they came out like gluey marbles. If you have a recipe made simple for bludgeoning cooks, I mean blossoming cooks, please let me know.

[Harrison]

Hi Roughshod, is it for pizza base or dumplings you want the recipe for?

Let me know and I will gladly pass on my favourite scottish dumpling recipe.

[RoughShod]

I would like that noodle recipe Harrison.

[Harrison]

Now you have me confused Roughshod, I thought we were talking about dumplings and pizza bases. Where did noodles come into it?

For what we call Doughballs:

4 oz plain flour (all purpose)
2 oz suet (either vegetarian or meat)
Salt & Pepper.

Mix together, very slowly add water. I use my hands to mix together until just sticking together. Not too sticky or the doughballs will be heavy. Better to flour your hands before you start.

Make to the size your require, I usually get 4-5 out of the above mixture and simmer, with the lid on for 20-25 minutes.

Don't make the mistake I made the first time I made these, I just made one big one, placed it on top of my simmering minced beef, put the lid on and left the kitchen. About 20 minutes later I heard an enormous bang, it had swelled up, the lid went flying and the damned thing exploded. I was cleaning the walls and ceiling for ages. My new Mother in Law just shook her head and looked at my husband (as only MILs can do) with pity in her eyes.

[RoughShod]

Harrison, meant dumplings. Had to look up what suet was. Will try it again sometime...but tonight is Friday, may try fast food and a bar instead. Suet sounds very fattening but very tasty if the fat has elements of burned meat in it(I tried making stews by burning the meat a little together with its fat and it is much tastier that way).

[Harrison]

Well Roughshod I suppose it could be fattening if you were to eat it every day! As I am quite lightweight - 49 kgs I don't think I have to worry too much! As I can't get suet here in Hurghada, I have been cutting the fat off the meat (I can't eat it) and then putting it throught the mincer. Obviously not as good as bought stuff but hey beggars can't be choosers.

I have become quite ingenious in adapting recipes since coming to live here and can quite honestly say that I have re-discovered my love of cooking. Instead of buying packets of sauce mixes etc I now make all my own.

We both love curry and I couldn't find Garam Masala here so again have made up a jar of my own.

Oh it is beautiful here today. My day off is tomorrow so I am going to hit the beach and see if my Blue Spotted Lagoon Ray has come back to the reef yet. Back to work on Monday then Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday off, it is our Wedding Anniversary on Wednesday so want to spend a few days with hubby.

Have a Great Day. :D

[RoughShod]

The thought of making dumplings that actually taste like they should has haunted me from last night Harrison, so today decided to make goulash again. Went out and found a bargain price on a lump of silverside meat. Only recently I found out that a T bone steak consists of fillet on the inner side of the bone(the smaller portion) and thatrump is the outer side.....Is fillet also called sirloin?) So wondered what silverside was but it looked meaty and all and that is good enough for me?

I did not bother looking up the different kinds of meat.....hell, when you buy something new do you really look at the instructions before you try it out :) Well I don't...just try to make it do by intuition basically.

Anyway, that silver side was planned to be roasted first and the fat collected to make suet, but then I wondered if I could use the cooked meat to make goulash. For me now, ghoulash and dumplings are a friendly combination .And dumplings need suet. But i thought, if I roast that meat....it may taste better by itself instead of being used in goulash...but I fried some and it does seem rather a tough kind of meat, so resolved to carry on with the goulash.(all that simmering should kick the *beep* out of its toughness)

So for suet I decided to use canola magarine.Sure it is bland . but this is just an experiment to see if I can make a dumpling that will absorb theflavours of the goulash.

Well, finally made it . It is burny, the dumplings have absorbed the flavours of the goulash it was simmered in.The dumplings are way better than the first ones I made . Thanks Harrison.

Well, I hope your favourite sighting will occur as de ja vue(spelling?) to a blessing to your upcoming anniversary Harrison. If no sighting, blue spotted lagoon ray's loss I would say :)

[RoughShod]

Appendum. Silverside pot steamed for 2 and 1 half hours (1 kg ...after searing its external extremities at high heat first...preferably using its outer extremity of fat side first to try to release the fat) in a whole onion quartered and quartered again and with about a teaspoon of cloves and one big bay leaf together with 2 spoons of papikra and a beef stock mixture of herbs and spices made by someone in SA called Irma Parman(used 4 teaspoons there) seems to bring a full out deliscious tender silver side that is suitable for goulash and just needs to be added with the gravy and perhaps lot more paprika and a hot thai pepper or 2. (will not try that tonight....goulash may seem like a name for a meal, but love the silverside the way it is now...)

Now for roasting the veggies:(...I do not like veggies, only eat them because they are cheaper than multi vitamin pills :(
)