Foggy Malone

[writinghawk]

I don't know how many Tibetan Buddhist monasteries there are in the world, somewhere in the thousands I imagine, but I would bet large sums that this is the only one where the monks go round singing to themselves and what they sing is 'The foggy foggy dew' and 'Molly Malone

Comments

[anonymous]

Thanks for the recipe: I was just looking for some idea for cooking in a hotel room with a small kitchen. I've just made an approximation to it and it worked pretty well.

I think I didn't have the right sort of cheese, though. What is the nature of the local cheese?

Michael.

[writinghawk]

Glad to hear it! The local cheese here (I dare say it differs elsewhere in Himalistan) is very white, quite mild and slightly crumbly when new, later turning yellow, runny and very strong (some would say foul) smelling - but it is in the new phase that it should be used for curry. I feel that there is some more familiar cheese that this is quite similar to, but I am not very well up in my cheese names. However, they also use 'block cheese', which is a kind of processed cheese very similar indeed to a mild cheddar, and I've had pretty good curry made with that, too.

Although I say the local curry is delicious, I've also had instances that are much less appealing (to me, that is). What the source of this variation is I'm not very sure, as all the elements seem to be much the same - unless they are cooking something like fiddlehead fern, a local vegetable which I doubt that anyone's cooking could induce me to like much.

[writinghawk]

I learnt more about the cheese on further observation. While it goes runny and strong if left in a bag or sealed container, if instead one slices off the (edible, slightly pock-marked) rind and leaves it in the sun, it hardens and becomes somewhat more like a mild hard cheese. In the runny phase, while not usually the first choice in curry, it is in fact considered a speciality in the chilli-and-cheese dish. In the hard phase, it can be used as normal, but it should be added when the boiling starts, as it will take longer to dissolve.

I was not quite right when I said he 'covered' the vegetables in water. The water is a little less than enough to cover them, but it is boiled vigorously and they all seem to get cooked.

[bookly]

A friend of mine in the US -- Janice, who recommended the down clothing -- has done extensive experimentation as to cheese in curries when the local cheese isn't available, and discovered that American cheese is closest in terms of texture (not sure about taste). Some other friends made some with (I think) cheddar and swore it tasted authentic, but alas, the recipe and discussion were on Facebook and there's no way I can recover it. At any rate, it might be more fun to do your own experimentation when you get home.

Potato cheese curry is my favorite. One of my friends in Bangkok used to make it for me.

[writinghawk]

My favourite is a mixture of vegetables but including potato definitely seems to increase the chances of a successful version. On cheddar, see above.