National Curry Week

[Stravaig]

Did you know that the UK's National Curry Week started on Monday?

I decided to celebrate it with a fundraiser for the Gurkhas' veterans and widows. We have a great affection and respect for the Gurkhas - and thought they were a worthy curry-related cause. Rather than a dinner party, in these dark times, it's a case of delivering frozen curries to participants.

Everyone I've asked to participate has been really enthusiastic. And generous with their donations! So I've ended up making Gurkha curry with dal bhat (lentils and rice) most of this week. And I have more orders for next! I think I'll have scampi and chips (home-made, of course) for tea tonight as for some reason I don't fancy a curry right now. (And I don't eat chicken anyway.)

Emily, the Community Fundraising person at the Gurkha Welfare Trust (GWT), has been very helpful and sent me some promotional leaflets and info about the GWT's work. Having the support of the GWT kinda makes my little event look more "official".

I've not yet had any feedback so fingers crossed the curries have gone down well.

It's surprising how many people have some connection with the Gurkhas. Anyone here maybe? If so, they have lots of suggestions on their website about how you can fund-raise for them if you'd like to do that kind of thing.

[Stravaig]

Feedback from the fundraiser front - I raised over a hundred quid from my curries, which was £130+ when the "gift aid" was added. That's more than a month's pension for someone. It doesn't seem like a lot to me but I suppose every little helps and it depends on the economy of where people live. The pension provided by the GWT for a Gurkha veteran or widow is £90 per month if they're not entitled to a British Army pension.

It's humbling to be in a position of giving rather than desperate for someone to provide the money so you can eat. Let's hope the latter never happens to any of us.

[Primrose]

Well done on your efforts Stravaig. It,s heartening in such difficult times to read of acts of kindness and generosity to others. It,s all too easy to walk along in our own comfortable bubble. The sad thing in this Pandemic is that people who perhaps would normally have managed to "survive reasonably oK" have suddenly had the rug pulled from underneath them through no fault of their own.

But i can understand why you can,t face eating a curry at the moment!! In this house it's nice for an occasional change but I don,t think my taste buds could cope with one all the time !

[Stravaig]

I did eventually get a bit of nice feedback - but apparently it wasn't as spicy as he'd expected. Well, I like spicy but not everyone does so I held back on it a bit and put a big whole green chilli on the top of each of them so people can chop and add the chilli or remove it according to their own taste.

Funnily enough, there was another mention of "that" curry, ie the Burns Night one. Apparently it's the best curry he's ever had in Ukraine. It seems I can't recreate perfection. Maybe I should move on to something else. Soup?

Soup is a wonderful thing to make - easy, filling, cheap, and if you have it for breakfast in a cold climate it's like a personal central heating system. My Ukrainian friend was quite shocked at the idea of having soup for breakfast - and I was quite shocked at her shock.

Why not have soup for breakfast? What do you think?

[Stravaig]

Sorry, Primrose, I'd meant to say something in my last post about your comment "Having the rug pulled out from under them".

Life's a bit of a lottery anyway but it must be absolutely dreadful for those who were just about managing before and then to suddenly be out of work or without income. That's very scary. So far we personally have a secure income, and a roof over our heads which goes with the job.

The hunger/poverty situation in the UK was bad enough before Covid but I can hardly imagine it now. I also can't imagine having to rely on a food bank to get fed. But with a government full of Old Etonians it's not surprising that they don't seem to understand or care. I apologise in advance if I've upset anyone by making a political comment on this usually very friendly forum. This situation makes me angry.

[Primrose]

Have never had soup for breakfast but see no reason why one shouldn,t have it. Guess we,re all used to eating our traditional foods rather than trying to venture outside the box. . After all, I happily eat fried bacon and tomatoes for breakfast . Why shouldn,t I eat them in a different form as tomato soup with pieces of bacon in it for example? Guess we're all creatures of habit!

Talking of curry, my husband bought some Indian drumsticks from our village supermarket today. Had no idea what they were or what they were even called until he consulted an Asian member of staff. They looked like 18 inch long thick green sticks.

Apparently they're the immature seed pods of the Moringa Oleifera tree, whatever that is. They,re supposed to be full of all kinds of vitamins and minerals and are chopped up and cooked in curry, so they,ve been treated like this and up added to tomorrow's vegetable curry to use up a surfeit of butternut squash.

However we,ve now sampled them as the curry has finished cooking. . The interior of the stick has gone soft and is quite tasty but the outer part of the "stick" is as tough and rough as tree bark and totally inedible. You'd choke if you tried to chew then swallow it.
Have we done something wrong?
Anybody have any experience of cooking with this "vegetable and how you're supposed to eat it?

[Westi]

Blimey Primrose I spend a fair bit of time on the recipe sites & not heard of that & living down here with the earners in their big houses some strange things pop up at the 'green' supermarket, which I only visit as got a proper fresh fish counter & that is compared to the one on the fishing Quay which is frozen defrosted but folk think a fishing boat moored beside means off them. (Doh smoked haddock)?

Of course as there anyway it would be a waste not to go around every aisle & their free weekend mag is quite good & the sourdough bread comes out every hour or so, so always nice. The price is a bit challenging though!

[Shallot Man]

Stravaig. Do you deliver in the Basildon Area.

[Stravaig]

Primrose - I've never heard of these "Indian drumsticks" before. And I've spent almost a decade on the Indian subcontinent in various countries (ie those three which were part of India pre-partition in 1947). Must find out more!

Shallot Man - sorry, I can't deliver to Basildon. We only do delivery to 10 mins walk from our flat. However, you are very welcome to come and collect a curry. I'd give it to you almost free - the price would be that you must admire my indooor gardening and offer advice on how it could be better.

Today I received a lovely thank you post card and a gift from the GWT. It really made me happy and want to do this again next year.