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Fish And Chips, Lamb Bhuna Or Bratvurst?

Have you ever wondered why there are no English, Scottish or Welsh takeaways? You don’t see any German or Swedish takeaways either do you? The closest you get to an Italian takeaway is pizza which is supposed to be a street food but people in this country tend to eat that with a knife and fork. It’s not until you get as exotic as Turkish food that you start to see the takeaway in the form of the kebab. Effectively a cross between a sandwich and a bready bag of meat.

Of course I’m discounting Good ol’ Fish n’ Chips but that’s just fried fish and fried potatoes. What I’m really talking about is the takeaway food which has a menu which folds out over 5 pages. Perhaps I’m missing their trick, after all any Chinese or Indian takeaway tends to run on a pretty basic process; pick your protein, pick the sauce it’s cooked in, pick the carbs to go along side it. Steak and kidney pie, roast potatoes, two veg and gravy doesn’t really fit the model does it? But that’s only half the story. Everyone knows a take away that’s a bit naff and one that’s quite amazing. So what separates them? Well, basically it’s quality; the quality of the ingredients and the quality of the chef. Some will just throw any old joints on the range and pour some sauce over it while others, our favourites, will take the trouble to cook quality meat, fish and paltry in sauces that they have taken time preparing beforehand from the best ingredients locally available. If you’re looking for a good Chinese takeaway Nottingham has some of the tastiest I’ve ever had food from. The same goes for pizza, if you’re looking for pizza Nottingham has many of the best. But again, they fit the model, the bases are the same, you just select the sprinkles!

Tags: indian, nottingham, pizza, takeaway

What does your take away say about you?

What does your takeaway say about you? I share a house with a few girls and every few weeks we’ll have a takeaway night. It might be pizza, Chinese, Thai, curry, it doesn’t matter, they’ll spend ages pawing over the menus and always end up ordering the same thing they always order.

I couldn’t make up my mind what I wanted either so I decided to mix it up and I ordered four or five starters rather than starter-main the looks on their faces was as if I had discovered a revelation! I like to look at the starters as a sort of sample menu rather than something you skip over in order to get to the mains. If I do go for mains though, I like to try something different every time. “The Usual” is anathema to me! All those choices and you want to stick the same old same old? Are you mad? Have you ever been to dinner with some one who ‘really like Thai food’ but only ever eat Phad Thai and don’t like coconut? They’re almost as irritating as people who pick at their food.

But getting back to ordering ‘The Usual’; Here’s the thing, you love your Chinese takeaways, you like the chef at The Jade Garden’s Kung Po Chicken, well, maybe he’s a bit of a dab hand with the old Szechuan Pork too, it’s the same chef cooking it and you like his chicken, right? Go on, surprise him, and yourself! There are some great takeaways in Nottingham, I aim to try them all! Seriously, if you’re looking for Chinese or Indian takeaway Nottingham really is the best.

I once worked in a pub which was also an Indian takeaway and restaurant (I know, crazy) but as staff we got discount on the food so I tried them all. Now I really know my way around an Indian menu and can tell you what they’re really like. Kashmiri for example, not too common but getting more popular, very mild creamy sauce with banana and lychee, a bit like a spicy fruit salad with meat!

Tags: chinese, indian, take away, takeaway food

Local Curry House Updates Their Furniture More Often Than Their Menu

With all of us having such busy schedules it is important to try and ensure that you still spend time with the family.

In our house we try and ensure that we all sit down to a family dinner. It gives us time to catch up on what has been happening during the day and enjoy a bit of family time. › Continue reading

Tags: cooking, Family, food, furniture, indian

Avoid Eating Fatty Foods When Ordering Your Takeaway

Obviously if you will choose something that is greasy and covered in batter, it’s not going to be as good as say a vegetable curry. It’s all about knowing what’s the best and what’s the worst, while still enjoying your treat.

Here are some tips for the best and worst items on the menu for a range of different takeaways:

Fish and Chips: The worst items are chips, although you can really avoid having them, sausages, and pies. › Continue reading

Tags: chinese, chips, indian, pizza, takeaways

History of herbal medicine

Medicinal herbs are a important part of modern civilization. Many of the drugs that we use today for healing various conditions have their roots in herbs, either because the drug itself is based on a herb, or because an active compound was discovered first in herbs, and was later researched to find more substances that work in a same or similar way.

However, the use of medicinal plants is not a recent discovery, they have been used since ancient times. › Continue reading

Tags: ayurveda, chinese, greek, healing, herbs, history, indian, medicinal