Paleobird's Next Big Adventure page 63

[Betorq]

Peril beat me to it. There is a man who knows his meat.

Every man ought to know his meat...

[Paleobird]

Every man ought to know his meat...

The double entendre was intentional. I'm glad somebody got it.

Since dinner has been so meaty the last couple of nights, I decided to go with seafood salad and blackberries for dessert tonight.
Those are sea scallops and in the middle is a pile of the best tuna salad evaaahhhh. It was made from trader joes ahi mixed with this special goop I bought at the farmer's market today. This goop is basically garlic and olive oil blended and whipped up to the consistency of mayo and then they add different flavorings. They had one with peppers, a basil one, but this one was the kalamata olive one. Oh my that was good. I am going to see if I can replicated that consistence in the vitamix.

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[Owly]

In India, goat is mutton. In the rare areas they also have breeds of sheep, in the North, they call sheep/lamb meat mutton too... So yes, I guess in your area, there is a differentiation.

Well, to be really accurate, it's usually called keema on most menus there

But yes, mutton in India referred to meat from any sort of sheep/goat. Also, most of the milk we got was water buffalo milk, raw of course. Delicious in masala chai.

I really need to go back again soon.

[peril]

Peril beat me to it. There is a man who knows his meat.

Thank you. I've studied long and hard

[Owly]

Thank you. I've studied long and hard

So you figure you've got a good handle on the subject?

[Paleobird]

Well, to be really accurate, it's usually called keema on most menus there
But yes, mutton in India referred to meat from any sort of sheep/goat. Also, most of the milk we got was water buffalo milk, raw of course. Delicious in masala chai.
I really need to go back again soon.

India is on my "to do" shortlist.

Thank you. I've studied long and hard

So you figure you've got a good handle on the subject?

I would say the situation is well in hand.

[Betorq]

Well, to be really accurate, it's usually called keema on most menus there

But yes, mutton in India referred to meat from any sort of sheep/goat. Also, most of the milk we got was water buffalo milk, raw of course. Delicious in masala chai.

I really need to go back again soon.

The main family I lived with in Kerala, who adopted me (the kids call me Brett Uncle), they are the milk suppliers to all the town's chai stalls & restaurants too. They had a mean ass water buffalo named Lakshmi, who only the father could milk & get near. Even the kids were afraid of her. Water buffalos only give birth about once every 18 months or so (breed dependant) & they are mega-expensive to feed vs output of milk. I bought 2 mama goats each w/ 2 babies, a girl & a boy for them. They got rid of Lakshmi & went into the goat biz. They have a huge flock of mixed breed goats, have a thriving milk biz & sell the baby males for meat or breeding. I've spent the vast majority of my time in the south of India. Never seen 'keema' on menus, must be a northern thing. Yes? In Sri Lanka, ALL THE YOGURT I ever saw/bought was from raw buffalo milk, abso delish! It comes in these big clay bowls, super cheap (like a buck) & you can re-use the clay bowl after you finish the massive amount of yogurt, which was probably 4-6 big ass portions.

My Indian & Sri Lankan families keep asking me when I'm returning.... Alas, it's not in my plans anytime in the forseeable future...

[Owly]

Yes, I was mostly in the north--Gujarat, for a lot of it, then travelling through Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, with a side trip up to Himachal Pradesh to spend a few days in McLeod Ganj (where the Tibetan government-in-exile and the Dalai Lama are), and a couple of days in Mumbai. I loved Gujarat. One of the NGOs I was studying with there would have me back to work in a heartbeat, but I would have to self-fund a lot of it since Indian NGOs can't afford to pay North American wages.

It makes sense that you didn't see keema on menus in the south. It's a Hindi word, and most of the languages in the south are from the Dravidian group and so are from a different linguistic family. I had a few people explain to me that much of the time, people from the north and south will communicate with each other in English because it's the language they are most likely to have in common.

Paleobird, I have a dream in the next year or two to do some trekking in India and Nepal with a group of folks--I have a friend who knows a very good guide we could work with there and my brother does backcountry guide work, so we could organize a good team. I'll let you know if it comes together.

[Paleobird]

Ooooooh. Water buffalo yoghurt sounds divine. I had some cape buffalo milk when I was in Africa. I wonder how different a cape and a water buffalo are. Cape buffalo makes great biltong.
I can see that, unless you had the beast for other purposes too like pulling a plow, just keeping one around for milk production wouldn't work that well.
That was sweet of you to help out that family. I knew there was a reason I liked you other than the cute dimple.

[Paleobird]

Paleobird, I have a dream in the next year or two to do some trekking in India and Nepal with a group of folks--I have a friend who knows a very good guide we could work with there and my brother does backcountry guide work, so we could organize a good team. I'll let you know if it comes together.

Yes, Please!!!!