South East Asian Food on a KK

[Braai-Q]

1 hour ago, RokDok said:

I'm kicking off the yeast starters for the brews to celebrate the arrival of the KK tomorrow.

I read this as you were celebrating the arrival of the KK tomorrow in which case I had visions of Dennis sending it in a very large DHL box! 🤭

Best reason for making a celebration ale. 

[RokDok]

1 hour ago, tony b said:

What are you planning on making? 

I have a pilsner cold crashing right now. Hoping to try it this weekend.

It's going to be a Big Bad Bronze - A Trippel of around 9%., and a Matt Black Stout - the colour of my 32" that's on order . About 9 % too.

@Braai-Q "I read this as you were celebrating the arrival of the KK tomorrow in which case I had visions of Dennis sending it in a very large DHL box! 🤭"

Yes, my grammar was a bit ambiguous - It'll take a few days to get the yeast cultures going - I'll start the brew on Saturday with a little help from my friends.

Enjoy your Pilsner Tony

 

[tekobo]

I'll second the Pitt Cue Co book recommendation.  Go wandering further afield for some fun.  Francis Mallman, the Argentinian chef is charming and inventive while Charred and Scruffed by Adam Perry Lang brings some new tricks to the table.  I have not got into my Lennox Hastie book yet but I am hoping that will open the door to some new places.  We went to the restaurant he used to work in in Spain, Etxebarri, quite a few years ago and were blown away by how delicate smoke made everything, including boiled eggs, taste better.  

[tekobo]

P.S. Naan slapped onto the walls of a KK.  That's a challenge I'm going to take on, particularly while my KKs are new and shiny. And no @Braai-Q, I saw what you did there with that link and I am not going to buy a tandoor no matter how beautiful.  

Edited October 20, 2020 by tekobo

[Braai-Q]

10 hours ago, RokDok said:

Yes, my grammar was a bit ambiguous - It'll take a few days to get the yeast cultures going - I'll start the brew on Saturday with a little help from my friends.

I wasn't being a grammar pedant, hope I didn't offend. Absolutely not my intention. I'm on a virtual conference this week and it's a 10 hour a day programme for 4.5 days. While fascinating, it's a marathon of streaming and while you are interacting with people, it's quite serious and intense. I think I just amused myself with the thought of rolling in to my local DHL service point with a 32 and saying 'I'd like to send this overseas on priority'. I should mention that our local DHL service centre is a weird outfit - the agent insists on picking the size of box that your items will go in before he will even entertain a conversation. I made a thinking outside the box joke once. Didn't land well. 

[Braai-Q]

57 minutes ago, tekobo said:

P.S. Naan slapped onto the walls of a KK.  That's a challenge I'm going to take on, particularly while my KKs are new and shiny. And no @Braai-Q, I saw what you did there with that link and I am not going to buy a tandoor no matter how beautiful.  

I don't know if you'd have enough latent heat in the walls of the KK. The one problem with using the walls of your KK is that if you achieve Naanvana (Naan Nirvana, geddit?) 😁  you're going to want to reproduce it and then you'll be looking at a 42KK that you'll need to keep pristine just for doing naan. 

In all seriousness, I think the pizza steel might be the best approach but it's the airflow that I'm puzzling. I feel I have three parts to three different puzzles in approaching this - I have excellent reference points for quality from India and East London so I know what it should be like from a taste and textural point of view. I know the general heating conditions and have made them in a Puri. I have a KK and a pizza steel. 

Just talking about this makes me want to hit the Lahore One in East London for a fix. Anjum is such a great guy, if I asked him, I reckon he'd give me a lesson in how he makes his naan. They are perfection.

[Basher]

If you want to cook naan bread and replicate a tandoori oven, maybe a terra cotta pot tray over the coal basket?
Like these.

They are pretty cheap at any nursery here and I’m sure they would be available in Europe and North America.


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[tekobo]

1 hour ago, Basher said:

If you want to cook naan bread and replicate a tandoori oven, maybe a terra cotta pot tray over the coal basket?
Like these.

Ahh.  I have an interesting clay device for clamping a spatchcock chicken between that could do a similar job.  Or a pizza stone???  Or steel.   Stuff to try.

[tony b]

I'm digging that terra cotta pot idea. But, I'm thinking that you'd have to remove the bottom of it to get the proper effect? Otherwise, there's not much airflow going through the normal drain hole. 

[Basher]

I'm digging that terra cotta pot idea. But, I'm thinking that you'd have to remove the bottom of it to get the proper effect? Otherwise, there's not much airflow going through the normal drain hole. 

Tony it’s a tray and given they are very heat resistant, maybe it could rest on the bottom grill on a 45 degree angle?
I’ve seen terracotta bowls in Indian spice shop and they tell me they use them to cook curry direct over a gas element and can get 20- 40 cooks out of them before they become too soaked with oils and spices.
I’ll give it a try at some point. Happy to follow your lead!!


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[Sir Bill]

13 hours ago, tony b said:

I'm digging that terra cotta pot idea. But, I'm thinking that you'd have to remove the bottom of it to get the proper effect? Otherwise, there's not much airflow going through the normal drain hole. 

@tony b Makes sense as I was looking at this homemade Tandoor - if the KK supplies the coals and the insulation, you could use just the double pots with one inverted from this approach.

https://thecurrykid.co.uk/how-to-build-a-tandoor-oven-at-home-for-under-50/

[Braai-Q]

13 hours ago, tony b said:

I'm digging that terra cotta pot idea. But, I'm thinking that you'd have to remove the bottom of it to get the proper effect? Otherwise, there's not much airflow going through the normal drain hole. 

If the pizza steel fails, I'd thought something from Roemertopf might be my next port of call. 

[tony b]

10 hours ago, Sir Bill said:

@tony b Makes sense as I was looking at this homemade Tandoor - if the KK supplies the coals and the insulation, you could use just the double pots with one inverted from this approach.

https://thecurrykid.co.uk/how-to-build-a-tandoor-oven-at-home-for-under-50/

Clever idea. The question with adapting it to the KK is how to secure the double pot arrangement to keep it from tipping, in particular as you're trying to slap a naan against the sides? Could we be so lucky that we could find a clay pot that just fits inside the sear grate handles that would hold it steady??

There are some other grills out there that have a grate with a removable, round, center section for Dutch ovens and Woks. I'm wondering if a lower grate for the KK could be modified similarly. Then, you could just drop the clay pot into that circular opening and be good to go! 

@DennisLinkletter, are you listening? Maybe even come up with a complete set, with a ceramic pot tailormade for using as a tandoor??

Edited October 21, 2020 by tony b