Dear LPG,

When deciding to turn my thoughts to Ema Datshi, I have to admit that I knew nothing about the whereabouts of Bhutan, let alone its cuisine. Still, there is always something special about discovering a national recipe where you recognise all the ingredients, and there are so few of them.

When I am looking for a dish from strange shores to cook, I always think that if I can find something that is relatively uncomplicated to try, the result will have a chance of turning out a little nearer to tasting like the original.

There was also the fact that we are in the middle of our winter, and attempting the slightest sample of this stew was bound to be a body-warming experience, with Chili peppers being one of the principal components of the dish.

I usually try to stay as faithful to the recipe as possible, but on this occasion, I decided to make two halves of the whole. I made this decision because I understand that not everyone can handle the heat of chilli peppers, and I wanted to make the dish more accessible to those with a lower tolerance for spice.

 
When preparing my version, I added one more sentence to the method and I suggest that anyone preparing to have a go do the same unless they have a heat-resistant pallet.

You will be glad to know that I did not add anything, but I took something away from one-half of my result. Having worked with chilli peppers in the past, I took the seeds away from one half of the dish, and it was the seedless version that my taste testers went for when nodding their approval. I will also add that there was a lot of milk on the table just in case, and that, together with the seeded version of the stew, was nearly all discarded.  

So, looking back at this month's somewhat warming experience, I can say that trying Ema Datshi was a culinary adventure. The dish, while spicy, was a delightful body-warming experience perfect for winter. And while the seedless version was more popular among my taste testers, the original recipe has charm for those who can handle the heat. Now, it might be time to move forward, and I have to admit to having found another of the world's smaller countries to feature in the first month of the New Year.

Until finding information about this nation on the internet, I had never heard of Nauru, but their fusion of fish and coconut just called to me, so I plan to have a go. I have checked; there are no peppers in this recipe.

 I know I keep saying it, but how hard can it be?

 CB, Lewisham

CB shares a little more independent cooking…

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