[Ana&Steve]

Has anyone seen ghee available in NZ? Probably one of those things I need to make for myself! (it's hard to find here, too, as Indian food stores don't stay in business long:()
Ana
For the curious Ghee (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghee)

[jubjub]

You can get tubs of clarified butter in the supermarket, not quite the same though...

[StevieD]

Must put some in the container for our curry fests mmmm...

[barryp]

It's available in (some) plain ole grocery stores. There are a number of Indian specialty markets in urban areas with imported and house-made ghee (and paneer, come to think of it).

IIRC you are aiming for Welly - there are def. Indian markets around here. The shop that has everything you might want for cooking, including spices by measure, is Spice Rack in Petone.

[tick tock]

I wouldnt pack the Ghee...any thing Dairy is a BIG no no with MAF....why take the chance.

[Ana&Steve]

Thanks guys, will look into IIRC, (just had paneer and curry for dinner, barryp:) ) but it sounds like I (and StevieD) need to practice making it!
Didn't know about the no dairy and MAF, tick tock, just didn't occur to me.
jubjub I love to dip artichoke bits in clarified (drawn) butter!
Ana

[highlander]

I havent actually looked for it (or seen it) but I would imagine that somewhere like Moshim's Discount House (usually just refered to as Moshim's) would have it. We have one in Newtown, Wellington and I think they have branches in Akl and Chch.

Newtown (esp Riddiford Street) and Kilbirnie areas in Wellington have loads of 'ethnic' stuff - Indian and Asian. We can usually get anything we need from there.

[Howie]

I've been looking for it and haven't found it at any grocery stores. I work with a guy from India who has a friend who owns an Indian grocery in
Auckland, but I still haven't managed to get there to pick some up.

[Rizak]

You can get tubs of clarified butter in the supermarket, not quite the same though...

:laugh

No, it's just the opposite in fact.

Ghee is made by simmering unsalted butter in a large pot until all water has boiled off and protein has settled to the bottom. The clarified butter is then spooned off to avoid disturbing the milk solids on the bottom of the pan. Unlike butter, ghee can be stored for extended periods without refrigeration, provided it is kept in an airtight container to prevent oxidation, and that it remains moisture-free.

[southparkers]

Hi,

I've bought Ghee in the UK in tins, is this ok to put in a container ?
I was under the impression that food in tins was ok to bring,I brought all sorts accross with no problem.

[Rizak]

Hi,

I've bought Ghee in the UK in tins, is this ok to put in a container ?
I was under the impression that food in tins was ok to bring,I brought all sorts accross with no problem.

Really? The nice man who gave me a quote on moving and packing said that I'm not allowed to take ANY food of ANY sort. They've done a few moves to NZ, so I kind of trust his word.

[KerryS]

Really? The nice man who gave me a quote on moving and packing said that I'm not allowed to take ANY food of ANY sort. They've done a few moves to NZ, so I kind of trust his word.

No, this is incorrect. You can bring over food - just not fresh produce, honey etc.
Check the MAF pages for the list of what you can and can't bring over. Most pre-packaged things are fine.

[Trigirl]

no fresh meat, fresh fruit and veg, honey, seeds (including popcorn). pretty much anything in cans is fine (still no honey though!) - pretty much anything that has been cooked is fine. you still have to declare all foodstuffs but provided you follow the MAF rules they wont stop you bringing them in.

[Rizak]

Thanks. I'll take a closer look at that page. My mover said that he'd seem some shipments held up because of a couple of cans of food. I don't know if he was just making conversation or giving me genuine information.

I'll trust the MAF site.

[southparkers]

Hi Rizak

We brought all sorts of food stuff over in tins,jars and in packets,as long as there are unopened its ok, check the list on the Maf website.
If you think you are going to need it or cant get it here chuck it in the container. I dont think you are supposed to bring oxo cubes or gravy granules as they are a meat deriviative but we put some in, and all the wine, propably about 50 bottles. Maf checked the food boxes and customs checked the wine, no problems.

[Trigirl]

I dont think you are supposed to bring oxo cubes or gravy granules as they are a meat deriviative

don't know about gravy granules but oxo cubes are defintiely fine. we brought them through in our hand luggage, declared them at biosecurity at auckland airport and were given the allclear by the MAF official there (by the way you can buy chicken and beef ones here but NZ doesn't appear to have heard of lamb stock cubes yet)

[Rizak]

Sorry about the threadjack ...

I suppose I'll just find a way to drink the small amount of wine that we have as we can get decent replacements once we arrive. Liquor, the same. I'll look into some of the things that we simply cannot do without and post a separate list here later to see what is absolutely unavailable. I also imagine that I can have friends send replacements via air-freight should the situation become dire.

:laugh

[highlander]

Hi, just popped into Moshims for some other bits - and I can now confirm they do stock real Ghee in tins. They have both the dairy type and vegetable type. Dairy one is Leila brand (green tin (http://www.b2bsearch.biz/attach/34236/leila_ghee_gp_6.jpg)). I assume that if they have it in Welly, you should have no trouble getting it in Auckland or ChCh.

[Ana&Steve]

Yay! It's really sounding to me like we can get just about anything we're used to in NZ, as long as we're willing to pay!:o

[Shoel]

try "Canary" brand clarified butter
its tastes good enough to me (and im Indian!)

[DMcG]

I live just up the road from Royal Oak in Auckland and I can think of two shops of the top of my head that sell quite a variety of ghee. In fact, I've got some in the fridge just now :D

Dougie

[Nick88]

I've seen it in the Bin Inn, along with a large selection of spices.