Innovation wise, the best I came across was the way LotfP handled skills (especially the Specialist). It wasn't a shocking development, but it made the game run faster and smoother.

I wasn't, for example, happy with Fighters being the only ones to get To Hit bonuses by level though. Decoupling the old rules sets with nostalgic bad art was also good, when employed.

For the most part, some better organization of the material and an old school programmers "borrow what works" motto seems to be the driving force behind a lot of good OSR works.

Quote from: Tod13;866207ETA: I found paste on Amazon. So I might make it with serranos this weekend and real paste next weekend. http://www.amazon.com/Goya-Yellow-Hot-Pepper-Paste/dp/B005F5KBAO Although, our Kroger may carry this...

I made the Gastón Acurio recipe using serranos this weekend.

1. I put salt and white pepper, and just a touch of paprika, on the chicken and browned it before cooking it in a pressure cooker. The pressure cooker is just faster and more convenient than steaming it on the stove, and the shades of Bobby Flay and Gordon Ramsay would haunt me if I did not spice the meat before cooking it.

2. In Acurio's recipe, are the onions supposed to be blended into the sauce? I did not do this, but I wasn't 100% certain based on the Google translation. In vindaloo, the onions form the base of the sauce.

3. If you are using the large red/purple onions common in US grocery stores, one is sufficient.

4. I did not seed the serranos, and ran them through the food processor with some oil and chicken stock. I used 8 serranos in the mix. I put some into a quiche I made earlier, and used about 1/3 cup of what remained. I could probably have safely used 1/2. Seeded, I could have used all of it.

5. The BBC recipe includes paprika and turmeric. I used a bit of smoked paprika in this version--not much though. The turmeric would also help give the dish more of a yellow color, which would make it more visually appealing.

It came out very, very tasty. I served it over Texmati rice and totally forgot the olives I bought to go with it. (What kind of olives do you use with Peruvian cuisine?) I took pictures and will probably write up the recipe as a FB post.

I've ordered the aji amarillo paste from Amazon, so I will have that to compare, maybe this coming weekend or the one after. I think I prefer serranos to jalapenos for this. The flavor would be very, very different with jalapenos. But an accurate assessment is awaiting the aji amarillo paste.

Introducing this recipe is definitely the best concrete thing the OSR did. ;-)

Quote from: The Butcher;865576It is! Sine Nomine's, I mean. He and the Tékumel Foundation are already talking, the Foundation's shooting itself in the foot if he doesn't walk away with a license.

So wait, would this finally be an OSR-compatible version of Tekumel??

Congrats! I will add commentary in color.

Quote from: Tod13;866385I made the Gastón Acurio recipe using serranos this weekend.

1. I put salt and white pepper, and just a touch of paprika, on the chicken and browned it before cooking it in a pressure cooker. The pressure cooker is just faster and more convenient than steaming it on the stove, and the shades of Bobby Flay and Gordon Ramsay would haunt me if I did not spice the meat before cooking it.

... I like pressure cookers.

2. In Acurio's recipe, are the onions supposed to be blended into the sauce? I did not do this, but I wasn't 100% certain based on the Google translation. In vindaloo, the onions form the base of the sauce.

Sweated until essentially translucent and easily mushed with everything else.

3. If you are using the large red/purple onions common in US grocery stores, one is sufficient.

Fair enough. Shallots and small red onions are very popular there, for their mildness. I would give you a secret on Peruvian cooking here as to the culinary theory on why, but then I'd have to kill you or be killed in return.

4. I did not seed the serranos, and ran them through the food processor with some oil and chicken stock. I used 8 serranos in the mix. I put some into a quiche I made earlier, and used about 1/3 cup of what remained. I could probably have safely used 1/2. Seeded, I could have used all of it.

*sigh* It is ok. I reveal no more, but I invite you to seed your peppers here again next time.

5. The BBC recipe includes paprika and turmeric. I used a bit of smoked paprika in this version--not much though. The turmeric would also help give the dish more of a yellow color, which would make it more visually appealing.

Smoked paprika... no. There's better things to use, and especially not smoked. As my family would say with arched eyebrow, "we're not making a curry here..."

It might have pulled the serrano closer to the warmth of ají amarillo, but please, no smoked paprika.


It came out very, very tasty. I served it over Texmati rice and totally forgot the olives I bought to go with it. (What kind of olives do you use with Peruvian cuisine?) I took pictures and will probably write up the recipe as a FB post.

Long grain basmati rice grown in Texas? Good. Preferably jasmine rice. Either way there's a bit of a trick to lightly season your rice beforehand with a kiss of garlic, oil, and toasting before adding the water. The plain rice should smell and taste so good you'd want to use it for a pillow, a delicious, delicious pillow... and then we serve the ambrosia.

And for revealing even this much you are now that much closer to death's door.

PS: Kalamata Greek olives available here are often standard. They get that good balanced pickle brine with a nice coloration in the olive meat. Others are used for other dishes, but for that nice purple color, Kalamata.

I've ordered the aji amarillo paste from Amazon, so I will have that to compare, maybe this coming weekend or the one after. I think I prefer serranos to jalapenos for this. The flavor would be very, very different with jalapenos. But an accurate assessment is awaiting the aji amarillo paste.

Introducing this recipe is definitely the best concrete thing the OSR did. ;-)

I am glad to hear you got ají amarillo paste. Goya is a good brand, one we use among family around here. Might I advise to taste as you add. The amarillo and rocoto pastes are quite concentrate and often 'a little dab will do ya'. Add it by the 1/8th or 1/4th tsp at a time and taste.

And again, even though all my family loves hot food there very much is a threshold where they shake their head and demure that "it was a good try." Don't overwhelm the other flavors by going to your max heat tolerance. And now for alluding to one of the culinary trade secrets I must swear you to omerta lest I am forced to enforce it myself.

Quote from: RPGPundit;866492So wait, would this finally be an OSR-compatible version of Tekumel??

The original, OD&D-compatible boxed set from TSR published in 1975 is available on DTRPG as a PDF...

Wouldn't that be an OSR-compatible version?

Quote from: Opaopajr;866607Congrats! I will add commentary in
I am glad to hear you got ají amarillo paste. Goya is a good brand, one we use among family around here. Might I advise to taste as you add. The amarillo and rocoto pastes are quite concentrate and often 'a little dab will do ya'. Add it by the 1/8th or 1/4th tsp at a time and taste.

The paprika didn't really affect the dish as a whole. It was lightly done on one side of the chicken before browning. ;-)

Related to the aji amarillo paste and not seeding the serranos. My wife and I both really like spicy food. (As in, you can still taste the flavors as intended, but normal people might find it too much.) This came out just spicy enough without covering up any of the other flavors. I figured since I have the paste coming, I would worry about seeding (and de-skinning!) the serranos at a latter time, based on what the real paste tastes like.

Seeding just seems like so much work for no real reason, given previous experiments with jalapenos. If I want to remove the heat, I would just pick straight (mild) serranos.

I'm curious to see what the Goya paste is like, as the recipe calls for an entire cup. The entire cup of serrano paste would have been excessive.

Quote from: Opaopajr;866607And again, even though all my family loves hot food there very much is a threshold where they shake their head and demure that "it was a good try." Don't overwhelm the other flavors by going to your max heat tolerance. And now for alluding to one of the culinary trade secrets I must swear you to omerta lest I am forced to enforce it myself.

Yea. We didn't do "max possible". I went for "just enough to tell it is there". Especially on a dish I'm making for the first time, I don't want to smother any of the other flavors. Vindaloo has strong flavors and the peppers generally used don't change the taste, so serranos work well in that.

Neither my wife nor myself are the "have to eat it as hot as possible". We just eat spicy hot often enough that our normal is pretty high. (BTW, I like that Japanese has a separate word for spicy hot, as opposed to spiced, or temperature hot.)

Quote from: EOTB;866610The original, OD&D-compatible boxed set from TSR published in 1975 is available on DTRPG as a PDF...

Wouldn't that be an OSR-compatible version?

Ironically, this is the case. The first Tekumel game was essentially OD&D-compatible. The "reroll your hit dice each level and take it if it's larger" rule in Stars Without Number was pulled directly from Empire of the Petal Throne. By doing Swords of the Petal Throne in the OSR idiom, I'm really just resetting the rule base to my own style of old-school D&D.

I got the aji amarillo paste last night. The paste is mild, even compared to some normal salsas in local restaurants in Houston. I think seeded or mild serranos are probably a good substitute. I would not use jalapenos, as the jalapeno taste is completely different.