Ah... well... Indian Food. Or is it?
The debate of the Great British Curry vs. authentic Indian food. Two nights ago a short TV programme actually touched on the subject; how back in the 60's the mass exodus of the people of what is now Bangladesh ignited our love for curry. They adapted to the local tastes and created new dishes, such as Tikka Masala. British people love a gravy. With cream. Cream and tomato. Spices too. and sugar. Lots of it. And why not after all? We don't need to be told that these are not the real thing. We all know it.
So the question is: does any badly-travelled white person (myself included) know what regional Indian food tastes like? More importantly: are we willing to give it a go?
I tried to find out.
Mumbai-born Camellia Panjabi, reputable chef, businesswoman and author of 50 Great Curries of India has been on a mission to educate us, poor phillistines. Surprisingly she was successful.
Read the story here
You can order her book from Amazon here
Her Keralan Prawn curry (cover picture) is to die for. Take my word for it.
Now back to the U.K.
Whilst this is not as educational as Mrs Panjabi's work, Rick Stein made a decent job of stimulating our taste buds.
His book, India: In Search Of The Perfect Curry is based on the BBC series My Indian Odyssey.
Ratty, in his quest for tasty home-cooked food, decided to purchase the book (as a .... *cough*... present for me).
Not a bad buy, I'd say! I particularly enjoy Stein's naan bread and chapatis. Him being first and foremost a seafood fan, it is not surprising his fishy dishes taste incredible. I have tried and tested his cod curry. Ratty's favourite is the Mangalore Lobster Masala.
Get the recipe here
With curry houses increasingly becoming more adventurous with their menus, it is sometimes difficult to spot the authenticity in their food.The question is: rather than being an Indian dish, does it matter if it is a lovechild of British-Asian cooking?
Having said that, to understand any type of cooking, one must go back to basics and understand the rules before moving on. This is why Camellia Panjabi's book is a great starting point for anyone wishing to try and make Indian food.
If you want to cook a curry, don't take shortcuts. Please. Just. Don't. Okay? I promise it is worth it. After this, the sky's the limit!
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