Ugadi event to celebrate culture of India: Red Lentil Curry

Here's a great curry recipe in celebration of the culture of India. It's amazing that even if people are far away, they still get to celebrate good things like these.


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Hari Musapeta is passionate about Indian culture.

For 16 years, he's invited Tulsans to help him celebrate India through food, music and dance at Ugadi.

"We want to teach Indian kids born in the U.S. about Indian culture," he said.

Equally important to Musapeta is teaching American kids and families about India.

Ugadi marks the Hindu new year, and though it has passed, it's still cause for celebration, he said.

To celebrate, the festival will include a Bollywood-style fashion show, drum concert, skits, dancing and food.

All are invited for authentic henna painting, to learn Indian dancing and to purchase handmade Indian saris.

Southern-style Indian food will include curry, rice, Indian breads, soups and desserts. All food will be prepared vegetarian.

"It's a mini Indian experience in Tulsa," Musapeta said.

Several types of curry will be available at the festival Saturday. Here's one you can make at home from All Recipes.

Red Lentil Curry 

2 cups red lentils
1 large onion, diced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons curry paste
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon ginger root, minced
1 (14.25-ounce) can tomato puree

1. Wash the lentils in cold water until the water runs clear, put the lentils in a pot with water to cover and simmer covered until lentils tender (add more water if necessary).

2. While the lentils are cooking: In a large skillet or saucepan, caramelize the onions in vegetable oil.

3. While the onions are cooking, combine the curry paste, curry powder, turmeric, cumin, chili powder, salt, sugar, garlic, and ginger in a mixing bowl. Mix well. When the onions are cooked, add the curry mixture to the onions and cook over a high heat stirring constantly for 1 to 2 minutes.

4. Stir in the tomato puree and reduce heat, allow the curry base to simmer until the lentils are ready.

5. When the lentils are tender, drain them briefly (they should have absorbed most of the water, but you don't want the curry to be too sloppy). Mix the curry base into the lentils and serve immediately.

(source: http://www.tulsaworld.com/scene/article.aspx?subjectid=39&articleid=20110429_39_D8_CUTLIN84066)


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Air Itam grannies' fabulous curry noodle

It's very amazing that there are people out there who are really dedicated to what they are doing like in this article. Regardless of their age, they are still making their good curry noodle to give everybody some taste. Curry lovers for the win!

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PENANG: Early in the morning near the Air Itam market in Penang, a pair of grannies is selling curry noodle beside the stream. Most of the people in Penang know very well about them selling curry noodle squatting at the stall.

The stall is owned by sisters Lim Kui Siang, 78, and Lim Kui Lai, 76, living in nearby Kampung Pisang. The two sisters started to help their mother run the curry noodle business since the were very young, and have since taken over the stall after their mother's death.

According to Kui Siang, her mother started the curry noodle business during the Japanese occupation and their noodle still tastes the same today as 60 years ago. Over the years, the Lim sisters have been waking up at about four in the morning to prepare the ingredients, boil the soup and carry everything to the stall on a shoulder pole.

In order to savour the mouth-watering curry noodle, customers have to wait patiently for their food. Sometimes, they may even have to serve the food themselves.

Even though the stall is simple and crude, it couldn't stop the customers craving for the sisters' delicious offering. Some 12 to 15kg of meehoon is required on any ordinary day, twice as much during the weekends and public holidays. The stall is open for business whole year round except three days of CNY break.

Waiting patiently

A well dressed lady customer was seen walking towards the stall to order her food. She found a tray at the stall and placed three bowls of noodle on it and walked away. After a while, she came back with the empty bowls and gently put them beside the dishes waiting to be washed before she said goodbye to the grannies.

There was another Indian man holding a bowl of curry noodle and started to eat his food the moment he found a vacant seat next to the stall. After finishing his food, he turned his body around and waited patiently for the grannies to fill his bowl with an additional serving of meehoon.

After finishing his second serving, the customer sat quietly looking at the grannies for her to collect his money.

Both the grannies are getting old and having difficulty to move around, so they have to employ someone to help deliver the prepared ingredients to the stall on bicycle and help out at the stall.

The traffic at Air Itam is often congested and a vacant parking lot is hard to come by unless you come in a motorcycle or park your car at the Kek Lok Si foothill and walk to the stall.

Modern people pampered with all the comforts life has to offer may find it hard to tolerate the poor environment of taking their breakfast on the roadside. That said, it is not a bad idea for some people to try the grannies' curry noodle on a sunny morning.

(source: http://www.mysinchew.com/node/56761)

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TODAY'S RECIPE: Monica's Super Simple Chicken Curry

Today, we will be featuring a very basic curry recipe but in Monica's way. Monica Bhide is the author of THE EVERYTHING INDIAN COOKBOOK. Check this curry recipe out!

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Makes 4 to 5 servings

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 black cardamom pod

2 green cardamoms pods, bruised

2 whole cloves

1-inch cinnamon stick

1 bay leaf

1 large red onion, finely chopped

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon pure red chili powder

1 teaspoon garam masala (store-bought or homemade), plus more to sprinkle

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 tablespoon ground coriander

Table salt

2 pounds skinless chicken pieces, white or dark meat

2 tablespoons minced cilantro

Sliced mild onion, for garnish (optional)

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and bay leaf. When the spices begin to sizzle, add the onion, ginger and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is well browned, 5 to 7 minutes

Stir in the tomatoes. Cook until the tomatoes are almost dry and the oil begins to separate from the sides of the mixture, about 8 minutes.

Add the chili powder, garam masala, turmeric, coriander and salt to taste. Cook for another minute.

Add the chicken and cook until brown on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes, stirring constantly. Add 1 cup water, cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally and add more water if the sauce is drying up or if you want a thinner gravy. Add the cilantro and cook for another minute.

Serve hot, sprinkled with garam masala. Garnish with sliced onions, if desired.

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GOOD HEALTH NEWS: Curcumin Keeps Cancer Cells at Bay

Since curcumin is one of curry's staple ingredient then this automatically means your favorite curry dish is not just healthy but beyond healthy. Amazing isn't it? So don't worry about eating too much curry.

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Known as a staple in the Indian diet, the curry spice turmeric and its powerful polyphenol derivative curcumin have rapidly gained attention as a potent antioxidant compound that is used to prevent and treat many forms of cancer.

Curcumin is taking its rightful place among a small handful of agents that fight cancer at the genetic level by inhibiting ten critical initiation steps necessary for development and progression of the disease. The spice can no longer be considered an herbal remedy as it has demonstrated efficacy in more than 240 peer reviewed research studies over the past year alone. Scientists continue to provide conclusive evidence that indicates all health-minded adults should include curcumin as part of their regular diet.

Curcumin Naturally Keeps Cancer Cells From Developing

Cancer is known to develop through ten independent causative factors including DNA damage, chronic inflammation, cellular signaling dysfunction, abnormal cell death and metastasis. As if designed by nature to provide a protective shield against each of the factors known to promote cancer, curcumin has been shown to inhibit and halt the expression of genes that allow cancer cells to multiply.

Publishing in the AAPS Journal, researchers found that curcumin is an inexpensive natural compound that fights cancer at its root cause by derailing the initiation phase of ten different pathways used by the disease to multiply and spread throughout the body. Curcumin has also been shown to interfere with the production of advanced glycation end products that promote the accumulation of dangerous inflammatory byproducts that lead to cancerous mutations.

Curcumin Specifically Targets Estrogen-Resistant Breast Cancer Lines

The FEBS Journal reports that curcumin is particularly effective in targeting hormone-dependent forms of the disease such as breast cancer. The study found that curcumin is able to induce apoptosis (normal programmed cell death) in the most resistant breast cancer cells that lack estrogen receptors. The spice targets only cancerous cells causing them to self-destruct by destroying the mitochondria that power the rapidly growing tumor tissue.

Indian Spice Prevents Colon Cancer Initiation

Curcumin is a potent agent in the fight against colon cancer, an insidious form of the disease that ranks second among cancer deaths taking the lives of more than 50,000 Americans each year. The Journal of Interferon and Cytokine Research provides evidence that curcumin slows the progression from colon polyp to cancerous growth by damping the pro-inflammatory cytokine called NF-kB. This action halts the development of cancer cells before they can become detectable tumors.

An extensive library of research underscores the importance of curcumin as an anti-cancer agent. As the second leading cause of death, cancer will affect 1 in 3 women and half of all men during their lifetime. Any natural compound that can help to lower these statistics should be embraced by traditional and alternative medical institutions alike. Nutritionists recommend supplementing with 250 to 400 mg of curcumin twice daily with meals to provide optimal cancer protection.

(source: http://www.stopagingnow.com/liveinthenow/article/curcumin-keeps-cancer-cells-at-bay)

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A REVELATION: The Taste of India

This article have highlighted some good points. This is definitely a must-read. Curry? Who's really the master of it? Who bore it?

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As more and more Indian chefs move out into the world, it’s being said that London has become the capital of modern Indian food. But the future of Indian food lies in the same place as its past – in India itself.

When most Indians go to restaurants it is either because we have no choice or because we want the kind of food we cannot get at home (either foreign food or the kind that requires tandoors etc.). Rarely do we go to a restaurant to see what a great chef can do with Indian food.

This means that we have, in effect, no restaurant tradition. If you look at the oldest Indian restaurants, they were usually created for people who were unable to eat at home and had no alternative but to eat out. The Udupi restaurants of Bombay, for instance, catered to South Indians working in the city who had left their families behind. The Muslim restaurants of Calcutta were frequented by working men.

When the middle class did go out to eat and chose an Indian option (especially in the post-Independence phase) it either went tandoori (the Moti Mahal rip-offs or the Pandara Road places in Delhi) or preferred a bastardised Punjabi cuisine (Kwality, Gaylord, Volga, Amber etc.) that no self-respecting Punjabi ate at home. In no case was the chef’s imagination rewarded and in nearly every case, nobody even knew who the chef was.

So how does a cuisine with no restaurant tradition and no respect for the vision of the chef adapt itself to the restaurant-focused and chef-crazy twenty-first century? Good question. Only I am not sure there are any good answers.

Most discussions of modern Indian food lead inexorably to London, often described (by people who live in London, mainly) as the new capital of Indian cuisine. There is a historical reason for this.

The first proper Indian restaurants (not meant for working men far away from home) in the world probably opened in London. They catered mainly to ex-East India company men who had developed a taste for Indian food during their time in the sub-continent. Eventually, they died out (as did their patrons) to be replaced by cheap curry houses run by Bengalis from the Sylhet district of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).

There were exceptions, of course. In 1966, Gaylord took Kwality-style Indian food (including tandoori chicken) to London and in 1973, Shezan, a Pakistani restaurant in Knightsbridge, was Egon Ronay’s Restaurant of the Year, an unprecedented honour for an Indian restaurant in that era.

But Indian food did not go properly upmarket and trendy till the Taj group (in the shape of Camellia Panjabi, then executive director of the Taj), opened the Bombay Brasserie in 1982. As good as the food at the Brasserie was, nobody (not even the Taj) claimed that it was a breakthrough in cuisine terms. This was simply good Indian food, reproducing authentic flavours with a few twists in presentation.

All that began to change in the Nineties. Till then, a successful upmarket Indian restaurant in London (as distinct from a Sylheti curry house) tried to do no more than imitate the food and ambience of a restaurant at a five star hotel in India.

In many ways the breakthrough was Chutney Mary, opened in London in 1996 by Namita Panjabi (sister of Camellia who would eventually leave the Taj to join Namita in London) which dared to experiment with Western-style presentation and introduced unusual flavours (such as lots of Goan and Anglo-Indian food) to London.

The success of Chutney Mary and the Brasserie led to a flood of upmarket Indian restaurants, some with Indian owners (Tamarind), some owned by big London groups (Zaika) and some with an entirely British clientele (The Cinnamon Club). As the cult of the celebrity chef finally caught on in Britain, these restaurants began pushing their chefs forward. Some argued that the Michelin guide followed the French tradition of recognising chefs rather than restaurants and so it made sense to promote the chefs.

A variety of Indian chefs, many of them drawn, bizarrely enough, from the Oberoi group which has no great reputation for Indian food in India, and some of whom were only coffee shop chefs, began to be launched by PR consultants as great Indian chefs: Vivek Singh (The Cinnamon Club), Atul Kochhar (Tamarind), Vineet Bhatia (Zaika), Cyrus Todiwala (a well-regarded Taj chef who made his name with Café Spice Namaste) etc.

It was the emergence of the super-chefs that led London restaurants to claim that their city was now the capital of Indian food. The first to get a Michelin star was Atul Kochhar who got one for Tamarind. He then moved to Benares and got a star there too. Vineet Bhatia got a star for Zaika, moved to his own Rasoi, got a star for the new place, opened another restaurant in Geneva and got yet another star. Sriram, a chef venerated in India for his work at Karavali in Bangalore, opened Quilon and finally got a star. And Camellia and Namita Panjabi’s Amaya (chef Karunesh Khanna) not only got a star but was also Restaurant of the Year when it opened.

The claim that these restaurants (and their chefs) have taken Indian food to the next level is based on several factors. First of all, they are chefs in the French tradition. You do not go to say, Rasoi to eat an authentic regional rogan josh. You go to see what a great chef like Vineet Bhatia can do with the flavours we associate with a rogan josh.

As is true of all great chefs, Bhatia will play around with flavours and presentation. He will drizzle truffle oil on his mushroom naan. He will infuse khichdis with flavour and serve them as side dishes. Most startlingly, he will push his makhni sauce (the gravy for butter chicken) into a gelato machine, turn it into an ice-cream and serve it next to a chicken dish.

At other restaurants, similar innovations abound. One of the tastiest dishes on the Amaya menu consists of fresh oysters with a ginger-coconut gravy. As Indians do not normally eat oysters on the half-shell, this is a first. At Quilon, Sriram does an Indian take on moules marinière, serving mussels with a Kerala gravy. These innovations led to the second claim advanced for these restaurants. At most Indian restaurants (even those in India) the menu seems remarkably similar: the same dishes crop up again and again.

But the London chefs have broken through that barrier. No two London Indian restaurants (at least in the premier league) have the same menu. This is a new generation of Indian food with new dishes being invented every day.

And the third and final claim is the simplest of all. A Michelin star is a mark of global recognition. How can we not admire chefs who have been honoured by Michelin and reviewed so favourably by British critics? They are people who have done India proud.
It is a powerful case made stronger by the fact that till recently, there has been nothing to compare the food of these chefs to. If you want to see how good Gordon Ramsay’s Royal Hospital Road restaurant is, you can compare it to three star Michelin restaurants in France and make an informed judgement. But given that we have no real restaurant tradition in India, what can you compare the London restaurants to?

And yet, the London chefs have their Indian critics. There is, first of all, the Indian taste factor. The vast majority of Indians I have met who have been to the expensive Indian restaurants in London have come back shaking their heads and refusing to go back. Few of them have liked the food.

The London lobby offers two defences. First of all, it says, because we have no proper restaurant culture in India, we are unwilling to accept any innovation. We want a simple rogan josh, a straightforward mutter-paneer, an ordinary seekh kabab or whatever. We cannot stomach the fact that the London chefs are serving new dishes. When we see something we have not come across before, we immediately conclude that “this is not Indian food” and close our minds. The second defence is that this is Indian food for the London market. It has to reflect the tastes of upmarket Brits who are used to expensive Italian or French restaurants. It is not meant for Indian palates.

Both defences are solid but it is not difficult to see why they do not convince Indians. It is all very well to say that Indian cuisine needs to move forward but at what stage does the food stop being Indian? Here, for instance, are some of the dishes recommended by the Michelin Guide at Benares: Soft shell crab with squid salad; Fried John Dory with peas and tomato chutney; grilled roe deer fillet with yellow pumpkin risotto and chocolate mousse with praline ice-cream.

There is a substantial lobby within the Indian food world which argues that all that the London chefs are doing is Frenchifying the food: plating it in the style of French restaurants so there is a prettiness to the presentation, reducing the spice levels for Western palates, using meats that are more popular in the West than in India (roe fillet, for instance), eliminating watery gravies, and creating food that seems more comprehensible to Western sensibilities.

This may well be a valid and interesting thing to do but it is not the only road forward. On the other hand, an indigenous restaurant tradition is developing in India and domestic chefs are doing many interesting things.

While you cannot call it a restaurant tradition in the strictest sense, there has always been a professional catering tradition in Lucknow and Hyderabad consisting of Muslim cooks who made the food for large weddings or celebrations on a freelance basis.

In 1977, when the Maurya Hotel opened in Delhi, Ajit Haksar, the legendary former chairman of ITC, was determined not to open the standard Kwality-style Indian restaurant that was ubiquitous in that era. He sought out Imtiaz Qureshi, a chef who ran a catering business in Lucknow, and hired him to handle the Indian kitchen at the Maurya.

Eventually, Imtiaz introduced his entire extended family to ITC and most of his sons, brothers-in-law, nephews, sons-in-law etc. were hired to work in the kitchen of the chain. But the breakthrough came in the late 1980s with the opening of the Dum Pukht restaurant.

Dum Pukht, a style of steam-cooking, has been a part of North Indian cuisine from medieval times (what was called Dum Poke by the Raj) but Imtiaz (and Manjit Gill, who was then executive chef at the Maurya) refined it for restaurant cooking. Then, they began updating traditional recipes.

The standout dish on their menu was the Dum Pukht biryani, an amalgamation of two different styles of biryani (Lucknow and Hyderabad) with many fresh touches. Each order was finished a la minute in the oven after a sheet of pastry had been placed over the dish to seal in the flavour. The biryani was not terribly authentic (it was certainly not the typical Avadhi pula o) but it became such a hit that its recipe soon became the standard for all upmarket restaurants everywhere in India.

Among Imtiaz’s other innovations was a rum-marinated raan (leg) of lamb also steam cooked under a pastry cover (purdah) along with cocktail onions and other flavourings. This was not a traditional dish but it quickly became a standard recipe.

Indian chefs argue that, away from the public eye and without the benefit of PR consultants, such innovations are constantly taking place. But like all successful innovations, they make their point so subtly that they rarely shock or startle diners. The true proof of their success is the speed with which they are quickly picked up by other chefs.


Among the most famous of these innovations is the black dal. Most North Indian restaurants serve some form of black dal, usually describing it as a traditional Punjabi dish. While it is true that a black dal has been cooked in Punjabi homes for generations, that dal is only a distant ancestor of the modern restaurant black dal.

Today’s black dal is only 50 or 60 years old. Like many of today’s North Indian classics, it was popularised (if not invented) by Delhi’s Moti Mahal restaurant which made tandoori chicken famous. It was at Moti Mahal that the makhni sauce (made with tomatoes, butter and cream) was popularised as a way of turning chicken tikka into a gravy dish (butter chicken or murgh makhni). When people asked for a dal that was as rich as the rest of the food, the makhni sauce was added to standard Punjabi black dal to create the restaurant dal we know today.

So, ask Indian chefs, is that dal an innovation or not? It is certainly more influential than some Michelin-approved kaddu risotto served in London.

If you believe Indian chefs, there are many such unsung innovations in Indian cuisines. For instance, the batter-fried bombil, a dish in which the Bombay duck fish (best known in its sun-dried form) is pounded to a thin fillet, coated in masala and then fried, which is a standard in coastal restaurants all over India, was probably invented by Bombay’s Gajalee restaurant. The crab in butter garlic, a favourite of European food writers on visits to Bombay, started out in the Chinese menu of Trishna restaurant (butter-garlic sauce is unknown on the South Indian coast) before becoming a so-called ‘coastal’ standard.

One of the criticisms Western food critics often make of Indian food is that it all looks the same: bowls of brown goo. This is not an unfair criticism but it stems partly from the fact that Indian food is meant to be shared. At a French or Italian restaurant, each guest orders individually. But an Indian meal usually involves a few dishes which are shared by everyone at the dining table.

Most upmarket Indian restaurants in London now try and plate their food so that each guest orders an individual dish. This has the advantage of helping reduce the brown goo problem because plates can be arranged prettily. But it also means that Indian food has to be reworked to suit the presentation.

A second and entirely valid criticism of Indian food is that it has scant respect for ingredients. Vegetables are cooked to nothingness. And chicken, meat and fish have many of their original flavours sucked out of them in the cooking process.

The point of much of Indian food (though not perhaps of tandoori cuisine which may help explain its popularity in the West) is the spicing. Far more important than the original taste of the ingredients is the way in which they are spiced.

This runs counter to the prevailing philosophy in the West where less is more and high quality ingredients have very little done to them in the cooking process. Chefs cooking for a Western audience make similar adjustments to Indian cuisine. Not only do the chilli levels go down but all spicing is usually reduced. A fish curry will become a piece of fish with a gravy underneath it. A rogan josh may show up as a lamb shank in a puddle of rogan josh curry. And so on.

Indians are prepared to be forgiving of this sort of adjustment in general. But many chefs from India argue that, in the process, the chefs cooking for Western audiences also tamper with Indian flavours. The gravy served below a sea bass may taste nothing like an Indian fish curry. The rogan josh gravy may lack the dish’s distinctive fat content.

The new area of conflict between chefs who cook in India and those who cook abroad is the authenticity of flavours. Are the upmarket London chefs bastardising Indian flavours – along with the presentation – in an effort to please English critics and the Michelin inspectors? Many Indian chefs insist that this is precisely what is going on.

Even as this argument rages, many Indian chefs have opened restaurants in India that marry Western style presentation with authentic Indian flavours. The most successful of these is undoubtedly Varq at Delhi’s Taj Mahal Hotel where Hemant Oberoi, India’s best known chef, mixes Western presentation (a mille-feuille for instance with a South Indian crab between the pastry layers) with Indian dishes though sometimes, when a dish requires traditional presentation, he dispenses with the Western plating. For instance, Oberoi’s Martaban Meat, cooked with pickle spices, comes to the table as a hearty curry in a pickle jar. In London, the dish would have consisted of a piece of lamb placed over a small pond of pickle sauce.

Varq is the most successful of the new wave of Indian restaurants but there are many others. Indian Accent, also in Delhi, is run by Manish Mehrotra, a chef who originally specialised in Thai food and who has lived in London. Mehrotra’s food is authentically Indian but his style is as smart as anything the London chefs can dish out.

At the Meridien Hotel in Delhi’s Connaught Place, Davinder Kumar, a chef trained in the French tradition, runs Monsoon which combines French cooking techniques with deliciously robust and earthy Indian flavours. Marut Sikka, a TV chef and food entrepreneur, owns Kainoosh at the DLF Mall in Delhi, and does a brilliant job of mixing classical Indian cuisine with more innovative dishes.

Bombay has been slower to catch on to the trend but ironically, it is London’s Michelin-starred Vineet Bhatia who runs the city’s most innovative restaurant. Bhatia’s Ziya is located at the exact same spot in the Oberoi Hotel where he once toiled as the chef at the Oberoi’s Indian restaurant. After some early hesitation, Bhatia decided not to compromise with Indian habits (no sharing portions of butter chicken for the whole table, for instance) and serves only plated food.

Even if you take the line that Westernised presentation is the future of Indian food – and there is no reason why we should accept that position – it is no longer necessary to go to London to find that kind of food. It is now readily available in India and most of the new restaurants serve a cuisine that is far more authentic than the UK version. After all, it is one thing to sell something to Brits as Indian food, quite another to sell it to Indians, who know their own cuisine.

When Brits go out to eat Indian food in London, they are eating a foreign cuisine just as Indians who go to an Italian restaurant in Delhi are eating something exotic. It is valid for the chef at the Indian Italian restaurant to tinker with the flavours to suit Indian palates. And it is as valid for the Indian chef to change his cuisine for Westerners.

But no cuisine can advance on the basis of food made for foreigners. The real evolution must happen in India and it must appeal to Indians. Fortunately, there is more of that going on than we may recognise at first.

At one level, there are the dishes created by restaurateurs over the years: tandoori chicken, black dal etc. These are more plentiful than we may realise. Even in the South, it’s not just coastal food that has been re-invented for restaurant guests. Even the medu vada, the staple of every south Indian canteen all over the country, is not a traditional dish. It was invented at the launch of a railway line near the town of Mettur.

At another, there is the assimilation of regional traditions into a new kind of north Indian cuisine. The Dum Pukht biryani which is neither entirely Lucknowi nor entirely Hyderabadi is one example. Most Indian restaurants – even those with no avant garde pretensions – serve a cuisine that is significantly different from the kind of restaurant food available three decades ago. The new dishes have emerged out of a synthesis of regional cooking styles.

And then of course there is the Frenchified school of Indian cooking. It may have started in London but it has many branches in India now. You can argue about whether the prettiness of plated presentation is against Indian tradition or whether the chefs necessarily respect the authenticity of Indian flavours. What you can’t dispute is that such restaurants do well all over the world and cannot be ignored. Some may serve food that causes self-respecting Indians to throw up. But equally, many are run by talented chefs who are genuinely innovative.

The truth is that there is no one way forward and no one capital of Indian cuisine. Those who claim that the London chefs are showing the way forward tend to underestimate the innovations taking place within India and make the mistake of arguing that Frenchification is the only route ahead. Equally, those who run down the London restaurants, saying that their food is not genuinely Indian, make the error of defining authentic Indian food too narrowly. At the start of the 20th century, 99 per cent of Indians had never heard of tandoori chicken. Does that mean that it is not an authentic Indian dish? Obviously it doesn’t: a great cuisine evolves over the years.

The important things to remember are (a) India is not a country like France. It is a sub-continent on par with Europe. Therefore, it does not lend itself to easy generalisations or classifications. At any given time, there is a lot happening in India – and to its cuisine – that may not be immediately obvious.

And (b) let’s never forget that the Indian middle class – the chief consumers of any restaurant cuisine – is only now coming of age. As the middle class grows in prosperity and influence, it will demand newer restaurants, better food and greater innovations in cuisine.
Is it likely that a handful of restaurants in a single British city can compete with the vastness of India and the affluence of the growing Indian middle class? London may have had a historical importance in the development of Indian food. And its chefs may have made some valid contributions.

But the future of Indian food lies in the same place as its past – in India itself.

(source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/The-Taste-of-India/Article1-688858.aspx)

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AMAZING FACT: Surprising Health Benefits Of Herbs, Spices

I am sure you guys already heard good news about curry's great benefit in one's health. I am also sure that it's all because of the herbs and spices it has but I don't think everyone knows the actions of the specific ingredients. It's a good thing that M. L. Kiser from foxreno.com elaborated these benefits. Happy curry eating!


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Some pretty powerful medicines are right in your herb or spice cabinet. Common every day herbs such as garlic, parsley, basil, oregano, turmeric, curry, rosemary and thyme, among others, also have medicinal properties, as well as vital nutrients.

One way to benefit the most from these herbs is to pick them and cook with the fresh herbs. The nutrients and healing properties are at their most potent with fresh herbs. If you can’t get fresh herbs, try to purchase the more recently dried forms. You can get these online, as well as at farmer’s markets or your local health food stores or co-ops. The dried herbs still have some nutritive and medicinal value, but many pre-packaged herbs are often left with hardly any nutritional or health value at all.

Curry, curcumin, turmeric, better known as, “Indian Spices,”can greatly help with the circulation, blood pressure and work to prevent heart disease, among other benefits. They contain a host of strong antioxidants that build up your immune system and fight “free radicals.” “Free radicals” are unstable organic molecules that bond with other molecules that cause aging, damage to your tissues and a host of diseases.

Antioxidants can prevent these “free radicals” from doing harm to your health. Most herbs have some powerful anti-oxidants, which is one of the reasons that more and more people are turning to the use of herbs for healing.

Circumin is an ingredient in turmeric that is not only an antioxidant, but has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, as well. It’s the ingredient that gives turmeric its yellow coloring.

Turmeric, the ground-up roots of a shrub from tropical areas like India and Asia, has been used in India for centuries as a whole body cleanser. It can help with digestion, treat fevers, infections, helps with gall bladder and liver problems, many types of arthritis pain, helps to burn fat and recently it has been discovered that it can help in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and similar diseases.

It contains antiplatelet substances that can keep your blood from clotting easily, which is helpful for warding off heart disease. It has been found that it also lowers homocysteine levels, one of the signs of potential heart attack and helps to reduce oxidation of the plaque on the arterial walls.

Curry contains turmeric, but it also contains many other spices, so you may want to add turmeric to your diet along with curry for greater benefits. Do not use it if you are already on any blood-thinning medication, as it can increase the effects.

Garlic, considered both a vegetable and an herb, has powerful antioxidant, antifungal, antiparasitic, antiviral and anti-inflammant properties. It can ward off just about any ailment or disease including the common cold, many viruses and the flu. It has been shown to decrease the chances of many cancers, Parkinson’s and even Alzheimer’s disease. But its odor and flavor is every bit as powerful as its health benefits and for this reason many people shy away from this valuable little misunderstood gem of an herb.

The ancient Egyptians fed garlic to their slaves to keep them strong and healthy. It detoxifies the entire body, strengthens our blood vessels, helps our immune system functions and has even been shown to lower blood pressure.

Being antiparasitic, it can also be fed to your pets or the oil rubbed into their skin to ward off many pests like fleas. Used often in Italian, Indian and Asian cooking, this little wonder of the world is probably our body’s best friend.

Common basil, holy basil and sweet basil are super tasty herbs and very useful if you have pain such as arthritis pain, rheumatic pain and headaches, as well as disorders of the nervous system. It contains lots of iron and calcium and has been used to relieve the pain of bee stings, insect and snake bites. It can also calm an upset or nervous stomach and relieve nausea.

Garden sage is also known as salvia officianalis (this is not to be confused with the salvia divinorum that is used as a hallucinogenic; we are talking specifically about culinary sage). Although there are several types of edible sage, you should be certain of the variety that you are using.

Garden sages or culinary sages possess many vital nutrients such as vitamins and antioxidants like vitamins A, C, iron and calcium. Sometimes used to increase mental clarity, it can also relieve gas or bloat, help with indigestion and the circulation; it’s an anti-inflammant and can also be used to reduce any inflammation in the throat, mouth and tonsils. It can sooth the mucus membranes and even be used in a compress as it is also an anti-microbial.

Rosemary, an antiparasitic, antiseptic, antidepressant herb with vitamins A, C and iron, soothes the digestive system, helps to relieve headaches and stress related depression. It can also be used to treat muscle pain, neuralgia and sciatica. It helps with memory problems, fight fluid retention; is used to stimulate hair growth even promotes shinier hair. Those with medical conditions like seizure disorders should also be aware of the fact that rosemary and sage can increase seizure activity if used to often or in great amounts.

Wild marjoram oregano, an antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiviral, antiseptic, antifungal and anti-parasitic herb can help to boost the immune system. It’s full of vitamins such as A, C, calcium and iron. It can be used to treat infections of the tooth, gum, mouth, sinuses, respiratory tract, helps with digestion and can increase the appetite. Used often in Italian recipes, this herb has a strong odor and flavor that can, if not used carefully, overpower the taste of just about any food. Just ½ of a teaspoon of fresh oregano daily has as many antioxidants as you would get in about 3 cups of spinach!

Dill -- it’s not just for pickles! It can relieve colic, gas, indigestion and actually increases the production of breast milk.

Thyme, an antiparasitic, antiseptic herb with vitamins A, C, and Iron, not only enhances the immune system's functioning, it also treats respiratory ailments, sore throats, bronchial problems, infections, whooping cough, asthma and many digestive problems. It also can relieve muscle tension and pain. Not only that, but you can also use it as an astringent!

One of the best diuretics in the world is parsley. Also loaded with antioxidants, calcium and iron, this common herb used in many soups, salads and casseroles can help to relieve water weight. It also helps with indigestion, colic, gas, is antiparasitic and helps with thyroid functioning.

It’s sometimes used to treat cancer, can be used to treat kidney problems and gall stones and sometimes used by women to aid with menstruation.

As for lemon balm, while it’s great for planting around patios and decks, because of its lemony scent, it also attracts beneficial bees and keeps away the nastier insects. It’s also a powerful herb for reducing anxiety, stress and it can help you to sleep.

Lemon balm can be used to lower blood pressure, treat fevers, infections and calms the digestive system.

Peppermint and spearmint are not only great tasting and great smelling herbs, but they will aid with digestive problems, calm heartburn and help relieve nausea. Plant them with your lemon balm around the patio, deck or porch for some great downwind aroma.

They can help to relieve chills, fevers, hives, headaches, colic, nausea and heartburn. Drinking these in tea form regularly will help to promote better digestion and stave off many digestive disorders. They are fantastic for baking and use in many candies.

Another spice that helps with digestive problems is ginger. This spice, used regularly, can strengthen the adrenal glands, promotes better lung functioning and can help with lowering the blood pressure. It’s tasty in baked goods and candies or even with oatmeal.

Cinnamon, like ginger, aids with digestive problems and helps to lower the blood pressure. Added to ginger on plain oatmeal with a little cane sugar or honey, this spice can really be of great health benefit. Just one teaspoon of cinnamon has the same amount of antioxidants that you would get in about 1 cup of pomegranate juice.

This wonderful tree bark, ground and eaten daily, according to studies, can help to reduce your blood sugar, lower triglycerides, balance your cholesterols, can reduce the chances of stomach ulcers and yeast infections and it can thin the blood, so if you are on a blood thinner already, you may want to check with your doctor before using therapeutic levels of cinnamon.

A great antibacterial, antifungal and antioxidant, it’s much healthier if you don’t take it with sugar, but use stevia, cane sugar or honey instead for even more health benefits.

The bay leaf, used commonly in Mediterranean and Cajun dishes, can actually help you to fend off many cancers. A great source of vitamins A and C, calcium, potassium, iron, magnesium and manganese, this slightly bitter-tasting plant is a powerful medicine for building the immune system.

Also an anti-inflammant, it can help relieve the pain of arthritis, rheumatism and more. An antifungal and antibacterial, it can also help diabetics by helping the body to process insulin in a more efficient manner. It’s helpful for digestive problems, warding of heart disease, digestive problems, for treating headaches and migraines, for urinary problems and helps with menstruation.In the past it was used to treat bee stings, insect bites, bruises, cuts and snake bites.

These are just a few of the common herbs and spices that are used in cooking every day. Used in small amounts daily, they can be of great benefit, and provide some extremely tasty dishes, but they do come with some warnings if you are already on medications (they can potentially interfere in the larger doses), so before you chock all of that cinnamon on your oatmeal or toast, make sure that it won’t interfere with medication that you are already taking.

Be safe and enjoy your meals.

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HOTTEST RECIPE: Coriander and cashew lamb curry

I just want to share this lovely curry recipe that made my day today. Thanks to taste.com.au for sharing this to everybody.

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The combination of hara dhaniya (coriander), kaju (cashew) and paneer in this curry is a family favourite of Akash Arora, who makes the dish with chicken. It comprises three steps, each one a recipe on its own. Make it to the end of step 1 and you'll have a tikka-style starter. Continue to step 2 for a simple curry, and, if you add the cashew and paneer paste in step 3, you'll have an irresistibly creamy curry.

Preparation Time

15 minutes

Cooking Time

60 minutes

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 750g lamb rump, cut into 3cm cubes
• 280g (1 cup) Greek-style yoghurt
• 1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric (see note)
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 1/2 tbs vegetable oil
• 2 large onions, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder (see note)
• 2 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 4 large tomatoes, peeled,
• seeded, finely chopped
• 40g (1/4 cup) roasted cashews, plus extra, to serve
• 100g paneer, (see note) crumbled
• 1/2 cup coriander leaves, plus extra, to serve
• Chapati or other Indian flatbread, to serve

Method

1. To make lamb tikka, combine lamb, yoghurt, 1 tsp turmeric and half the garlic in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Heat 1 tbs oil in a large heavy-based frying pan over medium heat. Scrape excess marinade from lamb and cook, in 2 batches, turning for 3 minutes for medium–rare or until cooked to your liking. (You can serve the lamb at this stage.)
2. To make curry, heat the remaining 1 1/2 tbs oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the remaining garlic and stir for 30 seconds or until fragrant, then add onions and cook, stirring frequently, for 30 minutes or until dark golden. Add 1 tsp salt, chilli powder, ground coriander and the remaining ½ tsp turmeric and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add tomatoes and 125ml (1/2 cup) water and return lamb to pan. Simmer for 15 minutes or until lamb is tender. (You can serve the curry at this stage with basmati rice.)
3. To enrich the curry, process cashews, paneer and 125ml (1/2 cup) water in a food processor to a paste. Add coriander leaves and process until roughly chopped. Stir paste into curry and cook for 5 minutes or until heated through. Scatter with extra coriander leaves and cashews. Serve with bread.

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How Do I Make Indian Chicken Curry?

 Here's a very simple yet very tasty basic Chicken Curry recipe that are perfect for beginners. (retrieved from eastwindsor.patch.com)

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Chicken Curry (per 1 lbs. chicken)

1. Garam masala — 2 pieces each of clove, cinnamon bark (small pieces), cardamom, bay leaf, black pepper kernels
2. 3 Tb oil (Chef Singh uses soybean) over a high heat, along with two small pieces of ginger and garlic, chopped
3. One medium-sized, chopped onion (Chef Singh uses red onions)
4. One-and-a-half medium, chopped tomatoes
5. 1/2 Tsp red chili powder
6. 1/2 Tsp turmeric powder
7. 1 Tsp coriander powder
8. 1/2 Tsp cumin powder
9. 1/2 Tsp salt
10. Cilantro (to taste)
11. Water and about 2 Tsp yogurt (to add to base)

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Curry shop bags money for charity

I've got to say this is pretty sweet. You don't only enjoy eating it (curry) but also help people through it. Great article from yorkpress.co.uk.

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AN INDIAN curry shop is charging customers ten pence for each plastic bag and then handing the money to a York charity.

Yazl Surabhi Curry Shop, based in Lowther Street, The Groves, has decided to sponsor the John Lally International Foundation, which is trying to help some of the most marginalised poor people in India.

The foundation was set up in 2003 in memory of a York environmentalist, John Lally, who died in 1995 and it is creating a sustainable community centre in India, which will deliver health, education and employment initiatives, using a building with photo-voltaic panels to generate electricity, composting toilets and rainwater harvesting.

Gordon Campbell-Thomas, project advisor for the foundation, said that in 2005, five thousand people died in Mumbai during the monsoon, partly because of plastic bags blocking the drains.

He said: “We believe if we can bring about a greater awareness of the environmental problems and their consequences in the lives of people then we are fulfilling our purpose.

“We are very grateful to Yazl Surabhi for their actions in supporting us.”

Roshan, of Yazl Surabhi, which sells traditional homemade Indian and Sri Lankan curries and spices, said it would prefer customers brought their own bags, but the ten pence charge would be a direct way to support the project.

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Welcome back to India: Fleet Tandoori chef Abdul Rob heads to Kolkata for food festival

Wow! These guys are so great that they really treasure India's rich culture and heritage. Well, good for them and good for me for finding it from camdennewjournal.com by Dan Carrier.

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A CHEF is packing his pans and heading to India to showcase Camden curry.

Abdul Rob, who has worked at the Fleet Tandoori restaurant in South End Green for 12 years, was selected from hundreds of hopefuls across the country to represent Britain at a food festival in Kolkata – and will now be showing off his skills at the birthplace of curry.

Mr Rob, who will travel east this week, entered a competition organised by trade magazine Curry Life and is one of four British chefs making the journey.

He said: “I am really looking forward to seeing quite how different the food I prepare is from the top chefs in India. 

“We are going there to showcase our own creative dishes and show our general knowledge of how curries are cooked in Britain, and hopefully pick up some Indian techniques.”

The curry festival, which is held in a five-star hotel, lasts for 10 days and Mr Rob will be cooking each day for top chefs who want to try out Anglicised dishes.

He plans to use recipes that are tried and tested in the Fleet Road restaurant which have proved a hit with nearby residents and staff at the Royal Free hospital opposite. 

Among those who have sung his praises are TV chef Gordon Ramsay, who he has cooked for, and regular customers Radio One DJ Chris Moyles, comedian Russell Brand, New Labour media boss Alastair Campbell and former Dr Who Sylvester McCoy.

Mr Rob said: “I am not nervous, I have been developing these dishes for so long I know exactly what I am doing.”

He says that British curry is a world away from what is served up in India. 

Mr Rob added: “If you went to India and asked for a tikka masala, people would ask you what it is. 

“Another example is the fact that Balti comes from Birmingham. Curries there are more spiced and not as sweet.”

As with many Indian restaurants in London, Mr Rob and former South Camden School pupil Mahbub Khan, whose family own the restaurant, are of Bangladeshi origin. 

It means they draw on their country’s rich food heritage and give it a British twist.

Mr Khan said: “Around 99 per cent of Indian curry houses are run by people from Bangladesh. We do draw on this but we also have lots of other styles.”

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