Madhur Jaffery through the show Curry Nation on TlC at 8 pm takes one on a curry trail around Britain. She shares her favourite recipe and tells SHAlINI SAKSENA that simple daal and rice or phulka with one or two vegetables is the perfect meal for her
What is the show, Curry Nation, all aboutIJ
It is a culinary journey around the Great Britain; you will get to know about British’s love for Indian food. The series gave me a chance to visit a pub, Curry Night. It allowed me to see how important it was for the British to have some control over the curries they ate by assigning them clear categories: Very hot, hot, medium, mild, etc. Going into Glasgow was fascinating as well. I saw a curry sauce being poured over chips, a sauce of Indo-Chinese origin. In Yorkshire I saw small children cooking and eating local South Asian food and the foods of local white population. little children were chopping green chillies and enjoying their spicy spinach with potatoes. Watching Pakistani children cooking and enjoying shepherd’s pie was wonderful.
Why has curry become so popular in the westIJ
The show gave me a chance to confirm that British really love Indian food. There is a historical connection between Britain and India that goes back to 1600 AD. Today, it is food that maintains that connection even though the Indian food the British like is not always what is served in India. The British have adapted it as per their own needs.
Some quick kitchen tips for homemakersIJ
Simple, just follow the recipe and have all your ingredients ready before you start. This makes things easy.
Could you share the recipe of your favourite dishIJ
My favourite is Goan pork vindaloo with potatoes. Ingredients (serves 4): 2 teaspoons mustard seeds, 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, 2 teaspoons coriander seeds, 3 cloves, 1 medium onion, roughly chopped, 5 garlic cloves, chopped, an inch of root ginger, peeled and chopped, 2 tablespoons cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon chilli powders, 2 teaspoons paprika, salt, to taste, half teaspoon turmeric, half teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, 560 gm boneless pork shoulder, cut into an inch chunks, 3 tablespoons olive or sunflower oil, 340 gm waxy red potatoes, peeled and cut the same size as the pork and half teaspoon caster sugar.
Put half the mustard seeds and all the cumin seeds, coriander seeds and cloves in a clean coffee grinder or spice grinder and grind it finely. Tip this mixture into a blender with the onion, garlic, ginger, vinegar, chilli powder, paprika and 3 tablespoons of water. Blend until smooth. Rub 1, teaspoons of salt, all the turmeric, black pepper and 2 tablespoons of the spice paste all over the pork. Put in a plastic food bag, seal and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or longer if desired.
Pour the oil into a large, heavy-based, non-stick and set it over a medium-high heat. Add the remaining mustard seeds. As soon as they pop, put in the remaining spice paste. Stir and fry until the paste is lightly brown. Put in the pork with its marinade and stir. Cover and reduce the heat to medium. let the meat cook for about 10 minutes, stirring now and then. Pour in 750 ml of water and add the potatoes, half teaspoon of salt and sugar. Cover, reduce the heat and cook very gently until the meat is tender, then serve.
The most startling discovery in your journey on the showIJ
I also came across some excellent food, cooked by East African Indian families who left India about 100 years ago and settled in East Africa until they were thrown out. Then, they came to Britain and eventually opened restaurants. There is also great meat to be had in some very traditional Pakistani restaurants. Some of the worst were the pubs who just loaded their vindaloos with chilly powder offering intense heat, a raw chilly powder taste and no flavour whatsoever.