Indian Cooking

Indian Cooking

Yes, like most people I love Indian food.  But until recently I have not ventured much further than the ubiquitous tandoori chicken, various curries and dahls, kachumbers and raitas, chutneys and biryanis.  However I now live in Dubai and I started to see Indian food in a different light. 

Partially due to the fact I can get absolutely every ingredient mentioned in even the most complex of Atul Kochhar or Vineet Bhatia recipes, partially due to the fact Indego, Mr.Bhatia’s Dubai restaurant is 200m from our residence, partially due to the fact I’ve been drooling over Mr. Kochhar’s cooking for some time, I decided to get down and try some of these amazing dishes. 

Time consuming yes.  The ingredient lists alone are a chapter of reading and first, second marinades, fresh chutneys, sauces and subtle garnishes make up just one recipe.  I started with an Atul Kochhar recipe from Great British Menu.  Lamb patty with lamb rack and rose petals. 

I used prime lamb for the patty  (backstrap as we say in NZ or loin as it’s more commonly known) and was rewarded with the lightest of patties I could ever dream of.  The addition of papaya means the meat is ever so slightly broken down and the result is more the texture of a fine pate than a patty.    The array of spices so vast it took me some time to stock up and the mastery in the recipe is the coming together of these in such subtle tones it plays with tastebuds that standard Indian fare just does not seem to.  I was hooked from that first day (OK it took me two days) in the kitchen and my husband rewarded me further with such accolades I had to try more. May I be so bold Mr Kochhar as to suggest the papaya is best left out of the lamb rack marinade?  Even short marinade times change the texture of the flesh in my opinion resulting in a slight dryness to the lamb even when cooked rare/medium rare and when omitted the result is spectacular.  In the patty however the papaya is a key ingredient as it gives this the texture of whipped cream.   Anyway I digress….

So I continued on with several more Atul Kochhar dishes all resulting in beautiful balances of spice, sweet, sour, salt and utterly utterly addictive.  Indian food traditionally uses less prime cuts of meats cooked long and slow.  The higher end Indian cookery achieves its mastery by the complex array of sauces and condiments but uses prime cuts of meats and fish therefore short cook times are necessary.  The result is a freshness not often achieved by slow cooking and the subtlety highlights the protein in such a way it’s impossible for me to conceive how these spice masters create such recipes. 

I was lucky enough to receive Vineet Bhatia’s Rasoi cookbook for my birthday from my brother.  Well it’s a beautiful book just to handle let alone look at and read.  The roast sea bream, coconut and roasted cashew nut khichdi with tomato kadhi and chenna chutney was utterly incredible.    

The spice crusted lamb loin, raaan Mussallam, cabbage foogath, dried fruit and chilli korma inspired to the point of sublime.  I’ve worked out that most of the sauces can be frozen and heated up so if I make a portion for 4 I freeze half and am rewarded with an off the cuff high end stay at home Indian nosh.  Andy’s a happy man!!!

I was fascinated with the use of Pastis in some recipes by Atul Kochhar and I guess if Pastis was an Indian number then this French aniseed aperitif would be used commonly in Indian cookery as it adds an element that is incredibly complimentary to some dishes.  Yes this is what I’m finding the most fascinating – a clear Indian deftness of spice mastery combined with other cooking techniques, cuts and components. 

If nothing else my hobby has meant I have quickly become ofay with a vast array of spices I had otherwise not heard of and am learning how to use each, roasted, ground, a pinch of this and that in order to create my own versions of these types of dishes.  The food literally sings.