Currying Favour

Just over a week ago the film Victoria and Abdul was released. This is a true story set around 1887 when Queen Victoria, Empress of India, was given two Indian servants to cook for her. She became very fond of Abdul Karim and also of a good curry!

People have always wanted to emulate royalty so many food writers of the time included Indian dishes in their recipe books. Curry powder was used with cold meats and substitutes for authentic Indian cuisine so that the British made "curry" their own.

After World War II there was a lot of immigration from India to Britain and our love for our own version of curry grew. Chicken tikka masala has been adopted as one of the UKs favourite "national" dishes.

For we vegetarians, our local Indian restaurant or take-away probably has more dishes on its menu than any other establishment. It is the one place we can go with our meat-eating friends and know we will have the same amount of choice as they do.

One of my favourites to cook quickly at home is Chick Pea Cauliflower and Spinach Curry:-

- cook onion, garlic and fresh ginger until soft

- add chosen curry paste (ie Pataks tikka masala), tinned tomatoes, tinned chick peas, pre-cooked or frozen cauliflower and simmer for 10 mins

- add shredded spinach simmering for a further 2 mins.

- stir in natural/Greek yogurt

- serve and add chopped coriander/lemon wedges etc

- serve with rice or a naan bread

I, for one, am hoping for an Indian Summer this Autumn.