Currying stars’ favour

Published on Friday 28 June 2002 01:00

TOM prefers it kwik, Cherie enjoys ladies fingers while Irvine - when he’s not exposing the disturbing underbelly of Edinburgh’s drug culture - is particularly partial to a dollop of spinach.

Oh, and they all like it hot. The Queen is quite a fan too, it seems. Why else would she have broken years of traditional protocol to personally pen the foreword to a new celebrity book of curries, compiled by Edinburgh’s own king of the curry?

Tommy Miah, the television chef and owner of The Raj in Henderson Street in Leith, has persuaded the rich, famous and the culinary creative - from Sir Tom Farmer to Tom Jones, Victoria Wood to Glenda Jackson - to reveal their favourite recipes for a new fundraising book.

Cherie Blair’s recipe for Kutchhi Bhindi is, says Tommy, a "wonderful way to cook okra", otherwise known as ladies fingers, while he salutes Irvine Welsh’s choice of home-made Saag Paneer laced with spinach.

The book - which is expected to raise 100,000 for Cancer Research UK, headed by Edinburgh-born joint director general Gordon McVie - features old favourites as well as new variations on Indian cooking.

"There were a couple of problems," admits Tommy. "Chicken Tikka Masala is the country’s most popular Indian dish and at least three of the celebrities wanted to submit recipes for that. We had to persuade them to come up with something else."

Tommy, the man behind the UK’s Indian Chef of the Year competition and dubbed "the Jamie Oliver of Indian Cooking", says he personally double checked all of the recipes to ensure they hit the right spicy note.

It meant chomping his way through former England manager Kevin Keagan’s Chicken Tikka Masala - "a magnificent dish," says Tommy, "even if it is a British invention," - actress Glenda Jackson’s vegetarian Saag Aloo and runner Kriss Akabusi’s Chana Chola, another vegetarian dish made with lentils, beans and peas, guaranteed, perhaps, to make him go like the wind.

While The Queen has endorsed the book - mentioning its "tempting array of recipes" but clearly opting out of submitting her own - Professor Gordon McVie, is particularly keen to highlight the health issues at stake.

"No-one claims curry will cure cancer," he says. "But there is growing evidence that eating Indian food can in many cases avert the onset of this dreaded disease.

"Diet is certainly linked to cancer of the bowel, breast and prostate to name a few common cancers.

"But it’s likely that the damage is done, not always by having toxic nasties in your food; rather cancer is likely to be related more often to lack of good things in the diet."

He adds that curries, and the special mix of spices and herbs in Indian food fall into the preventative category of foods, which can have a beneficial impact on our bodies.

Meanwhile, Bangladeshi-born Tommy, who founded the lavish Original Raj Hotel in Edinburgh and once delivered a curry lunch box to 10 Downing Street as a birthday gift for John Major when he turned 50, says he’s delighted with the book, Favourite Recipes of the Raj, and now hopes to organise a series of dinner parties around the country, dishing up the celebrities’ favourite curries.

Before that, however, diners at Tommy’s Henderson Street curry house can give their own verdicts on cinema critic Barry Norman’s Dal; SNP MP and former leader Alex Salmond’s Bhuna Chicken Jaipuri with Pineapple and Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson’s Chicken Tikka.

Throughout July the dishes will be incorporated into The Raj’s menu, to celebrate the book’s publication.

Favourite Recipes of the Raj costs 9.99. Call 08701 60 20 40 to order a copy.

Cooking up some hot stuff

CHERIE BLAIR’S KUTCHNI BHINDI

(Sweet and sour okra or ladies fingers)

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

7 medium garlic cloves

1 dried hot red chilli (use half if you prefer a milder dish)

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

half tsp ground turmeric

4 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

400g fresh tender okra or ladies fingers cut into 2cm lengths

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

4 tsp fresh lemon juice

Method

Place garlic and chilli in a blender with 3 tbsp of water and blend until smooth. Transfer to a bowl, add the ground cumin, coriander and turmeric. Mix well and set aside.

Heat the oil in a 23cm/9in frying pan and add the cumin seeds. As they start to sizzle, reduce the heat and pour in the spice mixture. Stir-fry for one minute and stir in okra, salt, sugar, lemon juice and 4tbsp of water. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover tightly and cook over low heat for ten minutes or until okra is tender.

IRVINE WELSH‘S Saag Paneer

(Serve as vegetarian main dish or a side dish)

Ingredients

1 litre milk

juice of one lemon

ghee (for deep frying)

Vegetable oil

2 onions, finely chopped.

2.5 cm/1in piece of ginger root

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp garam masala

half tsp chilli powder

half tsp ground coriander

500g/1lb spinach

Method

To make the paneer, boil the milk twice on high heat. Squeeze in lemon juice. Whey will separate out from the curd. Take curd and tie in a muslin cloth which should be hung up for a day to allow the water to drain out.

Squeeze out any remaining moisture by placing muslin container under a heavy weight. Cut the flattened curd into strips.

Deep fry the strips in ghee until golden brown. Lay on a kitchen towel to drain. Heat oil in a saucepan and fry onion and ginger until soft. Add turmeric, garam masala, chilli powder, coriander and spinach and cook for ten to 15 minutes until spinach is cooked and you have a rich sauce. Add water if necessary. Add fried curd and simmer for five minutes.

SIR TOM FARMER’S Fish Dopiaza

Ingredients

1kg/2lb John Dory

4 medium onions

1 green pepper

3 fresh green chillies (seeded)

3 tsp chopped garlic

1 tsp grated ginger

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 and half tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp ground cardamom

1 tsp ground cinnamon

quarter tsp ground cloves

4 tbsp ghee or oil

2 ripe tomatoes (peeled and chopped)

salt to taste

1 cup water

Method

Cut fish into pieces and thinly slice half the onions. Place to one side.

Chop the rest of the onions and green pepper and mix in blender with chillies, garlic and ginger to make a puree. Mix in the cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, coriander and cloves

Fry the onions set aside in the ghee or oil until golden brown and remove. Add puree and ground mixture to oil in pan and fry until oil separates and colour richen. Add tomatoes and cook until liquid evaporates. Add fish pieces to pan, stirring well. Add water and salt and cover pan. Cook for around 10-15 minutes, until fish is tender. Add reserved fried onions and green pepper, cover and simmer for five minutes. Serve with rice or breads.