Preview: Hardeep Singh Kohli: The Really Naked Chef

Published on Friday 7 August 2009 15:43

WHAT could be more memorable than a fat Glaswegian Sikh cooking dinner while telling anecdotes? That's right, nothing.

Yes, forget Jamie Oliver, author, comedian and journalist Hardeep Singh Kohli is The Really Naked Chef on this year's Fringe.

He might have been runner-up on the first series of Celebrity Masterchef, but his love of food undeniable – and expressed in his larger than average belly and the publication in 2008 of his first book Indian Takeaway.

Hardeep says, "To perfect the perfect curry needs planning and patience. Have all your ingredients ready before you start.

"The secret of a great sauce is finely chopped onions that cook down slowly and lend all their flavour to the finished curry. You have to wait for this to happen.

"A perfect curry is a balance of flavours. Its not about blowing your head off with spice; it's about flavour that has cooked into the sauce, permeated the meat or chicken.

"And finally, a handful of freshly chopped coriander thrown into a newly cooked curry makes the world of difference."

Before you head off to enjoy his wonderfully laid-back evening of arch stories and aromatic stir-fries at the Gilded Balloon – just think Ready Steady Cook but with good cooking and great conversation – here, to whet your appetite, The One Show regular shares his favourite Lamb Curry recipe.

IN AT THE HARDEEP END: Singh Kohli prepares the ideal curry

singh for your supper

INGREDIENTS:

HARDEEP'S

LAMB CURRY

(Enough for four)

l A tablespoon of whole cumin

l Half a dozen or so cardamom pods

l A cinnamon stick

l Three or four cloves

l Half a dozen peppercorns

l A couple of bay leaves

l A star anise

l Two large onions, finely chopped

l Three or four plump garlic cloves, minced with an inch of root ginger.

l Chillies: I will leave this to you, suffice to say that the way spice is employed in a proper curry is all about depth of flavour, not mouth burning nonsense.

l Lamb: Chops are great, shoulder and leg are ideal, bone in is best. There are few more meaningful moments in life that sucking the marrow out of a curried lamb bone. It's up there with Fergus Henderson's homage to bone marrow at the unparalleled, Michelin-starred St John.

l Floury, robust potatoes, peeled and chopped into big chunks of carbohydrate comfort.

l A tablespoon of tomato puree

l Ground pepper, salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder and garam masala.

l A big bunch of coriander

Here's how to create the perfect lamb curry

METHOD:

Okay. Take a big pan, the sort you'd employ for soups and stews. Line the bottom with a good glug of a flavourless oil, vegetable or sunflower, anything but olive. Remember, enough oil to fry the onions but not so much that it will make the curry unpalatable.

When the oil has taken some heat throw your cumin seeds in. They should crackle and fizz and impart their earthiness to the oil. This should take no more than 30 seconds.

Throw the onions in and fry them for a few minutes. Keep them moving every minute or so, keep them from catching. If you feel you need a little more oil then add it gradually so as not to create a dramatic drop on temperature within the pot.

After a few minutes hurl in the rest of your whole spices – the cardamoms, cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon, bay and star anise. These whole spices should be fried and allowed to temper the oil with their exotic flavours. After a couple of minutes throw in the garlic, chilli and ginger. Now fry this assemblage of flavours. The point is to brown the onions (without burning). Be careful not to let the garlic catch.

Once the onions are golden brown add the tomato puree. Fry this off. Once the oil separates back out from the puree/onion mixture add a teaspoon of turmeric, ground coriander, ground chilli, a teaspoon and a half of salt, half a teaspoon of ground black pepper. Again fry these spices for a few moments, cook the rawness out of them. Having washed the meat, add it now to the pot. Keep the whole thing moving. You want to coat the lamb in the masala and simultaneously seal the outside of the meat. Try not to brown the meat. The smells in your kitchen should reassure you of the meal that is about to come.

Once the meat is sealed, add some water to the pot. You will need to at the very least cover the meat; if you like a very liquid curry, feel free to add more water. (As my mum always says, you can always add more but ye cannae take it away.)

Bring to the boil, simmer and cover. Check every ten minutes and turn the meat over in the gravy. After half an hour or forty minutes gently drop the potatoes in and adjust water levels if needs be. When the potatoes are cooked the lamb will be too.

Hardeep Singh Kohli: The Really Naked Chef, Gilded Balloon, Debating Hall, until 31 August (not 18th), 7pm, 0131-622 6552