Indiya

There was a time when food wasn’t just food. It was a way of showing off.  The Afghan Biryani is the dish served up on sunny verandahs and courtyards of grand homes – cooked only with the finest ingredients, the freshest eggs, the most fragrant rice, cashew nuts, saffron. It takes real skill to get the delicate spices just right, that’s why it’s the dish we cook to impress our guests.

“…always the best setting for conversation among the best of friends.”

Tequila and Lime Grilled Prawns. This is an update to our King Prawn Butterfly – the ageing rock star of Indian curry houses. We marinade the prawns in tequila, fresh lime juice and just a touch of crushed green chilli – grilled in the tandoori clay oven. The result is something far edgier with a bit more attitude.

“Everywhere I go I find a poet has been there before me.”  – Sigmund Freud

Mouthwatering triangles of joy, also known as samosas. The combination of pastry and vegetables, or lightly spiced minced lamb, are earthy, wild, and highly addictive. Dipped in the right yoghurty minty, coriander sauce to cool, or chilli and tamarind sauce – to light up the senses.  Best served with a glass of crisp white wine.

Cooked all along the coconut lined beaches of Malabar, this seductive combination of lamb and coconut is exotic, and yet, so comforting. The baby aubergines are spiced in old fashioned turmeric and chillies. A true favourite in every home I know – perhaps because its simplicity nourishes the soul.

Fresh fish of the day is first rubbed with mustard oil, turmeric and salt – ready to cook in our Bengali-style fish curry.  Sea bream has the perfect texture for a light and simple summer curry.

A favourite amongst our guests. Salmon Curry. Cooked with wild Alaskan salmon and a lightly spiced sauce made with tomatoes, mustard seeds and fresh curry leaves. Eat it with plain rice to let the flavours dance in your mouth.

This is as close as we can get it to the way my grandmother used to cook her prawn curry with saag.  Handfuls of summer green vegetables, roughly chopped and tossed into a spicy onion and garlic sauce, and freshly brought prawns that were carefully cleaned and prepared from the fish market that morning. We’re so happy that our guests seem to love this as much as we do.