Curry World Menus

at Baylis House Hotel, Nr Slough, Berkshire

Dinner - Friday 4th March 2005

Menu for the Six Course Moghul Banquet

First Course

Popadoms served with The Chutney Daba (Seven home-made chutneys)

Raita
natural yoghurt mixed with cucumber matchsticks and Pat’s freshly ground Garam Masala.
Cachumber Salad
finely chopped onion, tomato, cucumber, peppers and coriander leaves.
Pineapple Chutney
home-made, sweet and spicy, ripe tomatoes, white sugar, spirit vinegar flavoured with
minced garlic, chilli powder, nigella seeds and a fresh bay leaf.
Imli and Carrot
tamarind, sweetened with palm sugar, spiced with garam masala, combined with chopped carrot.
Coconut Chutney
home-made, grated coconut fried with mustard seed, fresh curry leaves and coconut milk powder.
Hot Mixed Pickle
pureed lime, carrot, mango, and mixed vegetable pickled.
Podina
home-made, ground fresh coriander and mint leaves, coconut and chilli.

Second Course

All Afghan. Babur, the first Moghul, captured Kabul aged 18. He went on to take India next.
Boolawnee Morgee
Square-shaped samosa filled with minced curried turkey, spicy leeks and chilli, served with
Shaftalu ~ vinegared Peach and Gashneetch ~ Coriander and walnut chutney

Third Course

Battar Dum
Steamed spicy Quail
A Handi is filled with fried masalas, stock and a boned quail. Traditionally, the lid is sealed with dough, which hardens early during the slow-cooking process, preventing the steam from escaping.
To give the dish colour, yard beans are added near the end.
Served with Khurmee Naan ~ Leavened bread disc topped with dates and jaggery.

Fourth Course

Mirchwangan Korma
A traditional Kashmiri Red Chilli Korma
Korma is a style of cooking, and does not necessarily mean mild, as this hottish dish from the Kashmir firmly proves. Lamb leg, cut as in India, on the bone (for maximum flavour) is marinaded in paste of tomato purée, paprika, red wine, bottled beetroot, red chillies and red pepper. It is fried in butter ghee made red with alkanet root, with garlic, and red onion, then slowly curried with a masala of cassia bark, cardamoms, cloves, bay leaves, fennel seed, and garam masala.
Kirima
Red kidney beans, peas and sweet corn
Kumbi Gulmarg (Kashmir)
Mushroom and fennel bulb spiced with fennel seed and ginger
Khitchri
Rice with moong lentils
Khitchri is a very ancient Indian dish. The first written reference of it was by the Moroccan explorer Ibn Battuta, on his eight year voyage to India. He said, in 1342 “The munj (moong dhal) is boiled with rice and then buttered. This is what they call Kishri, and on this they breakfast every day”.
In 1590, the Moghul emperor Akbar’s chronicler, Abul Fazl gives a recipe.
Our English breakfast dish, Kedgeree derived from this dish.

Fifth Course

Falooda
A sweet milky pudding with wheat thread noodles
A favourite of the emperor Jehangir in the 1600s. It can be served with fruit jam and if you want it, cold with crushed ice. Here we use the fabulous Caribbean ingredient - Grenadine, the pomegranate syrup from Grenada, the nutmeg isle, Rice noodles with fruit syrup. Paloodeh originated in medieval Persia, and is still to be found there eaten with drizzlings of sour fruit syrup.

Sixth Course

Freshly ground coffee beans or tea served with fresh dates stuffed with Pistachio

Plus: Available on request for those who like it hot.
Fresh Green Chilli Chutney ~ Home-made, ground fresh green chilli, in vinegar, medium hot.
Naga Chilli Pickle ~ A lethally hot pickle made from incendiary Naga chillies.
Hot gravy ~ Can be supplied if you advise Pat before the meal that you want it.

Lunch Menu ~ Saturday 5th March 2005

specialities from India inc Goa, Burma and Malaysia / Indonesia

Jhinga Junglei Mass (Piri Piri) (Rajasthan)
A hunter’s stir-fry using traditionally goat. Here we use King Prawns, briskly stir-fried in ghee with ground and whole red chillies.

Jeera Chicken (Punjab)
The simplest of all stir-fries, using just four ingredients:
Chicken chunks, butter with ground and whole jeera (cummin).

Classic Pork Vindaloo (Goa)
Goa’s most famous dish, but it bears no resemblance to the curry house version. The real thing is derived from the Portuguese dish ‘Vino e Alhos’, traditionally pork marinated (the longer the better) in toddy vinegar, red chillies and garlic, then simmered until tender. The casserole ingredients include onion, garam masala, fresh coriander leaves, and more chillies, this time fresh, creating a rich red curry gravy. This version uses minced pork

Kaushwe Kyaw Burmese Noodles
Beef strips and shrimps are stir-fried spiced with garam masala.
They are combined with egg noodles just before serving

Nasi Goreng Stir-fried Rice. (Malaysia and Indonesia)
A national dish Nasi means ‘rice’ Go means ‘fried’ and reng ‘ethnic’.
Typically it contains rice in which is anything goes. Here we are using vegetables with fresh coriander and basil, in a paste of ghee, garlic, galingale or ginger turmeric, onions, lemon grass, tamarind, ketjap manis, brown sugar and sambal manis

Served with Chutneys and Pickles from the Daba Tray

Six Course Dinner Menu ~ Saturday 5th March 2005

Delights from the subcontinent ~ Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, Burma and the Indian Ocean

First Course

Second Course

Karamba Kulkul Issu (The Seychelle Islands)
Minced White Fish, Crab meat and Prawn in Coconut Shell
The Seychelles lie near the equator in the Indian ocean between Africa and India. This dish uses coconut flesh, milk and water plus (over there) a liqueur toddy locally and appropriately known as karamba! Garlic, chillies, turmeric and clove is stir-fried . The coconut water and the minced fish/crab/prawn is simmered for a few minutes. Whole prawns are added, with coconut flesh and milk and coriander leaves. It is simmered until it starts to thicken.Then the karamba (or as here, whisky ) is added. The mixture is served in coconut shells.

Third Course

Golbhedako Surwa (Nepal)
a spicy tomato soup served with Momo dumplings, containing spicy carrots and peas.

Fourth Course

Naat Amet (Burma)
Best stewing steak curried in distinctive Burmese spices.
Takatan (Pakistan)
Chicken and tomato curry
Gets its name from the metallic clacking that the special metal tool makes on the huge frying pan (tava) as the dish is prepared - taka-taka-taka-taka. A curry base is prepared. The chef takes the two steel, flat-edged spatulas and bangs them one after the other on to the pan to chop the chicken as it cooks.
Niramish (Bangladesh) A vegan curry
Also known as Lubra, it contains no dairy products, garlic, or onions, though it usually, as here, contains a little chilli and sugar. It gets its really interesting flavour from five spice mixture (Panch Phoran) fried in mustard blend oil, here with five vegetables: celery, courgette, broccoli, mangetout and spinach.
Dhansak Sabzi Pullao (Parsee India)
Traditional Parsee Dhansak always uses garlic, ginger, onion, lentil and a kind of ratatouille of aubergine, tomato, spinach and fresh chillies. Slow cooking amalgamates the flavours. Sweet comes from jaggery and a slight overtone of sour from fresh lime.
Here it is combined with basmati rice to create an unusually tasty rice dish.

Fifth Course

Shahi Tukre Indian bread and butter pudding, aka Double ka Mithi.
Created for the Moghuls (them again!). The bread is fried in ghee then soaked in reduced sweetened milk, spiced with cardamom, saffron, vanilla and rosewater. After baking it goes firm and golden. The ultimate touch is a garnish vark silver leaf with pistachio, and toasted almonds.

Sixth Course

Lunch Menu ~ Sunday 6th March 2005

a spicy collection from the Middle East , Israel and north Africa

Mechoui Kafta (Saudi Arabia)
Kafta is of course Kofta, and here is the forerunner of the Indian version. Onion, garlic, fresh coriander leaves, fresh mint leaves and Middle Eastern spices, rolled into balls (kafta) and pan-fried or baked.

Puf Boregi (Yemen)
Yemen’s version of the Meat Samosa which we are all acquainted. Spiced minced lamb, cooked with onion, garlic, ginger, baharat spices and capsicum peppers, triangular-wrapped in pastry and deep-fried.

Sabra Dip (Israel)
Avocado puréed with soured cream, a little green chilli and lime juice.

Tabouleh (Lebanon) Mixed Salad with Burghul (cracked wheat)

Burghul, green leaves and herbs, cherry tomatoes, spring onions, bunches of fresh parsley, coriander and mint leaves, combined with olive oil and fresh lemon juice, spiced with baharat, served cold.

Mishmisheya La Kama (Maghreb)
Mixed vegetables with apricot (mishmish) cooked by baking. This is not unlike the Parsee Jardaloo dish.

Riz El Tammar (Libya)
Rice flavoured with special herbs dates and pine nuts.

Piri Piri Hot Sauce (Africa)
An African word for chilli is piri-piri. Here’s how to make it

Served with Chutneys and Pickles from the Daba Tray