Winter Warmers: Dishoom Chai

This week has seen a fog descend over London and the temperatures drop. Perfect time for the epicurean explorers to don their knit wear (another silver lining on the snow cloud) and head out to explore what the city has to offer.

If like me, tired old identi-kit pub Christmas menus just don’t leave you feeling festive, and your mulled wine soaked liver is calling for some excitement, don’t think of passing through Covent Garden without dipping into Disoom on Upper St Martin’s Lane, where nothing will warm you from the inside out like a Dishoom naughty Chai. Cosy into a booth and order one of their Dishoom Chai’s with a twist… They are, according to the Dishoom Wallahs themselves “like a warm hug from a familiar friend. Who you suddenly realise is really pretty sexy.”

Photo courtesy of http://www.dishoom.com

For those of you truly chilled to the bone, I recommend the lethally strong Cognac Chai; Chai with Christmas spices and a powerful kick of Hennessy VSOP. (A couple of these makes a delightful- and this is tried and tested- booze jacket.) Or if you need your chocolate fix (and I know there are those of you are out there) there is the Chocolate Chai, a decadent cupful of dark chocolate liqueur, Chai and Bourbon, topped with chocolate shavings.

It’s hard to resist the Bailey’s Chai- the new kid on the block that could give White Russians and Irish Coffees a run for their money. Smooth and comforting, it is topped with a cool layer of fresh cream, which cuts through the warmth and richness of the Bailey’s/Chai combo.
My personal favourite, which somewhat caught me by surprise, was the Egg Nog Chai. If you’re less of a lush than me and only drop in for one cup to warm the cockles of your heart, than this is the one I would recommend. The classically festive Egg Nog is mixed with Chai and Hennessy VS before being dusted with cinnamon for an ultimately Christmas-y Chai. Whichever you choose, you are guaranteed to leave feeling warm bellied and full of Christmas ‘cheer’.

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Dinner: Bengali Salmon Parcels

Bengali Salmon Parcels
With broad beans and cumin carrots

I was cooking with Simon tonight and he introduced me to this recipe. It was beautiful- I love salmon as it is, but this was delicate with a real kick, and also took almost no time at all to prepare and cook. Whilst mixing the yoghurt with the freshly blended spices I had a feeling it was going to be a bit special, so I grabbed my camera and paid attention...

Here be the recipe:

salmon fillets
1 tsp each ground cumin and turmeric
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
3cm piece root ginger
1 garlic clove , peeled
small bunch coriander , chopped
2 green chillies , seeded and sliced
200ml Greek yogurt

1.Rub the salmon with the turmeric, cuminand mustard. Put the ginger, garlic, coriander and most the chillies in a food processor and whizz together. Add the yoghurt and some salt and whizz again.
2. Spread most of the yoghurt mixture over both sides of each piece of salmon (keep back a couple of tbsp). Take 4 sheets of foil, then sit a salmon fillet in the middle of each. Seal to make parcels, leaving a bit of room for air to circulate. Cook in the oven at 220C/ fan 200C/gas 7 for 8 minutes.

I served it with broad beans and cumin carrots- made simply by tossing cumin seeds in butter in a pan with a little sugar, and stirring through carrots as they steam- and the remaining yoghurt on the side.

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Cardamom Fish Curry

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I love fish curry, it's one of my favourites! Usually I just kinda make it up, but today I followed a Josceline Dimbleby recipe for Cardamom Curry.

I knew I would like this recipe as it includes what my brother used to refer to as the Holy Trinity- chili, ginger and garlic. if that's not enough, they are then fried with cod and a handful of cardamom seeds.

Transfer the fish to a dish with coconut cream, water and lemon juice and cooked in the oven for about forty minutes and you have a lovely delicately oriental curry. Don't skimp on the coconut or ginger etc- the more flavour the better. Mine was a little more watery than I had hoped... I also added some dessicated coconut to add texture.

Chili, ginger, cardamom, coconut, lemon... so many buzz words in one dish!

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Dinner 16.03.2011

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Last night we decided to cook using the 'Fifty Great Curries of India' book by Camellia Panjabi. I hadn't used it before, but it's a good one- the recipes seem pretty authentic and there's a good variety.
We varied the chicken Dhansak recipe, using pork instead- and butternut squash in place of pumpkin.
The recipe called for lentils, ginger, aubergines, turmeric and fresh mint, amongst a wide range of spices and created a mild and creamy curry, that was delicately flavoured and gentle.
I really love this dish! The slow cooked dish has a lot of vegetables in, but with the lentils, the result is a thick and smooth curry with very little bite.

To accompany it, I made chapatis. It was my first attempt since I made them in India, but using only three ingredients and none of the proving of traditional western bread, they are incredibly simple and turned out really well - a very good accompaniment for the curry.

We also always serve our curries with a salad of chopped tomatoes and raw white onion, and a dish of chopped banana and squeezed lemon. I don't know where this stemmed from, but I like the sweetness of the banana with the sharpness of the lemon. The banana is always soothing with a hot curry and the lemon spices up a mild one.

I realised mid meal (to great great excitement, as ever) that I could use my new found skill to make roti wraps, as appears to be the fashion right now! I'll follow this post with another with a guide to chapati making and some home mad rotis to rival the likes of Chaiwalla and Mooli's!

According to Camellia Panjabi Dhansak is a Parsee dish The word originates from dhan meaning wealth and sak, meaning vegetable. In Parsi, Dhaan mans rice. It is often eaten on Sunday's and is customarily served at funerals.

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Cheap Eats: Lou Loves Moolis

(or, Mooli's: Roti vs. Buritto)

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I seem to spend half my life in Shoreditch and half in Soho. I just love Soho- it's where life seems to happen. It's the little beating heart in the centre of London, pumping life into the city.
Naturally, it's unlikely I would spend long in somewhere without a great variety of food- Shoreditch has its big Bangla Cash and Carrys, Soho has its huge array of cafes, restaurants and bakeries. (Not to mention China Town... )
You may remember my 'Focus On... Wardour Street'; One road alone that could feed me for a month.

So it came as no surprise to me that the cafe that seems to be on every one's lips right now- Mooli's- was to be found on Frith Street. I had heard about it from a number of food bloggers and friends so it seemed natural that when I found myself aimless in Soho one lunch time I should drag myself away from my usual haunts and try it out.

Photography by Mowie, from www.moolis.com

Stepping in (and they will hate me for this) my first impression was how similar it was to it's Mexican counterpart Benito's Hat. The walls were painted cheerful colours, the tables flanked with high stools and the serving counter squatting at the back. But in the design stakes, Mooli's wins out. Bright patterns, blossom and birds designed by Rachel Mikulsky adorn the walls, one of which is dedicated to a series of bold statements- "Not to be consumed with low grain cocaine" and "This is not a f**king Burrito".

... You understand my reticence in name dropping Benito's Hat now?

It's very simple. Mooli's serves mooli's. And not a lot else. But really, who needs anything else from a place like this?
The premise of these mooli's are filling home made roti (Indian flat bread) with meat, veg or paneer and plenty of additional flavours; in the forms of sharp salsas, fruity chutneys and spicy potatoes.

They may have a limited menu, but the mooli's do come in six flavours- Chicken with a mint and coriander dressing and apple, spicy beef with coconut and cucumber raita, and Pork with pomegranate salsa (oooh!). The most popular flavour seems to be the Goat, spiced with cumin, coriander cloves, chilli's and Cinnamon and accompanied by potatoes sautéed with dry mango, red onion and lime.
There are also vegetarian options; Asparagus with potatoes, roasted cumin seeds, dried mango, yoghurt and tamarind or Paneer; Indian cheese scrambled in spices with tomato chutney and grated carrot.

Ok, so it doesn't look *quite* like this when it's served up... But considering how completely impossible it is not to make a mess of anything that comes in a wrap, does it really matter..?
Photography again, by Mowie. I am a big fan of his beaauutiful work!

It was, based on this, tough to choose. I went with the chicken, though in retrospect I'm now fantasising about the paneer... Though I do love the sound of the potato and cumin... And the pomegranate salsa... and the coconut with the beef... Oh dear.
We also bowed to pressure and got the goat.

They were both gorgeous! (£4.45) The sheer quantity of ingredients they crammed in all complimented and contrasted each other nicely. The cinnamon, cloves and cumin gave them a distinctively Indian taste without in any way resembling your local generic Indian restaurant.
Chunky, flavoursome and compact, these Mooli's makes for a great lunch break pit-stop. Amazingly, although they aren't in any way obscenely over-sized, I remained so full all day that even by the end of the night (I would say we had lunch about 2 o clock) I still wasn't hungry, and ate nothing more than an apple that day. That's value for money, right?
I don't want for burritos to keep rearing their ugly heads, but you do get more from your money with a mooli. Instead of chicken with salsa, guacamole and soured cream, beef with salsa, guacamole and soured cream or vegetables with salsa, guacamole and soured cream, you do get a lot more carefully considered ingredients rammed in. Don't get me wrong, I love a burrito... But in this race (for me) there can only be one winner.

So if you're looking for somewhere new to eat in the West End, or you want a food lovers variation on the (pale by comparison) Burrito, check out Mooli's.

50 Frith St
Westminster, London W1D 4
020 7494 9075
http://www.moolis.com/

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