Curry Life Chefs Turn up the Heat in Hyderabad

 Once again Curry Life chefs have been over to India to showcase UK curry and food at the 10-day Taste of Britain Curry Festival. This year the bi-annual event was held in scorching Hyderabad at The Park Hyatt Hotel where the restaurant and ball room were redolent with aromas of British curries and even, at times, good old Lancashire Hot Pot and Sunday Roast.

The team of top chefs from the UK included Partha Mittra, Consultant Chef for Curry Life; Allam Shah Ullah of Cutlers Spice in Sheffield; Abul Monsur of Taj Cuisine in Chatham; Abdus Shahid from Valley Connection in Bury St Edmonds; Altaf Hussain of Yuva Fine Fusion in Royston, and Anwar Hussain of Navaa Fine Fusion, Sudbury. They were joined by Dominic Chapman Michelin star chef who served up a ‘Best of British’ menu while his fellow chefs, naturally, focused on British curry.

The festival even had the support of Prime Minister David Cameron who sent a letter to the festival organisers, saying how delighted he was to see the unique British brand of Asian cuisine being sought in the countries from where it originally came. Home Secretary Theresa May and MPs including Keith Vaz, Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, also came on board to offer their best wishes.

As usual, the event caught the attention of the Indian and British press. At the media lunch, journalists, distinguished guests and Hyderabadi food aficionados had their appetites well and truly whetted by the mouth-watering menu of 80 dishes prepared by the chefs. In addition to the ubiquitous Chicken Tikka Masala, the spread included:  Dhania Salmon Kebabs, Oregano Chicken Tikka, Shatkora Gosht, Sunehri Pulao  and Dal a la Kent with other British influenced fusion dishes such as Lamb Rani Chops, Chicken Roulade and Cocktail Paneer Kebabs. Desserts included Gulab Jamun and Ras Malai, while Dominic’s traditional British fare served up with Michelin flair, also showcased the often overlooked British desserts such as Eton Mess and Bread and Butter pudding.

“The meat dishes stand out, redolent with their just-perfect-consistency-of curry, spicy and creamy gravies,” raved the correspondent from The Times of India Swati Sucharita, although she admitted she found the chicken tikka masala “a tad sweet”, besides being “creamily delectable”. The Dal a la Kent, (speciality of chef Abul Monsur) made with mixed lentils was described as “the stuff soul food is made of, deeply fragrant with the ghee jeera-red chillies tempering and packed with the goodness of mixed lentils”. Spicy vegetable and cheese kebabs were likened to the “quintessential Vegetable Chop that delights from the streets of Kolkata, spiked with some cheese filling.”

But the festival also provided the opportunity for an interchange of ideas. Hyderabad is renowned for its biryani, a classic dish of the Mughal Nizams which often contains goat meat.  It is made either with raw, marinated ingredients sealed and cooked by the slow dum cooking process (Kachi), or with the meat and rice cooked separately and then layered (Pakhi).   Chefs and organisers were keen to try out the dish on its home ground and learn from the Hyatt culinary team. “Last year when we did the festival in Kolkata our chefs picked up a lot of fish and dessert dishes, so there is a lot of incorporating Indian regional cuisines that we will do in terms of takeaways from the festival,” said Syed Belal Ahmed. “No doubt, this year, the chefs will be hoping to get some first hand tips on how to prepare the authentic version of Hyderabad biryani.”

Restaurateur Amin Ali of the award-winning Red Fort in London, who attended the festival described how many years ago, he introduced the dish in his fine dining restaurant: “We had come to Hyderabad as early as the ‘90s and took back with us Hyderabadi chefs from the Nizam’s Club and Taj Krishna, so you could get authentic Hyderabadi Biryasni and Mirchi ka Salan at our restaurant in Soho,” he told reporters.

Syed Belal Ahmed, explained some of the differences between curries adapted to British tastes and home grown Indian dishes: “The curries enjoyed in India are no longer quite the same as the ones in Britain,” he said. “Improvisation has taken place and British herbs like rosemary, thyme, oregano are common and the dishes are spiced down. So the chicken tikka masala which you would be served in London may be creamy and smooth. Dishes also use less oil and healthier than their Indian counterparts.”

It wasn’t all work for the chefs however – towards the end of the visit they were able to take a well earned break to see some of the sights of Hyderabad including the Ramoji Film Studio before they headed back home with plenty of food for thought.

The main sponsor of the event was Cobra Beer whose CEO Lord Karan Bilimoria also hails from Hyderabad. Other sponsors included Ellwoods, Jaguar, Curries Online, Annecto UK, Chivas, Goldstar Chefs, Pasco and Pegasus Textiles.  

The festival was inaugurated by Deputy British High Commissioner to Hyderabad, Mr Andrew McAllister.

Taste of Britain Curry Festival takes British curry and Michelin star chef to Kolkata

Ever since Curry Life’s Taste of Britain Curry Festival launched at the 5-star Hyatt Regency Hotel, Kolkata on 23^rd August 2013 it seems diners can’t get enough of curries with a quintessentially British taste. 

The Taste of Britain Curry festival has previously had considerable success in Kolkata – in 2010 at Hotel Hindustan International, customers arrived in their droves for a taste of British curry cuisine. Nevertheless, it is something of a challenge for chefs to impress Bengali diners who are passionate about food and are used to cooking things in a certain way.

Over the course of the ten-day festival our five top curry chefs selected from across the UK are showcasing over 70 signature dishes with a flavour of Great Britain. The dream team of chefs includes Allam Shah Ullah of Sheffield Cutler’s Spice; Jamal Ahmed of the Shozna restaurant in Rochester; Tofozzul Miah from Bayleaf, Barnet in North London and Salim Ahmed Siddique from Raj Bari, Yarm in Stockton on Tees.  At the helm is Chef Partha Mittra, legendary chef at the Snooty Mehmaan restaurant in Faringdon, Oxfordshire.

This year, the festival sees an even more radical approach. Our team also includes Michelin star chef Dominic Chapman of The Royal Oak Paley Street in Berkshire who is championing the cause of traditional British foods. This could be described as a bit of a challenge. Consider this - after more than 200 years of rule by the British Raj, two of the relatively few Anglo culinary traditions adopted by the Indians were fish rissoles and salted beef tongue. From India on the other hand, the British gained their favourite food ever – curry!

Dominic, who recently gave a Masterclass about obtaining a Michelin star at Curry Life’s Chefs seminar, has the singular accolade of once being headhunted by celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal. After working with the great man for several years, Dominic went on to achieve even greater success at The Royal Oak Paley Street a 17th- century pub in Maidenhead, co-owned by Nick Parkinson, son of the well-loved TV personality Michael Parkinson.

This is Dominic’s first trip to India and he sees it as a great opportunity to learn more about Indian food and cooking; working alongside some of the best curry chefs in the business. He's also looking forward to getting out and about in Kolkata to find out more about the street foods and markets in the city.

At the press launch attended by the UK Deputy High Commissioner in Eastern India, Sanjay Wadvani, curious members of the media not only had the chance to test Anglo Indian fusion cuisine such as Chicken Tikka Masala and Lamb Pasanda, they were also served (if it’s not an oxymoron) British Scotch eggs and Lemon Tart.  Let me point out that this was no ordinary Scotch egg – it was a true Michelin star of an egg (quail in fact), slightly runny and surrounded by melt in the mouth minced lamb and crisp breadcrumbs.

Other Anglo Indian signature dishes cooked by the chefs included Shepherd’s Manpasand Pie, Lamb Chops with plum and coriander sauce and Bengal Lancers Shrimp Curry.

Having satisfied the appetites of members of the media, the festival launched on Friday 23^rd August in Hyatt’s prestigious Waterside Restaurant, attended by General Manager Britta Leick-Milde. Chief Guest Stephen Brice, Deputy Head of Mission & Consul Business Development (aka James Bond), cut the ribbon and the festival was underway.  Diners at the Hyatt have been suitably impressed ever since. We’ll let you know how the festival pans out (if you’ll excuse the pun), with recipes and photos.

The Taste of Britain Festival is taking place at The Hyatt Regency Hotel, JA-1, Sector III, Salt Lake City, Kolkata, WB 700098, India

Phone:+91 33 2335 1234