Author: Daniel Ford

Daniel Ford is a media entrepreneur, writer, editor and publisher who specialises in launches and re-launches. He is the Publishing Director of media company Chase My Snail. He was previously Editor-in-Chief of GQ (South Africa), Editor-in-Chief of Sunday Life magazine (Independent News & Media) and CEO of the African design magazine Ogojii. He has consulted on digital media, magazines and books in England, India, the USA and South Africa, including creating a glossy print edition of the SABC's TV show Top Billing and branding for the Laureus World Sports Awards. He has written a number of books on fitness, sport and travel, which have been published all over the world, from China to Africa and from Russia to Australia. He loves carefully crafted words, digital and print publications produced with passion. And curry.

Smile, you’re in Chutney

On By Daniel FordIn 1. Reviews (London)1 Comment

Chutney, Greenwich

You’ll have to go a long way to find a friendlier Indian restaurant than Chutney. The small, unassuming place (my friend says it always looks shut) is along Greenwich’s Little India strip, one of a few curry places (mostly takeaways) in just a few hundred metres of each other. But every time I’ve visited the greeting is warm and the chit chat over the choice of dishes with the waiter interesting. But this time Chutney surpassed itself by giving us a lift home because ‘the driver is available’. Now that really is service.

Chutney also serves exceptionally good food and has built a reputation for retaining customers who have moved out of the area. The chutney tray, as you’d expect from a restaurant with this name, offers something different: a dry cocunut chutney, made red with colouring and red wine. Tasty indeed, especially with a bit of sweet mango pickle.

Of the main dishes the new Napali Chicken (£6.45) a hottish dish, cooked with onions and green peppers, is to be recommended. But the menu offers so many interesting options: Boal Fish Massala (£6.45) a freshwater fish from Bangladesh, Pistachio Chicken (£5.95) for nut lovers, a Meat Thali (£10.95) with tasters of Chicken Tikka Masala, Chicken Korma, Lamb Bhuna, Tandoori Chicken, Sheek Kebab, rice and nan, and a good range of Chutney’s very own Tapeli set menus such as Tapeli Bengal or Tapeli Joypuri (both £10.95).

It’s not difficult to see that value features highly here, so it is no surprise that Chutney was named runner-up in the category of Best Value in the Greenwich Curry Club Awards. Should you need further persuading, old-school favourites such as Madras and Bhuna come in at £3.95 for vegetable and £4.45 for chicken, which is better than some of the takeaway neighbours.

Chutney, 11 Blackheath Road, London, SE10 8PE. Tel: 020 8692 1924 or 07947 120 989. Open: Sun–Thur 5.30pm–11.30pm, Fri–Sat 5.30pm–midnight.

Chutney snapshot

Food ① ② ③ ④

Decor ① ②

Value ① ② ③ ④

Atmosphere (Saturday night) ① ②

Service and friendliness ① ② ③ ④ ⑤

Chutneys on Urbanspoon

Brick Lane for sale!

On By Daniel FordIn Curry NewsLeave a comment

Gasp! Can it be true? The famous Brick Lane is for sale? Well, the sign is at least. A snip for curry lovers at £60 from Minerva Antiques in Royal Hill, Greenwich.

Curry tip of the week 1

On By Daniel FordIn Curry NewsLeave a comment

If you are marinating your chicken then first rub some lemon onto it and let it stand for a few minutes. This will degrease the meat and it will absorb the spices better.

Greenwich Curry Club Awards winners

On By Daniel FordIn Curry NewsLeave a comment

We are pleased to announce the winners of the Greenwich Curry Club Awards in association with the Greenwich Visitor. The shortlists were drawn up by members of the curry club then voting was opened up on this site and through the Greenwich Visitor. Congratulations to all winners!

Best Restaurant
Winner: Gurkha’s Inn
Runners-up: Memsaheb on Thames and Mogul

Best for Décor
Winner: Mogul
Runners-up: Gurkha’s Inn and Mountain View

Best for Service and Friendliness
Winner: Gurkha’s Inn
Runners-up: Mogul and Taste of Raj

Best for Value
Winner: Gurkha’s Inn
Runners-up:  Chutney and Taste of Raj

Best Takeaway
Winner: Mogul (Trafalgar Road)
Runner-up: La Popadom

Recipe… Chicken Phall

On By Daniel FordIn Recipes3 Comments

Phall (.jpg

Chicken Phall
Serves 4

What you need
• 675 g chicken
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 8 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 25 g fresh ginger finely chopped
• 3 tbsp oil
• 400 g tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 12 fresh or dried chillies (or more to your taste)
• salt
• 1 tsp cumin (ground)
• 1 tsp coriander (ground)
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp fenugreek leaves (dried)
• 1 tsp garam masala

How you cook it
1. Chop the meat and fry the onion, garlic and ginger until golden in half the ghee or oil. Mix the spices with a little water to make a paste.
2. Add to the onion mixture, and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Add the tomato (tinned, ketchup and paste) and chillies.
Cook for a further 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile fry the meat in a separate pan in the remaining ghee or oil, until sealed (5-10 minutes).
5. Combine all ingredients in a casserole dish and cook in a preheated oven at 200 degrees C for 45-60 minutes.

This curry can be left to marinate overnight or it can be frozen.

Recipe courtesy of Sweet ‘n’ Spicy phone app.
Photo: alchetron.com

IPA saves India

On By Daniel FordIn Curry NewsLeave a comment

English beer never used to travel well, especially on the long journey to India in the 17th century. The men of the East India Company were getting restless. And very drunk on arrack, the local moonshine. Then along came George Hodgson, who started exporting specially created Indian Pale Ale (IPA) from his Bow Brewery. The traders liked him because he gave them 18 months credit and unlike the dark Porter beer that was popular in England at the time, his IPA didn’t suffer from journey round the tip of Africa; in fact the rolling motion of the ships actually improved it. The men were no longer restless and could get on with making money and eating curry now they had a decent beer to wash it down.

Such is the entertaining tale of beer expert and author Peter Haydon, who is one of the presenters at the National Maritime Museum’s Curry and a Pint evenings (next one is 25 Nov, then 2 Dec at £25, Bookings).

Haydon is a consultant to the Meantime Brewery and visitors get to taste the local brewery’s IPA as they enjoy a biryani in the Mogul restaurant in Greenwich town centre at the end of the event.

The super knowledgable historian Rozina Visram starts the evenings by giving a run down on the nation’s favourite dish in the museum. You might be able to get curry powder down the Co-op these days but way back when, Visram explains, this was the preserve of chemists, who promoted its mixtures as cures for all sorts of ailments, each one claiming its own blend was the best. Which, of course, makes perfect sense to anyone who’s chewed on a clove to help a toothache or gargled turmeric to help with a cough.

The evenings are part of a series of events to celebrate the opening of the new Traders gallery at the museum.

Britain’s Biggest Curry Party in Greenwich

On By Daniel FordIn Curry NewsLeave a comment

A superb special menu was set up by the Gurkha’s Inn as the Greenwich Curry Club and friends gathered to be part of Britain’s Biggest Curry Party to raise money for the James Whale Kidney Cancer Fund.

Ideal for grazers who like to try a bit of everything, the menu included a lot of Nepalese specialities. The Lamb Momos, tasty balls of mince wrapped in dough, are a favourite of diners at the Gurkha’s, but with succulent Grilled Salmon and Chicken Tikka, there was a feast in the starters alone.

Welcome surprises on the menu were the Achari Paneer Tikka and the Dal Makhani, both dishes that are often overlooked but incredibly tasty. The Dal Makhani has already been ordered in subsequent curry visits and looks set to be a new favourite. The Lemon Rice, with tiny zesty pieces of the fruit, is delicious, and the tang works particularly well with the spicier dishes such as Chicken Chilly Dry Fry.

Eyes up for the Mongoose beers
And eyes down for the food

Gurkha’s King Prawn, with prawns that were worthy of the name, Hariyo Lamb, Kukhura Bhutuwa, and supper soft spinach in the Saag Harabara completed the line-up along with garlic naan and rice.

Mongoose kindly supplied the beer for the evening, although there was still time to sample the Nepalese Khukuri beer, naturally.

The total cost for the food and beer was £20 a head, which included a contribution to the charity. This was topped up by a generous donation from the Gurkha’s Inn itself and some of the regulars at the nearby Plume of Feathers pub.

Any chance of another popadom? And below from left… Gurkha's Inn is named Restaurant of the year… Never get between a man and his curry… Happy curry fans

   

Gurkha's Inn on Urbanspoon

Just like that

On By Daniel FordIn Curry NewsLeave a comment

Fancy yourself as a curry king? Got questions? Garlic first or whole spices? Tinned tomatoes or fresh chopped tomatoes? Ren’s Kitchen, in Edgware, Middlesex, could be what you are looking for. With lessons from chefs who could cook up a spice storm in their sleep you can get one-on-one or group sessions to learn exactly how to get your curry dishes just right.

In the full day session you’ll get some practical info on spices (you know what they taste like raw?), plus a chance to cook a meat dish, a fish dish, a veg dish, rice, a starter, a dessert, rice and bread (Ren’s the Chappati Queen according to Sheila, my super knowledgable chef who is originally from Mumbai). Best of all you’ll be told along the way in each dish you are cooking, just how you can adapt it to create other dishes. So you might be learning Chicken Methi but you’ll also learn how to make a Madras, a Vindaloo or a Chicken Rogan at the same time.

Needless to say, you get to take all your food home as well, so it’s curry for breakfast, lunch and dinner for  a few days. Ok, if you insist…

 

Nice space shame about the spice

On By Daniel FordIn 2. Reviews (Other UK)Leave a comment

Spice of India, London SE1

You can’t fault the Spice of India’s location, just a short walk from Waterloo Station. So on a Saturday night on the way home it (sort of) hits the spot. Only sort of, though, sadly; the depth of spices in the dishes seems lacking. Don’t get me wrong it was okay. But I don’t want okay, I want ‘bloody hell that was tasty’.

It’s lively that’s for sure, thanks to the chirpiness of the passing trade that’s had a good night, out but the Tandoori Butter Chicken (£8.95) wasn’t quite rich and indulgent enough, which is a shame as it’s an occasional treat dish away from the usual ‘must try something new’ feeling. I don’t mind being disappointed with an untried dish but surely a classic should hit the spot everytime?

The Lamb Madras (£6.95) was decent enough as was the cauliflower and spinach side dish, and thumbs up to the chef for making it even though it wasn’t on the menu. But best of all was the mixed pickle. Ideal for popadoms obviously, but great to spice up (slightly) disappointing dishes too.

66 The Cut, South Bank London, SE1 8LL . Tel: 020 7928 1286/5280. Open: daily noon–2.30pm and 5.30pm–11.30pm.

Spice of India snapshot

Food ① ②

Decor ① ② ③

Value ① ② ③

Atmosphere (Saturday night) ① ② ③

Service and friendliness ① ② ③

Spice of India on Urbanspoon