Handi Redux

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Well, another portion of last night's Chicken Handi, a couple of chapatti, a puppadum, with the curry garnished with fresh coriander and chaat masala. Went down well, and as I mentioned last night this now leads me back to my Grail quest of the 1970s Brummie Anglo-Indian Madras curry; a late-night staple amongst our crowd, after a few pints in the pub; and the salve that made many a hangover tolerable at lunchtime the day after a session. It all started at - as I think I've mentioned before - The Light of Bengal on Bearwood Road in Smethwick, back in the mid-seventies, when I was a callow youth of twenty or twenty-one, about to embark on a lifetime's work of attempting to recreate that glorious experience in my own kitchen, one day.

Well, yesterday was a major move forward toward that goal; another piece in a very subtle and complex jigsaw that I know I will never solve, as there is no [one] solution, and there are as many great Madras curries eaten over the years as restaurants frequented: The Light of Bengal itself, The Khanapina on Hagley Road, Birmingham, The Shah Bagh in Dudley, and many, many more whose names are lost to memory - although the memories of the tastes themselves remain with me to this day - the list is practically endless, with each one offering its own nuances of difference to a very basic concept. But the one thing they all have in common is that sauce base: the underpinning that not only supports the flavour and spicing of the meat or vegetable centre of the meal, but crucially gives that familiar and luscious texture and mouth-feel to the whole deal. More experiments will follow. Keep you posted on the journey back to the future...

Comments

  1. Anonymous12 September 2024 at 07:53

    Remember the phrase "To know your onions"? I think it very apro po mate.
    ATB
    Joe

    ReplyDelete

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