Episode 3 Indian Food Made Easy

My name is Anjum Anand. I'm a food writer, a chef,

and I want to show you just how simple Indian cooking can be.

-That's good.

-Isn't that the best thing?

In Britain, we love Indian food, but a lot of people think it is unhealthy and piles on the pounds.

Along with hundreds of millions of Indians, I eat it every day

but by using very little oil and fresh ingredients, putting on weight isn't an issue.

And you don't have to sacrifice flavour to eat healthily.

The spices are really wild. You just know there's flavour.

This week, I'm off to Charlton House Hotel & Health Spa, where my Indian dishes are going on

the menu. I really hope the health-conscious spa guests will like them.

Basically, I think... Nah.

But convincing head chef Elijah that Indian food can be light and tasty is going to be a tough job.

That's spicy.

In a busy life full of distractions,

I try to strike a balance and make sure I have some quiet moments in my day.

Going to the temple gives me time to stop and think. I'm a Hindu,

and a lot of my ideas about food have been shaped by my background.

I love vegetarian food and that is what is always served to worshippers at temples.

As a result, India has a centuries-old tradition of great vegetarian cooking.

In the ancient Sanskrit texts, there are tips on healthy living that are still relevant today.

Known as the philosophy of Ayurveda, it is these principles

that I endeavour to apply to my cooking and my lifestyle.

Just as our homes need a spring clean, I think our bodies need a regular overhaul, too.

I'm cooking my version of kitchari,

a lentil-and-rice dish which is a traditional Ayurvedic cleansing meal.

Cumin.

Ayurveda is the complete diet for healthy living that's been passed down through

generations of Indian families and it's now becoming popular here too.

Little bit of garlic...ginger...

Garam masala, which should mellow this down a little bit. Give it a stir.

Kedgeree - the breakfast dish of the British raj.

It was inspired by this simple lentil-and-rice recipe.

Green chilli and...

water.

Lentils are full of protein and really easy to digest.

For a simple three-day detox, you could eat this dish every meal and feel great at the end of it.

My two-year-old daughter loves it. In fact, most Indian families

would probably eat a variation of this recipe several times a week.

-What do you want to do now?

-Garden!

You want to go to the garden? OK, come.

I have convinced one fussy eater, but it may not be so easy

to persuade health-conscious guests at the Charlton House Hotel Spa that Indian food is good for you.

This restaurant uses the finest organic produce it can source locally

and it is known for not using any commercially-grown wheat.

Instead, they use their own home-grown crop - spelt,

which is perfect for a wheat-free diet.

This is a place of pure relaxation.

But not for everyone.

-Got a service coming!

-Yes, Chef.

INAUDIBLE

One halibut, one lamb...

Head chef Elijah Carter has built a great reputation for the hotel restaurant.

-One hake, one duck, two mullet, two soup.

-Yes, Chef!

You can't get much healthier than cooking for a spa. And Indian food is probably the last thing

you'd expect to see on the menu here.

This place is going to provide the ultimate challenge to show just how wholesome Indian food can be.

What do I think about Indian dishes on the menu?

If you've gone to a spa and you'd eaten those dishes...

"I feel heavy."

Probably need a wheelchair. So, basically, I think...

Nah, not at all.

Gosh, it's going to be tough to convince Elijah that

my Indian dishes are light and tasty, but he seems to be up for it.

It's always good for my creative juices.

I've got to create a star meal that will fit Elijah's style of cooking.

-Going to get you a nice chef uniform.

-Cool.

I love wearing them.

I do.

But first, I want to test the competition.

Did you just start it off in here?

-Yeah.

-You can see it's spelt.

Mmm!

It's hard to beat...

To beat? It is hard to beat.

-It's really fantastic but my food's very different.

-Yeah.

This is quite a rich and creamy, very kind of European...

After the spa, when someone has one of your Indian dishes, I think it would just be too...

If people can put out of their heads the thing that I'm going to eat Indian food

-in a spa... They'll love it.

-I'm up for that challenge.

Elijah, normally, cabbage is so kind of boring and boiled and over-cooked in this country.

I want to show you what fantastic things we can do with cabbage.

Make a really refreshing, crunchy salad.

OK, do you want me to cut that for you? Yeah, actually. Would you?

-So what we going to do?

-It's a South Indian kind of inspired salad.

I'm going to use really few spices because I want to introduce the flavours slowly.

I'm going to put some chillies in.

Chillies are fantastic for you because for they raise your metabolism.

So, for about three hours after you eat it, you're still kind of burning more calories.

It is great - because people want to know these things in a spa. Spices.

You want hot? We're going to go straight ahead...

We're using a tablespoonful of sunflower oil.

And nigella seeds.

Peanuts. We're going to add our lentils in.

A chilli.

-What I want is for the peanuts and lentils to start browning. Can you get the cabbage?

-Sure.

-Bit more?

-No, that's enough.

-Cook the cabbage enough so that it's not crunchy, but it has some bite.

-OK.

-Then it's ready.

Curry leaves. Smell the curry leaf. It's going to add a fantastic aroma.

It's going to smell like south India. It's fantastic.

-Come on, come on, what's the verdict, what's the verdict?

-That's good.

Isn't that the best thing you can do with cabbage?

That's amazing.

Try it, try it. It's just cabbage - spiced up cabbage.

-Very good.

-It's amazing.

-I'm surprised. Really very surprised.

-It's good.

-We're gonna use that.

You're going to nick my recipe, aren't you?

'Swapping recipes already. This is a promising start.

'I'm determined to win over these hard-nosed chefs with a vegetarian extravaganza.'

I've decided to adapt a south Indian dish called avial

and replace the Indian vegetables with seasonal British ones.

It'll be bursting with green beans, peas and carrots.

No Indian meal is complete without a lentil dish, so I'm going to create

a sweet Bengali dahl with a crunchy okra garnish.

Lentils are very high in protein, so they will take the place of meat.

And if the spa's gourmet guests want a little extra,

I'm planning a family favourite -

shrikhand, a delicate yoghurt dessert flavoured with a hint of saffron,

decorated with fruits and nuts.

This is a healthy, balanced and nutritious meal that's sure to be a winner at the spa.

80% of Indians are Hindu, and half don't eat meat, so veggie food is a way of life in India.

There's a great vegetarian restaurant here...

'I think that some of the lightest food is vegetarian.

'And we have centuries of tradition to call on, so there's a huge variety of vegetarian dishes.

'Dosas are from South India.

'They're really popular - a light, savoury pancake made from

'a batter of lentils and rice, wrapped around a spicy potato filling.

'They're not the sort of thing Elijah would put on his menu

'but I want him to experience the best taste in town.'

'The trick is to get the batter smoothly and quickly onto the hot plate.

'Kalpam has been making dosas for 19 years.'

That's really not so easy to do, is it? It looks easier than it is.

'The potato mixture is flavoured with curry leaves, which gives it a wonderful taste of south India.'

Looks fantastic.

That's a dosa.

You serve it with sambal and chutney.

'Sambal is typical of the southern region.

'It is a lentil and vegetable dish, soured with tamarind, and goes perfectly with the dosa.'

Can I show you something? These are really Indian vegetables.

-That's a drumstick.

-Looks like an okra.

-It's not.

It is hard on the outside and you chew it and you bite,

and all the flesh on the inside comes out.

-Want to give it a try?

-Yes.

Be careful.

Well? You can eat the seeds, you just can't eat the skin.

It's interesting. It's not to my taste. It's interesting.

It tastes quite sour.

'The tangy taste of the sambal brings out the sweetness of the potatoes.'

-Here we go.

-Mm!

That's spicy.

I like that. I don't like the drumstick thing.

That's fair enough.

-Can we have a go at making one?

-Yeah. Can we try it?

-Yeah.

OK.

-One ladleful?

-Yeah.

I'm going to embarrass myself!

Yeah?

'I think I'm a natural.

'With a little help from Kalpam.

'Actually, it's harder than it looks.'

Beat that! Without her hand.

'It's not looking good for Elijah.'

-Your side is broken.

-What about my one?

-Your one's a disaster!

Look at it - it's road kill!

Can you see how, even for a professional chef like yourself,

it's a little bit complicated to do, especially for a lot of people?

Because you need the experience of just having that kind of motion. 10 out of 10?

-This is a nice one.

-And this one?

-That's a nice one.

-Eight?

-She's like your mother - she's being nice.

'The dosa batter is lentil-based, and that's one way to get your protein.

'But they are tricky to make.

'Instead, you can get all the benefits of lentils at home and make this simple Bengali dal.

'Dal means lentil, and this is a simple dish that pretty much

'looks after itself once you've got it started.'

So, I've washed my lentils.

I'm going to put them in the pan, and now water.

Lentils are like the cornerstone of Indian food.

India has so many regions and they all have lentils that they veer towards.

So, basically, they've got a dal from the north and a dal from the east...

There are dals all over and they all have their own flavours.

So the southern ones have a lot of curry leaves, tamarind to sour.

North India would have cumin seed and tomatoes to sour and sometimes onions.

I will put the turmeric in straightaway.

'This is a sweet east Indian dal. Bengalis are known for using sugar in their savoury dishes.'

Leave it for about 50-60 minutes, just cooking on a really low flame.

'Lentils have been part of our diet since prehistoric times.

'They grow in pods like peas, they can be ground into flour

'and you can even sprout them to eat with salads.

'There are many different types of lentils,

'including chana dal, urad dal, masoor dal and mung dal.

'Softer red lentils go into soups but harder lentils like the mung go well with lamb and chicken.

'It's no surprise, then, that for centuries lentils have been the staple food of India's vegetarians.'

So...lentils nice and soft. So we'll add our coriander powder in.

Just one teaspoon.

And I'm going to add a bit of garam masala. Those are our spices.

Sugar.

-Smells good.

-Two teaspoonfuls.

They would add more. This is my compromise with the Bengalis.

And now it simmers.

'I'm heating up some ghee.

'Ghee is a clarified butter which has a higher cooking temperature than most oils.'

I'm going to heat the ghee up, and then we'll give the dal tarka.

-Pardon? Tarka?

-Tarka.

-Tarka?

-Yeah.

-OK.

Tarka is when you temper your spices in hot oil.

OK, that's nice and warm. So,

we need maybe five cardamom pods.

-Five cloves.

-Five.

-A little bit of cinnamon. Mustard seeds.

-Got them.

-Cumin seeds. Ready to go. Ready?

-Whoa, whoa, whoa.

-And chilli.

-And chilli.

-Ready?

-No, not yet.

-You're doing them on only one plate?

-Yeah...

-That's fine.

-I'll start with my cumin.

-OK, you start first.

Good.

-I'm getting dizzy.

-You're getting dizzy?

Just, like, following the spices!

That looks great. I'm going to add the coconut.

Just quickly toast that until it's just slightly brown.

You ever had one of these?

What is that?

This is like my sanity right now.

Yeah. Sorry.

-Just a cheffy thing, isn't it? Starting to colour round the sides.

-In the pan.

And then we'll cover. Stir it in. You know what we do in India?

Give me that. We take the lentils and put it in the pan.

They won't stick to the pan but they pick up all the spices' residues.

-We don't waste any flavour.

-Waste not, want not.

-Are they done?

-Keep those lentils in there.

And we'll just lift off the lid and be like...pssssh!

-All really fantastically heady flavours coming up.

-OK.

That's great. I can smell the flavours.

-Let's have a try. Thank you.

-You first.

That's great.

These Bengalis knew their stuff.

You know what? I thought this was gonna be really unadventurous and, you know, just a bit of lentils.

-But this is amazing.

-And really simple.

No trouble, no nothing. Just spices.

Yeah. That is really good.

'It's a body-shocking 4.30am and London's Southall vegetable market is up and running already.

'If Elijah's going to cook my dishes on his menu, he needs to know what to buy, and where.'

-What's that over there?

-Which one?

-That one there.

-That one?

That's ridge gourd.

'While the British tend to use just courgettes and marrows, Indians use the whole spectrum of gourds.'

The one behind it is bottle gourd.

Those are bitter gourd.

The interesting thing is you're now growing them in this country. Because there's a demand for it,

you're getting more and more of these exotic vegetables grown here.

Look - check out these coconuts.

Can you hear that?

-Is that milk inside?

-No, it's coconut water.

-Can we drink coconut?

-Of course, yeah.

-You going to have one?

-Er...

-Try! Can we have two, please?

That's good, isn't it?

Yeah. Stick a straw in, and it's just in harmony with being in India.

It's perfect.

-Thank you.

-Cheers.

-Cheers.

-Mmm!

-That is nice.

It's sweet but it's not coconut milk, it's coconut water.

It's really good for you, by the way. It's really nutritious.

I love it!

-Excuse me? Are those moolis?

-That's right. Yeah.

-Daikon, mooli, radish.

-Did you fly that in from India?

No, no, this is local. It's all fresh. Picked last night.

Really? Wow, that's great!

You know what we do in India? We eat the leaves.

-You can make a nice curry out of this, yes.

-We eat it in salad.

-Tastes like turnips, doesn't it?

-It's good, isn't it?

-We could grow this in the farm.

-Could you?

-Make some salad.

You should try it.

'Our taste buds are buzzing.

'Time to capitalise on Elijah's enthusiasm and cook him my first dish for his menu.

'Avial from South India.'

Think fast. If you could slice me half that onion.

-I'm going to put in some cumin.

-Just cumin you add?

People think Indian food is really spicy but look at all my spices - it's just this: turmeric and cumin.

Put the onion in.

Couple of chillis.

This shouldn't give you much heat - just a lot of flavour. That's why I'm not going to cut it.

All right, potatoes in, carrots in,

little bit of turmeric in.

I want to leave this on a low flame.

And cook it without adding any water if possible.

-If you could cut that in half, take out the seeds with a spoon...

-Don't peel it?

Don't peel it.

We leave the skin because otherwise the cucumber will just disintegrate.

While you're doing that I'm going to get ready for making my puree.

'A wonderful paste of coconut, shallots and ginger

'will really bring out the flavours of these lovely fresh vegetables.'

OK, done.

So add your cucumbers.

I'll add my beans.

Just give it a stir, and we'll come back to it in ten minutes.

-Do you want to tip that in?

-All of it?

-Yes, please.

-What else do we put in it?

-Shall we put some curry leaves in?

-Sure. I'll get this.

-Cool.

-That's great, thank you, that's plenty. If you get the peas...

-Sure.

-And then we'll stir in the yoghurt and we're done.

-Right.

'Yoghurt is eaten at practically every family meal in India,

'providing calcium and a cool, tangy contrast to the spices.'

I think we're ready.

OK, I really want you to trust me with this cucumber.

OK, let me taste the cucumber. Shall I close my eyes?

Mmm!

'This is such a delicious dish.

'You can understand why half a billion Indians are vegetarian.

'It'll be great on Elijah's spa menu.

'Let's hope there's some room to squeeze in pudding.

'Yoghurt's often used in savoury dishes but it can also make a delicious dessert.

'Shrikhand is amazingly simple to make and a real winner at dinner parties.

'Use some good-quality plain yoghurt and sieve overnight.

'And allow the liquid to drain off.'

Well, that's gone really hard.

It's amazing because all the water's gone out of it.

I call it yoghurt cheese because it has a cottage cheese texture. But it's tangy.

All I'm going to add is some sugar, icing sugar, because I want it to melt straightaway.

Do you want to chop some pistachios?

I'm going to add a little bit of green cardamom powder.

'In Gujurat, where they love their sweet and fruity tastes,

'this recipe would actually be a side dish in the main meal.

Add in...not all of my almonds because I've got some for garnishing.

One of my favourite ingredients - saffron.

'Battles have been fought over this much-prized spice

'and for centuries it's been more expensive by weight than gold.'

I'll just leave this to infuse for 10 minutes.

'Apparently Alexander the Great used it to cure his battle wounds.'

Just boil this lovely saffron.

-Great colour.

-Isn't it lovely? This is just fantastic quality.

'Just mix it up...

'..and that's it.'

Just serve up in a cheffy manner.

Nice little dollop.

Yeah, nice little dollop.

Just a little more nuts.

-Some pistachios.

-And these wonderful sweet, juicy pomegranates.

All right, the moment of truth.

I love this stuff.

So perfect.

-Do you think your guests will like that?

-I think they will.

I've got a great idea. I think I will use that as a pre-dessert in the restaurant.

-It's very palate-cleansing, isn't it?

-It's really, really good.

'I seem to have convinced him.'

Top marks. Top marks.

'Now it's up to Elijah to get his kitchen staff up to speed.

'I've just got one last idea. I've decided to

'put an extra crunch onto the plate with a crispy okra garnish.

'Okra's also known as lady's finger, or, in India, bhindi.'

Okra can be quite slimy,

but cooked this way it's just really wonderfully crisp. And really light.

'But dusting with gram flour makes the okra really crispy.

'And a sprinkling of dried mango powder and chilli adds a note of sourness.'

See? No slime!

'The okra's fruity flavour will go brilliantly with our creamy dal

'and be a contrast to the softer cooked vegetables in the avial.

'The shrikhand will be a wonderfully refreshing end to the meal.

'So the big day has arrived and Charlton House spa is getting its menu makeover.

'To show that Indian food can be light and fresh, even for the discerning spa guest.

'Changing the menu is always stressful.'

Has anyone got a small knife for me?

'Of course there's no point all of us getting into a sweat.

'I need to experience the calm before the storm.'

Where's the rice? Rice, rice, rice!

'The temperature's rising as Elijah and his chefs get to work.'

Can you put two handfuls of rice in a conical strainer for me? I'm going to wash it out.

'With all the spa guests sitting down, this is my moment of truth.

'The menus are on the table. Elijah's still reading the recipes.'

That's not gram flour, that's lentil flour.

'Cooking for a restaurant is much more stressful than a dinner for two at home.'

I've washed the lentils.

I've got the lentils cooking off.

Okra, it's sliced right there.

-Perfect.

-Dessert, sorted - Roy's going to do that.

-You're outsourcing that.

-You're a chef.

-Of course I am.

You're such a chef. I hope he does a good job.

'The lentils are under way and Elijah's ready to start on the avial.'

Am I doing this the right way?

-Did you put the cumin seeds in first?

-BLEEP!

-We'll start it again.

-You're just completely not paying any attention.

All right, OK! Cumin seeds in.

-Don't let them burn.

-I'm trying not to.

'If spices burn they become bitter.'

Wait, wait!

Did I say chop the chillis?

It says..."Slit the..."

Oh, my Lord!

You're going to kill them with the heat. You just need to get the flavour. Split it in half.

Only made a little mistake!

'There's always a few teething problems but Elijah's

'turning the corner and looks about to impress with an Indian bread.'

-This is it, is it?

-That's my version of your chapati.

Looks good! Looks like it should look.

-Mm. Lovely.

-I'm happy because you're happy.

I am happy. That actually works really well.

-It's good, Chef.

-Do you want my recipe? SHE LAUGHS

Why don't you give it to me? It's good.

'The blended coconuts and shallots finish off the avial.'

Looks great.

'And now it's time to dish up the dal.'

Ah, very good.

'Then finally the crunchy okra finishes the plate.'

I think we're done. Shall we see what they think?

Elijah's put his reputation on the line to try something different for his guests.

-Oh!

-Marvellous!

-That's so nice!

It's so perfumed and fragrant.

It genuinely seems to be working out.

It's very fresh-tasting.

My special trick with the crunchy okra has tickled those taste buds.

I was thinking that there was going to be bad comments but it was absolutely amazing.

'I'm kind of gobsmacked.'

-If I saw that on a menu, I'd order it, absolutely.

-Yeah?

She was trying to steal the okra off my plate!

The okra was amazing. I didn't think it would be a success but everyone seemed to be raving about it.

Excellent, really crispy, full of flavour, nice kick to it, fantastic.

I've really enjoyed it. Good time.

For tips on buying, cooking and storing lentils and other pulses,

as well as the recipes from the programme, go to:

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail [email protected]