Episode 6 Indian Food Made Easy


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Transcript


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My name's Anjum Anand. I'm a food writer and a chef and I want to show how simple Indian cooking can be.

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Over the last five weeks, I've been banishing

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the Indian takeaway and revealing the secrets of healthy home cooking.

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Isn't that the best thing to do with cabbage?

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Along the way, I've worked with some sceptical cooks...

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It's popping out everywhere. That's why I don't cook!

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But I've convinced them how easy it is to make Indian food from scratch.

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-Hmm, I did this!

-Very good!

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To say thanks, I've invited them over for a lunch party.

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I'm going to serve some of my favourite dishes -

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recipes that are simple but still work for a special occasion.

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India has such varied regional recipes that you're spoilt

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for choice when putting together a party.

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But before I start cooking for them, I want to challenge my converts

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to make new recipes, building on what they've learnt.

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My old friend, Alex, was amazed that we could make Indian cheese, or paneer from scratch.

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-Fill it with water.

-Mmm hmm.

-That's it. Paneer done. Made.

-Easy.

-Queezy!

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I want him to go one step further and add fresh spinach

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and spices to get the classic north Indian dish, Palak Paneer.

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Paul, the fireman, burnt his toast when we first started cooking.

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Sorry, I was distracted!

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But he was a natural with naan bread, so he's going to attempt naan with a filling.

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Haven't got any weighing scales.

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Elisha Carter, head chef at Charlton House Hotel and Health Spa,

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felt that Indian food would be too heavy for his guests.

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Nah! Not at all.

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But I think a wild mushroom pilaff could work a treat on his menu.

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They're all dishes I'm going to make for my summer party.

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The centrepiece will be a north Indian spiced roast leg of lamb.

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The lamb will go well with a mushroom pilaff.

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The spinach and cheese dish will provide a veggie element

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and the sweet stuffed naan breads are great for mopping up the sauce.

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To finish off, a refreshing melon and pomegranate dessert.

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With so much food to make, it's lucky that most of it can be made the day before.

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I just hope the English summer doesn't turn into an Indian monsoon.

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First of all, I need to source my lamb.

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An average leg joint will feed between 8-11 people.

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Our family is Hindu, but my mother has always gone to a Muslim Halal butcher for her meat.

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To be Halal, a prayer from the Qur'an is said

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while the animal has its neck cut, facing in the direction of Mecca.

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The blood is drained away and some say this is what makes Halal meat tender.

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I find that a Halal butcher is more likely to have the cuts of meat

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needed in Indian cooking - like lamb trotters for example.

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It's not uncommon to find goat in a Halal butcher either.

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It's much deeper red in colour than a lamb leg.

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The lamb leg will look...

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-A lamb leg will look like that.

-Slightly milkier.

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The goat is very dark and you probably see the fibres.

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It's quite fibrous. Amazingly fibrous, when you compare it.

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That's why the lamb cooks quicker.

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Yeah. It's more tender to start with.

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A young animal is more tender. It's a bit tougher. It takes a long time to cook.

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-But it becomes absolutely tender...

-Indeed. Once the curry's finished... Yummy. Very nice indeed.

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Goat is a great stewing meat with strong flavour.

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But I'm after some tender lamb to roast.

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-This is an English lamb.

-Yeah.

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-You can see that it has a good layer of fat...

-Yeah.

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Whereas meat, traditionally back home in India and Pakistan, they're usually leaner.

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That's the leg there, if you can see that.

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Do you find that a lot of other nationalities want their bone out?

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We always cook with our bone in but it's not something everyone does.

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That's right. A lot of people who come to Halal establishments, a lot of them, they want no fat.

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-They trim it all off.

-Yeah.

-But they want the bone.

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That's what people don't remember. They take the bone out and then they add meat stock.

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But the meat stock is made with the bones they've just thrown away.

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What better than having the natural bone within the meat itself?

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Giving the flavour and keep it tender and juicy.

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-Absolutely!

-That looks perfect, thank you.

-Thank you very much.

-Thanks a lot. Bye!

-Bye bye.

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In India, a spiced roast leg of lamb is called a raan.

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This is a North Indian recipe and I've taken inspiration from

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the Kashmiris who use a lot of nuts and raisins in their cooking.

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'For me, the marinade is the most important part of this recipe.'

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I'm going to make my lamb.

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'All good marinades should have a bit of oil to keep the meat moist.'

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Some lemon juice...

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'A dash of acidity.'

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..without the pips. 'The acid in the lemon will tenderise the meat.'

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'And then you have the spices to add more flavour.' Garam masala.

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Whoops!

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A bit of chilli powder - not much.

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Lots of coriander.

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Salt.

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Ginger.

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Six cloves of garlic.

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Lamb is a naturally strong tasting meat and is complimented by

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the heavy hearty flavours of ginger and garlic. A little bit of water.

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It'll really give the marinade some oomph.

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In a curry, the flavours are in the gravy, but in a roast joint,

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they're all in the meat, so I want to give it time to absorb all these wonderful flavours.

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Deep incisions help the marinade work its way into the meat.

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Leaving some of the fat on the joint will keep the meat tender and stop it from burning in the oven.

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Just try and get them...

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really in there.

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I find that a plastic food bag is the cleanest and easiest way of refrigerating the joint.

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Acids in the marinade can react against metal or ceramic glazes and alter the taste of the meat.

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That's it.

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Put the lamb in the fridge to marinade for at least 24 hours.

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That's just going to keep the marinade really well coated on the lamb itself.

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Every now and then, even on top of the plastic, give it a bit of a rub.

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In India, this lamb would traditionally

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be marinated in yoghurt and spices for about 48 hours.

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But because lemon begins to chemically cook the meat, we only need half that time.

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I'm going to make some Peshwari naans for the party.

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They're just like plain naan, but with a filling of almonds, raisins and pistachios.

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They're a real North Indian treat and a perfect accompaniment to my lamb.

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At Leigh-on-Sea in Essex County Fire Station, Paul, the firefighter,

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used to feed the Blue Watch baked beans and takeaways.

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Firemen usually eat something that's quick and easy.

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But now he's a pro at whipping up a plain naan bread.

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Pizza. She'll kill me if I say it's pizza!

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But I want to see if he can go one step further and make the filling for his own Peshwari naans.

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I haven't got any weighing scales.

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The raisins, almonds and pistachios are so tasty, he won't go far wrong.

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I'll get round it. I'll guestimate. So, that's 70.

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It's got to be sort of half that.

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We'll just chuck that bit in there.

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Caster sugar. Where have I put that?

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And a half and a little bit for luck.

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I can't even get the lid on.

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Put that in there.

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Now the next bit is the dough.

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Paul's naan dough has been rising for about one hour.

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I don't mind saying so myself, that looks perfect.

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Remember to do both sides.

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If it's thicker on one side, the naan will rise too much.

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Get me, hey!

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The blended filling of sugar, nuts and raisins goes in.

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I've got to bring them up

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to a point.

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So, it's like a small money bag as Anjan told me.

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I'll tell you what, I've amazed myself. I'm quite impressed.

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I imagined to do it and everything fall out and just explode.

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That is one Peshwari naan.

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And I did that.

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I like to prepare as much as possible the day before a party,

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so I've decided to make a delicious dessert that will keep refrigerated overnight.

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It's easy too - the flesh of a juicy melon is crushed into coconut milk

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and served over a glass of iced pomegranate juice.

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This is my take on melon rasayana.

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This beautiful delicate dessert is inspired

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from a dessert they make in South India.

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They make it there with bananas or mangoes, but this fruit is

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in season, so I thought it would be nice to do it with this.

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'I'm using cantaloupe melon but Charantais or musk melon will work just as well.

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'Remove the seeds and chop the melon into small chunks.'

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This is such a beautiful summery dessert.

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It's really light. The fruit is seasonal and it's refreshing.

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I'm going to add some coconut milk...

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..and some sugar.

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How much you add depends on how sweet your melon is.

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So, what I'm look to do is just to eke some of the juice out of the melon so it leaks into

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the coconut milk and the coconut milk then gets some of the wonderful, summery flavours.

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Taste for sugar.

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Mmm, perfect! 'The iced pomegranate juice is a great trick for desserts and so easy.'

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I'm going to make this beautiful pomegranate granita

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with this pomegranate juice I bought from the shops.

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It couldn't be simpler.

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Lemon for tartness.

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And sugar to taste.

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Always oversweeten anything you freeze because when it's cold, you don't taste the sweetness so much.

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Pour into a sealable container and then freeze.

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After a couple of hours, all I have to do is run a fork over the iced juice.

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That loosens the crystals, making a granita.

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Now I can leave the melon mixture and the pomegranate granita

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overnight and will assemble them in glasses during the party.

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In Leigh-on-Sea, Paul, the firefighter, is about to do the final taste test.

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The naan will cook in just under one minute.

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And its smell has drawn in Blue Watch.

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What have we got then? It had better be good.

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-Ah, yes.

-It looks good.

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I think he's got the hang of it.

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We haven't tasted it, have we? Can I have a little bit of butter on it?

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Make it nice and yummy.

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Go on, you try it first. Try a bit of that.

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-You might poison me.

-I shouldn't think so.

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-That's all right. That's good.

-Nice?

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-Won't be the first time, will it?

-It's quite sweet.

-Chunky?

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-Yeah, lovely. That's fine, mate. That's good.

-Good.

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'I hope my naan get the same response at the party.'

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-No, there's none in there, there's nothing left.

-The butter's a bit greasy on the fingers.

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Oh, well, I'm sorry about that, Sir(!)

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-Thank God it's stopped raining.

-'My friend, Panthea, has come round to lend a hand.'

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It smells really good.

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It's the usual masala tea.

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Spices, ginger. Yeah, exactly. 'A month ago, Panthea loved to eat but hated to cook.'

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But you don't make it! You buy it packaged.

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I just like packaged food because it's so easy.

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But now even she's been inspired to give it a go.

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You did teach me that it was easy to get all these fresh ingredients and blenders are the best thing.

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-'Well, it's back to business.' Cucumber.

-All right.

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Onions. Tomatoes.

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'I want Panthea to help me make a really simple dish for the party.'

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You can prove yourself to me today because you can make raita.

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Raita is a traditional yoghurt side dish.

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You can be adventurous and make it with

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any number of fruit or vegetables but this one's a classic - just cucumber, tomatoes and coriander.

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A lot of North Indians eat a lot of yoghurt because yoghurt's cooling on the body.

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It balances the heat of the spices.

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When you add things like coriander, mint and cucumber, it is even more cooling.

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-Do you know what you're doing?

-Yes.

-What are you doing?

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I'm only using the nice bit of the cucumber and then I'm going to chop it up into tiny bits.

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I just don't like these bits, you know?

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Yoghurt is a soothing part of any spicy meal

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as it has cooling properties which counter the heat of the spices.

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Water opens the pores on your tongue and only intensifies the heat.

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Will you toast some cumin?

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Is just a handful enough then?

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Yeah, that's plenty.

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'The cumin is toasted without any oil to bring out its nutty qualities.'

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Mmm, the aroma's amazing!

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-'

-The seeds can burn and become bitter so I carefully watch for their colour to slowly change.'

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I think this will really go well with the lamb.

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The lamb is just full of delicious spices.

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This yogurt with the mint and the cucumber and the coriander will really balance it well.

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-Oh, wow!

-So, cucumber, tomatoes.

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Obviously, you don't put so much onion because it's quite strong.

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I'll just chop up some of this coriander.

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-Brilliant!

-'A grind of pepper and salt.'

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And some mint.

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-Mmm, smell that.

-Mmm.

-It's so fresh.

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'It's nice to add a touch of fresh mint along with the coriander.'

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That's the Iranian version. Now we'll make it the Indian version by adding that in.

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-That's done.

-Yeah.

-Yeah, that looks lovely.

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Mmm, it does. It really does.

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Mmm!

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-Works very well.

-'The raita will refrigerate overnight and tomorrow I'll add more fresh coriander.'

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Add lots of fresh stuff in.

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A few weeks ago, I met Elisha Carter, head chef at the Charlton House Hotel and Spa.

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He prides himself on only using fresh seasonal produce.

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Canape for eight, please. One halibut, one lamb. Eight minutes.

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-Two mullet. Two soup.

-Yeah, Chef!

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So, as fungi are coming into season, I thought I'd see how Elisha would get on with a wild mushroom pilaff.

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PHONE RINGS

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Hi, Elisha. It's Anjam.

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'It could be the perfect addition to his light and healthy menu.'

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This is a special occasion rice dish.

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You'll need to go on a hunt for the wild mushrooms and they are more

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expensive than regular ones but the results are worth it.

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The secret to well cooked rice is to measure one part rice to one and a half parts water.

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Wash the rice well to get rid of the starch and then soak to elongate the grains.

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This makes for a light and fluffy texture.

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There are hundreds of different types of rice in the world.

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I'm using Basmati rice in this recipe which is mainly grown on the foothills of the Himalayas.

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Basmati's at least three times longer than other grains

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and continues to lengthen when cooked, retaining its shape.

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Its subtle, nutty fragrance will compliment the mushrooms in our pilaff.

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Look at all these amazing mushrooms!

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'Mushrooms aren't a significant part of Indian cooking

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'but are eaten in certain areas when they're in season.'

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We've got lovely ceps here.

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These are morels, they're French morels.

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Kashmiris are particularly fond of morels, although they're expensive and only used on special occasions.

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Then we've got these Scottish ones.

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I've put together some nice spices. Yeah?

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-Yeah.

-Right. So, we've got some cumin seeds.

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-I've got a few black peppercorns...

-Yeah.

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And I've got a few pieces of cinnamon bark. Yeah?

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-Very nice.

-You can imagine that flavour altogether - amazing!

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'This is black cardamom.

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'It has a distinctive flavour and is much larger than the green variety.'

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-Do you know what?

-Black cardamom.

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Yeah, you know how hard that was to get.

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Yeah, they're so rare round here.

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A nice, bacony kind of flavour, without the bacon.

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OK, right. I'm just going to put a little bit of oil in.

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We'll put the spices in and get that nice and hot.

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'A couple of bay leaves go in for extra flavour.

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'The character of this dish begins here as the spices are heated through

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'for just seconds, releasing their fragrance into the hot oil.'

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I've got these cashew nuts. Throw them in and slightly brown them off.

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Now, with all these fantastic mushrooms.

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Let them cook again for four to five minutes. Let all those flavours be released.

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A nice bit of garlic. A great combination - garlic and mushrooms.

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It's like strawberries and cream, butter and bread. It's amazing.

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Then we're going to add the rice.

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-Yeah.

-So, the water goes in.

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'Bring to the boil and then cover and simmer on a low heat for about ten minutes.'

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Hmm, that smells really good. Let's put a touch of lemon juice in it.

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-That's good.

-Yeah.

-Mmm.

-That's really nice.

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'As well as rice, every table needs a vegetarian dish and this spinach and cheese recipe is a classic.

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'When my friend, Alex, and I cook together, we made paneer kebabs.

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'His family are from Italy so the combination of spinach and cheese should be a natural fit for him.'

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-Hello!

-'I hope this new recipe will build on his knowledge.'

-How are you?

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'It's really simple to do.'

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Come over anyway. You can sort of oversee how I do it and keep an eye on it.

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'But it seems a bit of moral support is needed.' All right.

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'Five weeks ago, I showed Alex how to make paneer.

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'Just heat the milk and add yoghurt to sour.

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'When the milk splits, the curd is strained in muslin and washed.

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'The end product is a soft, crumbly cheese.' A block of cheese!

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Mmm, smells fresh cheesy. We're going to add spinach to the paneer

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to produce a classic dish found in most Indian restaurants.

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Palak Paneer.

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OK.

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So, we'll get the spinach going.

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'Palak is the spinach.'

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Watch your head!

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'Of course the spinach does wilt to a fraction of its original size.

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'Cumin seeds go into a small tablespoon of oil to bring out their flavours.

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'Then I drop in the onions...'

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We'll cook until they're soft and translucent.

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'And follow with the garlic and ginger.'

0:19:590:20:02

'The chillies go in whole so that I get the taste without the heat from the seeds.'

0:20:040:20:07

That's beginning to look like a real curry.

0:20:070:20:10

-A couple of teaspoons of...

-Coriander.

-Coriander.

0:20:100:20:13

-Add some salt.

-OK.

-The spinach is the base of the curry. Put all the flavours in here.

0:20:160:20:21

'Running the spinach under cold water seals in the wonderful green colour.'

0:20:210:20:25

OK.

0:20:290:20:30

That's enough.

0:20:330:20:35

-Can you just put some water in there?

-Yeah.

0:20:360:20:38

That should be fine.

0:20:380:20:41

It's a nice kind of loose curry already. I don't want it to be too thick.

0:20:410:20:45

When I put the paneer in, it will absorb some of that water.

0:20:450:20:47

'Some people fry the paneer, but I'm trying to cut out

0:20:490:20:52

'all unnecessary oil in my cooking and the cheese is tasty as it is.'

0:20:520:20:57

Let me try.

0:20:570:20:59

There you go.

0:21:000:21:02

-Just straight in, yeah?

-Yeah.

0:21:020:21:05

Leave it to cook - maybe five or six minutes - so it just absorbs all the spinach.

0:21:050:21:10

Then, we'll just put a bit of lemon juice in it and some garam masala.

0:21:100:21:14

'For a treat, I'm adding in some cream.'

0:21:140:21:17

The cream just goes so well with the spinach and the paneer.

0:21:170:21:21

-But, when you're at home, I add milk.

-It's a beautiful colour.

-Yeah.

0:21:210:21:24

-OK.

-It's beautiful.

0:21:240:21:26

-Shall we try it?

-Let's have a try.

0:21:260:21:28

Mmm. It's beautiful.

0:21:330:21:35

It's been raining like a monsoon all day today.

0:21:380:21:41

Not the best weather for a party!

0:21:410:21:44

Fingers crossed it'll turn out well tomorrow.

0:21:460:21:49

After 24 hours, the lamb needs to come out of the fridge and reach room temperature before cooking.

0:21:580:22:03

At this stage, I like to add a second marinade of almonds

0:22:050:22:08

and yoghurt that forms a wonderful crust when the lamb is roasted.

0:22:080:22:11

So, for the almond crust...

0:22:150:22:16

It's just yoghurt, almonds - blanched - honey.

0:22:160:22:22

Not all of it because I want some of it to drizzle over the lamb when it comes out of the oven.

0:22:220:22:27

Blend.

0:22:270:22:28

I'm just going to put it all over the lamb. It's a beautiful, thick, really creamy mixture.

0:22:300:22:36

You can see little nuggets of almonds there.

0:22:360:22:39

That'll just add some crunch.

0:22:390:22:42

Then put it in a hot oven for about 20 minutes so that it browns really nicely.

0:22:420:22:47

'Then turn down the heat a bit and roast until cooked.

0:22:470:22:52

'An average joint can take around two hours.

0:22:520:22:56

'Halfway through cooking, I drizzle the rest of my honey over the roast.

0:22:590:23:03

'It gives the lamb a rich sweetness.'

0:23:030:23:05

If it's cooking too quickly, cover with silver foil and continue.

0:23:070:23:11

The food is sorted and I want to give this party an extra kick.

0:23:130:23:17

In the world of cocktails, Ben Reed is called a mixologist.

0:23:170:23:21

To you and me, that's someone who creates cocktails.

0:23:210:23:25

I've asked him to shake up some specially designed drinks using Indian spices for an added twist.

0:23:250:23:30

-Hi!

-Hi, Anjam!

-How's it going?

0:23:300:23:32

Well! This cocktail I'm going to make relies heavily on using different spices.

0:23:320:23:37

We're going to crack open these cardamom pods to release the seeds.

0:23:370:23:40

You want to use, I'm sure it's the case with your cooking, the freshest ingredients possible.

0:23:400:23:44

I'm just going to gently press these to release some of the flavour.

0:23:440:23:47

-We're going to use some gin.

-Yep.

0:23:470:23:50

-London dry gin, which is flavoured with herbs and spices.

-Ah!

0:23:500:23:53

-I'm going to take some freshly squeezed lemon juice.

-Mmm hmm.

0:23:530:23:58

And then some sugar syrup.

0:23:580:24:00

OK, just to go with the theme, we're going to add some Angostura bitters.

0:24:000:24:04

-I love Angostura bitters.

-It's actually the most widely stocked bar product worldwide.

0:24:040:24:09

-It's so versatile.

-Contrary to popular belief, bitters don't lend bitterness to the drink,

0:24:090:24:13

-they give it a depth of flavour.

-Yeah.

0:24:130:24:15

Dry chilli in there. I don't want to blow people's socks off.

0:24:150:24:17

-No.

-People get scared when they see chilli in a drink.

0:24:170:24:20

-You're not really chopping it up. You're just getting the flavours...

-Exactly.

0:24:200:24:24

With all the drinks I make, as much ice as possible.

0:24:240:24:26

In this country, people think that the more ice you put in a glass, the more watery your drink becomes.

0:24:260:24:31

The more ice you put in a glass, the colder your glass is. Therefore, the slower the ice dilutes.

0:24:310:24:35

I'm going to give it a short, sharp shake.

0:24:350:24:38

Again, just to chill the flavours.

0:24:390:24:41

-OK.

-Marry the flavours and chill the ingredients.

0:24:410:24:43

-OK, marry and chill, marry and chill.

-Exactly!

0:24:430:24:46

Take our glass of ice.

0:24:460:24:47

-We're going to double strain it just to get rid of some of the little bits.

-That's such a beautiful colour.

0:24:470:24:52

I'm just going to put a little chilli in there as a garnish.

0:24:520:24:55

The longer we keep that chilli in, potentially, the more spicy the drink.

0:24:550:24:58

-It's going to get spicier.

-So, the slower the drinker, the spicier the drink.

0:24:580:25:03

-Yeah, I'd probably leave that in there for an hour.

-Yeah.

0:25:030:25:06

OK.

0:25:060:25:08

Mmm. That is so delicious.

0:25:080:25:10

Just at the end, you get a slight kick of chilli which is really beautiful. It's a really cold drink.

0:25:100:25:16

None of the spices or flavours overwhelm the other. They all work quite nicely together.

0:25:160:25:21

There's a great synergy between the different flavours, I think.

0:25:210:25:23

-DOORBELL RINGS

-Hi!

0:25:230:25:25

'It's lunch time and 20 hungry guests are heading this way.'

0:25:250:25:31

-You'd do it again?

-Absolutely, the paneer is very easy to make.

0:25:320:25:37

Hi, come on in.

0:25:370:25:39

Are you still going to hide behind papa?

0:25:390:25:41

Just a bit of...

0:25:430:25:46

'My Peshwari naans are ready to go.

0:25:460:25:50

'It's time to get Paul's professional judgement.'

0:25:500:25:53

You're my best friend now.

0:25:530:25:57

'The cocktails are getting us off to a good start.'

0:25:570:26:00

-That is awesome!

-I've learned loads.

0:26:030:26:05

-Different spices.

-It's quite easy, yeah.

-It is.

0:26:050:26:08

It's a question of getting into the rhythm of it and practising it.

0:26:080:26:11

-I've been practising on the kids at home. We've had cinnamon naans.

-Did they like it?

0:26:110:26:16

Absolutely loved the naans.

0:26:160:26:18

'It's not long before head chef Elisha comes in to lend a professional hand.'

0:26:180:26:22

-That looks nice.

-That looks wonderful. Hi!

0:26:220:26:26

'My friend Panthea should be helping me cook.'

0:26:260:26:29

Panthea keeps eating while I'm trying to serve.

0:26:290:26:31

Again?! Again!

0:26:310:26:34

The spices, especially the black cardamom seeds are really amazing.

0:26:340:26:41

That smells good.

0:26:430:26:44

-It does, doesn't it?

-Mmm.

0:26:440:26:46

Hi, everybody! Food's on.

0:26:460:26:49

'Time to make a dash for the kitchen before the rain starts again.

0:26:490:26:52

'It's taken me almost two days of cooking to get all these dishes ready but it'll be worth it.

0:26:520:26:56

'The spiced roast lamb is really succulent and ready for carving.

0:26:560:27:02

'The mushrooms have added fantastic flavour to the pilaff and I'm sure my Peshwari naans will

0:27:060:27:12

'go down a treat with the spinach and paneer dish.

0:27:120:27:14

'But not everyone is convinced.'

0:27:170:27:19

Do you like the rice?

0:27:190:27:21

-No.

-HE LAUGHS

0:27:210:27:23

-OK, and Leah, did you like the rice?

-Yeah.

0:27:230:27:26

Oh well, if you insist.

0:27:260:27:29

It's a rarity to eat so much.

0:27:290:27:32

'While I have the kitchen to myself, it's time to assemble the melon and pomegranate desserts.

0:27:330:27:40

'Finishing them with a crunchy topping of toasted coconut, almonds and some fresh pomegranate seeds.'

0:27:400:27:47

-Very good.

-Is it good?

-It's really good.

-I like the red bits.

0:27:490:27:52

-Nice texture.

-How are you? The famous fireman.

0:27:520:27:57

-I hear you're very good... Better looking now then the pictures she showed me.

-Really?!

0:27:570:28:02

It does me justice, does it?

0:28:020:28:04

-It does!

-Seeing me in the flesh. All of it.

0:28:040:28:05

-I'm going to need you.

-You're going to need me?

-Yeah.

0:28:050:28:08

She reckons I'm going to burn down my house. I'm always burning things.

0:28:080:28:11

To find out how to put together an authentic Indian meal at home

0:28:110:28:15

and for all the recipes from the series, go to:

0:28:150:28:18

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd.

0:28:350:28:38

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