0:00:12 > 0:00:16There's something about a curry that's all-pervading,
0:00:16 > 0:00:20just the thought of it ignites a longing deep inside us.
0:00:21 > 0:00:26It's the only food I can think of where the sense of smell works
0:00:26 > 0:00:29so wonderfully well with memory and imagination.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32At the mere mention of the word I sense turmeric, coriander,
0:00:32 > 0:00:35garlic and cumin.
0:00:35 > 0:00:39No other food I know gives the taste buds such a roller-coaster ride.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47For nearly three months I travelled all over India,
0:00:47 > 0:00:52tasting curries and watching cooks, trying to find out their secrets,
0:00:52 > 0:00:55because curry is full of complexities
0:00:55 > 0:00:57and it's taken very seriously here.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01And I wanted to show that there's more to curry
0:01:01 > 0:01:05than three pints of lager and a prawn vindaloo.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08First-class curry, Ricky!
0:01:47 > 0:01:50Well, this is where I'm going to be cooking all those lovely
0:01:50 > 0:01:53dishes I found on my travels in India.
0:01:53 > 0:01:55- Good morning, Ashok. - Good morning, Rick.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57I mean, it's so beautiful.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00I mean, it's teeming with life. It's a delight.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09This place, this lagoon, is so Rudyard Kipling.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13There's a whole host of birds and animals I see every day.
0:02:13 > 0:02:18There's Bluey the kingfisher with a voracious appetite.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23Blackie the cormorant, for ever searching for eels and little fish.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28Krishna the wise old kite, keeping a beady eye on everything below.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36Marcus and Florence the newlywed ducks
0:02:36 > 0:02:41and of course Cynthia the water snake who lives in the drainpipe coming from the kitchen.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44No morning swims for me!
0:02:44 > 0:02:48And then there's Kaiser the boxer dog mixed with something else.
0:02:48 > 0:02:53No doubt I'll be adding more animals to my list as the series goes on.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00But this is my kitchen. It's lovely.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02It's just the sort of place I imagined
0:03:02 > 0:03:06when we were thinking of coming to India so many months ago.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08It's even got its own well.
0:03:08 > 0:03:12And it's a brilliant setting for cooking all those fabulous recipes
0:03:12 > 0:03:15I've come across on my travels all over India.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21Well, it's tradition here that to bless a new cooker
0:03:21 > 0:03:25you have to boil some milk and let it overflow
0:03:25 > 0:03:27and then serve it to everybody in the house.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29That blesses the house, the cooker
0:03:29 > 0:03:33and ensures that everything you cook on it will be wonderful.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38And here's to cooking wonderful food. Cheers.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40ALL: Cheers.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46A lot of people might say, I mean, with great respect,
0:03:46 > 0:03:49that, you know, this is called "Search for the Perfect Curry",
0:03:49 > 0:03:54you could be able to find it in your high street rather than coming all the way to India.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58You know something, David? When I hear you say "with great respect",
0:03:58 > 0:04:00you haven't got any respect at all.
0:04:00 > 0:04:01I get what you're saying,
0:04:01 > 0:04:04OK, I do understand you can have a good curry in the high street.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06But let me remind you,
0:04:06 > 0:04:09your favourite curry is, I believe, prawn vindaloo.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13- King prawn vindaloo. - OK, king prawn vindaloo.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16All you think king prawn vindaloo is something searingly hot
0:04:16 > 0:04:19which you can have with a couple of pints of beer.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21- Am I right or am I right? - Could be right.
0:04:21 > 0:04:26Vindaloo is this beautifully fragrant, vinegary curry from Goa,
0:04:26 > 0:04:30which has no resemblance to what you eat at all.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33As you know, I don't need to say unto thee,
0:04:33 > 0:04:38that most of the restaurants back home came from Bangladesh anyway!
0:04:42 > 0:04:44These pictures of Sylhet's famous bridge
0:04:44 > 0:04:46will excite Bangladeshi cooks,
0:04:46 > 0:04:50restaurant owners and waiters all over the UK
0:04:50 > 0:04:53because the majority of the so-called Indian restaurants
0:04:53 > 0:04:57in Britain stem from this one town, Sylhet in Bangladesh,
0:04:57 > 0:05:00known once upon a time as East Bengal.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04But it's in India's West Bengal, in hot, steamy Calcutta,
0:05:04 > 0:05:09or should I say Kolkata, where my curry odyssey begins.
0:05:16 > 0:05:21Before I flew to Kolkata my friends told me to start my curry odyssey
0:05:21 > 0:05:24right in the centre of the city at Nizam's,
0:05:24 > 0:05:26famous for its kathi rolls.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29Basically, it's a fried paratha, a flatbread,
0:05:29 > 0:05:33filled with omelette and wonderful spicy meat,
0:05:33 > 0:05:37mutton or chicken, cooked with onions and chillies.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39The interpreter for this leg of the journey, Seema,
0:05:39 > 0:05:42thoroughly agreed with my suggestion to meet up here,
0:05:42 > 0:05:46in the place that put kathi rolls on the world map.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54Excuse me.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56That is unbelievable.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59I mean, I've only just got off the plane and I'm just thinking,
0:05:59 > 0:06:03I've had that idea in my mind of the perfect street food.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05I think I've found it.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07What's the origin of these then?
0:06:07 > 0:06:10- Well, they started here in Kolkata in the early 1900s.- Right.
0:06:10 > 0:06:14And then we had the British here who came to eat the food.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16But it's a little oily, as you can see it.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18Now the British who were here,
0:06:18 > 0:06:20they didn't like to touch it with their fingers,
0:06:20 > 0:06:24so this guy Nizam came up with this lovely idea.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27He wrapped the entire paratha in a fine piece of paper.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30So am I, is that what you do then? You just tear the...
0:06:30 > 0:06:34Yeah, you just go on tearing it like this, go piece by piece
0:06:34 > 0:06:38and there it is all open for you to eat and you can just, you know, enjoy it.
0:06:38 > 0:06:43If the rest of the food here is going to be like this, I'm in heaven.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46You really started it at the right place, you know?
0:06:46 > 0:06:48- Really? - This is so popular.
0:06:48 > 0:06:53We've had a PMs, PMs meaning prime ministers, also had food from here.
0:06:53 > 0:06:58Wow! How much does the food of Bengal mean to you and all your friends?
0:06:58 > 0:07:00We just love food.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03Bengalis are crazy about food.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07From morning to night, the only thing they can really talk
0:07:07 > 0:07:10very well is firstly food, secondly politics.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13So you see how important food is for Bengalis, right?
0:07:13 > 0:07:16You can go anywhere in the world, but to try Nizam's rolls,
0:07:16 > 0:07:19you have to come to Kolkata.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22- I'll have to open a Nizam's type... - Maybe.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26- ..kathi roll in the UK somewhere. - Yes, I think so. I think so.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31- Brilliant. - I hope you really enjoy it.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33SHE LAUGHS
0:07:40 > 0:07:44I find it very difficult, in a seemingly ancient place,
0:07:44 > 0:07:49to get to grips with the fact that the city's only 320 years old.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51Compared to Padstow, that's nothing.
0:07:51 > 0:07:55The history books tell us that before the East India Company came,
0:07:55 > 0:07:59led by a determined young Lancastrian called Job Charnock,
0:07:59 > 0:08:02this was just a collection of ramshackle huts,
0:08:02 > 0:08:05lining the muddy banks of the Hooghly river.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15I love big rivers and they don't get any bigger than this.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18And I'm reminded of the poem The Wasteland.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21And running through it all the time is this image of water,
0:08:21 > 0:08:24and particularly images of rivers.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28And Eliot describes a river as being a brown god.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31And thinking of the Thames, I couldn't get it.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33This is a brown god.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37And I just imagine when Job Charnock came up the river here,
0:08:37 > 0:08:39a tough Lancastrian.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43And there's a fabulous romantic story about this.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45He discovered a funeral pyre
0:08:45 > 0:08:49and a girl about to be burnt alive cos her husband had died
0:08:49 > 0:08:52and he rescued her and lived happily with her,
0:08:52 > 0:08:54married to her for 25 years.
0:08:55 > 0:09:00And when she died, he built a palace next to her grave.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08It might sound like an overstatement,
0:09:08 > 0:09:12but I think our love of curry stems from this plant, pepper,
0:09:12 > 0:09:15sometimes known as the king of spices.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18Europeans couldn't get enough of it.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21And then there's the queen of spices, cardamom.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24As a chef I've been using this perfumed spice for years,
0:09:24 > 0:09:28but I hadn't a clue how it grew or how it was harvested.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34What the British wanted was spice - nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves,
0:09:34 > 0:09:37but above all, pepper.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41Just imagine what it tasted like if you'd never tasted it before,
0:09:41 > 0:09:44if only a few people could afford it.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47I mean, that heat, there'd be nothing like it.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50You would absolutely think it would make you live longer,
0:09:50 > 0:09:55give you virility, whatever, it would make you a better person.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57It was literally worth its weight in gold.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04The trade here must have been phenomenal at the end of the 17th century.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08Young, ambitious men came here in their droves in the hope
0:10:08 > 0:10:11of making a fortune and having a grand estate back at home.
0:10:11 > 0:10:15But sadly many of them died like flies because of the heat,
0:10:15 > 0:10:18the mosquitoes, the stagnant water
0:10:18 > 0:10:21and a whole host of unsavoury diseases.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24The Hooghly river takes no prisoners.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31I think this building, the Writers' Building,
0:10:31 > 0:10:37symbolises the astounding wealth the East India Company created here.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39This is the place that housed hundreds
0:10:39 > 0:10:42if not thousands of clerks or writers
0:10:42 > 0:10:45and curiously, the food today in Kolkata
0:10:45 > 0:10:48still reflects what the office workers eat.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53I met one of the most passionate foodies ever,
0:10:53 > 0:10:56Kaniska Chakraborty, who took me to his favourite place.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00So, what's special about this place?
0:11:00 > 0:11:02OK, this place is an age-old institution of Kolkata.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05This was not here to begin with.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08This place, believe it or not, started in 1879.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12- Good Lord.- Yeah, and... but it was way down that side.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14About 80-odd years back they moved in here
0:11:14 > 0:11:17and the inside hasn't changed ever since.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20- So, yeah. - It's not very big.
0:11:20 > 0:11:22It's not very big, it's not big at all.
0:11:22 > 0:11:24You can barely fit in ten people.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27- And the thing that we come here for is prawn cutlets.- Right.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30This is melt in the mouth, ethereal prawn cutlets.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32They're like pillowy soft and all that,
0:11:32 > 0:11:35fried in complete butter so there is no oil nonsense.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38- In butter? In ghee? - No, in butter, not ghee, but butter.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43So Kolkata had a long-standing clerical culture,
0:11:43 > 0:11:46even during the day of the British Raj.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50There were a lot of clerks who were employed by the Raj to run the administration.
0:11:50 > 0:11:52They were always on the lookout for fast food.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54Therefore this kind of tiffin took place.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58Tiffin is this little filler-up time between let's say lunch
0:11:58 > 0:12:00and by the time you get home.
0:12:00 > 0:12:02Have you ever thought of going on TV?
0:12:02 > 0:12:04You're doing a much better job than me, I must say.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07So enthusiastic. We'd better try something.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10- We should try, we should try, yes. - Fire away!
0:12:11 > 0:12:17This is an exercise in how to get the most out of something relatively small.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21A freshwater prawn dipped in lime juice.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23Well, so far it doesn't set the world on fire.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27What he does is take the gut tract from the prawn
0:12:27 > 0:12:30and then split it open and flatten it.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35He uses the knife to very gently cut the flesh
0:12:35 > 0:12:39so it tenderises it and it's also able to absorb the lime juice
0:12:39 > 0:12:41and then it's dipped in batter.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47Now, he wouldn't tell me what the batter is made from.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49He said it was a secret.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53But if it was me I'd make it like the Japanese tempura,
0:12:53 > 0:12:56that's cornflour, plain flour,
0:12:56 > 0:13:00a bit of baking soda mixed with iced soda water.
0:13:00 > 0:13:05Then what he does is to fry this plumptious prawn in butter so it puffs up,
0:13:05 > 0:13:09like Kaniska said, just like a soft pillow.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14- Here they come. - They're here. There you are.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17- Well, I'm looking forward to this. - Ta-da!
0:13:17 > 0:13:21- I know you're going to be right, I know they're going to be... - Let's try them.- ..special.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23And we got, what? Mustard sauce, here?
0:13:23 > 0:13:25Yeah, this mustard sauce packs a punch.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27- How do you like it, by the way? - Oh, I love it!
0:13:27 > 0:13:30No, you're right about the butter, just transforms it.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32Well, you know what, Kaniska?
0:13:32 > 0:13:35Without you I never would have come to this little hole in the wall
0:13:35 > 0:13:37to eat these delicious prawn cutlets.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40I wouldn't have known about them, I bet they're not in many food guides.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42They're not in many food guides, as you say, Rick.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45And I'm glad you like them, glad you could come here.
0:13:45 > 0:13:50Do you mind me asking this question, because do you mind using the word "curry"?
0:13:50 > 0:13:53Because apparently it's a British name anyway.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55Curry doesn't exist, does it?
0:13:55 > 0:13:57I'm so glad you brought this up and I was wondering,
0:13:57 > 0:13:59"How do I bring this up to you?" Because, yeah.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03I mean, there are names for curries like we call that jhol.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06Jhol essentially means a light curry.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09So I'm sure every region had its little name for a curry.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13But curry, it helps us understand it better, I guess, to the international audience.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15So it's important, that name, to me, is important,
0:14:15 > 0:14:20but yes, I do not think it correctly captures a sense of what we eat.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22I completely agree with you.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30So back at the little house on the lagoon,
0:14:30 > 0:14:34it's time to cook a brilliant prawn curry I had at a restaurant in Kolkata.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38And as soon as I tasted it I said, "I've got to cook that."
0:14:40 > 0:14:44Gosh, it's really hot today but I love where I'm cooking.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48Now, I've just added some mustard oil into this very lovely pan.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52When you first see the amount of mustard that goes
0:14:52 > 0:14:56into Bengali cooking, you think that is far too much
0:14:56 > 0:14:59and you have to get used to the flavour of mustard seed.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03It's not like the flavour of our hot English mustard.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06It's that really bitter, pungent flavour which comes
0:15:06 > 0:15:09when you whizz up the seeds, because the seeds are little,
0:15:09 > 0:15:13like, cases that encase this wonderful, slightly moist
0:15:13 > 0:15:17but very, very vigorous flavour which is in all Bengali cooking.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23It's really important, I think, in all Indian cooking,
0:15:23 > 0:15:27cook your onions for a long time at a moderate heat
0:15:27 > 0:15:31so they don't burn but they get this lovely brown colour.
0:15:33 > 0:15:39Then, in a blender, grind up a couple of ounces of mustard seed into a coarse paste.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43That'll give this dish of prawns and coconut a real hot zing.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48You don't want to blend them too much
0:15:48 > 0:15:50cos that becomes a very sort of smooth puree,
0:15:50 > 0:15:53you need a little bit of warp and weft in it,
0:15:53 > 0:15:55a bit of mustard husk in there.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58Good. Right, my onions are nearly done.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00Now turmeric. A teaspoonful.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04Experienced curry cooks never overdo the turmeric.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07It has a way of dominating the other flavours.
0:16:08 > 0:16:10Then coconut milk.
0:16:10 > 0:16:12And this is made fresh out here
0:16:12 > 0:16:16but if I was at home, I wouldn't hesitate to use a tin from the supermarket.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21And next, of course, the mustard paste.
0:16:21 > 0:16:26So even from this far it's sort of catching the back of my throat.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28And as I keep saying,
0:16:28 > 0:16:32that flavour that, you know, it's like so much in cooking,
0:16:32 > 0:16:35the first time you taste something we're all a bit conservative.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37And you think, "Oh, I'm not going to like that",
0:16:37 > 0:16:40and then after a while you think, "I can't have enough of it".
0:16:40 > 0:16:42And that's the case with mustard.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44And next, the grated coconut.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55About a teaspoon of salt.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58Stir that in and now the prawns.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02And while it's cooking I'm just going to chop up some green chillies.
0:17:02 > 0:17:07The vexed question of whether you leave the seeds in or take 'em out.
0:17:07 > 0:17:11You know, I like spicy but I must say, a couple of these recipes,
0:17:11 > 0:17:14I'm sort of sending the recipes home back to Padstow
0:17:14 > 0:17:17and my son Jack is testing a lot of them.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20And this particular one he sent me the e-mail saying,
0:17:20 > 0:17:24"Delicious, Dad, but nobody could eat it. Too hot."
0:17:24 > 0:17:26And I think the problem really is...
0:17:26 > 0:17:28That's about three or four chillies,
0:17:28 > 0:17:32The problem really is that I've just got a bit immune to chilli.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34So it's up to you.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40But for me and for the guys that drink lots of beer
0:17:40 > 0:17:45and like our prawn vindaloo as hot as possible, leave 'em in.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59Even if I wasn't a cook I'd come to Kolkata
0:17:59 > 0:18:01purely because of the street food.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04There are hundreds of these little stalls here.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07Most of them can be loaded on a pushbike
0:18:07 > 0:18:11and each one serves its own tasty speciality.
0:18:11 > 0:18:12I know it's not very practical
0:18:12 > 0:18:17but what I would love to do is bring all my aspiring young chefs here
0:18:17 > 0:18:22to see what can be achieved with so little in such a tiny space.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25Angus Denoon is a chef in the UK,
0:18:25 > 0:18:30but he fell in love with Kolkata and the street food here is his passion.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35- It's quite organised cos the street food guys got a union.- Have they?
0:18:35 > 0:18:37When they go on strike, the office workers go on strike.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39- Cos there's nothing to eat! - HE LAUGHS
0:18:39 > 0:18:42We can't expect them to come to work if there's nowhere for lunch.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45- This is a chuda shop and... - Chuda.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47..also a lassi shop.
0:18:47 > 0:18:49And basically it's based around the curd.
0:18:49 > 0:18:50Fantastic curd in Kolkata.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53Comes from a bottle of milk, which is very fatty, it's good fat.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57In England we have low-fat stuff but low fat is not an option here. That's seen as a bad thing.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59- It's never an option for me, I must say.- That is good.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03What it is, the chuda is basically rice that's been cooked
0:19:03 > 0:19:05and then it's flattened and then dried.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07And what we're going to do is reconstitute it,
0:19:07 > 0:19:10add a little bit of water to it, mash it around a bit
0:19:10 > 0:19:12then he makes basically a thin lassi, so he puts some
0:19:12 > 0:19:15yogurt in the pot, mix it up with a little bit of water,
0:19:15 > 0:19:19a little bit of sugar and then pour it over the plate with the chuda.
0:19:19 > 0:19:21And then put a little bit of sugar on top.
0:19:21 > 0:19:23And this is like a morning treat.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25- Good for breakfast.- Good for breakfast. Good for breakfast.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28- Oh!- It's nice, isn't it?
0:19:28 > 0:19:30- It's so subtle. - Yeah, yeah.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33The rice is fab.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36Got a bit of texture, crunchy sugar, tart yoghurt.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39Really simple but just on the button.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42It's a big kind of thing when you mention street food,
0:19:42 > 0:19:44people are just, you know? Especially in India.
0:19:44 > 0:19:46"How's your tummy? I wouldn't touch that."
0:19:46 > 0:19:49But that's kind of wrong because in a city this is their life.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52There's a very competitive market here so it's perfect economy.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54So, like, you don't need the authorities to say,
0:19:54 > 0:19:57"You gotta keep it clean", cos they know to keep it clean.
0:19:57 > 0:19:58It's like, "Why you going to tell me that?
0:19:58 > 0:20:02"Cos if I poison people then they won't come and I don't feed the family."
0:20:03 > 0:20:06You just can't look anywhere that's not interesting.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10So, do you ever get aggro from anybody?
0:20:10 > 0:20:12Everybody seems very, very friendly.
0:20:12 > 0:20:13Very friendly, very cool.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17Now, this is the most popular street food here.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20It's called a puchka, little balls of deep-fried flour
0:20:20 > 0:20:24filled with spicy mashed potatoes and sour tamarind water.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26It's cheap as chips.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29So, is the puchka when he crunches it with his thumb?
0:20:29 > 0:20:33That's a puchka. But they're, like, just over a rupee each.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35They're strangely addictive.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39Oh, God!
0:20:41 > 0:20:43It's, a first taste is, "I don't like this",
0:20:43 > 0:20:46cos the black salt is very sulphury, then you get the tamarind,
0:20:46 > 0:20:50then you get the chilli, then you get the crunch of the, what's the...
0:20:50 > 0:20:52- The puri. - ..the puri.
0:20:52 > 0:20:57And the ultimate taste is very, very satisfying, I must say.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01- How do I tell him I've had enough? - You can't.
0:21:01 > 0:21:03- Or do I just walk away? - Until you finish.
0:21:03 > 0:21:04- What? - HE LAUGHS
0:21:11 > 0:21:14Angus talks like he's seen this sort of thing every day.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18He probably has, but I just marvel at scenes like this.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22Some of these men have been making these puchkas for over 30 years,
0:21:22 > 0:21:25and their fathers before them.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28They're made with plain flour, semolina, ghee and water.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32Ghee, of course, is clarified butter.
0:21:32 > 0:21:36To the Western eye this production line may look a little chaotic,
0:21:36 > 0:21:39makeshift even, but I think it's quite wonderful
0:21:39 > 0:21:41and it runs like clockwork.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46And everyone in Kolkata has got their favourite puchka wallah.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48- You know everyone's like.... - So civilised, isn't it?
0:21:48 > 0:21:51So civilised and also you think, "Well, it's just like a puri
0:21:51 > 0:21:54"and then with mashed potato filling and a little tamarind water."
0:21:54 > 0:21:57But the more you learn about it and the more you taste it,
0:21:57 > 0:21:59there are many, many levels, many, many levels.
0:21:59 > 0:22:01So they've got something very basically simple
0:22:01 > 0:22:03but they just kind of break it right down
0:22:03 > 0:22:05and the more you eat the more you realise.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09And I'm just a tourist and stuff, I just know a bit. But these guys have got it in their blood.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11And the Bengalis just understand these
0:22:11 > 0:22:13little nuances which people like this kind of continue.
0:22:13 > 0:22:17It's like history. And you're eating a bit of history, it's amazing.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34Bengal is sweets, desserts and puddings.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37Most of them far too sweet for me, I'm afraid.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40And the heart of many of them stems from the sweet,
0:22:40 > 0:22:42creamy milk of the buffalo.
0:22:42 > 0:22:46Other than fish it's the thing they love most in the whole world.
0:22:51 > 0:22:56Angus was very keen to take me to a stall that sold fresh yoghurt.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58It's served in these lovely clay pots
0:22:58 > 0:23:00which are thrown away afterwards.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05Like so many things here, this stems from the caste system,
0:23:05 > 0:23:08where the higher-caste people wouldn't dream of eating
0:23:08 > 0:23:11out of a pot which was used by the lower castes,
0:23:11 > 0:23:14no matter how many times it was washed.
0:23:18 > 0:23:20- Mishti doi. - Mishti doi. Sweet yoghurt.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22Sweet yoghurt.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27Oh, very good!
0:23:27 > 0:23:29Thank you.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35It reminds me of the first time I went to Greece, funnily enough.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38When they used to do yoghurts as, I don't know whether they still do
0:23:38 > 0:23:42them in little terracotta pots, but Angus was just saying it actually firms them up,
0:23:42 > 0:23:45cos they're porous and some of the moisture comes out.
0:23:45 > 0:23:46It is exquisite.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49I'm thinking when I'm writing recipes,
0:23:49 > 0:23:51cos a lot of Indian recipes have yoghurt in,
0:23:51 > 0:23:53how am I going to match this?
0:23:53 > 0:23:56I don't think so with the average supermarket stuff.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58It's so beautifully tart, isn't it?
0:23:58 > 0:24:00And it tastes, it doesn't taste fatty,
0:24:00 > 0:24:02it tastes just very, very clean.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04- A natural one. - Natural. It's lovely.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07Happy customer.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11- Cut. Can I have one to try? - It is so good.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32Well, this is the last of the snacks I'm having this morning.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34I mean, this morning started at eight o'clock
0:24:34 > 0:24:36and I've been having snacks ever since.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39But this is probably the most famous in Kolkata, called jhal muri.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42I've never tasted anything like it.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45It's sort of like, I thought when they were describing it
0:24:45 > 0:24:47it was a bit like Bombay mix, cos it's all dry,
0:24:47 > 0:24:50but then you've got lots of things like chopped tomato,
0:24:50 > 0:24:53coriander, fresh cream, chillies, coconut, onion in it as well.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55And a little bit of mustard oil
0:24:55 > 0:24:59so it's really hot but very satisfying.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02And the main thing is this puffed rice.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05It's a bit like sort of savoury Rice Krispies, if you like.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25You could be here for months and still find new things to eat.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29But I suppose, like any tourist, I keep seeing things that perhaps
0:25:29 > 0:25:32they don't really want to see and you do notice people
0:25:32 > 0:25:35living their private life out on the streets,
0:25:35 > 0:25:38which is a bit disconcerting.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41Probably best summed up by the novelist EM Forster
0:25:41 > 0:25:44who came here in the '40s on a lecture tour.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47And he said, he's obviously been here before,
0:25:47 > 0:25:49Passage To India, that sort of thing.
0:25:49 > 0:25:51"Externally the place has not changed.
0:25:51 > 0:25:55"There is still poverty and it's the poverty,
0:25:55 > 0:25:59"the malnutrition which persists like a groundswell
0:25:59 > 0:26:04"beneath the pleasant froth of my immediate experience."
0:26:04 > 0:26:08And the immediate experience is a pleasant froth.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12People on the street smile at you, they're happy, they're kind to you.
0:26:12 > 0:26:16And I think above all, it's that persistent feeling,
0:26:16 > 0:26:18for me, of human resilience,
0:26:18 > 0:26:21the resilience of all us human beings
0:26:21 > 0:26:23which so impresses me about Kolkata.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32This is the All Bengal Women's Union,
0:26:32 > 0:26:36formed in 1932 to protect and rehabilitate
0:26:36 > 0:26:40destitute women and girls here in Kolkata.
0:26:40 > 0:26:42They run a restaurant called Suruchis
0:26:42 > 0:26:44that serves really good Bengali food.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48I know this because I have friends who have eaten there and loved it.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51Anjana Chatterjee is one of the organisers
0:26:51 > 0:26:55who helps teach the girls the gentle art of cooking.
0:26:55 > 0:27:00You know, I have these lovely girls, they are working every day.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04But they have very few leaves, they are always working
0:27:04 > 0:27:06but they are very happy.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08- They are lovely girls. - Very lovely girls, and...
0:27:08 > 0:27:11What sort of backgrounds do they come from?
0:27:11 > 0:27:13Mostly they're abandoned by their parents.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17Sometimes they are lost, you know? On the road.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21Neither the parents can find them, nor the girl.
0:27:21 > 0:27:25Sometimes they're so small that they don't know their address,
0:27:25 > 0:27:28they don't know their locality, have nowhere to go.
0:27:29 > 0:27:31But they don't want to be reminded of that, you see?
0:27:31 > 0:27:33Because they get all the love here.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36We love them very much and they also like us very much.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39- SPEAKS TO THE WOMEN - They all like to work here.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44- Happy, happy. - They're happy, happy.
0:27:44 > 0:27:48So, I mean, when they leave will they find jobs somewhere? Or...
0:27:48 > 0:27:51They don't usually because I told you they don't have nowhere to go.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54- So they can't find jobs, so... - No, they can't find.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56- When they're very old we have an old-age home.- Oh, OK.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59They have so much of love, you know,
0:27:59 > 0:28:03- and affection that you sort of can't fail to love them.- Yeah.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05And they are so nice.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08Well, it must be very nice for you to see them blossom and...
0:28:08 > 0:28:11- That's right.- Very rewarding. - Yes, very rewarding.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19What I'm learning here, and I really enjoy watching people
0:28:19 > 0:28:22cook their own food, cos you just pick up so much from doing it,
0:28:22 > 0:28:27is the absolute importance of keeping the garlic, the onion,
0:28:27 > 0:28:30the ginger paste and all those spices from sticking to the pan.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35And this is a very simple egg curry.
0:28:35 > 0:28:39She's boiled the eggs and then fried them, probably in a bit of ghee.
0:28:41 > 0:28:45- Finish.- Finish? Is there any potatoes in it or just...
0:28:47 > 0:28:51I'm having to get used to the way, what a head nod means.
0:28:51 > 0:28:53Is it yes or no?
0:28:53 > 0:28:57Sometimes it's yes and if they go like that, that is yes, emphatically yes.
0:28:57 > 0:28:59Sometimes that means no,
0:28:59 > 0:29:02sometimes it means yes, but I'm getting it.
0:29:02 > 0:29:06- Vinegar.- Vinegar. Vinegar?
0:29:06 > 0:29:08I don't believe that.
0:29:08 > 0:29:10It's very unusual in this part of...
0:29:13 > 0:29:16Bring the, bring a bit of acidity because normally they use tamarind
0:29:16 > 0:29:19but this is the Portuguese influence.
0:29:25 > 0:29:27Lovely.
0:29:27 > 0:29:30What I really like is there's a few whole spices in there.
0:29:30 > 0:29:34Now, back in UK if you put whole spices in a curry,
0:29:34 > 0:29:38people would say there's something wrong with this, these whole spices.
0:29:38 > 0:29:43- But biting into a bit of cinnamon like that, I really like it.- Tasty.
0:29:43 > 0:29:48- And it's fresh, it's got... It's very, very...- Good.- It's very good.
0:29:48 > 0:29:50You see our Bengali cooking,
0:29:50 > 0:29:53- most important thing that we add is our love.- Aw!
0:29:53 > 0:29:57That's how I suppose it tastes so good.
0:30:01 > 0:30:06'If you're interested, this is my step-by-step guide
0:30:06 > 0:30:11'to cooking the All-Bengal Women's Union first-class egg curry.'
0:30:12 > 0:30:14And now I'm adding, first of all,
0:30:14 > 0:30:17some chilli powder and then some turmeric.
0:30:20 > 0:30:24Now here's the interesting thing. I'm adding my boiled eggs now,
0:30:24 > 0:30:27and the reason for that is I want them to pick up the colour
0:30:27 > 0:30:30as well as the flavour from the chilli and the turmeric.
0:30:33 > 0:30:35Now I'm just going to add some onions
0:30:35 > 0:30:36and cook them out a little bit.
0:30:39 > 0:30:41And now some ginger and some chilli.
0:30:44 > 0:30:46Now some liquid in the form of coconut milk.
0:30:51 > 0:30:55To flavour that, a teaspoon of sugar and a teaspoon of salt.
0:30:56 > 0:31:00Let it bubble away for about three to five minutes just to thicken.
0:31:02 > 0:31:05And then I'm just going to finish the dish off with a sprinkling
0:31:05 > 0:31:08of garam masala and some coriander and that's it.
0:31:11 > 0:31:13This takes no preparation, of course,
0:31:13 > 0:31:15apart from boiling a few eggs.
0:31:15 > 0:31:17So I sort of think it's almost like,
0:31:17 > 0:31:20"Shall I have scrambled eggs tonight or shall I have curried eggs?"
0:31:39 > 0:31:42'Because India believes in the old adage
0:31:42 > 0:31:45'"waste not, want not", one of the people helping us
0:31:45 > 0:31:49'make this programme suggested we come to this place.
0:31:49 > 0:31:53'It's a rubbish tip where they recycle practically everything.
0:31:53 > 0:31:57'He said that once we'd been there, we'd be seriously impressed,
0:31:57 > 0:31:59'because this place is a real success story,
0:31:59 > 0:32:04'providing loads of work and food for the villages that surround it.'
0:32:05 > 0:32:08Every time I come to India, I just love watching people at work
0:32:08 > 0:32:11because they just get on with each other so well,
0:32:11 > 0:32:14and actually, everybody is very nice to us, you know?
0:32:14 > 0:32:16You never feel threatened in India,
0:32:16 > 0:32:19because everybody's just getting on with their life.
0:32:19 > 0:32:22And it's a bit ironic, because right at the back of them, if you can see,
0:32:22 > 0:32:27there's a massive garbage tip but everything's being recycled,
0:32:27 > 0:32:31including the food waste which is turned into compost,
0:32:31 > 0:32:33which is used to grow these green, leafy vegetables
0:32:33 > 0:32:36that you eat and see everywhere in the market.
0:32:40 > 0:32:45Fish, vegetables, rice paddy. This was an old rice paddy.
0:32:45 > 0:32:51That is the staple diet of Bengalis, and what I would call the climate
0:32:51 > 0:32:54and the terrain of Bengal is very fertile,
0:32:54 > 0:32:56I would call it very fecund.
0:32:59 > 0:33:02'I've been here in Kolkata for about four days now,
0:33:02 > 0:33:04'and I haven't eaten much meat.
0:33:04 > 0:33:06'In fact, I've nearly forgotten about it,
0:33:06 > 0:33:08'the fish is so good here.
0:33:08 > 0:33:11'They cost very little compared to chicken or mutton.
0:33:14 > 0:33:17'I knew I should have packed my Observer's guide
0:33:17 > 0:33:19'to Indian freshwater fish.
0:33:19 > 0:33:21'It's a really vital piece of kit,
0:33:21 > 0:33:24'because I don't know the names of many of these.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27'I'd be tempted to call these dace, which swim in our rivers at home,
0:33:27 > 0:33:29'not that we'd ever think of eating them.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36'Now these, I think they're called karimeen,
0:33:36 > 0:33:39'and they're very popular over here.
0:33:39 > 0:33:42'The locals bake them in banana leaves after skinning them
0:33:42 > 0:33:46'and plastering them in masala and onions, and they're lovely.'
0:33:55 > 0:33:57It's amazing what preconceptions one has,
0:33:57 > 0:34:01because obviously coming from a small island like Great Britain
0:34:01 > 0:34:04and what I do, I love sea fish.
0:34:04 > 0:34:07I love the taste of saltwater fish.
0:34:07 > 0:34:10But I've been asking around here and everybody says sweet water,
0:34:10 > 0:34:12sweet water, that's what we like.
0:34:12 > 0:34:15And of course it's what they like, cos it's where they come from.
0:34:15 > 0:34:17And I sort of can't get it out of my head
0:34:17 > 0:34:20that this fish, to them, is far better than sea fish.
0:34:27 > 0:34:30I'd like to know what they'd like to eat every day,
0:34:30 > 0:34:33what do they really like to eat, would you ask them?
0:34:33 > 0:34:34Yeah, surely.
0:34:34 > 0:34:36HE SPEAKS LOCAL DIALECT
0:34:42 > 0:34:45- Fish rice.- Fish, rice.
0:34:45 > 0:34:48So I like fish.
0:34:48 > 0:34:51THEY SPEAK LOCAL DIALECT
0:34:52 > 0:34:53And that's good fish?
0:34:53 > 0:34:56I like vegetable, any vegetable.
0:34:56 > 0:34:58And how do you like to eat rui?
0:34:58 > 0:35:02INTERPRETER SPEAKS DIALECT
0:35:02 > 0:35:03Soup, soup, soup.
0:35:03 > 0:35:05- In a soup.- In a soup.
0:35:05 > 0:35:08It's another type of soup, with a lot of spices with mustard oil.
0:35:08 > 0:35:12Good. Thank you very much.
0:35:17 > 0:35:20'Remember this for a long, healthy life.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23'Rice, vegetables and fish.
0:35:23 > 0:35:25'I really think so.
0:35:25 > 0:35:28'I'm going to a restaurant that specialises in Bengali cuisine.
0:35:28 > 0:35:32'In fact, it was one of the first restaurants to specialise.
0:35:32 > 0:35:34'It's called Kewpie's,
0:35:34 > 0:35:37'and anyone who's been to Kolkata more than once will know about it.
0:35:37 > 0:35:40'It's fairly upmarket, and the rui fish
0:35:40 > 0:35:43'will be one of the top things on the menu.
0:35:43 > 0:35:46'The owner is Rakhi Dasgupta.'
0:35:46 > 0:35:49This is rui, and it's dressed like this when it goes
0:35:49 > 0:35:51from the girl's family to the groom's family.
0:35:51 > 0:35:55It's called Bou Bhaat. She is going to cook for her in-laws.
0:35:55 > 0:35:59So it's very symbolic that she's a good cook.
0:35:59 > 0:36:01- Good idea.- Yeah.
0:36:01 > 0:36:03- Very important. - Very good idea.
0:36:03 > 0:36:06So, Rakhi, I'm told that we start with turmeric.
0:36:06 > 0:36:07With all fish in Bengal,
0:36:07 > 0:36:11we normally put turmeric and salt, it's like an antiseptic.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14Yes, so it's like a sort of marinade, then?
0:36:14 > 0:36:15Yes, it is.
0:36:15 > 0:36:18And then I rub it nicely into the fish.
0:36:18 > 0:36:20I'm going to now heat some oil...
0:36:20 > 0:36:21- Yeah.- ..In a pan.
0:36:21 > 0:36:23What sort of oil?
0:36:23 > 0:36:24It's mustard oil.
0:36:24 > 0:36:25Just a little.
0:36:30 > 0:36:33'This is the heart of Bengali cuisine,
0:36:33 > 0:36:37'making these mustard seeds into a paste with a chilli.
0:36:37 > 0:36:41'And this is called a shil nora. It's like a mortar and pestle.
0:36:41 > 0:36:45'Shil is the flat stone, nora is a roller.
0:36:46 > 0:36:50'I wish I could take one home with me, but it's far too heavy.
0:36:52 > 0:36:55'The process, just adding water, is very gentle,
0:36:55 > 0:37:00'and eventually you end up with this, a creamy, pungent paste.'
0:37:02 > 0:37:03That's really interesting.
0:37:03 > 0:37:06It's like I've never seen that sort of frying a liquid before,
0:37:06 > 0:37:09but presumably it'll thicken up now?
0:37:09 > 0:37:10Yep.
0:37:18 > 0:37:20And I return my fish.
0:37:20 > 0:37:21Well, that is fascinating.
0:37:21 > 0:37:24I've never seen a dish cooked like that before.
0:37:24 > 0:37:26Twice cooked like that.
0:37:32 > 0:37:33Wow.
0:37:39 > 0:37:40How do you like it?
0:37:42 > 0:37:44I like it well.
0:37:44 > 0:37:46It's very... It's got a lot of flavour.
0:37:47 > 0:37:50And the sauce, love the coriander in it,
0:37:50 > 0:37:52love the lemon, like the mustard.
0:37:52 > 0:37:54And I used to make it in London with Colman's Mustard.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57With Colman's Mustard?
0:37:57 > 0:37:59Yes, what we would do is put a little water...
0:37:59 > 0:38:00Yeah.
0:38:00 > 0:38:02And put milk to get the consistency.
0:38:02 > 0:38:04Or we would use a bit of coconut milk.
0:38:04 > 0:38:06Well, I'm blowed. Were you happy with it?
0:38:06 > 0:38:08Yes, it tastes great.
0:38:08 > 0:38:10- Well, I'm blowed. - Really, really great.
0:38:10 > 0:38:11Well, straight in the book.
0:38:11 > 0:38:13Absolutely.
0:38:17 > 0:38:21'It goes without saying that not everyone from the East India Company
0:38:21 > 0:38:24'was liked by the Bengalis.
0:38:24 > 0:38:25'But Job Charnock was.
0:38:26 > 0:38:27'I love this story,
0:38:27 > 0:38:31'because it's the sort of thing that can happen to any traveller.
0:38:31 > 0:38:34'Apparently, when Job Charnock dropped anchor here,
0:38:34 > 0:38:38'he asked a local farmer what this place was called.
0:38:38 > 0:38:42'The farmer misunderstood the question and thought Job had said
0:38:42 > 0:38:45'when was the last time he harvested,
0:38:45 > 0:38:49'to which he replied, "cal cutta", meaning, "I cut it yesterday."
0:38:49 > 0:38:50'I love it!'
0:39:11 > 0:39:14I suppose it's a bit arbitrary to come up with a place
0:39:14 > 0:39:17where our love of curry began, but, for me, I think Madras
0:39:17 > 0:39:21is as good a place as any, simply because I can remember, as a child,
0:39:21 > 0:39:24those little tins of Madras curry powder
0:39:24 > 0:39:25with the medals all over them.
0:39:25 > 0:39:29And I remember my mother's curries with great affection.
0:39:29 > 0:39:32They had things like desiccated coconut, apple, banana,
0:39:32 > 0:39:35but above all, for me, were the raisins that you found
0:39:35 > 0:39:37right in the middle of the stew, I suppose.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41Of course, it's fashionable now to look down on those early curries,
0:39:41 > 0:39:45and probably quite rightly, too, but I have a little fond memory of them.
0:39:45 > 0:39:48And why I'm here, of course, is to find the real thing,
0:39:48 > 0:39:49find the proper curries.
0:39:50 > 0:39:55But either way, for me, the biggest influence in my life from India,
0:39:55 > 0:39:57first, second and last is curry.
0:40:02 > 0:40:05I thought I'd cook a curry similar in style and taste
0:40:05 > 0:40:08to the one my mother made all those years ago.
0:40:10 > 0:40:14That Anglo-Indian cooking is a bit looked down on these days,
0:40:14 > 0:40:18but those curries were a great source of affection to me,
0:40:18 > 0:40:22and lots of people, and of course, during the British Raj period,
0:40:22 > 0:40:24you couldn't go on a railway journey or you couldn't go
0:40:24 > 0:40:26into an officers' mess
0:40:26 > 0:40:30without getting a menu that contained dishes like this.
0:40:30 > 0:40:33But as I said, I'm going to make my own,
0:40:33 > 0:40:37so I thought it had to be beef, and it had to have onions in it.
0:40:37 > 0:40:41But then I would make up my own Madras curry powder.
0:40:41 > 0:40:44So, first of all, I'm going to put some butter,
0:40:44 > 0:40:46ordinary butter in a very hot pan.
0:40:48 > 0:40:50'I'm browning this braising steak,
0:40:50 > 0:40:53'which is how we start a stew back home,
0:40:53 > 0:40:56'but not the way Indians would start a curry.
0:40:56 > 0:40:59'They wouldn't bother browning the meat first.'
0:40:59 > 0:41:04Just thinking how curry caught on back home in Britain.
0:41:04 > 0:41:08It took a while, because in the 18th century, stews were regarded as
0:41:08 > 0:41:13lower orders' dishes, and therefore a curry, which was seen as a stew,
0:41:13 > 0:41:16didn't really catch on until the 19th century...
0:41:18 > 0:41:23..when there's a very, I think, quite amusing piece in Vanity Fair,
0:41:23 > 0:41:28where the infamous heroine, Becky Sharp, tries to ingratiate herself
0:41:28 > 0:41:33with an Anglo-Indian family by saying, "Yes, I like curry,"
0:41:33 > 0:41:35and then it describes how she
0:41:35 > 0:41:38suffered the tortures of cayenne pepper.
0:41:38 > 0:41:40Course, she knew nothing about curries
0:41:40 > 0:41:42so they give her a chilli to cool her down,
0:41:42 > 0:41:43and because it's called a chilli,
0:41:43 > 0:41:47she thinks it is a cooling vegetable, which of course it's not.
0:41:49 > 0:41:52'Well, there was much laughter around the table
0:41:52 > 0:41:54'at poor Becky's expense.
0:41:54 > 0:41:57'And let's face it, we've all done it in Indian restaurants,
0:41:57 > 0:41:59'suffered from too much chilli.
0:42:00 > 0:42:03'Now, onions, and all the onions over here are red,
0:42:03 > 0:42:06'unless anyone tells me otherwise.
0:42:06 > 0:42:09'Garlic, three to four cloves, roughly chopped.'
0:42:12 > 0:42:14So now the spices, and here it gets interesting,
0:42:14 > 0:42:18because, of course, I'm not using a rather old curry powder.
0:42:18 > 0:42:21First of all, lovely, bright reddy-orange chilli,
0:42:21 > 0:42:23about a teaspoon of that.
0:42:23 > 0:42:28And now some also lovely bright yellow turmeric, teaspoon of that.
0:42:29 > 0:42:31And now I'm going to put a lot of garam masala in,
0:42:31 > 0:42:33about a tablespoon and a half.
0:42:34 > 0:42:36And this is my own garam masala.
0:42:36 > 0:42:39We've got black pepper, we've got coriander, we've got cumin,
0:42:39 > 0:42:43we've got cloves, we've got cardamom, and we've also got,
0:42:43 > 0:42:47let me remember, nutmeg and cinnamon.
0:42:47 > 0:42:49Smells delicious, that.
0:42:49 > 0:42:50This is the difference,
0:42:50 > 0:42:56this is what makes my British Raj curry a bit better than I suspect
0:42:56 > 0:43:00you might have had in the 19th or indeed early 20th century.
0:43:01 > 0:43:04'Salt, two teaspoonfuls and then water.'
0:43:07 > 0:43:11And now we're going to add two very important ingredients,
0:43:11 > 0:43:15which really bring it back to my mother's curry.
0:43:15 > 0:43:18First of all, not desiccated coconut that she would have used,
0:43:18 > 0:43:20but freshly grated coconut.
0:43:22 > 0:43:25And secondly, some lovely plumptious sultanas.
0:43:30 > 0:43:34But this is now going to have to cook for an hour and a half,
0:43:34 > 0:43:35so see you later.
0:43:35 > 0:43:37If I can find the lid, I'll put that on.
0:43:45 > 0:43:47'All those years the British were in India
0:43:47 > 0:43:51'played a big part in our gastronomic life at home.
0:43:51 > 0:43:54'Kedgeree is still a great breakfast dish, and there wouldn't be
0:43:54 > 0:43:58'Worcester sauce without the Raj, or chutney, for that matter.
0:43:58 > 0:44:03'Mulligatawny soup or piccalilli. Christmas without piccalilli?
0:44:04 > 0:44:06'Meanwhile, back to my curry.'
0:44:07 > 0:44:10That is lovely. Wow. I'm very happy with that.
0:44:12 > 0:44:14And this sort of reminds me of going
0:44:14 > 0:44:17out to pubs in the '60s and '70s and ordering it.
0:44:17 > 0:44:20And you'd always get desiccated coconut,
0:44:20 > 0:44:22very important slices of banana.
0:44:22 > 0:44:27But most important, most exotic, your poppadoms.
0:44:27 > 0:44:28Lovely.
0:44:36 > 0:44:39'The British had learnt a few things about the art of building forts
0:44:39 > 0:44:43'when the East India Company erected this low and lethal fortress
0:44:43 > 0:44:48'to establish a trading post at Madras in 1640,
0:44:48 > 0:44:51'the first real British settlement on the subcontinent.
0:44:51 > 0:44:56'The flagpole was 150 feet high, and flew the Union Jack,
0:44:56 > 0:44:59'probably to remind any French frigates
0:44:59 > 0:45:02'that might have been sniffing around the Coromandel coast
0:45:02 > 0:45:05'that this was indeed British territory.
0:45:05 > 0:45:07'Try and take it at your peril.
0:45:13 > 0:45:15'It's one of those curious things,
0:45:15 > 0:45:19'but although India got her independence in 1947,
0:45:19 > 0:45:22'they wouldn't allow any Indians to join the Madras Club
0:45:22 > 0:45:26'until the early '60s. It's unbelievable.'
0:45:26 > 0:45:27Hello.
0:45:27 > 0:45:30Hello, welcome, Rick. Madras Club is honoured to have you.
0:45:30 > 0:45:32It's very nice to be here.
0:45:32 > 0:45:34I've been imagining what it looked like all day.
0:45:34 > 0:45:37And we're all looking forward to you cooking for us.
0:45:37 > 0:45:40Oh, I'm not cooking, I thought the chef was cooking.
0:45:40 > 0:45:41Oh, OK. The chef is there, the chef is there.
0:45:41 > 0:45:42Oh, right, OK.
0:45:44 > 0:45:47'I'm here because of the most famous soup in India,
0:45:47 > 0:45:50'the one created in the heyday of the Raj by the British.'
0:45:52 > 0:45:58It's not often that strangers get invited into these hallowed grounds.
0:45:58 > 0:46:01So I feel, you know, very, very lucky,
0:46:01 > 0:46:05but more so that they're actually making mulligatawny soup for me,
0:46:05 > 0:46:09because as I understand it, this is where it came from.
0:46:09 > 0:46:12And he's starting off by making a paste.
0:46:12 > 0:46:15We've got some coriander seeds, cumin seeds, black pepper seeds,
0:46:15 > 0:46:21ginger, garlic, mint, turmeric, water going in here.
0:46:21 > 0:46:23- Is that garam masala or...? - Curry powder.
0:46:23 > 0:46:27Curry powder. Curry powder? Wow. Curry powder.
0:46:27 > 0:46:28Madras.
0:46:34 > 0:46:36How popular is mulligatawny soup in the club?
0:46:36 > 0:46:39It's very popular, it is our signature dish.
0:46:39 > 0:46:43But now the most popular dish is the roast lamb, grilled chicken,
0:46:43 > 0:46:47and we have shepherd's pie, the very most popular dish.
0:46:47 > 0:46:50Wow. I would certainly feel at home.
0:46:53 > 0:46:58'So that pungent green chloroformy paste goes into a saucepan
0:46:58 > 0:47:02'with carrots, leeks, celery, onions, cardamom and tomatoes.
0:47:02 > 0:47:06'They've already been fried with cloves and cinnamon.
0:47:06 > 0:47:07'And now the chicken.
0:47:09 > 0:47:12'Add a tablespoon of flour and turmeric.
0:47:16 > 0:47:17'Chicken stock.
0:47:19 > 0:47:20'Water.
0:47:22 > 0:47:23'A tadge more turmeric...
0:47:24 > 0:47:27'..and then simmer for at least half an hour
0:47:27 > 0:47:29'until the chicken is cooked.
0:47:30 > 0:47:31'Coconut milk.
0:47:33 > 0:47:35'And now two teaspoonfuls of salt.
0:47:37 > 0:47:38'And then sieve.
0:47:40 > 0:47:42'A squeeze of fresh lime.
0:47:42 > 0:47:45'I know they look like lemons, but they're limes.
0:47:45 > 0:47:48'And then rice.
0:47:48 > 0:47:52'And voila, the first mulligatawny I've tasted for 20 years.'
0:47:55 > 0:47:56That is very nice indeed.
0:47:56 > 0:48:01It's really intense in flavour. And what's interesting, it's really hot,
0:48:01 > 0:48:04but there's no chilli in it, it's just hot with black pepper.
0:48:04 > 0:48:08I'm rather saddened, really, because you used to be able to buy
0:48:08 > 0:48:10tins of mulligatawny soup very easily in the UK,
0:48:10 > 0:48:14but I guess the taste for it has just gone.
0:48:14 > 0:48:15Partly, I suspect,
0:48:15 > 0:48:19because the tinned soup tasted nothing like this.
0:48:19 > 0:48:23This is thick and absolutely full of lovely, green, spicy flavour.
0:48:28 > 0:48:32'There's no such thing as a free lunch, we all know that one.'
0:48:32 > 0:48:35Let me introduce Mr Rick Stein.
0:48:35 > 0:48:37'And so the nice people at the Madras Club
0:48:37 > 0:48:40'asked me if I'd give a chat, which I did,
0:48:40 > 0:48:41'but I thought I'd use the opportunity
0:48:41 > 0:48:45'to find out how they regarded the word "curry".'
0:48:46 > 0:48:49If you said to me what do you think is a curry,
0:48:49 > 0:48:54I'd say, probably a meat dish with a gravy.
0:48:54 > 0:48:57But I think what we really mean, is it spicy food?
0:48:57 > 0:49:04A curry, when you say curry in Tamil, it is meat, mutton.
0:49:04 > 0:49:07In very traditional Brahmin households,
0:49:07 > 0:49:10you have what is called a curry.
0:49:10 > 0:49:12Which is basically vegetables.
0:49:13 > 0:49:16When you went to a store you wanted either meat, you said curry.
0:49:16 > 0:49:18You wanted vegetables, you say kai curry,
0:49:18 > 0:49:21so it could have been confusing for the British
0:49:21 > 0:49:23so they just took the curry and left everything else.
0:49:25 > 0:49:29For me, curry is something minus lentils.
0:49:29 > 0:49:31Any kind of gravy in India is a curry,
0:49:31 > 0:49:34basically, the way we look at it, it goes with rice, it goes with
0:49:34 > 0:49:39chapattis or it goes with any kind of staple that we eat with.
0:49:39 > 0:49:42As long as it has a little gravy to it, we call it a curry.
0:49:42 > 0:49:48In that case, Rick Stein's India, In Search of the Perfect Gravy.
0:49:48 > 0:49:50Yeah, I think gravy would be better.
0:50:06 > 0:50:10'I've always had a romantic notion to come to the Coromandel coast
0:50:10 > 0:50:13'ever since my mother used to read me Edward Lear's
0:50:13 > 0:50:15'A Courtship of the Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo.
0:50:19 > 0:50:24'It tells the tale of the unrequited love of the Tamil Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo
0:50:24 > 0:50:27'for the English rose Lady Jingly.
0:50:30 > 0:50:35'"On the coast of Coromandel, where the early pumpkins blow,
0:50:35 > 0:50:39'"in the middle of the woods, lived the Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo."
0:50:39 > 0:50:43'"Two old chairs and half a candle, one old jug without a handle,
0:50:43 > 0:50:47'"these were all his worldly goods, in the middle of the woods."
0:50:47 > 0:50:51'"These were all the worldly goods of the Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo,
0:50:51 > 0:50:52'"of the Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo."
0:50:55 > 0:50:59'So he's saying to Lady Jingly, "These are the things I offer you
0:50:59 > 0:51:01'"if you come back to Coromandel and be my love."
0:51:10 > 0:51:15'This is Mr Mani, my exceedingly good interpreter, who was surprised
0:51:15 > 0:51:18'that I, a foreigner, wanted to go to a fishing village.'
0:51:20 > 0:51:22It's very rarely tourists are interested in coming
0:51:22 > 0:51:24to the fishermen's village.
0:51:24 > 0:51:27And you have noticed nobody come near us
0:51:27 > 0:51:29and ask for anything because it is unknown.
0:51:29 > 0:51:30Yeah. Yeah.
0:51:30 > 0:51:32Because it's not a tourist place.
0:51:32 > 0:51:33No.
0:51:33 > 0:51:34If I was by the sea,
0:51:34 > 0:51:36I'd always want to find fishing, where the fishing is,
0:51:36 > 0:51:39cos I come from by the sea, so I love my fish.
0:52:13 > 0:52:17WOMEN ARGUE IN LOCAL DIALECT
0:52:17 > 0:52:19Why is she so angry?
0:52:19 > 0:52:23Oh, she is angry because she didn't get the fish.
0:52:25 > 0:52:27So that's why she is fighting with the other girl.
0:52:30 > 0:52:31I just picked up these,
0:52:31 > 0:52:36fetching 900 rupees a kilo, which is about ten quid.
0:52:36 > 0:52:39And the reason for that is it's really rough out there,
0:52:39 > 0:52:42there's no more fishing today and it's Diwali tomorrow,
0:52:42 > 0:52:43the Hindu festival,
0:52:43 > 0:52:47so obviously, fish is fetching really good prices,
0:52:47 > 0:52:48just like at home.
0:52:51 > 0:52:54'Well, the women have patched up their argument
0:52:54 > 0:52:57'and are off to the main market, I suppose to Pondicherry.
0:52:59 > 0:53:02'While not at sea, the men ashore mend their nets.
0:53:02 > 0:53:04'And like many other fishing communities
0:53:04 > 0:53:07'it's a hard life and can be a short one.
0:53:07 > 0:53:09'And the perils are not just those at sea.'
0:53:11 > 0:53:13I've just been talking to this guy,
0:53:13 > 0:53:15he actually speaks very good English.
0:53:15 > 0:53:18And he asked me how old I was and I said I'm well over 60.
0:53:18 > 0:53:21He said, "Well, over here you won't have much longer to live then,"
0:53:21 > 0:53:24because they all drink cheap brandy and over 60, so...
0:53:24 > 0:53:27But some people, after 50 they don't want to go
0:53:27 > 0:53:30to the fishing or nothing, they only drink raw...
0:53:32 > 0:53:35Raw spirit. So it kills them off quick.
0:53:35 > 0:53:36Yeah.
0:53:36 > 0:53:39How hard's the life being a fisherman here on this coast?
0:53:39 > 0:53:41No, fisherman is hard work.
0:53:41 > 0:53:45Every day of life is up to 70 also they are still going to fishing.
0:53:45 > 0:53:47Still working at 70.
0:53:47 > 0:53:48- Yeah.- Wow.
0:53:48 > 0:53:51- Strong men.- Strong men.- Yeah.
0:53:51 > 0:53:55Because normally the fishing work is very hard.
0:53:55 > 0:53:57Yeah. Same the whole world over.
0:53:57 > 0:53:58Yeah.
0:54:02 > 0:54:04It's quite funny, really, cos when we were trying to find out
0:54:04 > 0:54:06what the coast of Tamil Nadu was like,
0:54:06 > 0:54:08we were told there's nothing really to see.
0:54:08 > 0:54:10It's all dirty and a bit derelict.
0:54:11 > 0:54:13Would you call this nothing?
0:54:13 > 0:54:15I'm sorry, but it's everything to me.
0:54:15 > 0:54:18I mean, it's enchanting, I mean, everybody is really happy.
0:54:18 > 0:54:21The fishermen are, you know, as fishermen everywhere,
0:54:21 > 0:54:23hardworking but cheerful.
0:54:23 > 0:54:25And just looking at this scene, I was sort of thinking about
0:54:25 > 0:54:29really the first time I ever went to Spain in the '50s.
0:54:29 > 0:54:30It's a bit like that there, then.
0:54:30 > 0:54:32I mean, obviously, the boats are a bit different,
0:54:32 > 0:54:37but everybody was really poor, but really happy.
0:54:37 > 0:54:39And you look at this scene, and you just think
0:54:39 > 0:54:43some hotelier, maybe even watching this programme, says,
0:54:43 > 0:54:47"What I wouldn't give for a piece of action there."
0:54:47 > 0:54:49And you can imagine in another 20, 30 years.
0:54:49 > 0:54:51No fishermen, plenty of hotels.
0:54:54 > 0:54:55DIRECTOR: Cut.
0:55:03 > 0:55:06'I consider myself very privileged,
0:55:06 > 0:55:09'because I've been invited to lunch here with a fisherman's family
0:55:09 > 0:55:12'and of course it's going to be a fish curry made with kingfish,
0:55:12 > 0:55:15'which has just been landed.
0:55:15 > 0:55:20'So she's grated up fresh coconut in the mixer followed by a dozen,
0:55:20 > 0:55:24'yes, a dozen really hot chillies.
0:55:24 > 0:55:26'Loads of garlic and then peppercorns.
0:55:27 > 0:55:30'A good handful of freshly chopped tomatoes...
0:55:31 > 0:55:35'..onion, quite a bit of salt, and that's it.
0:55:37 > 0:55:41'They all have these wet and dry very powerful blenders.
0:55:41 > 0:55:44'I predict a lot of people will be getting one of these.'
0:55:48 > 0:55:52We don't tend to blend vegetables together like that in a sauce,
0:55:52 > 0:55:55but she just says it adds more flavour.
0:55:55 > 0:55:59And also, you get a lot of texture from all those blended vegetables.
0:55:59 > 0:56:03Interestingly, I don't think we have a contraption to do
0:56:03 > 0:56:06that in the UK, a small container with lots of power
0:56:06 > 0:56:09that will blend dry and wet things together.
0:56:11 > 0:56:14SHE SPEAKS LOCAL DIALECT
0:56:19 > 0:56:22You get more taste.
0:56:22 > 0:56:23Thank you.
0:56:28 > 0:56:31'This is unusual. She's frying up mustard seeds
0:56:31 > 0:56:33'and white daal or lentils.
0:56:33 > 0:56:36'Not many of them, but she says they add texture.
0:56:36 > 0:56:40'Now the paste. It looks lovely made with all those chillies,
0:56:40 > 0:56:41'tomatoes and onions.
0:56:44 > 0:56:47'Actually, it reminds me of an Indonesian curry.
0:56:47 > 0:56:50'I wonder if fishermen or traders from the Coromandel coast
0:56:50 > 0:56:52'travelled there years ago?'
0:56:55 > 0:56:58She doesn't want to turn it over with a fish slice
0:56:58 > 0:57:00or something like that, cos it's obviously very delicate fish
0:57:00 > 0:57:03and it'll break up, so she's just shaking it.
0:57:04 > 0:57:06You learn something every day in cooking.
0:57:09 > 0:57:10'Now curry leaves.
0:57:11 > 0:57:15'Oh, how much I love fresh curry leaves.
0:57:15 > 0:57:19'I think it should be the curry symbol for southern Indian dishes
0:57:19 > 0:57:21'and then coriander.
0:57:21 > 0:57:22'The two together, perfect.'
0:57:24 > 0:57:26Can I try some?
0:57:26 > 0:57:28Thank you. Thank you very much.
0:57:30 > 0:57:32Just have a bit of the fish.
0:57:33 > 0:57:35And a bit of the masala.
0:57:39 > 0:57:41That is delicious.
0:57:41 > 0:57:42That is so good.
0:57:42 > 0:57:44- You're a very good cook. - Thank you.
0:57:44 > 0:57:47And what I was thinking was, the first time I came to India,
0:57:47 > 0:57:51when I first tasted the fish curry, I thought,
0:57:51 > 0:57:56"If we had fish curries like this back in the UK, we'd all love fish."
0:57:59 > 0:58:03'And so my search for the perfect curry continues.
0:58:03 > 0:58:06'Are the kitchens getting even hotter? Is that possible?
0:58:06 > 0:58:09'Can you overdose on too much chilli?
0:58:09 > 0:58:13'And this wonderful thing, the ultimate spice grinder.
0:58:13 > 0:58:17'A work of art, and a tribute to the ingenious Indian mind.
0:58:17 > 0:58:19'And will the driving standards improve?
0:58:19 > 0:58:22'Because there's an awful long way to go
0:58:22 > 0:58:24'in my search for the perfect curry.'
0:58:49 > 0:58:53Subtitles by Red Bee Media
0:58:53 > 0:58:55That's a mind-blasting curry, Ricky.