0:00:05 > 0:00:06CAR HORN HONKS
0:00:08 > 0:00:12I'm here because of my fascination for the food of this fabulous country.
0:00:12 > 0:00:19The fact is that the cooking of India is of such colour and flavour, it demands a response.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22ENGINES AND CAR HORNS
0:00:22 > 0:00:26Just like the country, you can't walk down the street
0:00:26 > 0:00:29without the senses being overwhelmed.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32The heat, the dust, the beggars, the slums, the poverty,
0:00:32 > 0:00:36the sheer pressure of people everywhere.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39CAR HORN, DRUMS AND CHEERING
0:00:39 > 0:00:42And yet also the riot of colour, the friendship of everyone,
0:00:42 > 0:00:45the feeling that wherever you go,
0:00:45 > 0:00:49in spite of the appalling problems of this vast country,
0:00:49 > 0:00:52you never feel threatened by anyone.
0:00:52 > 0:00:56And in the end, a realisation that you can't change anything,
0:00:56 > 0:00:59so you might as well celebrate what you find to love.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02Because there's so much to love in India -
0:01:02 > 0:01:06and you know what I'm going to say next - especially curry.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08- MAN:- First-class curry, Ricky.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38That's a mind-blasting curry, Ricky.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54The city of Lucknow is pretty special in the story of curry.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56It was the domain of the nawabs -
0:01:56 > 0:02:01rich, sophisticated Muslim rulers who loved their food...
0:02:01 > 0:02:04..and were always trying to outdo their rivals
0:02:04 > 0:02:07to put something really special on the plate.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11CAR HORNS HONK
0:02:11 > 0:02:14Well, Lucknow means a lot to me,
0:02:14 > 0:02:18both as a schoolboy - the sort of Siege of Lucknow -
0:02:18 > 0:02:21and latterly because it was the birthplace of Cliff Richard.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24An insignificant point, I know, but it means a lot to me.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26But most importantly,
0:02:26 > 0:02:31because of the food, because this was one of the centres of great Mogul cuisine.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34And also, the home of pulao, mutton pulao,
0:02:34 > 0:02:39which intrigues me because I can't quite understand the difference
0:02:39 > 0:02:42between mutton pulao and mutton biryani.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46It's a sort of subtlety so far I haven't caught up with,
0:02:46 > 0:02:49but that's typical of Indian cuisine - it's very subtle.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54And it just so happens that the story of pulao
0:02:54 > 0:03:00is linked to this famous landmark of the city, the Imambara.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02During a time of famine,
0:03:02 > 0:03:07the nawab at the time gave people work to build it in exchange for food.
0:03:07 > 0:03:09The story goes that during a royal inspection,
0:03:09 > 0:03:12he caught the most wonderful aroma
0:03:12 > 0:03:16coming from a cauldron of pulao that had been sealed with dough,
0:03:16 > 0:03:20called a dum pukht, which means "cooked with steam".
0:03:21 > 0:03:26From that moment, a humble peasant dish was exalted to the Royal Court.
0:03:28 > 0:03:29CAR HORNS BLARE
0:03:29 > 0:03:35And this place - called Idris - I'm told cooks the best pulao in town.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41I was really privileged to meet up with Mir Jafar Abdullah,
0:03:41 > 0:03:44who's descended from the nawabs and a pulao expert.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51- So this is the complete family which is available over here.- OK.
0:03:51 > 0:03:52- And the grandson.- Ah-ha.
0:03:52 > 0:03:58- So the whole family is involved in this traditional business.- How nice.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02And this is really a great traditional thing which is happening over here.
0:04:02 > 0:04:07- Yeah.- Because my ancestors, they had the royal kitchens.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11- Yeah.- The same recipes and the same traditional food is being cooked,
0:04:11 > 0:04:15giving the same taste and flavour.
0:04:15 > 0:04:16And this is mutton pulao.
0:04:16 > 0:04:21And the beauty of this particular mutton is that they do not use an old goat.
0:04:23 > 0:04:28So the first lesson in making pulao is never use an old goat.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30This is young goat.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34And here they're marinating it with ginger and garlic paste.
0:04:34 > 0:04:39Then salt, chilli powder - and you can tell it's fresh by the fluffiness of it...
0:04:42 > 0:04:45..cloves and cardamom...
0:04:45 > 0:04:49..and water, about a couple of pints.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52This, they told me, was refined oil.
0:04:52 > 0:04:57There's a lot of it, and at the bottom, I noticed some well-fried onions.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59This will really give it flavour.
0:05:01 > 0:05:06Before the lid goes on, whole spices - cinnamon sticks, betel nut and cassia,
0:05:06 > 0:05:09that's another bark similar to cinnamon.
0:05:11 > 0:05:12Then it's cooked.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17To... To a stranger,
0:05:17 > 0:05:22what's the difference between mutton pulao and mutton biryani?
0:05:22 > 0:05:25- You see, in Lucknow, we do not have biryani.- Right.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28- We have, normally, the pulao.- Right.
0:05:28 > 0:05:35- But biry...- This was the improvement done on biryani, that Lucknow introduced pulao.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38Bombay, Calcutta,
0:05:38 > 0:05:40they used to have biryani.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44But Lucknow is a more refined place and here we use less spices.
0:05:44 > 0:05:50So that they do not...you do not feel that particular spice on your tongue.
0:05:50 > 0:05:51You feel the flavour.
0:05:51 > 0:05:56- So it's subtle. Subtle?- Subtle, very subtle and very refined.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59So that is the difference between the pulao and the biryani.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06Lessons learnt. Subtlety,
0:06:06 > 0:06:08this is new to me.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12So many of us go to Indian restaurants to be hit with a whole load of spices.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15Chilli, of course, being the main one.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18But here in Lucknow, those excesses are frowned upon.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27Once the mutton is cooked, the stock's strained.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30It's got loads of flavour and that's called yakhni.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33It's added to milk which will be used to cook the rice.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37Now they put in ground cumin,
0:06:37 > 0:06:41and in a well-practised flurry, in go these bottles.
0:06:41 > 0:06:46Two, I know, are rose-water, for that exotic touch of luxury,
0:06:46 > 0:06:50and one of them is kewra, essence of screw pine -
0:06:50 > 0:06:55new to me, totally new - but an essential flavour of Lucknow.
0:06:55 > 0:07:00Saffron colouring. I saw the same thing used with paella in Spain.
0:07:00 > 0:07:05Sugar, salt, chilli powder,
0:07:05 > 0:07:07and then the cooked mutton.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13So what they do is layer the lamb with the rice.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18CARS HORNS HONK
0:07:18 > 0:07:21Unfortunately, we don't have any shots of that
0:07:21 > 0:07:25because the crew at the time were filming from the roof of a nearby police station
0:07:25 > 0:07:29and only got back to see the final colouring of saffron water
0:07:29 > 0:07:31over the top of the rice.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36That's now steamed and will be served for lunch in half an hour.
0:07:44 > 0:07:46Wow.
0:07:46 > 0:07:47- This is...- Can we taste it?
0:07:47 > 0:07:49Ready for taste.
0:07:53 > 0:07:54Wonderful.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57It's totally wonderful.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59Would you say this was perfect?
0:08:06 > 0:08:08Lovely taste.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15The longer I stay here, the more I realise the various dishes I come across,
0:08:15 > 0:08:19especially in Lucknow, are ingrained in history.
0:08:19 > 0:08:24Their colours and tastes derive from those cooks in the palace kitchens.
0:08:26 > 0:08:30What they were creating a couple of hundred years ago
0:08:30 > 0:08:33for the rich nawabs is the food of the people now.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35It's become street food.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39And this dish, nimish, sums up all the things the nawabs stood for -
0:08:39 > 0:08:42luxury and subtlety.
0:08:42 > 0:08:43And it's so delicious.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49People sometimes say to me, "You're so enthusiastic about everything you try,
0:08:49 > 0:08:51"surely you don't like all of it."
0:08:51 > 0:08:54And I'll say, "Well, actually, I like nearly all of it,
0:08:54 > 0:08:57"but if I use the word "interesting", maybe not so much."
0:08:57 > 0:08:59But this I absolutely love.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03And it is so light. It's, like, lighter than air.
0:09:03 > 0:09:08And what they do is take milk and cream and boil them a little bit
0:09:08 > 0:09:11and then they chill the milk and cream overnight
0:09:11 > 0:09:14and then they whip it with sugar
0:09:14 > 0:09:18and then they add saffron, cardamom, pistachios,
0:09:18 > 0:09:22almonds, and top it with some silver...
0:09:22 > 0:09:27very, very thinly beaten out silver foil. Pass, come past, please.
0:09:29 > 0:09:35We got this idea from our Indian translators that it contained morning dew.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38And we were thinking, "Well, where do they get the morning dew from?"
0:09:38 > 0:09:40But that's just poetry,
0:09:40 > 0:09:43that's just the romantic use of English that the Indians have.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46You know that expression "lost in translation"?
0:09:46 > 0:09:48Nothing is more lost in translation
0:09:48 > 0:09:51than anything the Indians talk to you about food.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55Because they're so enthusiastic and so in love with their food,
0:09:55 > 0:09:59you sometimes have to tone it all down a bit.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02Nimish, once tasted never forgotten.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04And I want to make it.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06And what better place to create such a thing
0:10:06 > 0:10:10than my lovely bungalow on the lagoon.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14It's a place I know I'll miss like mad when I leave.
0:10:25 > 0:10:26So...
0:10:26 > 0:10:30I'm pouring this chilled cream into my whisking bowl.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34I mean, this is absurdly simple to make, this nimish, but...
0:10:34 > 0:10:37it is very luxurious.
0:10:37 > 0:10:42You can only get it in the autumn in the early morning
0:10:42 > 0:10:46because it requires the addition of dew
0:10:46 > 0:10:49from a chilled night at that time of year to make.
0:10:49 > 0:10:54Now, when I first heard that, I was a bit cynical, I have to say, a bit cynical.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58Um, the idea in my head was of these people going out to collect dew
0:10:58 > 0:11:02with maybe a little dustpan and a scraper off the grass.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05So I sort of said I didn't really believe it.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07But apparently it's true.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11What they do is just stretch material on a frame, leave it out overnight,
0:11:11 > 0:11:15and it collects the dew, which they add to the nimish.
0:11:15 > 0:11:20And I suppose that seems fanciful, but this is a nawab dish
0:11:20 > 0:11:23and nothing was too much trouble for them,
0:11:23 > 0:11:25they'd get chefs from all over the Middle East
0:11:25 > 0:11:27and they'd pay them fabulous sums.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31And also they'd do things like give their chicken saffron to eat
0:11:31 > 0:11:35in the belief that that would make the chicken taste of saffron.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40So I whisk the cream until it's thick,
0:11:40 > 0:11:43and then sprinkle icing sugar into it.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46I didn't get morning dew this morning, because...
0:11:46 > 0:11:48er, well, I...I got up too late.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52Next, it's milk infused with strands of saffron,
0:11:52 > 0:11:55and keeping up that Middle Eastern tradition,
0:11:55 > 0:11:58because many of the cooks in Lucknow came from Persia, rose-water.
0:12:02 > 0:12:07A bit more whisking and then it's ready to pour into a bowl and chill.
0:12:11 > 0:12:17And that goes into this beautiful fridge for about three hours.
0:12:17 > 0:12:22It's just a little difficult to shut, it sort of has its own life.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29There we go. HE SNIGGERS
0:12:29 > 0:12:33That chills for at least a couple of hours in the fridge,
0:12:33 > 0:12:36but this is still an important part of the recipe
0:12:36 > 0:12:39and something that shows the lengths the people of Lucknow,
0:12:39 > 0:12:43the Lucknowis, go to to impress their friends.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47Well, this is fascinating. The man in front here
0:12:47 > 0:12:50is just putting little wafers of silver
0:12:50 > 0:12:53in hundreds of pages of quite hard nylon,
0:12:53 > 0:12:56and then the guy behind is bashing it,
0:12:56 > 0:12:58and he does that for about two to three hours
0:12:58 > 0:13:04until that silver turns into silver leaf about the size of a paperback book.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06And the Muslims really like that.
0:13:06 > 0:13:11With meat it's a sign of real strength and virility.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14And of course, if you're eating food that's adorned with silver,
0:13:14 > 0:13:17you've got to be worth a lot of money.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21And, my gosh, it doesn't half make a perfect finishing touch to a nimish.
0:13:25 > 0:13:30This is a typical Lucknowi dish because it has all the hallmarks of the nawabs.
0:13:30 > 0:13:34It's not just cream, it's saffron, it's rose-water,
0:13:34 > 0:13:37and above all, you finish it with silver leaf.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54Look at these mongooses... Mongeese?
0:13:54 > 0:13:57..playing right in the middle of a busy city.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59I was named after one of these,
0:13:59 > 0:14:02the mongoose in Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book,
0:14:02 > 0:14:03Rikki-Tikki-Tavi.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07My brother Jeremy kept calling me that after he'd read the book
0:14:07 > 0:14:09and it's stuck to this day.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16I was just looking around, as you do everywhere in India,
0:14:16 > 0:14:19and just saw all that up there, and I thought actually it was a dead tree.
0:14:19 > 0:14:24Then I sort of looked a bit more carefully and realised it was wires,
0:14:24 > 0:14:27millions and millions of wires going all over the place,
0:14:27 > 0:14:31and it sort of reflects to me about life in India,
0:14:31 > 0:14:34the intricacies of everything, and indeed,
0:14:34 > 0:14:39I was also moved to consider, it also reflects the intricacies of curries, too.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48I'd like to introduce you to the Mohan family
0:14:48 > 0:14:51who are terribly proud of the cooking from Lucknow.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53Rocky, that's him in the cream shirt,
0:14:53 > 0:14:58prides himself on making the best chicken korma this side of Birmingham.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02It's a lovely dish, and Rocky starts off
0:15:02 > 0:15:05by flavouring ghee with cloves, cinnamon and cardamom.
0:15:05 > 0:15:10This process of infusing spice flavours with ghee is called dorost,
0:15:10 > 0:15:12very important in curry making.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15And now a puree of onions -
0:15:15 > 0:15:18often a hidden secret of a good curry.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21So how long are we going to cook this for?
0:15:21 > 0:15:24- Well, I'm going to allow the water to evaporate.- Oh, OK.
0:15:24 > 0:15:28And you can control the taste of a curry by how much you brown the onions.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31So, would you say that korma was the sort of centre
0:15:31 > 0:15:34- of what typifies Lucknow cuisine? - I'd say, yes,
0:15:34 > 0:15:40because it's one recipe where the use of spice is next to negligible,
0:15:40 > 0:15:42as you will notice through the recipe.
0:15:42 > 0:15:44We don't use any spice, except some red chilli powder.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50- Uncooked chillies actually are bad on your stomach.- Really?
0:15:50 > 0:15:54So the whole idea is to basically allow the oil to work on the red chilli
0:15:54 > 0:15:58and, um, also help it to add a little colour to it.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02And that is why I think the korma is very delicate in its flavour,
0:16:02 > 0:16:06it's because this is the only spice that is added to this particular dish.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09And in terms of Indian food that's really quite mild.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12- Very mild.- Yeah.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15So that's marinated, the chicken, is it?
0:16:15 > 0:16:17I see it's got... What's that on it, then?
0:16:17 > 0:16:19- Garlic.- Yeah.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21- Um, ginger paste.- Yeah.
0:16:21 > 0:16:22And a few green chillies.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25Rick, I'd like you to smell this, please.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28- Love to. - Just pick up these flavours.
0:16:28 > 0:16:30Oh, that's perfect.
0:16:30 > 0:16:37Indian food is the best out of the world, with due respect to all the fancy chefs.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40But then a lot of English curries are Bangladeshi.
0:16:40 > 0:16:41Absolutely right.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44Because Indians who migrated abroad didn't want to cook in restaurants,
0:16:44 > 0:16:47what they wanted to do was to become engineers, doctors,
0:16:47 > 0:16:49lawyers, what have you.
0:16:49 > 0:16:50They didn't want to cook.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54So cooking was left to the women who migrated, who cooked at home.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57Bangladeshis took on the right of being called Indian cooks
0:16:57 > 0:17:00and started cooking supposedly Indian food.
0:17:00 > 0:17:06- Right.- Cor, that looks so deliciously creamy.
0:17:06 > 0:17:12- What's in there, then? - Well, that's desiccated coconut, cashew nut, and poppy seeds.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16- Really?- The three fundamental ingredients of a good korma.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21Right, Rick, now we are adding the black cardamom seed powder
0:17:21 > 0:17:23which is right at the end now.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25Because the korma's colour is perfect.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29- The chicken is cooked.- Fantastic. I love black cardamom.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33I think a lot of, um, British people don't really know the black cardamom.
0:17:33 > 0:17:38It's a more nuttier...nuttier cardamom and higher in flavour than the green.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40I think green overpowers food.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43- I do, too!- Yeah.- Unless you really want it in there.- That's right.
0:17:43 > 0:17:50Well, that's it, and I have to say it was the finest korma I've ever tasted.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54Rocky garnishes it with cashews and khoya,
0:17:54 > 0:17:57that's milk reduced down till it's thick.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59And sultanas.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01Fab!
0:18:01 > 0:18:03- There we are, Rick.- Thanks.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06- No, Rick, roti.- Oh...
0:18:06 > 0:18:08- Tell... I'm...- Please!
0:18:08 > 0:18:10- Not knife and fork, please. - Sorry, sorry.
0:18:10 > 0:18:11What... What are we doing now?
0:18:11 > 0:18:14No, no, what you need to do is to make a small, little...
0:18:14 > 0:18:16- Um, break that roti.- OK.
0:18:16 > 0:18:20And let's make a small spoon out of it and then you dunk it straight in and...
0:18:20 > 0:18:23Dunk it straight in.
0:18:23 > 0:18:24Absolutely right.
0:18:24 > 0:18:26Absolutely great!
0:18:26 > 0:18:29- Thank you. - You're a pretty good cook.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31- Thank you very much.- It's lovely.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33- Now, I just want to ask you something...- Yes, Rick.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35- ..With my mouth full...- Yes.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38..Which I'm sure is as bad manners here as it is back home, but...
0:18:38 > 0:18:42what do you take by the word "curry"?
0:18:42 > 0:18:45We don't have the word "curry" in our language at all.
0:18:45 > 0:18:50It's unfair to call our variety under one major heading, as curry.
0:18:50 > 0:18:55I think the word "curry" is coined by the British themselves.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58I think that when they lived in India
0:18:58 > 0:19:03and they...were eating at various parts of India,
0:19:03 > 0:19:06so the one single word that they thought would carry the message
0:19:06 > 0:19:10to the kind of food they wanted to have, which had gravy,
0:19:10 > 0:19:12so they called it "curry".
0:19:12 > 0:19:15And...and one thing that I must point out,
0:19:15 > 0:19:19the worst thing that ever happened to Indian food is the madras curry powder.
0:19:19 > 0:19:21Absolutely horrendous stuff.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25And you go and add it to just about everything, they all taste the same.
0:19:25 > 0:19:30- That came back with the British. Cos I can remember the tins.- That's right, the British created it,
0:19:30 > 0:19:33and the British created it and call it the madras curry powder.
0:19:33 > 0:19:34Presumably they just wanted a flavour
0:19:34 > 0:19:36of what they remembered in India.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40And it was turmeric, and lots and lots of turmeric, lots of coriander seed powder,
0:19:40 > 0:19:46some cumin and all dunked together and tasted horrible.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49You know, I personally believe to a large extent
0:19:49 > 0:19:51that the Indian palate is extremely evolved
0:19:51 > 0:19:53because we're able to understand
0:19:53 > 0:19:55a numerous number of spices at the same time,
0:19:55 > 0:19:59while in European cuisine, I have found that you normally cook with one spice,
0:19:59 > 0:20:04one flavour, like cumin, saffron, or something else.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06So it's a very singular way of cooking.
0:20:06 > 0:20:08Ours is a very multiple way of cooking.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11And this is where I think the evolution is.
0:20:11 > 0:20:16I really begin to feel I'm tasting all these broad flavours,
0:20:16 > 0:20:18all this sort of complexity of flavour,
0:20:18 > 0:20:20I just think I'm on the beginning of a long journey,
0:20:20 > 0:20:22a very enjoyable journey.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24And I have to say this has been a very enjoyable lunch.
0:20:24 > 0:20:29So, Raka and Rocky, thank you very much for this wonderful, wonderful...
0:20:29 > 0:20:32Thank you very much, Rick, thank you for being here.
0:20:32 > 0:20:33- It's a pleasure.- Thank you.
0:20:41 > 0:20:45It's funny how things get stuck in your mind from history lessons at school.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48The Siege of Lucknow was one of them for me.
0:20:48 > 0:20:53This is the famous and tragic Residency building where 3,000 men, women
0:20:53 > 0:20:57and children, including about 700 loyal Indian troops,
0:20:57 > 0:21:00were trapped by a force of mutineers -
0:21:00 > 0:21:04about 8,000 heavily armed soldiers called sepoys -
0:21:04 > 0:21:08who broke away from the British and tried to kick them out of India.
0:21:08 > 0:21:14This was a serious exercise of the famous British stiff upper lip.
0:21:14 > 0:21:16EXPLOSION
0:21:17 > 0:21:19EXPLOSION
0:21:19 > 0:21:24Life goes on, even under the most extreme circumstances.
0:21:24 > 0:21:29Tea was taken while cannonballs came flying through windows and doors.
0:21:29 > 0:21:35People were dying from infected wounds and cholera, tiffin was still served,
0:21:35 > 0:21:37and soap was getting short.
0:21:37 > 0:21:42The snipers were a terrible nuisance, killing some of the more popular officers.
0:21:42 > 0:21:43Which was a pity.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46One lady trapped here, Adelaide Case, said,
0:21:46 > 0:21:52"It makes me shudder to think how death is hovering about and around us all day,
0:21:52 > 0:21:56"busy indeed has it been among this little garrison."
0:21:56 > 0:21:58She went on to say that the price of a tin of the soup
0:21:58 > 0:22:00had grown out of all proportion.
0:22:03 > 0:22:07And of the original 3,000 people that retreated here into the residency,
0:22:07 > 0:22:10only a thousand survived.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14During the siege, some of the sepoys who were good at tunnelling
0:22:14 > 0:22:17started to tunnel under the residency
0:22:17 > 0:22:20to lay explosives and blow the residency up.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24But there was a division, a 32nd Cornish Division,
0:22:24 > 0:22:26among whom were a load of tin miners
0:22:26 > 0:22:30who saw this coming and understood what was going on,
0:22:30 > 0:22:33and tunnelled back, got hold of their explosives
0:22:33 > 0:22:36and blew up some of the sepoy buildings.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38That is derring-do in a Cornish manner.
0:22:38 > 0:22:43And finally, when the siege ended and relief was at hand,
0:22:43 > 0:22:47the surviving ladies in the residency
0:22:47 > 0:22:51wouldn't take tea because the Highlanders who relieved them
0:22:51 > 0:22:53hadn't brought any milk with them.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03I was just about to set off to get some shots at sunset
0:23:03 > 0:23:06when I noticed these people emptying carrier bags
0:23:06 > 0:23:10of what I thought was household rubbish into the Gomti River.
0:23:11 > 0:23:16But I was soon told that this was indeed an auspicious day
0:23:16 > 0:23:20and what they were doing was emptying offerings from prayers said earlier.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26This is the Festival of Dussehra,
0:23:26 > 0:23:30and we're about to witness the triumph of good over evil.
0:23:30 > 0:23:35Very strong in the Hindu faith, this celebration when good triumphs.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41THEY CHANT
0:23:42 > 0:23:45Basically, the story goes like this -
0:23:45 > 0:23:49and remember, it's over 3,000 years old -
0:23:49 > 0:23:54Lord Rama, a good guy, had a beautiful wife called Sita....
0:23:54 > 0:23:55HE SHOUTS IN LOCAL DIALECT
0:23:55 > 0:23:57CHEERING
0:23:58 > 0:24:04..who was kidnapped by the evil ten-headed demon called Ravana.
0:24:04 > 0:24:06It's all terribly complicated
0:24:06 > 0:24:12and to do with love triangles, and of course, it ended up in a major punch-up.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17CHEERING
0:24:17 > 0:24:20I'm getting quite stuck into this, it's a bit like sort of wrestling,
0:24:20 > 0:24:23but sort of slightly more cheerful.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26And somehow it's a bit like sort of May Day in Padstow,
0:24:26 > 0:24:31which is a celebration of the sort of rebirth of spring, of summer.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34These sort of elemental things get to us all.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40In the end the demon was slain, Sita was rescued
0:24:40 > 0:24:43and they all lived happily ever after.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47FIREWORKS EXPLODE
0:24:56 > 0:24:58Oh, blimey.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00That was one hell of a firework.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02I wouldn't know which end to light.
0:25:08 > 0:25:12I was told later that there were over 200,000 people there
0:25:12 > 0:25:15lining the banks of the River Gomti watching this,
0:25:15 > 0:25:19a story that had been handed down from generation to generation
0:25:19 > 0:25:23for well over 3,000 years. Amazing.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50It's far too easy in India to get diverted
0:25:50 > 0:25:53because I'm here for the food of Lucknow
0:25:53 > 0:26:00and next to pulao, Lucknow is famous for its spicy and silky kebabs.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03You won't get anything like them anywhere else in India.
0:26:09 > 0:26:14So back at the bungalow by the lagoon - incidentally, it's called Naksatra Mana,
0:26:14 > 0:26:18which means "a cluster of stars", how good is that? -
0:26:18 > 0:26:22I'm going to cook the best kebabs you've ever tasted.
0:26:22 > 0:26:29So, I've got my garlic, onion and ginger paste already whizzed up into a puree
0:26:29 > 0:26:32and I'm just going to fry it now in lots of ghee.
0:26:32 > 0:26:36So in goes the ghee and in goes the paste.
0:26:38 > 0:26:40Now, I need to cook this for really quite some time,
0:26:40 > 0:26:46till all that liquid in the paste has been driven off
0:26:46 > 0:26:48and it starts to caramelise.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52I learnt that from cooking with Rocky.
0:26:52 > 0:26:53A really good tip, I think.
0:26:56 > 0:27:00So that's cooked down very nicely now, so I'm going to add the mince,
0:27:00 > 0:27:03the mutton mince.
0:27:04 > 0:27:06There we go.
0:27:07 > 0:27:08Stir that in.
0:27:08 > 0:27:15And now some yellow lentils, some yellow dhal, which I've already soaked.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18The great thing about these yellow ones is that they cook very quickly.
0:27:18 > 0:27:24Fry that until the pink colour from the mince has disappeared.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29There we are. Really the pink's all gone now
0:27:29 > 0:27:32so I'm just going to add about a teaspoon and a half of salt.
0:27:33 > 0:27:35There we go.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38And now enough water to sort of barely cover.
0:27:38 > 0:27:43The point is that I want to cook this mince, but I don't want any water left.
0:27:43 > 0:27:51So...simmer the water and the mince and the dhal till the water's all gone.
0:27:54 > 0:27:58Well, I've got to wait about 20 minutes for that mince to cook on a low heat.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02I'm just reading up about how shammi kebabs came into being, really.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06It may or may not be true, but it's a nice story.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10One of the nawabs, a very fat nawab called Asaf-ud-Daula,
0:28:10 > 0:28:13was so fat that he couldn't ride on a horse.
0:28:13 > 0:28:19And he had no teeth, probably as a result of his endless eating of luxurious food.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22But his chefs, who were always inventive and highly paid,
0:28:22 > 0:28:26came up with a brilliant idea of making shammi kebabs,
0:28:26 > 0:28:34mincing them so fine that he could actually eat a kebab with no teeth.
0:28:38 > 0:28:41So I've just chilled the kati so that the mince
0:28:41 > 0:28:45and the dhal have chilled down and firmed up a little.
0:28:45 > 0:28:50And now to add...some really quite interesting flavours to go in there.
0:28:50 > 0:28:52First of all, some green chillies.
0:28:52 > 0:28:56And then some roughly chopped coriander. Everything is quite rough
0:28:56 > 0:28:57because it's going to go in the blender.
0:28:57 > 0:28:59And now a teaspoon of garam masala.
0:29:02 > 0:29:03And about the same amount of chilli.
0:29:05 > 0:29:06Chilli powder.
0:29:06 > 0:29:08And some cumin, about the same amount.
0:29:10 > 0:29:12And very important now, the juice of...
0:29:12 > 0:29:14well, a couple of local limes.
0:29:14 > 0:29:16I'd say the juice of one lime, but they're very small, the ones here.
0:29:16 > 0:29:19That really makes a difference to the final kebab,
0:29:19 > 0:29:21gives it a lovely fresh taste.
0:29:23 > 0:29:24There we go.
0:29:24 > 0:29:26Now, into my blender.
0:29:30 > 0:29:34To...turn...my kebabs...
0:29:34 > 0:29:36into...
0:29:36 > 0:29:41a puree that will suit a toothless nawab.
0:29:41 > 0:29:42Lid on.
0:29:44 > 0:29:45And blend away.
0:29:48 > 0:29:49(LOUD WHIRR)
0:30:04 > 0:30:08Me and cookery machines...don't seem to go together too well.
0:30:08 > 0:30:15Now, put it back into the fridge so that it really is very, very chilled
0:30:15 > 0:30:17and very, very firm.
0:30:24 > 0:30:25That's better.
0:30:25 > 0:30:28Curious things, these Indian fridges.
0:30:28 > 0:30:30Shutting the door's almost as difficult.
0:30:40 > 0:30:43So in order to give these shammi kebabs a real zing,
0:30:43 > 0:30:46in goes some chopped green chillies for heat,
0:30:46 > 0:30:49chopped mint for freshness,
0:30:49 > 0:30:50finely chopped onion...
0:30:56 > 0:30:57..a bit of sugar,
0:30:57 > 0:30:59then salt,
0:30:59 > 0:31:00and finally, lime juice.
0:31:03 > 0:31:07Sweet, salty, sour and spicy, it's all there.
0:31:07 > 0:31:10And now it's time to make some mud pies.
0:31:13 > 0:31:17I'm really rather enjoying this, it's just really nice having this sort of cold,
0:31:17 > 0:31:19clay-like material
0:31:19 > 0:31:21in your hands and moulding it.
0:31:21 > 0:31:25And actually, for somebody that's a little bit clumsy, like myself,
0:31:25 > 0:31:30to be able to do this successfully is a great source of delight to me.
0:31:34 > 0:31:38Now you have to be really careful, so you gently fry them
0:31:38 > 0:31:42taking great care to make sure they're cooked through.
0:31:42 > 0:31:44They're extremely delicate.
0:31:44 > 0:31:48But they could well be the best kebabs you're ever likely to taste -
0:31:48 > 0:31:50teeth or no teeth.
0:31:52 > 0:31:53For me,
0:31:53 > 0:31:55this would be a perfect lunch.
0:31:55 > 0:32:01Some chapatis, a few of these kebabs and a little salad like that.
0:32:01 > 0:32:04And...green chutney.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21The Punjab is the bread basket of India.
0:32:21 > 0:32:25Punjab means "five rivers" and rivers in this hot country
0:32:25 > 0:32:30mean crops, wealth, health and a great deal of happiness.
0:32:34 > 0:32:38Traders from the days of Alexander the Great would travel here.
0:32:38 > 0:32:41In fact, that's why the country is called India,
0:32:41 > 0:32:45because one of the rivers was named Indos by the ancient Greeks.
0:32:49 > 0:32:55The fields in every direction are full of wheat, rice, cotton and sugar cane.
0:32:57 > 0:33:01There's a lovely story about the Persians, who discovered sugar cane here
0:33:01 > 0:33:07and described it so beautifully as "reeds that produce honey without bees".
0:33:21 > 0:33:26It's really nice to get out here into these hills in the Punjab
0:33:26 > 0:33:29and watch them making jaggery.
0:33:29 > 0:33:33I was just noticing how much juice comes out of one sugar cane.
0:33:33 > 0:33:35It looks quite a sort of dry thing out in the fields there,
0:33:35 > 0:33:40but you get gallons out of it, and you can hear the motors are labouring,
0:33:40 > 0:33:44with the enormous pressure to get all that lovely juice out.
0:33:44 > 0:33:47They put it in this big pan and boil it right down
0:33:47 > 0:33:50and they were just saying they also do corn here as well, and they use the husks,
0:33:50 > 0:33:55so this is really good organic farming, every bit is used.
0:33:59 > 0:34:02They just reduce this down now, down and down and down
0:34:02 > 0:34:05till all the water's bubbled away, and stirring all the time.
0:34:05 > 0:34:07It's just like making fudge.
0:34:07 > 0:34:12It goes into crystals and you get this lovely brown sugar, unrefined sugar,
0:34:12 > 0:34:15which the...the taste is so much nicer than ordinary sugar.
0:34:17 > 0:34:22People here love the taste of jaggery, as do I, and they use it in lots of ways.
0:34:22 > 0:34:26I mean, the most popular is just as a little digestif
0:34:26 > 0:34:30after a big meal of dhals and everything else.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34But they also use it as the basic balance of sweet and sour,
0:34:34 > 0:34:38the sweet being jaggery and the sour being tamarind.
0:34:43 > 0:34:48The Punjabis have a reputation for being really hospitable, and this family
0:34:48 > 0:34:54must have thought I looked very hungry, so they made these really lovely pakoras.
0:34:54 > 0:34:56It's onion, gram flour,
0:34:56 > 0:35:00potatoes, spinach, turmeric, coriander, cumin,
0:35:00 > 0:35:02baking soda - very important -
0:35:02 > 0:35:06green chilli, salt and water.
0:35:06 > 0:35:12That's all mixed together and formed by hand and dropped into hot oil.
0:35:12 > 0:35:13What a snack.
0:35:18 > 0:35:20I'm with chef Navdeep Sharma.
0:35:20 > 0:35:24He's the principal of the local catering college, and he wants me
0:35:24 > 0:35:28to help judge a Punjabi cookery competition later this afternoon.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31But first to enjoy the pakoras,
0:35:31 > 0:35:35dipped in a spicy home-made chutney full of green chilli.
0:35:35 > 0:35:37They're very good.
0:35:37 > 0:35:41They've got lovely spinach, there's, erm, onion, potato in there.
0:35:41 > 0:35:45Would you tell her how much I'm enjoying this?
0:35:45 > 0:35:47HE SPEAKS IN LOCAL DIALECT
0:35:49 > 0:35:50Very good, excellent.
0:35:50 > 0:35:53He has thoroughly enjoyed these pakoras which you have made.
0:35:53 > 0:35:55- Thank you. - SHE SPEAKS IN LOCAL DIALECT
0:35:55 > 0:35:59- What's that?- She's saying you come back again sometime,
0:35:59 > 0:36:01she'll have more varieties of pakoras for you.
0:36:01 > 0:36:02Oh, I'd love to.
0:36:09 > 0:36:14Well, this is it, the finished jaggery in granular form.
0:36:14 > 0:36:17And the bit I've been waiting all morning for.
0:36:19 > 0:36:23You might think it looks like light brown sugar, but it doesn't taste like it.
0:36:23 > 0:36:25It is absolutely...
0:36:25 > 0:36:26It tastes a bit of honey
0:36:26 > 0:36:31and almost like you can taste little sort of fascinating bits of impurity in it.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34It's a real...a real artisan product.
0:36:38 > 0:36:42I have to thank chef Navdeep for getting us to film this.
0:36:42 > 0:36:45He said this is so important around here.
0:36:45 > 0:36:47It's a skill that's fast disappearing.
0:36:47 > 0:36:52"Film it now, because when you come back, it'll be gone."
0:36:52 > 0:36:54And so we did.
0:37:00 > 0:37:02HORNS BLARE
0:37:44 > 0:37:47BHANGRA PLAYS
0:37:56 > 0:38:00And so we arrived to judge the cookery competition
0:38:00 > 0:38:02at Hoshiarpur Catering College.
0:38:02 > 0:38:05I was with a group of top chefs, mainly from Delhi,
0:38:05 > 0:38:09and the bhangra dancing boys of the Punjab were there to welcome us.
0:38:12 > 0:38:13Fantastic.
0:38:14 > 0:38:17Sometimes I do have to pinch myself.
0:38:17 > 0:38:21What am I doing in the middle of the Punjab judging a curry competition
0:38:21 > 0:38:24amongst all these experts?
0:38:24 > 0:38:28I mean, these men are the Michel Rouxs of the subcontinent.
0:38:30 > 0:38:35Anyway, this competition, called Star Chef Punjab,
0:38:35 > 0:38:38challenges members of the public to come up with a classic regional dish.
0:38:39 > 0:38:44Ten competitors, as keen as mustard, are going for this regional heat.
0:38:44 > 0:38:51Chef, this competition, the food of Punjab, why is it so wonderful to you?
0:38:51 > 0:38:55Smell and flavour memories are the most predominant triggers in the human mind
0:38:55 > 0:38:59so based on that, we have tried to honour the dishes
0:38:59 > 0:39:01which have been lost during the passage of time.
0:39:01 > 0:39:06I suppose if they're not written down, these recipes, they just get lost.
0:39:06 > 0:39:10Yes. We have gone across the state to bring out the lost gems of Punjabi cuisine,
0:39:10 > 0:39:14but really, the Punjabi food is something which is very hearty
0:39:14 > 0:39:16and which is really very delicious
0:39:16 > 0:39:21so that is the attempt which we are trying to do in this event, Star Chef Punjab.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25I think this search is a pretty good idea.
0:39:25 > 0:39:29To find a long-lost curry would be like finding an old friend.
0:39:29 > 0:39:34A thought entered my head - there are 10,000 Indian restaurants back in Britain
0:39:34 > 0:39:37and well over half of them, more or less, I think,
0:39:37 > 0:39:39are serving the same type of curries.
0:39:39 > 0:39:44You know, dhansak, madras, dopiaza, vindaloo, korma.
0:39:44 > 0:39:48It would be great to find a fabulous forgotten jewel of a recipe.
0:39:50 > 0:39:52- This is basically a meaty roti... - Meaty roti.
0:39:52 > 0:39:55..which will be served with a chilli pickle and the elephant foot.
0:39:55 > 0:39:58- Elephant foot.- An Indian vegetable.
0:39:58 > 0:40:01- Vegetable. - Which grows in the ground.
0:40:04 > 0:40:07SHE SPEAKS IN LOCAL DIALECT
0:40:07 > 0:40:10Ma'am is cooking a kumbh palak chicken.
0:40:10 > 0:40:12Kumbh palak...chicken.
0:40:12 > 0:40:14- Kumbh is a mushroom.- Mushroom.
0:40:14 > 0:40:16Palak, that means...spinach,
0:40:16 > 0:40:19- and chicken, that means... - HE LAUGHS
0:40:19 > 0:40:22SHE SPEAKS IN LOCAL DIALECT
0:40:24 > 0:40:26Ma'am wants to be a chef
0:40:26 > 0:40:31and, if she wins, that means the dreams will come true, to her.
0:40:35 > 0:40:39She's making a gravy and cooking chicken in it.
0:40:39 > 0:40:41SHE SPEAKS IN LOCAL DIALECT
0:40:41 > 0:40:44- ..housewife.- OK.
0:40:44 > 0:40:48Ma'am said that although she belongs to...not from this region,
0:40:48 > 0:40:52but she is cooking the Punjabi food, so she will, you know...
0:40:52 > 0:40:55she will prove to her family that she can also cook good Punjabi food.
0:40:55 > 0:40:58For them. That's what she wants to do.
0:40:59 > 0:41:01- MAN:- This is mutton.
0:41:01 > 0:41:05It will not be mutton curry, it will be a dry masala.
0:41:05 > 0:41:08Now, what would it mean to you if you won the competition?
0:41:08 > 0:41:10- If I won? - HE LAUGHS
0:41:10 > 0:41:15If I win the competition, it means I have won the competition, nothing else!
0:41:19 > 0:41:23THEY SPEAK IN LOCAL DIALECT
0:41:23 > 0:41:24We tasted.
0:41:26 > 0:41:27We thought.
0:41:29 > 0:41:33So, we've got almonds in there, and not in the rice.
0:41:33 > 0:41:36And discussed.
0:41:36 > 0:41:40I find it really difficult to make a judgment between a sweet
0:41:40 > 0:41:42- and the savoury, though, so...- But...
0:41:42 > 0:41:46- Does it fit into all the categories? - Yes, it does, it does.
0:41:47 > 0:41:49We tasted a bit more.
0:41:49 > 0:41:53- Mushroom, spinach, and with chicken. - OK.
0:41:53 > 0:41:56We thought very deeply.
0:41:56 > 0:41:59So we have to have a chapati or a naan roti.
0:42:01 > 0:42:03And finally...
0:42:03 > 0:42:05Which portion of the meat are we using in this?
0:42:05 > 0:42:07- Front leg.- Front leg.
0:42:07 > 0:42:10Well, it was a good dish. A mutton curry.
0:42:10 > 0:42:17It just had something that was authentic, rustic, very Punjab, and it tasted great.
0:42:20 > 0:42:25I'm pleased to announce we have Mr Balwant Singh for the Star Chef Punjab.
0:42:25 > 0:42:30So, the only man in the competition won it. Mr Balwant Singh.
0:42:38 > 0:42:43The origins of the winning recipe came from pretty tough times in the Punjab.
0:42:43 > 0:42:45The dreadful days of partition,
0:42:45 > 0:42:50when Pakistan was created and India got her independence.
0:42:53 > 0:42:55Balwant Singh remembers his dad
0:42:55 > 0:42:59cooking great pots of mutton curry for the refugees,
0:42:59 > 0:43:04when millions of families were uprooted from their homes and herded onto trains,
0:43:04 > 0:43:08taking them to places where the authorities thought they'd be safe.
0:43:10 > 0:43:14The western bit of the Punjab formed part of Islamist Pakistan
0:43:14 > 0:43:19and the eastern bit, where I am now, remained as part of India.
0:43:20 > 0:43:23There were many bloody massacres, especially on board trains.
0:43:29 > 0:43:33The lucky ones made it here, an abandoned British Army hospital,
0:43:33 > 0:43:36where they could take shelter before they were moved on.
0:43:36 > 0:43:38This is the administrative block.
0:43:38 > 0:43:40Now it is in ruin.
0:43:40 > 0:43:42So, it was originally a British hospital?
0:43:42 > 0:43:44A military hospital.
0:43:44 > 0:43:47- And then it became a refugee camp? - A refugee camp.
0:43:47 > 0:43:50Wow, so those were all the huts round there, then?
0:43:50 > 0:43:54Yeah, these were all the walls of a British hospital.
0:43:54 > 0:43:59- Originally.- And then the refugees were living here.
0:43:59 > 0:44:00It was a very pathetic scene
0:44:00 > 0:44:04because some people lost millions and millions of rupees there.
0:44:04 > 0:44:06They left all their properties there.
0:44:06 > 0:44:10They had no money to fend for themselves. Some people lost their children.
0:44:10 > 0:44:14You can't...imagine what misery they had.
0:44:14 > 0:44:19So, your father came around here and...cooked curries for them. Cooked...
0:44:19 > 0:44:23Yeah, for a few people. Not for everybody, I mean to say.
0:44:23 > 0:44:25And anybody who could talk with them
0:44:25 > 0:44:28with a little sympathy and all that, they became friendly.
0:44:28 > 0:44:32Now, do you think that partition was a good thing?
0:44:32 > 0:44:35- Do you think it was necessary? - No, it was not a good thing.
0:44:35 > 0:44:36It was not a good thing, you know.
0:44:36 > 0:44:41By, I would say, any imagination it was not a good thing.
0:44:41 > 0:44:46Otherwise, to partition a country, it's not a good sign.
0:44:46 > 0:44:48On what grounds?
0:44:51 > 0:44:55His father's dish goes something like this.
0:44:55 > 0:45:01First of all, in goes the oil, and this pan's pretty hot.
0:45:01 > 0:45:03Next he puts in ghee, a lot of it.
0:45:07 > 0:45:11Then in go about a dozen dried chillies, which he fries,
0:45:11 > 0:45:14and after a minute or so, he takes them out,
0:45:14 > 0:45:16so they just flavour the oil and the ghee.
0:45:18 > 0:45:21Now he adds fried onion paste,
0:45:21 > 0:45:25followed by another paste made from boiled onions,
0:45:25 > 0:45:29and he cooks that for a minute or so until it gives off a lovely aroma,
0:45:29 > 0:45:34almost like a fairground aroma from hot dog and hamburger stalls.
0:45:35 > 0:45:38And finally, ginger and garlic paste.
0:45:39 > 0:45:44- Then the time to put mutton into it comes.- Yeah.
0:45:44 > 0:45:49The mixed masala, that is onion, boiled onion paste, fried onion paste,
0:45:49 > 0:45:54ginger and garlic, they start emitting a lovely smell.
0:45:54 > 0:45:56You can make it with your experience.
0:45:56 > 0:45:58- Now it is smelling differently now.- Yeah, it is.
0:45:58 > 0:46:01You know? Now it is ready for putting the meat.
0:46:01 > 0:46:06Mr Balwant Singh, tell me everything I need to know about mutton or goat.
0:46:06 > 0:46:11OK. Basically, a goat should be matured.
0:46:11 > 0:46:16But not old. About 10kg in weight, because then it's healthy
0:46:16 > 0:46:23and, if you get a mutton from a male goat, that will always taste better.
0:46:23 > 0:46:24Ah, right.
0:46:24 > 0:46:27I can't explain you the reason, but this is a fact.
0:46:27 > 0:46:30I just... Every time I think of mutton...
0:46:30 > 0:46:34Because mutton to us is an old lamb, is an old sheep.
0:46:34 > 0:46:38- But mutton to you is goat meat. - Yeah, definitely.
0:46:38 > 0:46:40- Yeah, OK, the mutton is from the goat.- Got it.
0:46:40 > 0:46:42- Not from the lamb.- Right!
0:46:45 > 0:46:49Balwant Singh makes the masala in the good old-fashioned way,
0:46:49 > 0:46:51using a mortar and pestle.
0:46:51 > 0:46:55It's a mixture of mace, coriander seeds, cumin,
0:46:55 > 0:47:01cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a very good masala it was too.
0:47:01 > 0:47:06Funnily enough, all the bark and all the seeds stayed in the mortar,
0:47:06 > 0:47:09which they never quite seem to do when I do it.
0:47:09 > 0:47:14I'm a bit tempted to tell my recipe readers to use a coffee grinder.
0:47:14 > 0:47:18If you grind the masalas in the coffee grinder
0:47:18 > 0:47:23then after you complete the grinding, you touch it, it will be hot.
0:47:23 > 0:47:26In this grinder, they will never get heated up.
0:47:26 > 0:47:29When they get heated up, they lose taste.
0:47:29 > 0:47:32Masalas are basically used for flavours.
0:47:32 > 0:47:33Yeah.
0:47:34 > 0:47:36I won't mention coffee grinders again.
0:47:46 > 0:47:49He now puts in whizzed-up cooked tomatoes
0:47:49 > 0:47:52and then starts to seal the pot with dough.
0:47:53 > 0:47:57In India this is called dum pukht, which means "cooked with steam".
0:47:58 > 0:48:01So, do you think that really does make a difference?
0:48:01 > 0:48:04Absolutely. You take a pressure cooker,
0:48:04 > 0:48:08that will make it tender in five minutes or ten minutes.
0:48:08 > 0:48:13Cook it on a slow fire and give it a dum for ten minutes now.
0:48:13 > 0:48:17One of the recipes I've been looking at is called a first-class mutton curry.
0:48:17 > 0:48:20I think it comes from a railway station in Kerala.
0:48:20 > 0:48:22This is a first-class mutton curry.
0:48:22 > 0:48:25- Is it? - Must be. There's so many...
0:48:25 > 0:48:28- I don't know, you can taste it, Rick.- So much thought gone into it.
0:48:28 > 0:48:31Oh, well. I meant that as a compliment.
0:48:31 > 0:48:35Now it's time, thank goodness, to taste.
0:48:39 > 0:48:43Well, this is the moment of truth, I must say.
0:48:44 > 0:48:46I'll start with the gravy.
0:48:50 > 0:48:51Very good.
0:48:51 > 0:48:53- Is it? - It's got lots of depth to it,
0:48:53 > 0:48:59and what I really love about it is the quality of all that onion puree,
0:48:59 > 0:49:04the ground onion, ginger and garlic gives the gravy a delicious thickness.
0:49:04 > 0:49:06That's right.
0:49:06 > 0:49:08- First class.- Thank you.
0:49:13 > 0:49:18Truth to tell, I think it's quite possible to have too much goat curry.
0:49:18 > 0:49:22Don't get me wrong, I really like it, but after three days on the trot
0:49:22 > 0:49:29I yearn for something lighter, something fresh tasting, vibrant and vegetarian.
0:49:32 > 0:49:38I don't think one really, before one goes to India, quite understands how big
0:49:38 > 0:49:40vegetarian food is in India.
0:49:40 > 0:49:43The majority of the population in India are vegetarians.
0:49:43 > 0:49:47Meat eaters are the exception rather than the norm,
0:49:47 > 0:49:50and you have get used to a sort of vegetarian diet,
0:49:50 > 0:49:54and a lot of the dishes, the first time I tried them, were...
0:49:54 > 0:49:58I wouldn't say I disliked them, but I just thought they were a bit dull.
0:49:58 > 0:50:03But then - you know what I'm going to say now - dhal ain't dull.
0:50:03 > 0:50:06I mean, sometimes all these dhals that you taste are a little bit
0:50:06 > 0:50:08sort of, you think, "Well, they're all the same."
0:50:08 > 0:50:12But they're not. They've all got their subtle little differences.
0:50:12 > 0:50:14And all the vegetables that you see in the markets,
0:50:14 > 0:50:16there's always wonderful ways of cooking with them.
0:50:16 > 0:50:21When you go into those markets and you see all these strange gourds,
0:50:21 > 0:50:24these bitter gourds and ones that you sort of try first time
0:50:24 > 0:50:26and you think they haven't got a lot of flavour,
0:50:26 > 0:50:28when they're mixed with tomato,
0:50:28 > 0:50:31with carrot, with onion, with garlic, with ginger,
0:50:31 > 0:50:36in something like a sambar, all those sort of things like aloo bhaji,
0:50:36 > 0:50:39which isn't just potato, it's other vegetables as well,
0:50:39 > 0:50:42you realise that vegetarian, the cooking of vegetables,
0:50:42 > 0:50:46is so dear to the hearts of most Indians.
0:50:47 > 0:50:51With vegetables in mind, in the Punjab I came across a really good dish.
0:50:51 > 0:50:54It's vegetables cooked with Indian cheese.
0:50:54 > 0:50:57It's called paneer jalfrezi.
0:50:59 > 0:51:01I put oil into the karahi, followed by cumin seeds
0:51:01 > 0:51:07and a dried Kashmiri chilli, just the one, roughly torn.
0:51:07 > 0:51:11And then ginger. I've cut it into matchsticks
0:51:11 > 0:51:14because I want to see them in the finished dish.
0:51:14 > 0:51:17Next, onions and fresh green chillies.
0:51:19 > 0:51:23As always, one of the secrets of a good curry
0:51:23 > 0:51:26is to take time softening and cooking the onions.
0:51:26 > 0:51:29Some turmeric.
0:51:29 > 0:51:31Never overdo this spice. A little goes a long way.
0:51:34 > 0:51:36Now, freshly ground chilli powder.
0:51:36 > 0:51:39It really is worth the effort of grinding your own,
0:51:39 > 0:51:43even, dare I say it, in a coffee grinder!
0:51:43 > 0:51:44Next, peppers,
0:51:44 > 0:51:47and I'm going to be a little abandoned here in the choice of colours.
0:51:51 > 0:51:54Normally I think mixed peppers are a bit garish, you know,
0:51:54 > 0:51:56like red, yellow and green,
0:51:56 > 0:52:01but I think in Indian cookery, they're exactly what's required.
0:52:04 > 0:52:09A little water to produce what the Indians call a gravy.
0:52:11 > 0:52:17And here's the paneer, the Indian acid-set cheese that I love.
0:52:17 > 0:52:22It's made by heating up milk and adding lemon juice or vinegar to curdle it,
0:52:22 > 0:52:25and while cooking, it stays hard and firm.
0:52:27 > 0:52:33Salt, and a bit more water, and lots of fresh tomatoes,
0:52:33 > 0:52:35which in India have such a good flavour.
0:52:37 > 0:52:40It's so fresh, it's almost like a hot salad.
0:52:40 > 0:52:42And I just like a bit of vinegar in my salads
0:52:42 > 0:52:43but, of course, in India
0:52:43 > 0:52:48they very rarely use vinegar, unless we were in Kerala or Goa.
0:52:48 > 0:52:50Or in Pondicherry, where the French were.
0:52:50 > 0:52:52So, only a tiny bit.
0:52:52 > 0:52:55Toddy vinegar is like coconut vinegar.
0:52:55 > 0:52:58I'm just going to finish with a little bit of cumin, ground cumin.
0:53:00 > 0:53:02About half a teaspoon.
0:53:04 > 0:53:05Garam masala.
0:53:12 > 0:53:14And that's ready to serve out.
0:53:26 > 0:53:28Fresh ginger on the top.
0:53:29 > 0:53:31You've got to have a few dishes like that.
0:53:31 > 0:53:33I mean, you know, when you see that on a plate,
0:53:33 > 0:53:35you think, "I do want some of that."
0:53:35 > 0:53:38Also, it benefits from being cooked so quickly.
0:53:38 > 0:53:40It will taste really fresh.
0:53:40 > 0:53:44You'll really taste all those vegetables, and the paneer.
0:53:55 > 0:53:58The most famous place in the Punjab is Amritsar.
0:53:58 > 0:54:01The word stems from the lovely lake in the Golden Temple.
0:54:01 > 0:54:05It means the pool of the nectar of immortality.
0:54:16 > 0:54:19There are food stalls all over the place,
0:54:19 > 0:54:22because this is where the pilgrims come, and where there are pilgrims,
0:54:22 > 0:54:25whether Spain, France, Italy or here,
0:54:25 > 0:54:29there's always people selling cheap, tasty food.
0:54:36 > 0:54:41Now, these are kulchas, and this is the most famous kulcha shop in Amritsar,
0:54:41 > 0:54:44and unlike normal kulchas, which are just flaky bread,
0:54:44 > 0:54:49these are stuffed either with potato, cauliflower, paneer, which is cheese,
0:54:49 > 0:54:53or mixed, so you've got a choice of four.
0:54:53 > 0:54:56I've gone for the cauliflower. It is totally delicious.
0:54:56 > 0:55:00It's got cumin in and it's got chilli, and these two accompaniments,
0:55:00 > 0:55:05a lovely chickpea dhal and a very, very lovely onion chutney.
0:55:11 > 0:55:14There's absolutely nothing that goes better with a hot curry
0:55:14 > 0:55:16than an ice-cold cup of lassi.
0:55:16 > 0:55:19Salt lassi. I don't have a lot of truck with the sweet one.
0:55:19 > 0:55:23Sometimes as a... After a meal, yeah, but the salt one's the one,
0:55:23 > 0:55:26and a little tip about travelling in India.
0:55:26 > 0:55:27Delhi belly?
0:55:27 > 0:55:31I know about Delhi belly, I won't go on any further than that,
0:55:31 > 0:55:33but a glass or a cup of lassi every day
0:55:33 > 0:55:37is the best bit of medical advice I can give you.
0:55:42 > 0:55:46I know this place is firmly on the tourist map of India
0:55:46 > 0:55:49but even so, I found it wonderfully peaceful.
0:55:50 > 0:55:54Especially this cool, soothing lake.
0:55:54 > 0:55:58Sometimes it's a very hot, stifling country,
0:55:58 > 0:56:02and the use of water has such a sublime significance.
0:56:04 > 0:56:06That is so overwhelming.
0:56:06 > 0:56:09I expected it to be about three times as big
0:56:09 > 0:56:13but the fact is, it has this sort of perfect shape
0:56:13 > 0:56:17and the gold leaf on it is truly spectacular
0:56:17 > 0:56:21and, actually, I prefer it to be more on a sort of human scale.
0:56:21 > 0:56:23It means more to me.
0:56:29 > 0:56:34I've been in India for quite some time now and it's becoming apparent to me
0:56:34 > 0:56:40that food really does play a part in religion over here, quite a large one.
0:56:40 > 0:56:43It unites people, and more importantly,
0:56:43 > 0:56:47it reduces the chance of the poor suffering from malnutrition,
0:56:47 > 0:56:52because this system of feeding so many without discrimination works so well.
0:56:52 > 0:56:56Serious big pots here. I'm absolutely intrigued.
0:56:56 > 0:57:03They serve about 10,000 meals a day and everybody working in here is a volunteer.
0:57:03 > 0:57:05I think that sort of says a great deal
0:57:05 > 0:57:10about what I might call the conviviality of the Sikh religion.
0:57:11 > 0:57:14In fact, all the dishes served here are vegetarian,
0:57:14 > 0:57:17though the Sikhs are allowed to eat meat.
0:57:17 > 0:57:22In their religion there are five evils to be avoided at all times -
0:57:22 > 0:57:25ego, attachment,
0:57:25 > 0:57:28anger, greed and lust.
0:57:29 > 0:57:32Something we could all take heed of.
0:57:33 > 0:57:36I remember in a Hindu shrine seeing a sign that read,
0:57:36 > 0:57:40"Before you feed yourself, feed your soul."
0:57:41 > 0:57:43RELIGIOUS SINGING ECHOES
0:57:51 > 0:57:55I'm well over halfway through my curry odyssey, and I have to say,
0:57:55 > 0:58:01not for one second have I tired of this spicy, hot, fragrant food.
0:58:01 > 0:58:04Unlike certain members of the crew,
0:58:04 > 0:58:08who occasionally witter on about roast beef and Yorkshire pudding!
0:58:10 > 0:58:14There's lots more hot stuff to come as I continue my travels.
0:58:16 > 0:58:20Once the mere thought of a curry enters your mind, no other food will do.
0:58:20 > 0:58:23It just has to be curry!
0:58:53 > 0:58:56Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd