TBK cooks food from India for Mr G

One of my favourite Recipe Books, a gift from The Gregory's in 2016 when they visited me in Bahrain.

For those who have not heard of Keith Floyd he is an English TV celebrity Chef, and he did a series on British TV, Channel 5, where he travelled around India and cooked a variety of dishes there. He then produced this Recipe Book, "Floyd's India."

Phil on vacation in Bahrain - Marisai Beach- 2016

If you did not yet hear of Mr Gregory ( Mr G for short) where have you been! Phil and I met around 1996 when we both worked for the same company, and for a while we shared the same office.

Di in the chair that no one sits in, Gulf Hotel, Bahrain 2016

His wife, Di, also worked with me in my Business Post days. I was there at their wedding and for the (premature) birth of their son Zak (now 24 years old). When I returned, prematurely also, from Kuwait in 2000 they offered me a home and a job (preparing an induction pack for Fatty Arbuckle's restaurants). I looked after Zak while Di had her antenatal appointment with Ria (now 23 yrs. old). They visited me in Bahrain in 2016 and had hoped to be there for my 60th Birthday back in 2020 but COV19 caused the cancellation of their flights, so we had to settle for a videocall!

Our last Indian Meal together in 2016 at Lanterns, RWU Corner, Bahrain

Phil now works in Paris for Veolia (who I worked with before in 2005 when Phil was with their competitor, SITA) and has written guest blogs from there for TBK

Phil Gregory in Paris

I often refer to him in my Blogs as Mr G as he has a dislike of me quoting from Wikipedia and loves my stories, so I often put:

"Enough Wiki, Mr P, tell us a story!"

" Ok, Mr G"

I sometimes wonder of anyone reads my blogs due to the lack of feedback, so it was lovely to get an email from the infamous Mr G the other day which read:

Are you talking about me, Mr P?

Yes, Mr G

Oh, I thought you would have mentioned the Keith Floyd Indian Cookery Book Mr P?

Oh yes, I forgot about that Mr G

Never mind Mr P. I am sure you will continue to entertain us with your personal stories.

Don't worry Mr G. IT is all in hand.

Kind Regards

Phil Gregory

Direction des Ressources Humaines / HRIS

Shopping list for Ate Jhe for 23.9.22

So, I dug out the Keith Floyd Indian cookery book from the 2016 archive, sent Ate Jhe shopping, and cooked up a storm in the Kitchen with some more wonderful dishes from India. I made a few Vlogs too which you can see by clicking the links below. One of the dishes I cooked also was in my 2018 Recipe Calendar, Chicken Cafrael

Recipes from around the world with Chef Tatay Neil

"Enough of the stories, Mr P, let's get on with the recipes!"

"Ok Mr G!"

So, in this blog/vlog combo we are going to make:

Mutton (Lamb) Stew (Tupa in Tagalog)

Lamb is very rarely eaten in the Philippines and is imported from Australia, frozen. So far, I have only found one place that sells it (Puerto Deli) so for my Pinoy readers this is a Lamb! When I was cutting the meat up Joven asked if it was chicken! (Manok). His dad is a Fisherman so he and Jhoann grew up on seafood! Elay asked if it was Cow! (Baka). Quick thanks to JP and Kobe for teaching me Tagalog for all the animals on a trip to Sibaltan for a massage with Ate Marz many years ago!

We will also be cooking:

Chicken curry (Murgh Masala)
Chicken Cafrael
Mango and Chilli Chutney
Sweet Mango Pickle
Kulfi (frozen dessert)

Kulfi, which I made for an earlier Blog (Jan 2021)

Cooking up some curries for New Year

So, let's start with the Chicken Cafrael- here is the Recipe:

and here are some pictures of me making it and of my last trip to God's Country, Kerala, two of which hang in my house here in Palawan:

and finally, a picture of the finished dish:

Thanks to James Colcol for the photography, Chester (the Hooman) for the graphic design and Corleen for the Indian Chef's Uniform!

You can see me making the Chicken Cafrael by clicking the link below:

Next the Mutton Stew:

The finished Mutton Stew with Raita and Mango and Chilli Chutney

First a quick word of warning, the mutton is marinated for 2 hours in the fridge with the Coconut Milk and then takes 20 mins to cook and another 20 for the potatoes, so, including the marinade this will take you about 3 hours to make. However, the time is well spent as this simple one of the tastiest Indian dishes I have made! As the name suggests it's a stew rather than a curry but the mix of spices and coconut milk, as is typical in Kerala cookery, will make you want to taste it all, even when you have eaten the meat and potatoes. I first made it in 2019 and then again for this blog and Vlog special!

Here is a picture of the diced lamb and you will find the Vlog at the end of the Blog!

1 kg diced Australian Lamb from Puerto Deli (defrost for 24 hrs.)

After that we made Chicken curry (Murgh Masala). I should point out that it took a week to make this Blog and all the vlogs. Even I cannot eat 6 Indian dishes on one day!

According to Floyd:

"This is a terribly simple curry, much favoured by the Parsi community"

Source: Floyd, 2001 (accessed 24.9.22)

If you, like me, are not familiar with the word Parsi then my research tells me:

"Parsi, also spelled Parsee, member of a group of followers in India of the Iranian prophet Zoroaster (or Zarathustra). The Parsis, whose name means “Persians,” are descended from Persian Zoroastrians who emigrated to India to avoid religious persecution by Muslims"

Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Parsi (accessed 24.9.22)

"Stop quoting from Websites and tell us a story, Mr P!"

" Coming right up, Mr G!"

Making Floyd's India Murgh Masala in a brown out

It was a rainy Friday in Palawan, perfect for cooking, writing blogs and making vlogs. My houseboy was outside washing the car and I got the lighting, tripod, camera, super sensitive microphone, recipe and ingredients ready. No sooner than I shouted " Quiet on set. Lights, Camera, Action " as Evan taught me, then chaos broke out. We had a brown out (power cut), the AC and fans went off, and the lighting! Being seasoned professionals, we ploughed on, sweating profusely and even adding a line about " trying to recreate the atmosphere in an Indian kitchen!"

One of my Pogi Houseboy's, Jovan

Then the American man next door must have woken up and turned on his noisy generator, and in spite of shutting all the windows you could hear it on the soundtrack! I had told Jovan (my houseboy, outside washing the car) not to come in as I was filming. However, he forgot the Shami leather to dry the car so suddenly, whilst recording, there's a knock on the door and he says, " Sorry sir, I need the Shami". We battle on and there's another knock and my landlady arrives with the plumber (who I have been waiting 5 months for to replace a dripping tap!) While I am running to and from the door, camera around my neck, the oil starts to burn and then as I am showing our viewers how to make Masala you can hear the plumber and his monkey wrench next door removing the faulty tap and replacing it with a sparkling new one.

My sparkling new tap!

Key learning - never work with children, animals, houseboys, landladies or plumbers!

"I thought this was a Recipe Blog, Mr P, not a Plumbing tutorial!"

"Right Mr G, sorry, I got carried away, like a John Jaworski story!"

So, for enough Murgh Masala for 4 people you will need:

Did you wipe your screen like me then to get the brown mark off?! Sorry, it's on the Recipe book!

This is what you do:

If you are one of those people who likes to watch rather than read tune into our YouTube channel or click the picture below (Do not forget to like and subscribe and hit the notification bell so you see more recipes by Floyd in India!

To me no Indian meal is complete without a variety of accompaniments. In my last blog on Indian food, I made Naan bread and Raita. (Click here if you missed it

https://thebritishkabayan.blogspot.com/2022/08/tbk-cooks-indian-food.html ). This time I chose a couple of chutneys/ pickles from the Floyd's India recipe book.

First was Mango and Chilli Chutney (there is a Mango tree opposite my house and the kids are always knocking the mangoes down - you do not get any fresher than that!). The recipe is above, and I have added some pictures below of me making the Chutney:

First dice the red onions or shallots and sauté in Coconut oil

Then dice the red chilies

Coarsely chop two ripe mangoes

Add the Chillis to the onions then the mangoes, some sugar and salt (to your taste) and simmer until you have a "typical Chutney consistency" (whatever that may be!) Allow the chutney to cool them refrigerate and serve with your curry (or in Joven's case your Chicken Pie!)

My Mango and Chilli Chutney, Pretty and tasty!

Next up was my Sweet Mango Pickle. Here is the recipe from Mr Floyd:

Here are some pictures of me making it:

500g mango, red chili powder, salt, fennel and fenugreek seeds and 500g sugar

I used brown and palm sugar as I did not have pure cane sugar crystals, and Jhoanna could not find the asafetida (I think I used it in Bahrain when I made Samba). Likewise, I did not have a screw top glass jar (I guess he means the Kilner jars my mum used for making marmalade!), so I improvised and used two of my old plastic spice jars, and a casserole dish full of water.

It did look nice and shiny when I mixed it all together! We then spooned it into the plastic jars and placed them in a casserole dish of water- like so

We then placed this in the oven for an hour. Mr Floyd does not say at what temperature it should be cooked (or even that you should turn the oven on, if I am picky!). However, he saves his killer line for the end of the recipe- so let me make it big and bold to forewarn you:

Keep in a cool place for 2- 3 weeks before using!

So, it won't be ready for tonight's dinner! As Chef Coco and my brother Andrew always say, read the recipe TO THE END before your start!

I love the light in my oven, so I can see how it is cooking without opening the door.

There is a question in the vlog about one of the dishes in this blog, and the first person to send the correct answer to thebritishkabayan@gmail.com wins an Indian meal for two in their country! Make sure you watch closely and read the blog thoroughly and engage your brain and not just mindlessly scroll through the pictures!

The Kulfi I made in Palawan using the recipe in Floyd's India

The Kulfi is really easy to make. Here is the recipe from Floyd's India:

The Kulfi recipe, you can see me make it in the Vlog by clicking the link below

I also announced in my Vlog a new feature for TBK for 2023 and we need your ideas. We are going to produce an online recipe book which will feature YOUR favourite recipes. It will be published on the TBK Facebook page on the 15th of each month starting on January 15th, 2023. There will be 6 recipes a month from 3 different countries, and they will be a mix of starters, main dishes and desserts like Kulfi. We will also have guest Chef's contributing monthly. You can hear the latest on who the Guests will be for January on the Kulfi Vlog. So please email your favourite dishes to thebritishkabayan@gmail.com