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Curry Flavour
One of the most pervasive culinary traditions to influence the world would have to be East Indian. Because India was part of the British Empire (which was the one quarter of the world coloured pink on former maps), the influence spread into the consciousness of all continents. Together with the spread of the Islam religion earlier in history, came the spread of Moghul style cooking, and with today’s fusion trends, the curry factor reaches even into the Midwest of the United States, where you will find curry dishes presented in the most prosaic of cookbooks, albeit mild and innocuous.
With more sophisticated palate, we now embrace a whole range of taste sensations, and when I get a curry craving I want to be enveloped in the aromatic arms of garam masala, ginger, chilies and chai. In 1990, when Gateway to India opened, the name inspired by the carved ‘India Gate’ in Delhi (an opening where two cultures meet), Chatterjit and Santosh Parmar had a goal; to bring a healthy, nutritious, appealing cuisine to the populace, and I with my curry cravings, came to be known to them as the Big Food Goy with the Black Hat. I would ask to be seated next the kitchen where I could see the dishes coming out and inhale all the passing aromas, and listen to the orchestration of the clanging pots, sizzling pans, and lilting chorus.
I would request a cross-section of the menu, and the first to arrive would be a basket of freshly made papadums. Their crisp texture and spicy flavour get the gastric juices going. Then an order of samosas with tamarind chutney, followed closely by pakoras with mango dip. Both were deep fried to an exquisite crispness.
A magnificent Moghul combination of lamb rogan josh, chicken vindaloo, chili chicken, aloo goghy, biriiyani style rice with prawns, lentil dahl, assorted chutneys and sauces, was awesome to behold.
The lamb was braised in a madras style curry to tender perfection. The two chicken dishes were flavourful and had a piquancy that had your palate take note, but not burn…the emphasis in on flavour, richly spiced but not searing hot. The vindaloo is the hotter of the two, that being the nature of vindaloo, which is made with tamarind base, mustard seed, red chili, fenugreek, and garlic, deliciously pungent and savoury. You can request a more incendiary version but it stands well on its own without more heat.
The chili chicken is cooked with lots of garlic, ginger, onion, tomato, shimla mirch (bell peppers), and garam masala…again very flavourful with spice highlights. Biriyani style basmatic rice with almonds, raisins, onions, bell pepper, cardamom, peas and prawns, all with a mild curry flavour, that lent itself to the rest of the meal, as a good balance of tastes and textures, and temperatures.
For vegetarian tastes, there’s aloo gobhi; a mixture of cauliflower, potato, onions and spices cooked in ghee (a clarified butter). The lentil dahl is delicious, pungent with lots of cilantro and garlic. For a low saturated fat content canola is now used, but certain dishes need the ghee butter for authentic flavour.
The traditional cardamom flavoured rice pudding and a pot of chai end a superlative meal for a curry craver.