A Scottish Chef

I doff my cap to your spirit of adventure, Simon. Just don't let Tony catch you doing it

I'll do better than that for you, Tony, I'll ask some of the Indian/Bengali/Pakistani chefs I know what they think of using local ingredients in their cuisine. And, yes, I'll specifically ask about cheese. As for Kayani, whilst I can't talk of his personal details, I'll ask him for some of his thoughts with regard to this. I'll get back to you with his comments right here as soon as I can. Tony! In this very thread - you mentioned a notable indian restaurant iin London called Zaika and had this to say I had a look at their website. Guess what's on the menu? MALAI NAAN Naan filled with assorted cheese, onion and chillies £2.95 It's worth repeating, Tony, that I cannot understand why you are so intent on pursuing this argument. It's a nonsense to suggest that great Indian chef's will not experiment with local and unusual ingredients to advance and develop their cuisine. Why the hell wouldn't they? And, in light of the first quote of yours in this post, aren't those Zaika chefs - aiming for Michelin stars no less - both working and creating right here in the UK? Gulp: with cheese?

Tony: I'm not certain I understand what points you are trying to drive home at all. It looks remarkably like you are trying to dismiss the creative invention of Indian chefs and cuisine from it's tradition. I'm very definately arguing that this creativity is a vital part of the tradition. Are you saying, for example, that Kayani's remarkable inclusion of local Scottish ingredients into his cuisine has no place because he fundamentally misunderstands how the cuisine operates? In this very thread, Suvir speaks enthusiastically of manipulations on basic Naan - does he also fundamentally misunderstand? It's just silly, Tony. Well. You refrain away to your hearts content. If any cuisine can claim to include invention as an inherent part of its traditions, then I'm betting the vast body of opinion would most definately include the French. What happens, Tony, when you come across new french dishes that include, say, soy sauce? Do you push the food away in disgust and say: " I can't eat french food with soy sauce and I'm not willing to try." Have a wee look at how Raymond Blanc is getting creative with french and asian food. Shock! Horror! French chef uses soy sauce in his pot-au-feu! I'm surprised at you, Tony

You must be making this up as you go along, Tony! Perhaps Scotland throws up some rare demographic anomalies (although I rather doubt it), but it's not my experience that Bangladeshis run the minority of restaurants let alone the vast majority. What are you basing your assertion on? Only in London? Risible! And I thought Bernard Manning had cornered this market in stereotyping. Presumably those few London restaurants are breaking the mold in this respect, too? As for the notion that authentic Indian cuisine would in no way countenance cheeses in naan, I think you are doing the invention and creativity of Chefs involved in it's creation a massive disservice. After all - as is widely recognised on this forum and beyond - the creativity involved in Indian cuisine is legendary. Would you think the creativity had stopped at some arbitary point in time whereby all those chefs decided there was no more need to experiment? No more need for creative use of ingredients was neccessary? Game over as it were - authenticity had been declared? I'm certain this is not the case. I know and have worked with Indian chefs who delight in taking unusual, local ingredients and incorporating them skilfully and beautifully into their 'authentic' cuisine. Never tried a Tandoori Naan liberally stuffed with Gigha Smoked cheese? Scottish Salmon Buryani? I think you should try them, Tony. Kayani - the chef responsible for creating the dishes I mentioned - certainly considers his cuisine to be authentic. He's open-minded enough to know they may not be considered traditional, but I'd recognise the creativity and skill involved as authentic in any measure of Indian cuisine. Excepting the fact that Kayani is from Pakistan and would clip my ear for suggesting his cooking was exclusively Indian The fact is that this cuisine, and it's chefs, have been creative and making the best of what's available for as long there has been people creating the dishes. It certainly didn't stop when they reached european shores.

You can use ghee to fry the onions and spices for the sauce, but I think the dish is rich enough with the cream and using oil gives a cleaner taste Not butter. Simon: many, many chefs will tell that finishing a sauce with butter is a great aid to both flavour and texture. I'm one of them and have found that finishing many Indian dishes with butter works a treat. Try it

It's been a while I know, Simon. But I thought you might like to know that I printed out and passed on a copy of your recipe recently, taking great care to ensure they knew the dish is called Chiken Tikka Majumdar. Ha ha - your a hit, Simon, folk love you as a dish

Also, listening to and learning from better chefs. Probably the best one.

Ditto. It also helps make the whole experience more enjoyable.

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell is not foody. Le Repertoire De La Cuisine by Louis Saulnier most definately is.

A perfect (and easy) consomme.

I am very sorry for your loss. If jhl's remarkable find becomes readily available then it'll have been no more than an unfortunate intermission

Now that's a neat trick. How you keep the splashes restricted the V panel between then buttons? Is it like a series of dance moves

Trying to develop an eating regime that follows Atkins thinking has produced the best control results for me with regard to diabetes. But I'd happpily blow carb allowance on a bar of that. People don't know what life is like with no chocolate.

This is a dangerous job. In the last three weeks there have been two heart attacks, one burn so bad the chef was hospitalised. Innumerable other smaller burns and cuts. Panic attacks, fights and We have a guy with a finger missing. He lost that whilst demonstrating how not to lose a finger in a mixer. Best be safe as possible, it's difficult to argue that a board isn't the best place for cutting things mostly. All bad kitchen habits must stop right now

Well, the first good thing is that you didn't spit it out and seem content to continue to eat the stuff. And secondly, as diabetic, this sounds like a wonderful invention if even remotely edible. I really miss chocolate.