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.

Cateringco demands that we use chopping boards of all colours for our cutting tasks. Some are obvious like green for veg and red for meat. But then it gets a bit weird and we have blue for fish. There is also a brown one for something, but vanity precludes me from preparing foodstuff on a brown plastic sheet. It's just not right. You get used to this system, though. And it largely makes sense. In my own kitchen I have a huge wooden slab that I flip, wash, de-sanitise and dry for re-use all night. I find it best to accept that you don't have another choice but to perform this way because of the fact that someone else will eat your stuff. I'll cut in in my hands if I have, say, four 5Kg trays of mushrooms that need sliced and time is pressing. Otherwise I'll use (and prefer) the boards.

Most of the chefs I work with roll their jacket sleeves up anyway. Everyone wants to look like our hero - Gordon Ramsay. The ambulance guy...

Stropramen, Gilde Pils and are favourites. Al Dente is right, too. I like San Miguel from drinking them in midden pubs in Majorca. And Tuborg lager has enjoyable memories of getting drunk in Knockderry Castle. But I'm not a snob about this - I'll happily get drunk drinking Tennents.

Not so that you would notice. I will taste better though.

Looks the part, Simon. Eerily similar to the way Babu taught me, too. Have you tried your korma with rich, brown sugars at all? I find muscovado works exceptionally well. Curiously, I've noticed more and more of these comments on what is and what is not authentic. None of them definitive. Could you enlighten us?

And, of course, Britains national dish: Chicken Tikka Masala.

I wouldn't trouble yourself too much with what is and isn't claimed to be authentic. The variations and interpretation of a Korma vary hugely from region to region let alone from chef to chef. Recently I have had the good fortune to spend some time cooking with Pakistani, Bengali and Indian chefs, and they all employ different methods and ingredients in their versions. The one I favour includes coconut flour, almond flour (toasted almond nibs, too) and cream.

Friday evening, 14th of May 1981. The Akash restaurant in Helensburgh. It's still there to this day. It was intended to be a celebration meal for forty odd engineers who finished their apprenticeships on that day. I remember it well because I had been sacked for being quite possibly the worst electrical and electronics engineer ever I had chicken tikka Burryani and to this day it remains my all-time favourite dish. It was the first time I had tried the cuisine and I was joyously shocked at the riot of flavour and texture erupting in my mouth. The chicken tikka and naan - my first experience of foods cooked in a tandoor - were standouts. The basmati rice was sensational, too. Having only every had over-cooked and/or flavourless rice afore that day, I was delighted to learn that such a basic foodstuff could be made into something wonderful to eat. Whilst the meal was intended to be a celebration, I recall being incredibly sad at the end of the evening. I knew I'd likely not see many of my fellow apprentices again. Also, I drank myself unconcious. Inevitably this lead to a murderous hangover that almost stopped me going out the following night. Absolutely! I eat - and cook - Indian foods every single day now. Not only did it change my eating habits, it also inspired my choice to go to college and begin my career as a chef. I had no idea when I started college that all I would be taught there was French methods. What a pity and what a shameful waste. Many, many, many times. Of course! Although here in Scotland this is not a difficult task as it's our favourite food by far. Invariably positive. Apart from one attempt at a Haggis Pakora. That was rotten That's impossible to say as folks taste is a varied as the cuisine itself. I find it easiest just to ask what guests like or don't like. That way I can avoid serving up, say, a vindaloo to someone who doesn't like hot and spicy food. Perhaps I'm also a little fortunate in not having any religious dietary restrictions to consider, as beef dishes have been very popular amongst the requests.

Alternatively - it's more than possible that people have understood the bad diet = obesity equation and still decided that gorging on glorious food is the best choice for them. What's wrong with healthy compulsions anyway? I drink, smoke, eat way too much and still feel great.

Indiagirl, it would be great if you could share that recipe.. I'd be very interested to have a wee gander at this recipe too. But, I know how it is sometimes when you try to do things - I've been trying to make a Cream of Haggis soup for months now and it's still not at a serveable stage Maybe it's going to be another one of those great ideas that just did not work...