Cyrus Todiwala is Executive Chef & Proprietor along with his wife Pervin, of Café Spice Namasté, renowned for its innovative and fresh approach to Indian cuisine. In autumn 2011, they opened Mr Todiwala’s Kitchen, the signature restaurant at the Hilton London Heathrow T5. The 60-seater restaurant offers a number of the dishes available at Cafe Spice Namaste as well as brand new creations showcasing Cyrus and Pervin’s rich Parsee heritage.
He left India for Australia in 1991, but on the behest of one of his old friends decided to come to London to run the Namasté restaurant in Alie Street where he developed his hallmark style of blending traditional Indian culinary techniques and flavours with more unexpected ingredients. Ever the keen environmentalist (he helped to establish two bird sanctuaries in Goa), Cyrus cooks with organic and sustainable products wherever possible and firmly believes in Buying British.
Cafe Spice Namaste, celebrating its 17th year in November 2012, is a mainstay of all the stylish restaurant guides and highly regarded by food critics, both in the UK and further afield. The New York Times food writer, Mark Bittman, in February 2012 called it a ‘terrific restaurant’, singling it out as his favourite ‘no fuss’ Indian restaurant in London. Harden’s called it ‘still a winner, after all these years.’ The restaurant has won numerous awards, including the 2011 Sustainable Food Award from the Corporation of London.
The Country Captain Prepared for HM The Queen & The Duke of Edinburgh at Walthamstow Town Hall on 29th March 2012, to start of the Diamond Jubilee Tour – ‘A DISH FIT FOR THE QUEEN’
You will need
Ingredients (serves 4-6):
- 1 – 1.25kg cleaned mutton shoulder (or lamb shoulder)
- 50g ginger
- 50g garlic
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 2 one-inch pieces cinnamon (or cassia bark)
- 3-4 green cardamom
- 2-3 cloves
- 3-4 black peppercorns
- 2-3 large dried red chilli
- 3 medium sized chopped onions
- 200g chopped tomato
- 2-3 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 heaped tbsp fresh coriander
For the Topping:
- 3-4 large baking potatoes
- 2 medium eggs ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 250g fresh spinach leaves, coarsely shredded
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 1 dried red chilli, snipped into equal pieces
- 1 tbsp butter
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 2 hours
Method
1. Peel the potatoes, remove any spots, wash & keep them in water.
2. Trim the shoulder to suit your pan or cut into large pieces.
3. Roast the cumin & coriander seeds on a low heat on the hob, until they change colour slightly & allow to cool.
4. In a blender grind together the ginger, garlic, the roasted cumin & coriander seeds to a fine paste, with only as much water as is necessary to make the masala paste.
5. Boil the potatoes, drain & pass them through a ricer (ideally, or use a potato masher) & set aside.
6. In a large, oven-proof casserole dish, big enough to take the mutton (or lamb), add the oil & cook on the hob, over a medium heat, until a light haze forms on the surface.
7. Reduce the heat a little & add the shoulder, or pieces.
8. Brown well on all sides until the meat is well sealed.
9. Remove meat from the dish & add the whole spices (cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, peppercorns) & the red chillies broken into pieces.
10. Sauté for a minute or so on a medium heat until the cloves swell a little & de-glaze the casserole with a little water to release the residue from the meat stuck at the base. Don’t peer over the pan as the steam will burn you.
11. Scrape up the contents from the base, with a wooden spatula & add the chopped onions to them.
12. Cook until the liquid evaporates & the onions are being sautéed.
13. When the onions are soft, add the masala paste (see point 4).
14. Add some water to the container to release any stuck masala & add this to the pan.
15. Continue cooking for 5-6 minutes & put the meat back into the casserole dish.
16. Coat it well with the masala, check seasoning & add salt as desired.
17. Lower the heat a bit, cover the pan tightly with a lid & continue cooking the mutton.
18. Put the casserole dish, with lid on, into the oven at approximately 140°C.
19. After 15 mins turn the meat & return to oven.
20. If the contents dry out, or the onions are burning, add some water or stock to loosen the contents at the bottom of the pan.
21. In another 30 mins, the shoulder should be approximately half cooked.
22. Add the chopped tomatoes & if drying out, some more water or stock. Cover & continue cooking for another 15 mins.
23. When the mutton is almost cooked the muscles will have retracted & the meat will feel soft to the touch.
24. If in doubt insert a thin skewer, or roasting fork, to see if the fluid released runs clear.
25. When the mutton is done, scrape off any gravy stuck to it & place the meat on a tray. For this dish the meat needs to be quite overcooked actually.
26. Carefully remove all the whole spices from the gravy in the dish, if possible.
27. Allow the mutton to cool & then remove the meat from the bone, shredding it as you go & add to the gravy.
28. Place on the hob & cook very slowly until the meat & the gravy reduce to a thick consistency.
29. Mix in the freshly chopped coriander, check seasoning & leave approximately 3/4″ from the top.
30. Finely chop the garlic & shred the red chilli, for the topping.
31. Heat a little butter, add the cumin seeds & let them colour gently, but don’t overheat as the butter will burn.
32. As soon as cumin changes colour remove & add to the potato, transferring as little butter as is possible.
33. Add chopped garlic to the butter & sauté for a minute or so.
34. When the garlic starts to take colour add the spinach leaves, toss for a minute or so until soft, season gently & remove.
35. Spread the spinach evenly over the mutton.
36. Blend the raw eggs into the potato & cream them until soft & smooth. Add the shredded chillies & check seasoning.
37. Spread the potato over the spinach evenly, ruffle the surface a little with a fork. Bake in the oven at the same temperature for 10 mins.
38. Raise the temperature to 180°C & cook to get a nice colour on top.
39. Serve with hot crusty bread or steamed rice.
For more recipes from Villeroy & Boch click here