Chai and Chat - Curry For Change, how did we do?

I have been very vocal on my blog and on twitter about my support for Find Your Feet. It's a very small charity with a fantastic positive attitude to helping people in need - through empowerment, skill building and education and not through aid.

From the first moment I was asked to understand and support their Curry For Change fundraising campaign to pay for their work, I knew I was in. So I attended their launch event, an amazing, informative and fun evening where I learnt to cook from Dhruv Baker, Vivek Singh and Anjum Anand. Since then, I've tried to support their work through this blog, through my twitter stream and by actually donating real cash money. 


I was recently invited to a "Chai and Chat" event organised by Find Your Feet to review what has been achieved. I was only too proud and pleased to attend. 

Curry For Change has managed to raise £10,000 for Find Your Feet, with a mysterious trust benefactor (I am not kidding here!) agreeing to match that total pound-for-pound! The result is £20,000 raised to further projects in India and Nepal!

But what does the money do? Well take a look at this. Here is Teresa.

She has six (yes, six!) children. She's a member of a self-help group in her remote rural village in Jharkhand, India. When I say remote, I mean it. There are NO roads and there is NO electricity. Life is spartan and hard. Water is incredibly scarce. This means it is terribly difficult to grow enough food. 

Find Your Feet has trained her on principles of sustainable agriculture. In addition they have taught her how to make simple leaf plates. The plates are sold for use at weddings or at the village market. The extra income pays for necessities.

Teresa says: “We have learnt new agriculture techniques and have grown enough rice for all our food needs. If we get good rains next time, we will make a surplus to sell. I have also learnt to make leaf plates. I get 5 rupees for 20 plates (6p) and I can make up to 20 rupees a day (25p). Now through my crops and the plates I have sent two of my older children to school. Now we are free from moneylenders, we have money for agriculture, medicines and emergencies. But most importantly we can send our children to school.”

Yes, the ability to earn £0.25 per day is the difference between a woman's children going to school or missing out. It's a sobering thought, isn't it?

If Teresa's story inspires you, how about donating a little something right now? http://find-your-feet.org/support-us/donate-now Go on, I have!

This is Savitri Sharma, the Director of Find Your Feet's operations in India and Nepal. She wanted everyone to know just what a difference the funds would make. She spoke to us passionately about the dignity of the people she assists and how much they want a head start rather than handouts. Coordinating all of the project across two nations takes so much strength of character and determination. I was full of admiration for her poise, dedication, and kind nature. What an amazing woman!

The Chai and Chat was held in London's Anise Bar, run by Chef Vivek Singh, whose Cinnamon Kitchen Restaurant is just next door. It's a super bar with some innovative cocktails and mocktails. There's a link to their Lychee Goji Bellini below, if you want to recreate one of their lovely creations.

The other Curry For Change champions, namely food writers, cookbook authors and bloggers were in attendance to find out the progress report and celebrate Find Your Feet's success. 

This is yours truly with The Spice Scribe, Zoe Perrett. She has probably the best knowledge of Indian food of anyone I know. A bona fide journalist and writer, you'll find her writings in The Times of India and elsewhere, but her excellent blog is here: http://culinaryadventuresofthespicescribe.wordpress.com/

I had the chance to catch up with my friend Kavey. I owe her a debt of gratitude as she is the person who told me all about Find Your Feet and Curry For Change. Kavey is obviously the brains and talent behind the brilliant Kavey Eats: http://www.kaveyeats.com/
 

I was delighted to meet some amazing new people. One was the cook book author and curry expert Monisha Bharadwaj, who has long been a TV chef and cooking tutor. I had a fascinating discussion with her about west London's Indian food scene and heritage. (Her website can be found here: http://www.cookingwithmonisha.com/)

I also had the pleasure of meeting the exceptionally dapper and exceedingly charming Urban Rajah, AKA Ivor Peters. Ivor is a rising star of the Indian Supperclub scene. His book "The Urban Rajah's Curry Memoirs" is out now. His website, which includes a blog AND recipes is here: http://www.urbanrajah.com/

I had a wonderful evening nattering, munching on snacks and having a couple of long and lovely drinks. But more than anything, I felt proud and privileged to have helped something bigger and more important than me or my blog. I felt I'd somehow helped with something much more worthwhile.

My previous blog posts can be found here:

Curry For Change Masterclass: 
http://snigskitchen.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/curry-for-change-indian-cooking.html 

Dhruv Baker's Prawn Malaba Curry: http://snigskitchen.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/dhruv-bakers-prawn-malaba-curry-recipe.html

Vivek Singh's roast saddle of lamb with root vegetables and pickling sauce: http://snigskitchen.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/vivek-singhs-roast-saddle-of-lamb-with.html

Anjum Anand's Pomegranate Souffle: http://snigskitchen.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/anjum-anands-pomegranate-souffle-with.html

Anise Bar and Cinnamon Kitchen's Lychee Goji Bellini: http://snigskitchen.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/cinnamon-kitchens-lychee-goji-bellini.html


Snigdha would like to thank Find Your Feet for inviting her to Anise.

Catford Broadway Supperclub - Mangia

As a proud resident of what I call the "Nation of Catford", I support local businesses and go to eat in local restaurants. Our corner of London, deep in the south east of the city, isn't well known or glitzy. But it has many pluses. It is full of lovely green spaces. We have a diverse population of people who've been here for generations or arrived from all over the world either this generation or the last. We have proud Victorian housing stock which would sell for millions in the more chi-chi neighbourhoods of north and west London. It is great that we have local Turkish, Vietnamese, Caribbean and Sri Lankan grocers in our neighbourhood, making diverse culinary traditions accessible, bringing that taste of home closer for local migrant communities.

I recently hosted a guest post about Catford Broadway Supperclub (you will find it here: http://snigskitchen.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/guest-post-catford-broadway-supperclub.html) and followed that up with a post about some new developments coming our way (which you can read here: http://snigskitchen.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/update-catford-broadway-market-and.html). It was therefore high time that I visited and wrote about the Supperclub itself. So here I am! 

The September Catford Broadway Supperclub followed their recent tradition of Supperclubs; a pop up restaurant in the market space, run by great London supperclub hosts and local caterers. This Supperclub in particular was a joint effort between Capo Caccia and Pastificio Mansi.

Capo Caccia specialise in the food of Sardinia, with cured meats and cheese being their particular passions. Trading at markets in Northcote Road, Tufnell Park, Harringay, Chatsworth Road and Catford Broadway, Capo Caccia want to spread greater awareness of the high quality available from Sardinia. (If you want to know more about them, including their trading dates, do have a look here: http://www.capocaccia.co.uk/. Pastificio Mansi is an Italian home made pasta workshop based in Ladywell, South East London, just up the road from the Nation of Catford. 

This was due to be the last Catford Broadway Supperclub to be held on the Broadway itself. The weather is on the change, and it won't be practical to hold future Supperclubs in a marquee. As the weather gets colder and less reliable, the need for heating and total watertight conditions will only increase. As a result, the Supperclub will, in future be relocated to a nearby shop which will be called the "Catford Canteen". 

Thankfully, we had a pleasant and unseasonally warm evening for this final al fresco Supperclub. I arrived a little bit early and caught the Capo Caccia team preparing the Antipasti platter. 

Here was my place, all made up and ready for me!

We were welcomed with an Aperol spritz, made up of Aperol and prosecco, in the traditional way. It got us ready for the specialities to come, ready to take us on an Italian journey!

Our pre-starter was Pane Carasau with Pecorino cream dip. Pane Carasau is a traditional Sardinian bread, a flatbread made out of durum wheat (the same as used for pasta), which is double baked, making it crisp and crunchy. Made for shepherds to take on their long wanders across the countryside, it keeps for months. The Pane was light and crunchy, and breaking it gave a smile-inducing cracking sound. It went very well with the creamy, thick and highly indulgent dip. One fellow diner remarked that it was "a bit like Dairylea". I would disagree as there was a depth of flavour our more familiar foil trangles don't have; a bit like the umami flavours of Parmesan.

 

 

Here is the Pane Carasau, ready for its close-up.

The Antipasti platter arrived soon after, and it was a mouthwatering selection of Sardinian Mustela, Salami and Coppa with Pecorino cheese and rocket. 

In Sardinia, Mustela is pork fillet flavoured with herbs, and aged. Some varieties are soaked in white wine or vinegar. Capo Caccia's is from the southern flatlands and aged for 2-3 months. The Coppa is made from the neck of the pig, marinaded in the local Malvasia wine, treated with salt, pepper and spice and aged for 4-6 months. The Pecorino is made with sheeps milk and aged for 60-90 days. The salami was studded with cracked black pepper, bringing a kick of heat and flavour to the splendidly aged meat. 

It was then time to hand over to Pastificio Mansi. Their first offering was pumpkin ravioli in sage, butter sauce and shaved Parmesan. The hand made raviolis were delectable little parcels, the pasta being a world away from the supermarket chiller packs we have got so used to. 

Generously filled with pumpkin, the sage and butter complemented it well. Rich buttery flavours tinged with medicinal sage contrasted and highlighted the sweet mushiness of the vibrantly orange pumpkin.

 

Squid ink and bottarga lasagna served with zucchini and king prawns was next. Bottarga is grated grey mullet roe. The lasagna itself was not black pasta, as I had expected. However, I have to confess that I was disappointed by this dish. It didn't skimp on the prawns, and was clearly made with care and skill. However, it was cold! And even though I am a confirmed pasta-demon, cold lasagna isn't something I enjoy. It's a shame, since it wasn't Pastaficio Mansi's fault they were having to bring dishes from the outside kitchen all the way to the Supperclub diner's marquee. If it had been hot, I would have been able to assess it fairly and squarely. Perhaps I will withhold judgment as a result.

We finished with Hazelnut gelato, mature salted Ricotta topped with organic Sardinian honey. The gelato was produced by Gelateria 3BIS of Borough Market, a traditional Italian gelato producer with a branch in Rimini. Made with organic milk, the hazelnut gelato was creamy, and tasted richly of real hazelnuts, not flavouring. The dried ricotta and honey was pleasant, but the ricotta was a little too salty to go with the ice cream. I felt that if it had been served as a half-way house dessert on its own, it would have been thoroughly enjoyable. Dried ricotta is a world away from the somewhat bland tubs of creamy stuff available in UK supermarkets. However, served with the ice cream, the overall effect was a little jarring. The two items just didn't go together for me. So I ate the ricotta first, and then tucked into the ice cream!

The Catford Broadway Supperclub is a great initiative; it brings together local food producers and caterers to the attention of potential customers. And it brings together local people in celebration of good food. I met many food lovers who live less than a stone's throw away from me who in ordinary life I would have walked past and never have spoken to. I also met local food blogger and supperclub host Hungry Larder, who I've been in touch with on twitter for a long while, but never met in real life - the real 'social network'!

Meeting and getting to know people over a meal and drinks is the oldest and most effective way of interacting. These Supperclubs are an opportunity to bring the community together, and to take pride and enjoyment for their locale home. Him Indoors and I had a very enjoyable evening, chatting to other like minded people, and will definitely be joining the action at the new Catford Canteen!

Snigdha and Him Indoors dined as guests of Catford Broadway Supperclub.

Kitchen Nomad: Greek ingredient box

Kitchen Nomads are on a mission; to broaden our horizons on food, country by country, culture by culture, nation by nation. Their idea is simple; each month they send you a box of ingredients to assist you to learn something about the food and cooking of a new nation.

Customers subscribe (although one off orders are possible) and a special Kitchen Nomads box is sent to you. The box will be inspired by a different country's food and ingredients, depending on the month. Previous boxes have featured the ingredients and recipes of the Lebanon and Vietnam. Each box contains 7 to 9 speciality high quality ingredients from which you will make at least 5 authentic dishes from the country in question. The idea is that you can serve up all of the dishes as a single themed dinner, or as separate dishes if you prefer. If you're into dinner parties, it's a great excuse to organise one!

I was provided with the Greek themed box of ingredients. The Kitchen Nomad boxes are priced at £22 per month (or each) plus £3 delivery with a small discount for six month or yearly subscriptions.  It contained the following: Dukkah Spice Mix, from The Real Greek, Iliada brand Kalamata Extra Virgin Olive Oil, an award-winning extra virgin olive oil, Zanae Vine Leaves in Brine, Morphakis brand Greek Capers in brine, Misko brand Orzo Pasta (orzo is the word in Greek for "rice", and this type of pasta is designed be a similar size and shape), Sifonios Kalamata Olives, "Taste" award winning (Gold 2009) organic tomato sauce or "Perasti", Cassia bark (the outside bark of a tree with similar but milder properties to true cinnamon) and dried green figs.

I am fortunate to live in a part of South East London with a rich Turkish-Cypriot influence. We have many shops selling the key ingredients for Greek, Turkish and Cypriot food. So I can report that many of these brands are the choice of the local Turkish-Cypriot community. When trying to source authentic ingredients, I try to take my cue from people in the know. They are always going to go for what is most like the taste of home. Morphakis, Sifonios and Iliada all get the thumbs up!

One very pleasant and helpful touch is that the people from Kitchen Nomads draft in an expert in the cuisine of the given country to put together 5 or 6 recipes which use the ingredients in the box. Obviously, having been sent in the post, the ingredients supplied are of the non-perishable variety, meaning the other ingredients have to be provided yourself. 

The consulting chef for the Greek box was none other than Tonia Buxton. Well known as the presenter and expert on the award winning Discovery Channel Travel & Living show My Greek Kitchen, now into its second series and My Cypriot Kitchen. She has literally just published a Greek Cookery Book, ‘Tonia’s Greek Kitchen’ due for general release in October 2013. I was very impressed that a writer of this calibre has provided the recipes. 

Tonia has provided recipe cards for 5 recipes in the Greek Kitchen Nomads box: Dolmades (stuffed vine leaves), Tarta me elies, kapari kai tomata (tart with olives and capers), Garides me feta (prawns and feta), Youvetsi (slow cooked lamb with orzo pasta), and Siko Kai Karithi (fig and walnut bake). The shopping list for each given recipe and the contents of the box required for each recipe is clearly stated on the recipe card. This is convenient and helpful and avoids any confusion. The recipes themselves are clear, precise and well explained. Kitchen Nomads and Tonia Buxton have taken a great deal of care about ensuring home cooks can manage to make the dishes regardless of knowledge or experience. 

I made the Youvetsi, Slow cooked lamb with orzo pasta. 

It's a one pot dish described as 'perfect for gatherings' or 'to cook ahead for the week'. Here's what I used from the box:

Here's what I did:

First I browned the lamb chunks in batches using the olive oil. I bought 500g of lamb, as the maximum amount of 800g was too much. It would be great for a meal for 6 people. I then removed them from my casserole dish.

I then added more olive oil and fried the chopped onions for 10 minutes. Once going golden, I added the garlic.

Next up was the three tins of chopped tomatoes, 4 heaped tablespoons of tomato puree, 4 sticks of cassia bark and seasoning.

Once warmed through, I put the lamb back in the pot. I was using my largest pot, and as you can see it is getting rather full!

As a result, I couldn't add all 4 glasses (800ml) of water. I put in 500ml, which I think was enough.

After cooking for an hour and a quarter, I added the orzo pasta.

This is what the pasta looked like once mixed in thoroughly.

The orzo cooked in 20 minutes, soaking up all of the moisture from the pan. 

I then grated some feta to mix in the stew to add creaminess and salty tang.

Here is the finished dish, which was rich and satisfying. 

The lamb was very tender. As we get into Autumn, this is a comfort dish which might be time consuming, but is very simple to make. It would reheat well in the microwave the next day, so could be used for a dinner the second day, or as a lunch at work where reheating facilities exist.

If you would like to cook Tonia Buxton's Youtvetsi, you will find the recipe here: http://www.kitchennomad.co.uk/youvetsi/4576864982

My overall impressions are that this is an inventive and fun way of learning more about international food and cookery. They have made it easy to familiarise yourself with key ingredients. The recipe cards are excellent. The packaging is mainly very good and tries to be attractive (I like the suitcase printed on the back!), but a little more care needs to be taken with some of the products.My pot of dukkah got crushed in the package because the tub was a little flimsy. Sadly, it would appear that Fiona McLean of London Unattached had the same experience: http://www.london-unattached.com/2013/07/kitchen-nomad-review-and-giveaway/ (see paragraph 2).

Box crushed with most of the dukkah missing. :(

For people who live in very cosmopolitan areas, the ingredients themselves can be sourced elsewhere, and with legwork, a little more competitively. But for people who don't have the luck of having international "ethnic" grocers nearby, this is a godsend. I would be interested in trying their other boxes, but perhaps not on a subscription basis. I would much prefer to check what the "box of the month" is and order if there is a cuisine I fancy. For example, Burmese, Indonesian, Peruvian would all rate highly on my list!

I would like to thank Kitchen Nomad for providing me with their Greek cuisine box to play with!