Urban Rajah's Curry Memoirs
What can you tell us about your new book The Urban Rajah's Curry Memoirs?
It's a cook book which I'm hoping travels from the kitchen to the bedside table, on to the bus, train or enjoying in perfect solitude. It's jam packed with over 80 familial recipes which I’ve captured from my father and his three brothers, tracking their journey across three continents and the original Indian food that’s followed them. If Bollywood produced a cookbook this would be it; the recipes are told through their stories and contain love, heartbreak, taboos, nostalgia, scandal, prejudice and the triumph of the human spirit. It’s a journey of migration and the gorgeous food that’s sustained them.
Why are curries so popular?
Brits love curry; in fact the curry economy is worth £3bn in Britain a year, so our love affair with Indian cuisine runs deep. It’s become part of our cultural food DNA which dates back to the first Indian restaurant in 1810 in London called the Hindoostani Coffee House and paralleled returning colonialists from India who hankered after spiced food. Since then and latterly in the 1970s when Indian restaurants became an integral part of our high streets, we’ve developed an insatiable palate for spice.
Brits have become disillusioned with what curry is supposed to taste like, so why is this?
When anything becomes popular there are always imposters in the shadows. These days, curry has been commoditised and often Brits are patronised with dumbed down versions of wonderfully spiced dishes through the provision of fake supermarket fixes and food manufacturers pumping out gooey mixtures. Even pubs have jumped on the bandwagon, marketing curry and a pint for a fiver...all of which is about as authentic as Bruce Forsyth’s toupé. So my mission is to help people cook healthy, authentic Indian food in their own kitchen and give the local take-away a run for its money.
What is your favourite recipe from the book?
Now there’s a sure-fire way of starting a family feud! The book is centered around my father and his siblings and to choose one recipe would definitely leave me out of the family will, but I am partial to the lamb recipes!
How can those who are not well rehearsed in cooking enjoy this book?
For me cooking is about pleasure and that shouldn’t be restricted by rigid rules, so all recipes and amounts are about guidelines and it’s okay to colour outside the lines. Cooking is about trial and error. However, I’ve cut together lots of recipes which are pretty straightforward, particularly a series of vegetarian recipes from my father’s residency in California, healthy quick and damn tasty. Also a lot of the recipes use home-made curry pastes, which simply involve a blender, a few ingredients and a little bit of time.
You run your own pop up charity called Cash and Curry, so what can you tell us about this?
Cash n Curry is a pop up supper club we started a few years ago and it’s the simplest way to enjoy gorgeous home cooked food, have a laugh with mates and transform lives. When travelling around India we spent some time with a couple of charities working with families living in the slums and we soon realised that a little goes a long way. So the idea for Cash n Curry was born. We take over a venue for the night, someone’s home, garden, a restaurant, community hall or pub and run a one-night only feast. Guests book their spaces through my website www.urbanrajah.com and are treated to a 5 course Indian meal and they simply pay what they think the meal’s worth, then all the profits from the evening go towards helping fund basic healthcare and education as well as freeing people captured in human trafficking chains. Eat curry do good!
You have worked for the last two decades in the media industry, so what can you tell us about this experience?
I’ve been privileged to do a number of things, from running my own PR and creative agency, working in publishing, developing TV ideas and producing short films for brands. As a result I’ve worked with some brilliant creative minds, who have challenged and inspired me to do things beyond my perceived ability. It means I’m being stretched to go above and beyond which can be thrilling, highly rewarding and frustrating as things don’t always happen as quickly as I’d like. However the trick is to stay focused and be tenacious, hard graft is always the pre-cursor to success and making it look easy is an art!
You are the creative director for a film and video production company, so what is a normal day like in your world?
Sometimes I wish for a bit of routine, but I know that’d frustrate me. So my days are varied and involve anything from being out on a shoot, going through hours of footage, writing a script or narrative for a short film and most recently being chased by zebra in South Africa. Whenever I’m away from home I’m always on the hunt for great local places to eat – fine dining can be experienced anywhere, but for authentic regional cooking you have to dine off the eaten track.
How can people calorie counting enjoy recipes from this book?
There’s a big misconception about Indian food that it’s heavy on the calories and bad stuff but that’s largely confined to restaurant dining where ghee (clarified butter) and cream is widely used. That’s not how we eat at home so if you’ve an eye on the calorie calculator you’re in good company with this book. Start with the fish and veggie recipes or some of the grilled kebabs and use calorie thin oils. Spices are great for nutritional balance, helping boost the immune system, pep up the metabolism and fend off maladies, so load up your spice cabinet with turmeric, cumin, ginger, garlic, chilies and cardamoms.
What is next for you?
Over the next few months, I’m going to be working with my mates, the Fabulous Baker Brothers who’ve adopted me as their Spice Guru at their new cookery school at Hobbs House to run some master classes. I’m also going to be touring parts of the UK with my pal, Indunil Sanchi pub curry chef of the year to showcase our Great Indian Food Feast where we’ll be indulging diners in a gastronomic tour of the Indian subcontinent with a regional tasting menu. I’ve started work on my next book and I’m developing some ideas around Urban Rajah food products to get Britain cooking curry at home, people can keep up to with what’s going on by signing up to www.urbanrajah.com