Curry

Thursday

Angus Colwell

‘The best roast duck in Birmingham’: Look In, reviewed

You know what, I was looking forward to Reform’s party conference in Birmingham. Up there as a journalist, not a member, mind you. Yet you hear a lot of sighing and moaning from journalists about going to these things (never mind the fact that many would kick off if their editors didn’t let them go). What’s the matter, guys? It’s a trip away, lots of mingling, lots of material. But there’s not much in the way of good food. Not to sound like a child emperor demanding a veal sweetbread at every meal, but the offering at these things is really, really bad. And I think Reform needs to sort it out. Reform-coded conference food could be very good.

Tuesday

Olivia Potts

The myth of authentic English food

There were two butcher’s pork pies in my bag that also contained a copy of Lewis Bassett’s The Full English. As I began reading this investigation into the story of English food, having those pies on my person felt particularly in keeping with the English culinary tradition. By the time I’d finished the book, I was not so sure. Bassett sets out on well-trodden ground to ask: what is English food? He focuses on a clutch of dishes or products which have long been seen as important to, or turning points within, English food culture: bread, haute cuisine, curry, fish and chips, roast beef, sausage rolls, olive oil. So far so conventional – but that’s rather the point. His contention is that much of our received wisdom about English food is reductive or simply wrong.

Thursday

Angus Colwell

‘In a word: go’: Kid, reviewed

Well, I’m still full. That’s the first thing to know. -Probably will be at the time you read this too. It’s 16 hours since I finished dinner at Kid, and I think I might be ready to eat again at dinner tomorrow. So was it worth it? I’m writing this more quickly after the meal than usual. Why the rush? This is because, for one time only, I wanted to be the FIRST critic to review a HOT NEW OPENING. There was nothing in the papers last week, so I think I’ve done it… although the Times puts Giles Coren online on a Wednesday, and as I have to write on Tuesday, I don’t know yet. It’s an utterly pointless thing to strive for, but you’ve got to show commitment.

Thursday

Angus Colwell

Taking on the Cornish culinary mafia: Four Boys reviewed

‘Expect David Cameron to be there.’ This was the main thing I had been told before I went to Four Boys in Rock, Cornwall. As I arrive, it makes sense. This is a Cameron-y sort of place and not just because every man in here looks a bit like David Cameron. Why? Well, Cameron’s big idea as leader of the Conservative party was to modernise it. ‘We’ll get elected if we hug hoodies and manage to not pull a face when we see an avocado.’ Four Boys, with its awareness of fashion, is doing something similar. I notice something at the top of the menu when I sit down. ‘We recommend sharing our food.’ What? Small plates?! Sharing?! I’m trying to get away from east London! Yet all has been done judiciously.

Thursday

Angus Colwell

‘If you’re a lamb chop ultra, then start your car’: Koyal reviewed

One of the things I find most confusing is the practice of going for a curry when you’re hammered. Having tried this with friends a couple of times, I have concluded that anyone who likes the pints-then-curry act is a liar or feels so awful regularly that the feeling afterwards is nothing abnormal. There is no type of food I dislike more than bad Indian: the places where a vindaloo means three scoops of curry powder and a rogan josh means two; where onion is undetectable in the sunflower oil bhaji.

Thursday

Patrick West

Curry, colonialism and the problem with ‘cultural appropriation’

The latest casualty in the culture wars is an innocent-sounding word: 'curry'. Apparently it's inappropriate to use it, and incorrect to use it to refer to all spicy Indian food. It's far too broad as to be misleading, doesn't even have pan-Indian usage, and it remains tainted by its colonial origins. This is the widely reported opinion of Chaheti Bansal, a Californian blogger who posts Indian recipes on Instagram.  'There's a saying the food in India changes every 100km and yet we're still using this umbrella term popularised by white people who couldn't be bothered to learn that actual names of our dishes', she writes, imploring people to 'unlearn' the term. The word was indeed made popular by colonialists: the Portuguese.

Tuesday

Olivia Potts

Recipe: The Perfect Leftover Turkey Curry

Turkey curry, as a means of using up festive leftovers, has become something of a joke: the turkey curry buffet in Bridget Jones is the true low point of Bridge’s festive calendar. The prospect can strike fear into the most Christmas-spirited of souls. But actually, on Boxing Day, or the day after, the last thing you really want is the same meal you’ve been eating for the past two days, looking a little tired and fridge-worn, all the best bits gone. Don’t get me wrong: I’ll be first to the table for cold roast meats and my fifth serving of stilton in 48 hours, and if you hesitate for a moment, you won’t see that final portion of trifle for dust.