Bhindi Masala
by Amrit on October 18, 2011
Ingrediants
1 ½ pounds of fresh green okra
2 teaspoons ground green mango powder
½ teaspoon tumeric
½ teaspoon chilli powder
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons water
1/4 vegetable oil
Method
Wash and pat dry okra and in small bowl stir together salt, spices and water to form a spice paste using a non-stick skillet, heat oil over moderately high heat nut not smoking, and saute okra, stirring until okra is barely tender, about 2 minutes. add spice paste and saute, until okra is crisp tender, about 3 minutes.
Serves 8
Thomas Neale – History of Neal(e) Street
by Amrit on October 18, 2011
We are located in the Seven Dials area of Covent Garden, on the corner of Neal Street and Shaftesbury Avenue. The area is dominated by shopping, street performers, theatres, cinemas and above all the historic flower, fruit and vegetable market. A great place to visit !
The Punjab currently occupies 80 Neal Street. The present street name (though without an ‘e’ ) commemorates Thomas Neale, the original developer of Seven Dials. Until 1877, the street was called King Street with the present numbering of the buildings assigned in 1908.
Thomas Neale was one of the most influential figures of late-Stuart England, and one of the least-chronicled. He used his many contacts, garnered through family, the royal court, and county connections, to act as middle-man between men of money, the court, fellow members of Parliament, the general public, and other parties, public and private.
Neale was a member of Parliament for thirty years, Master of the Mint and the Transfer Office, Groom Porter, gambler, and entrepreneur.
His wide variety of projects included the development of Shadwell, East Smithfield, and Tunbridge Wells, land-drainage projects, steel foundries and paper-making enterprises, mining in Maryland and Virginia, raising shipwrecks, and developing a pair of dice to prevent cheating at gaming !
He was also the author of numerous tracts on coinage and fund-raising, and he was involved in the idea of a National Land Bank, the precursor of the Bank of England.
As an entrepreneur and speculator, he promoted building schemes, including the converging streets of Seven Dials in Covent Garden. Neale aimed to establish Seven Dials as the most fashionable address in London, following in the footsteps of the successful Covent Garden Piazza development earlier that century. Unfortunately, the area failed to establish itself as Neale hoped and deteriorated into a slum, renowned for its gin shops. At one point each of the seven apexes facing the Monument housed a pub, their cellars and vaults connected in the basement providing handy escape routes should the need arise !
If you walk down Neal Street, you will notice that many of the buildings have been built with pulleys fixed outside with large door -sized windows on each floor. Why, these buildings were used as fruit warehouses. Many of these warehouses were built in 1901 in the Dutch Style, they were geared to the storing and transportation of fruit to and from the nearby Covent Garden Fruit and Vegetable market. The cavenous basements in Neal Street were frequently used to keep the fruit cool and it’s rumoured that that the labyrinth of interconnecting tunnels may run as far as Leicester Square.
Neal’s Yard, also named after Thomas Neale, is home to a number of vegetarian cafes, new age shops and homeopathic remedy stores. It has been the home of alternative medicine, occultism and astrologers since the 17th Century, all of whom were attracted by the sundial and the symbolic star layout of the streets of Seven Dials.
Enough of the history lesson, just pop down and soak up the great buzzing atmosphere of Covent Garden.
Punjab Restaurant’s Butter Chicken Recipe
by Amrit on June 25, 2011
Ingredients
12 Chicken thighs
1 cup plain, whole milk yoghurt
1/4 pound butter
1 large onion, finely minced
1½ tsp ground cumin seeds
1½ tsp ground coriander seeds
1½ tsp ground cayenne pepper
1 cup strained tomotoes
½ cup heavy cream
1 tsp cardamon seeds (crushed)
Method
Remove skin from chicken, Make 2 small parallel slits in each piece, Marinate overnight in yoghurt and salt. When ready to cook, heat the butter in saucepan on medium high heat
Add onion and stir fry until golden, but not brown, Add the cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper, tomatoes, stir well, Add the marinated chicken with the marinade. Reduce heat to medium. Stir. Cook covered for 15 minutes. Add the cream and cardamon. Stir well. Cover and cook for 45 minutes stirring ocassionally.
Serves 6
UK’s Oldest Punjabi Restaurant
by Amrit on June 21, 2011
“Son, it’s 70% food, 15% location and 15% your smiley face,” these wise words were spoken by founder of the Punjab Restaurant, Gurbachan Singh Maan, to his grandson Sital Singh Maan, who currently now owns the restaurant.
Sital Maan prides himself on continuing the tradition his grandfather started – which is to provide authentic Punjabi home cooking in a relaxed setting within London’s Covent Garden. As a boy, Mr Maan would earn his pocket money working at the Punjab and by 1971 he purchased the restaurant direct from Grandfather.
Today, the Punjab is the oldest North Indian restaurant in the UK, serving generations of diners in the heart of London’s theatre land. The restaurant boasts customers from all over the world and from all walks of life, including actors Martin Short and Raj Kapoor, as well as a host of doctors, lawyers and politicians. But back in 1947 when Sital’s grandfather was just starting out in the City of London, things were very different.
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