Saag, Gobi, Aloo
Writing Challenge 2024
Posted by Chris Sissons on May 15, 2024
Writing Challenge ยป Chris Sissons
My mother was a brilliant cook. No really, she was. I remember several of her signature dishes. It’s agonising because I’ll never taste them again. One of her gifts was that she wasn’t afraid to try something new. This was, I confess a mixed blessing. Sometimes she would produce something that was not quite right. We’d sit around the dinner table, disconsolately chewing something or other. Then my father would say, “I’ll be glad when I’ve had enough of this!”
Sometime during the 1960s, my mother discovered curry. She became rather good at cooking her version of curry but we had to endure the early experiments. Back in those days, we weren’t used to the strong flavours. And she started with curry powder.
At one time this brown powder was all we had. It went into everything for a period until my mother discovered individual spices. It tasted of curry, but too much was too hot and it had a tendency to repeat on us, so we “enjoyed” it for the rest of the day. My father said it was “good burping material”.
The upshot was that I was not, as a child, mad keen on curry. I remember en route to some holiday destination (no motorways in those days so we often travelled for 2 days) we ate at an Indian restaurant in Bath (the name of a city, not an additional service). We had something English and watched my father pick at a curried chicken leg. That leg still haunts my dreams.
That is the first Indian Restaurant I remember. It had all the characteristics of a curry house – flock wallpaper, dim lighting, Indian music …
But I gradually grew to enjoy a good Indian Restaurant curry. It’s important to understand that British Indian Restaurant curries bear little or no resemblance to food in India or food served by women in Indian or Pakistani households. Authentic cuisine is fantastic but the British curry is differently fantastic.
I got to know the names of the dishes and as a vegetarian could distinguish saag, aloo and gobi. Rice and a naan to accompany the curry. Maybe with a Bahjia as a starter. And of course a jug of salted lassi.
And then something happened, post-lockdown they all disappeared. What has happened to our Indian Restaurants? I’ve read there is a national shortage of chefs who need special training to produce a good British curry. Will I never again sample a great VIndaloo, the hottest curry ever (apart from the Silly Hot)? Such powerful curries burn their way through your gut, exiting like rocket fuel. Bliss! Or a milder saag paneer that colours your stools green. Mmmm?
All gone. All I’m left with is Bombay mix. A poor substitute, I’m sure you’ll agree.
PS Alternative Title: Spinach, Cauliflower, Potato.
This is Day 12 of Writing Challenge 2024. People all over the world take part in the WC. We write something every weekday for 4 weeks based on a prompt This year, I'll be sharing 21 articles based loosely on prompts about parts of the body. Do we fully appreciate the role things and stuff play in our lives? Each part of the body has certain things and stuff associated with it. (Probably!) I've no idea where this will go but hope you enjoy the journey. The introductory post was Things and Stuff. The last post was Chopsticks and the next is Grapes of Wrath!
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