|
London Post
Indian food driving British politics
By Prasun Sonwalkar
Tony Blair may have lost face last week over the anti-terror bill in the House of Commons, but British MPs do not have divided loyalties when it comes to gastronomical issues. Cutting across party lines, there is agreeable unanimity over the tingling delights of spicy Indian food.
As many as 50 MPs have formed the first-ever ?All Parliamentarian Tiffin Club? to select the best South Asian restaurant in Britain every year and to boost charitable causes.
The club is jointly headed by Labour MP of Goa origin, Keith Vaz, John Barrett and Michael Fabricant. The club was formally launched at the Gaylord Indian Restaurant, one of the top five restaurants in the country.
NRI industrialist Karan Billimoria was the chief guest on the occasion and duly paid tributes to the growing numbers of Indian restaurants in Britain.
Vaz said: ?The UK?s love affair with curry has come a very long way. This will be the first of many events to find MPs? best Indian restaurant in the country and it?s for a good cause.?
Working during holidays for Bhopal victims
The British are known for their generosity and concern for the needy?particularly those in former colonies. A Samaritan from near Birmingham is using all his holiday from work to help the needy in India.
David Gibbs, of Hampton-in-Arden, has left for Bhopal for a month with almost 900 pounds collected in aid of the Bhopal Medical Appeal.
Gibbs was touched by the plight of those affected by the infamous gas leak at the Union carbide plant in 1984 and decided to do his bit for them.
Gibbs, 44, spent two days collecting money at a superstore from shoppers and also by collating donations from the congregation of St Mary and St Bartholomew Church, in Hampton. A total of 523 pounds was raised in Morrisons and 375 pounds at the church.
?I was looking to combine a holiday with charity work. India is a charity in itself,? Gibbs said before leaving for New Delhi. ?I saw this documentary about the incident at Bhopal and it touched me?.
?Some people say there are too many disasters, but the tsunami and earthquake are natural disasters, the incident at Bhopal was man-made.?
Nostalgic account of nursing in India
Nurse Joan Boss from Bath was thrilled to be sent to India at the start of World War II and now, at 87, she has recorded the highs and lows in a humorous account of her life.
Her just published book, ?Love and War In India?, details how she left the security of England, at the beginning of World War II, for a life thousands of miles from home, on the Indian sub-continent. Joan first spent some days in Mumbai and Karachi and then settled into the way of life of a colonial nurse.
?I loved the train journeys in India. The countryside changed by the minute and our food was brought to the carriage - delicious curries.?
She clearly loved her life in the north of India, awaking every morning to the troops? drill and inspection and the sergeant screaming ?Wake, wake, rise and shine.? All her patients were soldiers, mostly British.
India-lover Raj soldier passes away
With the military precision that characterised his life, Gerald Feltham, a well-known figure in many walks of Hereford life, died last week. He was 79, and as his daughter Pippa Burns said: ?He was a soldier to the end. He had a huge fighting spirit and would not even admit he was ill. At the end all he would say was that it wasn?t one of his better days.
?Gerald spent almost all his life in Hereford attending Hereford Cathedral School and establishing a successful practice as a quantity surveyor. But before going into business for himself he spent time in India doing his National Service commissioned into the Leicester Regiment. Many years later he would return to India with Pippa.
?It was great to go together. He was very, very fond of India,? she remembers.
Gulam Noon?s passion for cricket
Sir Gulam Noon, one of the best known Asians in Britain, will soon join the ranks in the House of Lords, but many know him for his passion for cricket. Few Englishmen have met a cricket fan quite like Sir Gulam Noon.
The curry king?s office is plastered with 30 autographed bats, and when growing up in India he hoodwinked his mother into thinking school started three hours earlier so he could practice his cover drive before class. Many English followers of cricket were literally bowled over to hear of Noon?s generosity to England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff and his wife.
The couple married in March, but the star?s cricketing commitments did not allow time for a honeymoon. So Noon took matters into his own hands when he ran into Flintoff at last week?s Asian Achievers awards. The ceremony included a charity auction, with one of the prizes a luxury holiday in Mauritius. Noon forked out 5,000 pounds for the trip and promptly handed it to the Flintoffs, gratis. Howzzat!
New book on Indian cuisine
Indian food here is synonymous with chicken tikka masala but a new book on Indian cuisine is trying to highlight the fact that Indian cooking isn?t only about that dish. As Indians would know, many Indian dishes are far simpler and healthier than they are given credit for.
?For many the idea of Indian food is one of high-fat, high-calorie dishes cooked in saturated fat and swimming with oil,? says Sunil Vijayakar, chef and author of the new book, Fresh Indian.
?But the truth is that Indian food can be light and healthy, with fresh flavours, fabulous colours and delicious textures. Fresh Indian offers a modern approach to traditional Indian cooking, creating classic flavours and dishes using low-fat ingredients and making use of healthy cooking techniques to achieve perfect, authentic results,? he says.
Vijayakar advises would-be Indian chefs that a well-stocked pantry of basic ingredients and spices is essential. He suggests paying a visit to an Indian or Asian market to stock up with a range of quality ingredients.
(The writer is a UK-based journalist and can be contacted on sprasun@hotmail.com)
|
