A lesson in Indian home cooking

I've always wondered why the fabulous food I ate in India is so unlike anything you are served in Indian restaurants, so it was a real privilege to spend an evening with Sanjay and his lovely wife Mili at the Megdhoot Mystique Masala Restaurant in Petworth, nestled cosily in the heart of the South Downs.

Sanjay and Mili are passionate about good quality food made from outstanding ingredients, and run Indian Home Cooking Evenings upstairs in their restaurant in Petworth, as well as at private parties and events. Sanjay promised the food was going to be unlike anything we had eaten in Indian restaurants in the past; he explained how most restaurants will cook up a massive batch of a basic onion and garlic sauce, then just add different ready-made curry pastes to flavour each dish as required.

However Mili learned the art of home cooking in India from her mother, mother-in-law and grandmother, and has never attended any professional course or training in cooking, so everything we saw being prepared was a traditional and authentic hand-me-down recipe.

The thing that has always put me off trying to cook Indian food at home without using ready-made curry powder is the huge list of spices and ingredients quoted on recipes, and indeed there was a beautiful array of spices laid out for us to inspect, but as Sanjay pointed out, they are all available in the Asian section of your local supermarket, and infinitely superior to any sauce you can get from a jar.

Once we were settled with a nice bottle of red, Mili proceeded to make the most delicious vegetable pakoras I think I have ever eaten, the recipe for which is below, and which are easy enough for even me to try.

Mili's Vegetable Pakora.

Par boiled cauliflower
Thinly sliced potatoes
Sliced peppers
Sliced aubergine
250 gms gram flour
200 ml water
salt to taste
1/4 tspn turmeric
1/2 tspn chilli powder (optional)
oil for deep frying

1. Make a thick batter of gram flour by gradually adding water and salt to taste. Add the turmeric and mix well.

2. Dip the vegetables in the batter and fry until golden brown.

3. Garnish with coriander leaves and Chaat Masala, (an Indian spice).


We also learnt how to make pulao rice, an amazing chicken curry, gobi aloo (potato and cauliflower) and the most delicious chapatis and parathas, plus all the questions we've ever wanted to ask about Indian cooking were answered. Did you know that "masala" means "spice,"
or that the shelf life of spices is about two months? I'm never going to make my Heinz tomato soup based curry (learnt from my mother, naturally) again.....





I can't recommend this evening highly enough. Mili and Sanjay's enthusiasm and hospitality made it a magical evening, and we were all given recipes and a goody bag of spices to take home, so if you are ever in the South Downs area it is well worth making a detour for a meal in the wonderful restaurant!

Meghdoots Mystique Masala, East Street,Petworth,West Sussex,GU28 0AB.