First the good news – DumPukht Lahori (39-41 Paisley Rd. West, G51 1LG) has reopened! Curryspondent Pete contacted Hector on Thursday evening with this most welcome piece of information. A phone call was made immediately, they confirmed an opening time of around 14.00 until 23.30, daily.
DumPukht Lahori had only been in operation since February of this year. Dr. Stan and Hector made one visit on March 9th with a promise to return as soon as. With Lockdown, so the shutters were lowered, then Google reported them as – closed permanently. After May 28th, Hector feels it will legitimate to drive the 5.1 miles from Hector’s House to DumPukht for food. These guys need support, and needless to say, their Lamb Lahori Karahi is truly outstanding.
In the last week I have added three more recipes to – Hector’s Curry Recipes – namely Palak Gosht, Indian Vegetable Curry and Spicy Rice. Each is adapted from the recipes given in the Curry Course I attended in the noughties. I was never quite sure what to serve with the Spicy Rice, it’s not Biryani, but is way beyond the flavours of a Pilau.
Kofta Palak (Cafe Salma)
I have experienced many a horror story with Palak Gosht, especially in Europe where it is served as a Creamy Curry. I have always enjoyed Kofta Palak. Back in the halcyon days at Cafe Salma, Dr. Stan and Hector used to share a Kofta Palak for dessert. There lies the standard, and be aware, Hector can remember the particular flavours of their standout Curry.
Determined to try the Palak recipe but not risk wasting a kilo of Lamb on-the-bone, yesterday I defrosted some Lamb Mince, Spinach, Coriander and Methi. Hector thus prepared Kofta Palak for the first time. This meant combining two recipes: Palak Gosht and Kofta Anda.
Kofta
The Meatballs were prepared per the Kofta Anda recipe. Ideally, the Kofta should be cooked in the Masala, but if they disintegrated I would be left with Keema Palak which I don’t think I have heard of, yet. Baking the Kofta meant that if the Palak turned out to be horrible, today would not be lost.
Palak
I halved the Herb content given in the recipe. My objective was not to lose sight of the Masala. As I have written oft when ordering Methi Gosht, I seek a Masala with Herbs, not just a mash of Herbs. Still, the amount of Spinach, Methi and Coriander was clearly going to swamp the minimal Masala which was prepared separately.
There were two key moments. The first was yesterday when combining the contents of the two pots. The second was the tasting this morning. A Soupçon was decanted and reheated.
Oh! – was the Hector reaction. Spinach was very much to the fore, but there was more. Perhaps it was the Coriander and Methi which had tempered the anticipated bitterness of the Spinach. There was also Seasoning, yet the added Salt was well below what would go in a typical Masala. This tastes quite good.
Marg declined to sample the Mash, she claims never to have had Palak. Her plan is to enjoy the Kofta alone, if necessary.
The onions may have been cut too roughly to start with, whatever, it became evident whilst cooking that they were never going to pulp. It was time to get out the hand blender. The Palak Gosht recipe calls for more water in which to cook the Lamb. I feel the Kofta will have to be cooked for some time in the Mash. 100ml of water was added, the Mash was blended. Strange, it now looks decidedly – Creamy.
Whilst the Kofta sits all day in the Mash, so there is time to prepare some Naan dough, this time with self-raising flour.
It was Curryspondent Bill who put me on to – self-raising flour. Only once one enters this in Google does a plethora of similar recipes reveal themselves. Try searching for – Naan flour – otherwise. Some recipes then suggested no other raising agent was necessary, some did. Hector took the path of less conviction and used ½tsp of baking powder. No Yoghurt was used today, an oversight?
The first two dough-balls showed hints of bubbling, minimal rising, then burned on the under-side. Too small? The tawa still had not reached an optimum temperature? Naan #3 did rise but no blisters formed. I decided to abandon hope for a bubbly-topped Naan and flipped it, success. Once the melted ghee was spread across the top-side, a couple of minutes under the grill was more in hope than expectation of anything happening. Naan #3 turned out to be the best of the bunch, #4 rose in part. I had two edible Naans, and two fit for the bin.
Kofta Palak
Hector’s creation certainly looked the part. Having cooked the Meatballs in the mash for another half hour, there was the hope that some flavours may have permeated. The Kofta were sturdy, by baking them I had probably traded permeability for integrity. There was an OK level of Spice from the Kofta, the underlying flavour was reminiscent of Hector’s Burgers. The Curse of Clydebank Cooking?
The Seasoning in the Palak Mash was certainly to the fore, still there was no bitterness. Hector’s creation was not wondrous, but was most certainly a pleasant change.
Soft, with a sense of being doughy, but decidedly not fluffy, the Naan proved to be as good as anything I have reheated from a supermarket. By making my own, I had hoped for better, which remains the whole motivation for even trying. A sensible size, I managed the lot, cleared my karahi and even found one of Marg’s surplus Kofta coming my way. Not bad at all.
Mmmm – was Marg’s spontaneous reaction to her first intake of the Palak Mash.
A bit salty – was her follow up. I assured her that the level of Seasoning had not been achieved by the adding the quantity of Salt that most recipes call for. Very little had been used.
Marg ate three of her allocated five Kofta. These she clearly liked but seeing discrete quantities makes it easier for her to monitor her food intake. She will eat three potatoes when served whole, but four when mashed. So it goes.
Marg’s verdict:
I thought the meatballs were very flavoursome. I was worried about the spinach, but it blended well with the sauce and gave a salty taste. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was filling.
The Naan bread was fairly thin, half of it was thin, but suited me as I prefer Chapattis.
This was the first time Marg has eaten Spinach. There was enough Kofta for four meals, will there ever be a round#2?
The Aftermath
I have never seen the charming lady who reviews the newspapers on Sky News so angry. If driving to Durham – at one’s own discretion – is legitimised in England, then any reservations about driving to Paisley Road West next week for food, have been countered.