The spice girl

The Nigella Lawson of Indian food, Anjum Anand travels regularly to Delhi and Calcutta to visit family and draw inspiration for her modern cooking

I remember helping my grandmother make fresh vermicelli on the flat roof of her home in Delhi. We would leave them to dry on a clean sheet in the hot sun after which they’d be stored and used in a pudding during the festive season. These days, we buy them in packets and they don’t taste as good but I don’t know anyone who makes them any more; it might soon even be a forgotten craft.

Once upon a time, most Indians only ate out on special occasions. These days, the 300-million-strong middle class is more prosperous and making up for lost time by eating out with an infectious gusto. You can see it most clearly in New Delhi. In contrast to Old Delhi with its colour, chaos and history, New Delhi is sleek and manicured – a place to find experimental cuisine. Its inhabitants are well-travelled and know a good meal from a bad one.

But perhaps the best indicator of modern India is the office lunch trade. Traditionally, meals were made at home and taken to the office. But with more disposable income and optimism, office-goers are now happy to pay for lunch. Haldiram’s, an office lunch favourite in New Delhi is large and canteen-like with food counters along the wall so you can see what you are getting. Order a hot lunch in the form of bento box-style trays to eat in or take away.

Traditional Indian restaurants, on the other hand, don’t change and menus in old favourites resist update. The upmarket ones serve rich mughlai (northern food inspired by old royal feasts) or tandoori. And simpler restaurants have regional street food that differs from city to city. In Delhi it is the dhaba. These started out as roadside eateries making home-style food for truck drivers away from home. They became known for their delicious and simple Punjabi food and their popularity soon brought them into the city. While they are still inexpensive and basic, there are now upmarket variations that cater to the city’s rich as well as tourists; you’ll find one in Delhi’s Claridges hotel.

Mumbai reminds me a bit of LA. It is home to the movie industry and the fashion is often jeans and T-shirts. Old buildings crumble in the background as new motorways are erected. Traditional mobile markets of wooden carts piled with vegetables are pushed through the residential streets, guilelessly passing in front of gleaming new supermarkets. The famous tiffinwalas deliver homemade meals to office workers while fast food creeps up on the city. The cosmopolitan, laidback crowd is reflected in the growing number of casual ‘lifestyle’ cafés such as the Banyan Tree Café and Bakery, a small café built around a tree that serves burgers, delicious Mediterranean bread, and tea infusions such as lemongrass and honey. One of the cities hottest new openings is Blue Frog, a restaurant, bar, live-music venue, recording studio and record-label production house. I cannot imagine this anywhere else in India.

In Bangalore, the largest age group is made up of those in their 20s. Many are employed by the city’s new call centres and technology companies. The restaurant scene is vibrant with affordable options offering every cuisine imaginable. But the city is really known for its pubs that cater to the stressed younger residents, and serve beer and other spirits. These too have gone upmarket; one even has a pool in it.

In Calcutta, locals prefer casual dining and like to spend their weekends in clubs so upmarket restaurants are often empty. These clubs are throwbacks to the Raj, when they were built with lovely lawns, as a place for the British to unwind and socialise. It’s very difficult to get membership of the best ones and once you do, you never give it back, not even if you leave town. The most famous is Tollygunge, which has a golf course, large swimming pool, health club, children’s area, beauty salon, restaurants, shop and more.

I recommend the local Bengali food in Calcutta – it is delicious and hard to find elsewhere. My favourite restaurant there is Kewpies, a small, family-run place. The owner was once kind enough to give me a basic cookery lesson in her free time. What a revelation! It is also worth trying the city’s fantastic vegetarian and non-vegetarian street food that most office workers eat. Try the Nizam rolls (like hot wraps but much, much better), chops (crumbed and shallow-fried prawns, chicken or even vegetarian bits). And you cannot leave the city without trying its famous sweets. They are masters of fresh cheese-based sweets and yoghurts.

Try the rasmalai, mishti doi and sandesh.

Vegetables and rice noodles in a coconut broth Serves 4

A subtle combination of two Keralan dishes – ishtoo (vegetable stew) and iddiapam (rice noodles). The stew is often eaten with a rice-based pancake, but noodles make a textural contrast and are easier. You can use any veg you like and can also add leftover chicken on the top. A great one-dish meal.

Ingredients

1 ½ tbsp vegetable or coconut oil
20 whole black peppercorns
1 large piece of cinnamon stick
2 cloves
1 small onion, peeled and sliced
15 curry leaves
3-5 green chillies, whole and pricked with the tip of a knife
12g fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
100g broccoli florets
100g cauliflower florets
100g frozen green beans
100g potatoes, peeled, boiled and mashed
100g frozen peas
250ml coconut milk
1 tsp garam masala Salt, to taste
250g rice noodles Handful of coriander leaves and stalks, chopped

• Heat the oil in a large non-stick saucepan. Add the spices and fry for 20 seconds. Add the onion and fry until soft and lightly golden. Add the curry leaves, chillies and ginger and cook for 30 seconds. Season, add the broccoli and cauliflower and cover with water. Bring to the boil and cook until just tender, around 5-6 minutes.

•Stir in the green beans, mashed potato and peas so that the potato thickens the water. Add the coconut milk and garam masala and loosen with enough water so the broth has the consistency of single cream. Bring to a gentle simmer, taste and adjust the seasoning.

•Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions. Once cooked, drain and place directly into your serving bowls. Ladle over the stew. Sprinkle the coriander over the top and serve hot.

Anjum’s address book

For lunch
Haldiram’s Village Kherki Daula, Gurgaon, Jaipur Highway, +91 12
422 141 41

For hipsters
Banyan Tree Café and Bakery Krishna Worli Sagar Chs Grnd Flr, JN
Patki Marg, Opp Podar Hospital,
Worli, Mumbai, +91 22 645 272 22

For seafood lovers
Trishna Fountain, 7 Rope Walk Lane Fort, Mumbai, +91 22 227 032 13

For vegetarians
Swati 248 Karai Estate, Tardeo
Road, Mumbai, +91 22 249 209 94

For a taste of the Raj
Tollygunge, 120 Deshapran Sasmal Road, Calcutta, +91 33 241 760 22

For coastal delights
Karavalli The Gateway Hotel, 66 Residency Road, Bangalore, +91 80 666 045 45

For breakfast
Mavali Tiffin 14, Lalbagh Road, Shanthi Nagar, Bangalore, +91 80
222 200 22

For chic street food
Dhaba The Claridges Hotel, 12 Aurangzeb Road, New Delhi, + 91
11 413 351 33

For the hottest table
Blue Frog Mathuradas Mills Compound, NM Joshi Marg, Lower
Parel, Mumbai, +91 22 403 323 33

For Bengali food
Kewpie’s 2 Elgin Lane, Calcutta,
+91 33 247 598 80

For a big night out
Varq, Taj Mahal Hotel, 1 Mansingh
Road, New Delhi, +91 11 230 261 62

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