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Abu Taher at
work in his restaurant at Lee-on-Solent, Hampshire
A restaurateur
from Lee-on-Solent has been selected from over 5,000 competitors
to take part in the finals of the annual International Indian Chef
of the Year competition.
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Abu Taher,
38, who runs the Lee Tandoori curry house in Lee-on-Solent,
Hampshire, was delighted to hear the news.
Eight
finalists will compete for the title on February 9th at Queen
Margaret University College in Edinburgh. They will have three
hours to prepare, cook and present their ideal meal. The winner
takes home £1,000 - and a lot of prestige.
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Abu Taher
(right) and colleague Shabaz Khan Shinwari |
Abu has already
decided what he's going to cook for the big day, but naturally he
didn't want to give away too many details beforehand. He emphasises
that the secret to a good curry lies not just in what herbs and
spices to use, but in the preparation and the timing.
Abu likes to
experiment, and he includes different ingredients from around the
world in his curries as well as traditional Indian herbs and spices.
Although many
of Abu's recipes remain closely-guarded secrets, he gave us this
recipe
for vegetable curry.
Spices ready
to cook with
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INGREDIENTS:
Any available vegetables, e.g. potatoes, cabbage,
aubergines, beans, peas, cauliflower, courgettes, broccoli,
bendi, tomato, capsicum, onion.
1 tblsp panchforon
1/2 tsp chopped garlic
4 dry long chilli
3 tblsp oil
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves to garnish |
METHOD:
Chop all the vegetables into small pieces and keep them separate
from each other.
Add oil to the saucepan and heat.
Add panchforon, dry chilli, garlic, onion and salt.
Stir continuously until the onion softens.
Add turmeric powder and coriander powder and cook for a further
three minutes, tossing all the time.
Add the vegetables one type at a time, adding the harder ones first,
and cook them on reduced heat.
When all the vegetables are cooked, turn the curry out into a bowl
and garnish with chopped coriander.
 Setting
light to your curry is not compulsory!
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