A taste of India
I’d been meaning to get myself down to the Southbank Centre to sample the delights of The Real Food Festival for a while. The weekend I chose to pay a visit saw the festival celebrating the best in Indian street food with the Taste of India Festival.
After a little searching for the festival itself, when I arrived I found it full of many types of stalls with various street food on offer. It was time for a walk around the market to see what I was going to eat first.There were simply too many things to choose from.
However, first up was a harissa chicken wrap with lettuce and riata. I’d like to tell you who I bought this from but the stall seemed to have absolutely no branding what so ever (It may have been ‘On the spice trail’). Bringing me on to LESSON #5 – make sure people know who you are.
The branding may have been invisible, but the stunning flavour of the chicken wrap was all there. The spice didn’t overwhelm the taste of the chicken and the cool riata meant that the spice remained at a pleasant level on the tongue. However, I could resist getting in a pint of my favourite beer from the Meantime Brewery. I usually drink their London Pale Ale, but took the chance to try a new beer called Yakima Red. With a clean, citrus taste – it was a perfect beer for the spicy food on show. Must make sure I get some in for when I next make curry at home.
Next up was a Mauritian Chicken Curry courtesy of Curry Masters. After the heat of the wrap, the curry was a bit of a come down. The very mild curry was fairly pleasant, but would have been something to try if you’re not really used to spicy food. With each bite I wanted a bit more kick.
The final choice was a Lamb Peshwari Box from Community Kitchen. The box featured a chickpea curry, spicy rice, tomato chutney, chapli lamb, finished off with fresh herbs and riata. It was great getting so many things into the box as each mouthful brought a slightly different combination of flavours. Personally, I’d have liked to have had the lamb slow-cooked as opposed to minced – but that’s just a texture thing.
Streetfood #9
On The Spice Trail
Harissa Chicken Wrap with riata
£6
Streetfood #10
Curry Masters
Mauritian Chicken Curry with Pilau Rice
£5
Streetfood #11
The Community Kitchen
Lamb Peshwari Box
£6
