Todiwala’s temptations

Indian Summer by Cyrus Todiwala. Published in 2008 by Inkwell Media Limited, 115f Cleveland Street, London W1T 6PU, UK. Pp: 72. Price: £ 10.99.

It was a mistake to start reading Cyrus Todiwala’s recipes late at night. The largely Parsi and Indian combinations, albeit with a western touch, tickled the salivary glands into reminiscing over many a half-forgotten dish and items available at that hour to quell the awakened appetite were mercilessly few!

Todiwala has filed his offerings under traditional heads: Salads and eggs; fish and seafood; meat and poultry; vegetables, rice and pulses; accompaniments and chutneys. But the last chapter provides a glimpse of him as a popular caterer. His "menu ideas” are tuned to the time of day and the weather. Thus, for a "warm supper for a cool summer evening” Todiwala suggests a combination of a simple potato salad (aloo chat), scallops with ginger, garlic and chili, pork vindaloo with steamed rice and a platter of "chilled, fresh tropical fruits with kulfi or vanilla icecream” to cool the sizzling tongue. For a "fast supper on a warm night” he mandates khichri and prawn patia, thoran, mango chutney dip, fresh watermelon juice and, as a final touch, Greek-style natural yoghurt with lavender honey and a sprinkling of toasted almonds. The table of six menus has one for a Parsi picnic, an Indian summer barbecue and a summery lunch in the garden. And for the vegetarians, there is supper with egg and peanut salad, aubergine slices with tomato sauce and tangy yoghurt dressing, apple and potato bhaji, paratha and mango lassi. With a few exceptions, the book provides the recipes.

Chef Cyrus Todiwala: mix and match approach

A series of notes and tips pepper the colorful pages. To begin with, Todiwala cautions, "Some recipes use chilies which have not been deseeded. If you prefer a milder heat, deseed the chilies before use.” He also advocates rubbing some olive oil with a small squeeze of lemon or lime on one’s hand to act as a barrier when handling chilies, garlic and other pungent ingredients. Though the ingredients for salads are spelt out, he suggests a mix and match approach. The addition of a few tablespoons each of poached seafood and shredded lettuce, folded in gently at the last stage of a simple egg and peanut salad turns it into a Konkan coast speciality, he notes. Before adding cardamoms to hot oil it is best they are lightly crushed to prevent them from exploding…

Todiwala’s dishes, as illustrated, look colorful and appetizing and seem to be largely bereft of too much gravy, a case in point being pork vindaloo as compared to our desi preparations which sport a rich red gravy.

The author has dedicated the book to the memory of his nephew Rehan Dalal, 27, who met with a fatal motorcycle accident in Poona on August 23, 2008. "Rehan was a true blood Parsi and his great passion in life was his food. We had the privilege of cooking for him many times during his short life…He would drool at the sheer mention of duck tikka and dhansaak and it was ever so easy to make him happy. We simply enjoyed having him around as no leftovers ever remained in the refrigerator — and this was a sheer joy…”

Printed on art paper with delicious-looking illustrations, these "fresh, light and tangy dishes from Café Spice Namaste” make an interesting addition to one’s cache of recipe books.

ARNAVAZ S. MAMA