Curry first came to London in the 17th Century from the Indian subcontinent but the best curries in the capital have not all followed that route. Trade and migration have spread the joys of curry powders and lovely spices around the globe and London now has a wonderfully diverse range of choices. Felix Magazine can point you to some of the most interesting options available to London’s curry-lovers.
South Africa
Curries vary not just from country to country but within nations as well. South Africa’s curries differ from coast to coast as immigrants from different countries settled in separate areas: Indian to the east and Indonesian to the west.
The KwaZulu-Natal region on the eastern coast is renowned for its Durban and Natal curries based on dishes from southern India while the west coast has the Cape Malay curry, which is sweeter and less spicy.
A classic is bobotie (left), a Cape Malay dish similar to lasagna that uses curried mince and an egg-based topping. Another famous curried dish from South Africa is bunny chow, an unusual on-the-go curry.
A loaf of bread is hollowed out and curry is poured into the middle. The result is a tear-and-share street food oddity that is definitely worth trying.
Sadly most of the South African restaurants in London tend to stick to grilled meats and burgers. But you can find an amazing Cape Malay vegetarian curry at Hammer & Tongs near Exmouth Market and a somewhat pricey but delicious bobotie at Camden’s Shaka-Zulu.
Mexico
Okay, so it’s not curry as you know it but Mexico’s mole is definitely part of the family. Mole – pronounced “moh-lay” – is a thick sauce made with multiple ingredients and a base of chillies and spices. Like Indian curry, it is served with meat and rice.
The legend is that mole (meaning “mix”) was created when an archbishop visited an impoverished nunnery and the nuns threw together whatever they had left to feed him. The result was so good it’s now a Mexican staple.
Mexican mole has no fixed recipe but there are standard basics: moles start with chillies and tend to include black pepper, cinnamon and clove.
The list of ingredients gets pretty long and can include cumin, anise, garlic, sesame, tomatoes and a whole host of Mexican spices and plants unfamiliar to the UK.
As well as sour, sweet, spicy and hot a mole must be thick, so nuts and seeds are chucked in too. Some moles have 30 ingredients, creating a beautifully rich and complex combination.
Mole come in a range of colours. The dark mole poblano (above) and mole negro contain bitter chocolate and almond, red mole rojo contains almonds alone and green and yellow moles use fresh Mexican herbs.
If you’re tastebuds are tempted then London’s best mole is at Mestizo in Kings Cross. This restaurant has a Festival de Mole each year in October that features a guest mole and its standard poblano, verde and mole enchiladas. Cantina Laredo at Seven Dials also does mole worth sacrificing a masala for – lamb cutlets with Amarillo curry mole and confit duck with Nutella mole. Divine.
The Caribbean
When European colonialists brought their Indian slaves to the West Indies they took curry recipes with them.
No surprise that the dish was as popular there as it is everywhere else and it remains a Caribbean staple as it fits so well with the spicy indigenous cuisine. This Indian influence is why Jamaican food is now known for its heat.
Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago are the Caribbean’s top curry countries. In Jamaica curried goat is often served at celebrations and parties, with specialists and experts called in to cook for big island events and weddings.
Jamaican curry (left) is similar to Indian versions but uses large Caribbean Scotch bonnet chillies instead of thinner Asian ones. Curry is still served with rice and a roti flatbread but some restaurants add a Caribbean touch with fried plantain.
Trinidad and Tobago is so mad about curry that curried vegetables are eaten at breakfast. The islands are famed for their curry rotis filled with chicken, duck or goat as well as some of the more unusual meats: opossum, agouti and iguana. You won’t find those in London.
Notting Hill Carnival is the most fun place to indulge in Caribbean curry but you can also try Cotton’s curried mutton with fried plantain or Ital vegetable curry with peanut sauce, Rudie’s curried goat or the Rum Kitchen’s cauliflower curry.
Roti Joupa in Clapham may not look like fine dining but the Trinidadian owner has put it on the map as the maker of the best Trinidadian curry roti in London.
by Jo Davey
The post Food: London’s Great Non-Asian Curries appeared first on Felix Magazine.
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