TV Review - Rick Stein in India

I had been looking forward to this programme ever since I saw the accompanying book getting coverage on Amazon. I actually bought a copy for Sue and gave it to her as an early birthday present. Perhaps I can look forward to lots of new Indian dishes in the next few weeks. Then I learnt that Calcutta (I still can’t bring myself to call it Kolkata) was to be centre stage in the first programme of the series – so it was a must-see.

Stein began by showing off his kitchen for the series which I thought was on a house boat on a lagoon in Kerala. He showed himself observant of Indian traditions by letting a pan of milk boil over as a sign of good luck although I had never heard of this. In his commentary he said he had spent 3 months in India and wanted to dispel some of the myths about curry. Then from the near silence of Kerala we were transported to the sights, sounds, and tastes of Calcutta.

In Calcutta the first stop was Nizam’s, a place I have heard of – in my introduction to Calcutta “Days and Nights in Calcutta” – for its famous kathi rolls – fluffy parathas stuffed with a vegetarian or meat filling. Regular readers of this website will know that we have experienced similar kathi rolls in Mid-Wales. (Link) The next stop was what Stein called “a hole in the wall” restaurant which served a prawn cutlet fried in butter.

When the next scene started Sue and I texted each other almost simultaneously: “It’s Angus!!”. Again readers of this website will know that we recently went to Angus Denoon’s Kolkata Street Food event (link here) and it was a delight to see him in Calcutta guiding Stein and wearing his usual tartan hat in the heat. Stein’s initial comment was that he would love to bring all his trainee chefs to experience the street food.

Denoon guided Stein around the street food of Calcutta. First there was a chura stall. Churas are flattened rice with water, yoghurt, and sugar. Then a stall selling pushkas (pani puri), crispy balls stuffed with mashed potato and tamarind water. The last savoury stall featured one of our favourites, and one that Angus has made his trademark - jhal muri. Here it included puffed rice, tomatoes, coconut, onion, and mustard oil. Stein compared it to savoury rice krispies which is ironic since I grew up with muri made from the cereal. In the film 'The Namesake', Ashima, recently arrived in the US, is shown making muri with rice krispies.

Lastly Angus directed Rick to Indian sweets made from buffalo milk but I think the sweets sold in Southall and Brick Lane are better than most in Calcutta. Rick sampled the misti doi (sweet yoghurt) which Sue and I both love. Angus commented that the stalls need to be clean and hygienic otherwise they will lose customers in the long run; while I would be tempted next time in Calcutta I have memories of my family suffering the equivalent of “Delhi Belly” on a number of occasions.

I was struck, as in Angus’s film, by the skills of the chefs / entrepreneurs, and also the use of existing materials such as newspapers to wrap food, clay pots for misti doi, and banana leaves as plates. Very little goes to waste in Calcutta. Just watching it again really brought out the skill and resourcefulness of the street food vendors, of a standard rarely seen in the UK.

Then it was back to restaurant food but with a twist - Suruchi, run by the All Bengal Women’s Union for the benefit of destitute women. Stein loitered in the kitchens as the women made a simple curry. I did find the attitude of the manager paternalistic, as she supervised and described the lives of the women. "Lovely girls", she said patronisingly, and Stein repeated, "Yes, they are lovely girls'. 'Very lovely girls', she confirmed. The 'girls' were apparently often lost or abandoned as children and then taken in by the Union. But they 'don't want to be reminded of that, because we love them, we love them very much'. This is all very good and charitable, but, as Sue remarked, the mere existence of the Union and their activities smacked of state failure. Where were the police and social services to find the women’s parents and look after them? Can you imagine if a child was found on the street, lost from its family in the UK? Yes, you need love and charity, but also police investigation, social services and either reunion with the family or court involvement and justice.

But I might criticise the Union too quickly. It seems it is far broader than just a canteen. It encompasses an education system, developing other skills such as dancing, IT, self-defence, and encouraging the women to go out to the wider world. I would urge you to watch the Youtube video about the Union’s activities (link here).

Apart from Bengali sweets Bengalis are best known for their near addiction to fish and in particular fresh water river fish. Stein spent time close to the River Hooghly watching fish being gathered. Then a visit to Kewpie’s, a well-known Bengali restaurant to see rui fish being prepared by the proprietor who said that making a fish dish was a bride’s way of showing off her culinary skills to her husband’s family.

Over two-thirds of the programme was dedicated to Calcutta but then we accompanied Stein down the Coromandel Coast towards Chennai. There a look around St George’s Fort, which was the centre of British military power. In Chennai Stein focussed on Anglo-Indian food preparing a pastiche of a beef curry that would have been made in the UK before curries became very popular – I adamantly refuse to eat beef curry as it’s a British invention, although I love my steak. Then a visit to the Madras Club, reminiscent of the Calcutta and Bengal Clubs which I have visited. There the chefs showed him how to make mulligatawny soup and commented that the club members ask for roast lamb and shepherd’s pie. At the Madras Club there was a spirited Q&A session between the members and Stein trying to understand what curry meant.

The programme ended with a visit to a Coromondel fishing village and a realisation of the hard life of fishermen. Stein was quite taken with the concept of blending wet and dry ingredients.

Of course as one of Bengali heritage I was fascinated by the focus on Calcutta and it was quite pleasing that Stein chose to begin his odyssey there. But there was almost a romanticised notion in the way Calcutta was lovingly filmed and presented. There was also emphasis on imperial history with a look at the Writers’ Building in Calcutta, Fort St George in Chennai, and the visit to the decidedly imperialist Madras Club which did not allow Indian members until the mid-1960s.

My own feeling based partly on this film is that food culture is stronger in Calcutta than in other Indian cities. It has thrived partly because of history, partly because of relative economic backwardness caused mainly by Communist and left-wing governments, and a political culture which made it difficult, for example, for American chains like McDonalds and KFC to open stores. But there is as far as I can see no pure Bengali restaurant in London. If you know of one please let us know. I am certainty more tempted to try local restaurants when I next visit Calcutta rather than confining myself to the major hotels.

Overall 5 stars with my recommendation perhaps slightly distorted by the focus on Calcutta but I shall be watching the rest of the series with interest.