If you had spent  yesterday afternoon strolling through sunsoaked downtown Sonoma, a nerve center of California wine country, you might have had your Mediterranean reverie broken by an extremely conspicuous member of desi America: one blue-silk-clad, bejewelled and beflowered Bharat Natyam dancer, desperately trying to find the stage of the Kathmandu Fall Festival.  I can assure you I did not blend in. This is a good thing, because the woman who finally helped us had never heard of Depot Park by name, but took one look at me and remembered that “there’s some kind of colorful festival in that park behind us? That must be what you’re looking for.” 

After the set, I looked around the stage for the usual cooler full of water bottles, and was instead greeted by a vision of wine. The usual festival array of Tibetan flags and bells  mixed with bottles and glasses  everywhere, the regular sound of corks popping interlacing with the flute and mrdangam music. Despite booths of frying samosas, the smell of vintage was stronger. Since my family doesn’t drink, we decided to complete the evening with a visit to the video store, and got ourselves the documentary Mondovino. If you’re at all interested in trade, globalization, agriculture, mercantile tradition, France, Italy, Northern California, or, of course, wine, I highly recommend it, though it is a bit long. It’s a film squarely set in Europe and the Americas, featuring titans like the Mondavi family, the ancient Florentine clans Frescobaldi and Antonieri, and a charming elderly Bordeaux gentleman named Hubert de Montille who can’t stand “monolithic thinking.”

It prominently features a travelling consultant, “the flying winemaker,” who, along with Maryland critic Robert Parker, makes and breaks wines. Michel Rolland caught my attention with a throwaway line when he was pointing out the spread of his clientele on a map,

 “Hungary, Italy, France, Argentinia, Chile, Mexico, The United States, and oh–I forgot one over here–India!”

India?! That’s right, India. The October 17 issue of India Today has a three page spread that, at first glance,  doesn’t bode well for desi oenophilic journalism–even I know that “Brewing the Indian Dream,” is a headline directed at the wrong beverage. But what growth the article reveals within!

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In 1810, Sake Dean Mahomed opened the Hindoostane Coffee House in central London. This was the UK’s first curry house, and it was an idea ahead of its time.

In 1810 he opened the Hindoostane Coffee House serving Hookha with real Chilm tobacco and Indian-style dishes. The premises is now a building called Carlton House.

Mr Mahomed’s plan had been to serve “Indianised” British food which would appeal to the Indian aristocracy in London as well as British people who had returned from India, he said.

“The Indian aristocracy however would not come out to eat in the restaurant because they had chefs at home cooking more authentic food – it was just not a big enough draw to come out.” [Link]

Unable to draw either brown or white diners, he was forced to declare bankruptcy two years later in 1812.

While his restaurant was a bust, Sake Dean Mohamed recovered and went on to further success. He opened up a “health resort” (or sorts) in Brighton, specializing in “shampooing” — steam room massage.

He received the ultimate accolade by being appointed Shampooing Surgeon to both George IV and William IV. [Link]

Mohamed seems to have been quite a colorful character. He joined the East India Company Army at 11, and rose all the way to the rank of captain. He served as a “trainee surgeon” although other accounts also indicate that he fought in a series of campaigns.

He emigrated to Ireland in 1786, when he was 25. There he wrote his first book, The Travels of Dean Mahomet, making him the first Indian to have a book published in English. He also “ran away with” an Irish woman who became his wife, Jane Mahomet.

His second book, published in 1820, was called “Shampooing; or benefits resulting from the use of the Indian Medicated Vapour Bath” and went into 3 editions. “He even had poems written in his honour.”

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Last week’s first ever British Curry Awards ceremony took place in a typically desi fashion – over dinner, with the food served late. Curry is big business in the UK, with restaurants serving 2.5 million customers a week and grossing £3.2 billion a year. The British invaded India in the 19th century with gunpowder, now we have … transformed whole swathes of British society with curry powder

The event was similarly a big deal, with 1,200 people in attendance in the Ballroom of London’s swanky Grosvenor House Hotel. It was televised to 126 countries around the world and no less a personage than Tony Blair sent a message of support.

The industry refers to itself as “Curry” or “Spice” and not as “Indian food” because 95% of the restaurants are owned by Bangladeshis. In fact, the awards ceremony was organized by the “Guild of Bangladeshi Restaurateurs.”

In a swaggering speech, Sir Gulam Noon (a leader in the ready made meals industry) said:

“The British invaded India in the 19th century with gunpowder, now we have come back and a century later landed in the UK and transformed whole swathes of British society with curry powder. Without the success of the curry restaurant I could not have built my business to what it is today. I have ridden on the back of your achievements.” In a slight exaggeration, Noon urged his audience to celebrate the vibrancy of their business tonight but not to forget to open for business tomorrow evening on time otherwise, as he claimed, half the British population would be starving. [Link]

So, what do you serve over a thousand chefs and food entrepreneurs for dinner? Madhu’s of Southall “brought out a series of dishes many in the room have established as British culinary favourites:”

chicken tikka; masala fried tilapia flown in from Lake Victoria in Kenya, that other bastion of the British Empire; chicken tikka masala; rogan josh; delicious aloo ravia, small aubergines stewed with new potatoes; vegetable biriani and terrific tandoori naan bread. [Link]

The awards for the night went to: Continue reading →