National Curry Week: Anirudh Arora of Moti Mahal

By Emma Eversham

- Last updated on GMT

National Curry Week: Anirudh Arora of Moti Mahal
Anirudh Arora, head chef at Moti Mahal shares his top tips for making the perfect curry and a recipe for Rabbit Korma especially for National Curry Week

Anirudh Arora is head chef at the London outpost of Moti Mahal, the Indian restaurant group which first opened in Delhi in 1959.

When the Sarwal and Gujral families decided to expand their restaurant empire to the UK in 2005, they chose Arora, a one time personal chef to India’s Prime Minister, as their head chef.

Arora’s style is to juxtapose traditional methods with newer concepts and he relies strongly on the ‘taseer’ of his ingredients – matching the characteristics of the flavours to the seasons.

This autumn, Arora, known to many as chef Ani, made a range of apple chutneys using different varieties of apples from his own garden which he has been serving at Moti Mahal​ and this summer he started cookery classes.

Here he gives BigHospitality readers an exclusive look at his favourite recipe, as well as divulging his top five tips for making it.

Arora`s top tips for making curry:

1.​ Always buy groceries from a supplier in ethnic areas it is confirms that the ingredients are authentic.

2.​ Never use garam masala while cooking as it will lose the flavour and colour of the curry. Instead, always finish with garam masala.

3.​ Avoid using packaged sauces. They are easier to use, but sauces made from scratch are worth the effort.

4.​ It is the combination of spices that derives the final flavour and colour of the curry, do not overdo anything.

5.​ There is no such thing as a shortcut curry.

Khargosh Ka Korma (Rabbit Korma)

Ingredients:

1 Rabbit (joint on the bone)
2 Onions diced
80 g Cashew nuts
2 g Green cardamom
4 Bay leaf
40 g Ginger garlic paste
4 Green chilli
1 tsp Cardamom powder
half tsp Mace powder
80 g Yoghurt
Salt to taste
80 ml Oil
half tsp Rose petal powder
6 Morels (soaked in water)

Method:

• Boil the onions and cashew nuts in two separate pots. Drain and allow to cool before blending it into a fine paste. Keep aside.

• Heat oil in a pan, add green cardamom, mace and bay leaf and allow it to infuse for about a minute.

• Add the ginger garlic paste, green chilli and saute?.

• Add the rabbit joints and sear it well.

• Whisk the yoghurt along with a little water and add this to the rabbit and cook. Add the onion and the cashew nut paste and cook till the onions soften.

• Remove the rabbit from the sauce once it is fully cooked and sieve the sauce to a smooth consistency.

• Check the seasoning.

• Stir in the cardamom, mace and rose petal powder.

Garnish

4 Sundried tomatoes
30 g Enoki mushroom
1 tsp Coriander chopped
∆∫ tsp Red chilli powder
A pinch of Cracked pepper
Salt to taste
30 ml Oil

PREPARATION:

• Heat oil; add the tomato and mushroom saut?.

• Add the spices and finish it with chopped coriander.

• Garnish the rabbit korma.

Tips for this dish:

• Always cook the rabbit on slow heat for a long time until fully cooked.

• Always use the spice mix of rose petal, mace and cardamom at the end in order to obtain maximum flavour.

National Curry Week: Cyrus Todiwala`s Avial Curry

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