Making the most of the recent sunshine, *Ivor Peters* gathered his family and friends for a fingerfood feast that does his parents proud
• Invite us to your get-together!
*What was the occasion?*
My family and friends all love food, so there's always an excuse to have people over. This sunny afternoon, I invited my mum, uncle and cousins and a few friends who live locally. The weather forecast for the weekend was bright and sunny, so we decided to have an Indian-style afternoon tea in the garden – a mix of sweet and savoury foods, served with masala chai and lime and mint water.
*What was on the menu?*
In our family, the unspoken rule when it comes to afternoon tea is to make enough food for any last-minute guests, so I always make plenty of dishes. Onion bhajiya are a perennial favourite, though. My twist is to really pack in the onion, so there's less batter, and to fry them for a little longer so they caramelise. I always serve them with a hot and sweet chutney, which is my dad's recipe. I feel like I'm reliving my childhood when I make it – it's a rock-steady companion that never fails to finish off a dish nicely.
Unlike British afternoon tea, where you sip your chosen brew throughout, masala chai is served with the savoury bhajiya and vegetable pakoras. If you take a bite of the bhajiya, then a sip of chai, the tea intensifies the taste of the cumin and nigella seeds in the bhajiya, and the flavours really pop – it's just heavenly.
One of the sweet dishes I always make is badaam phirni; it's like a more elegant cousin of traditional rice pudding. It can be served either hot or cold and it has a lovely smooth texture that's complemented by some crunch from the crushed pistachios on top. As kids, we would always eat halwa, and the adults would eat phirni – it was a sign that you'd grown up when you could have some. It's a much more sophisticated taste than halwa, so you can only really eat it in small amounts.
*What did you talk about?*
The weather, of course! We all agreed how nice it was to spend so much time outside this summer.
My mum and uncle reminisced about eating halwa in the food bazaars of Pakistan, and talked about their favourite street-food vendors. Nowadays, street food is hugely popular, but for them, growing up in Pakistan during the 1940s and 1950s, it was just how everyone ate. A lot of my recipes have been handed down to me from my uncle and my father, so my uncle gave his verdict on the dishes, too!
We also discussed the menu for my next "cash 'n' curry" supper club. I cook around four or five courses. We don't provide a guide price, we just ask diners to pay what they think the meal is worth into a blind collection at the end. We then give all the money to a project that helps people living in slums in Chennai. A recent cash 'n' curry night raised enough money to fund a medical programme for an entire year, supporting a nurse, a visiting doctor, and basic medicine for more than 40 families, while another evening raised enough cash to put 12 young people through full-time education for a year. We don't take a cut for our time, or the ingredients – at the end of the evening we just count it up and know that whatever money is there will change people's lives.
*Onion bhajiya with Vicki chutney*
My take on the classic savoury snack, served with my father, Victor's, chutney – affectionately known as Vicki chutney.
Serves 6
*150g gram flour*
*½ tsp bicarbonate of soda*
*2 tsp cumin seeds*
*2 tsp nigella seeds*
*5-6 large onions, finely sliced*
*Vegetable oil, for frying*
*Salt*
For the chutney
*½ onion, peeled and roughly chopped*
*1 tomato, roughly chopped*
*2 tsp tamarind concentrate*
*1 green chilli*
*2 cm root ginger, peeled and finely chopped*
*1 garlic clove*
*1 handful of mint and coriander leaves*
*1 tbsp flaked coconut*
*50ml water*
*Juice of ½ lemon*
*Salt*
*1* In a big bowl, tip in the flour and add enough water to create a thick batter. Sprinkle in the bicarbonate of soda and both types of seeds with some salt to season. Put in the onions and mix well.
*2* Using a large wok or deep frying pan, pour in the oil to a depth of 2-3cm and heat to a medium-high temperature. Drop in a cumin seed. If it sizzles, the oil is ready. Using a ladle, gently lower spoonfuls of the mix into the oil. Fry for around 4 minutes until golden brown, then drain on kitchen paper.
*3 *To make the chutney, put all the ingredients in a blender, then blitz until smooth. The result will be a sharp, fresh-scented mix.
*Badaam phirni*This pudding is best presented in small bowls with little spoons.
Serves 4-6
*20 almonds or 4 tbsp flaked almonds*
*600ml whole milk*
*4 tbsp rice flour*
*4 tbsp unrefined sugar*
*10 saffron strands*
*1 tsp ground cardamom *
*12 pistachios, crushed*
*1* Blanch the almonds and remove their skins. Alternatively, use flaked almonds. Use a hand blender to grind the almonds in 120ml milk to produce a paste. Transfer to a bowl and mix in the rice flour.
*2 *In a saucepan, bring the rest of the milk to the boil and tip in the sugar, stirring until it dissolves. Spoon 1 tbsp hot milk into a small bowl and steep with the saffron. Strain this back into the saucepan and add the almond paste. Gently stir until the mix thickens and becomes creamy, then shake in the cardamom powder. Cool, then sprinkle pistachios over the dessert and chill for an hour.
*Masala chai*
The food served at afternoon teas will vary with our moods, but the masala chai recipe never does.
Serves 8
*1.1 litres milk*
*1.4 litres water*
*2cm root ginger, peeled and finely chopped*
*10 green cardamom pods, crushed*
*6 cloves, coarsely ground*
*1 tsp ground fennel seeds*
*1 cinnamon stick*
*3 English breakfast tea bags*
*Sugar, to taste*
*1* Heat the milk, water, ginger and spices in a pan, letting it simmer for about 15 minutes until the volume has reduced a little. The liquid will smell deliciously fragrant.
*2 *Take off the heat and drop in the teabags, allowing it to brew for a couple of minutes, or longer if you like it stronger. Strain through a sieve into tea glasses or cups and sweeten according to your taste.
Ivor Peters is the author of The Urban Rajah's Curry Memoirs (Headline); urbanrajah.com Reported by guardian.co.uk 19 hours ago.
• Invite us to your get-together!
*What was the occasion?*
My family and friends all love food, so there's always an excuse to have people over. This sunny afternoon, I invited my mum, uncle and cousins and a few friends who live locally. The weather forecast for the weekend was bright and sunny, so we decided to have an Indian-style afternoon tea in the garden – a mix of sweet and savoury foods, served with masala chai and lime and mint water.
*What was on the menu?*
In our family, the unspoken rule when it comes to afternoon tea is to make enough food for any last-minute guests, so I always make plenty of dishes. Onion bhajiya are a perennial favourite, though. My twist is to really pack in the onion, so there's less batter, and to fry them for a little longer so they caramelise. I always serve them with a hot and sweet chutney, which is my dad's recipe. I feel like I'm reliving my childhood when I make it – it's a rock-steady companion that never fails to finish off a dish nicely.
Unlike British afternoon tea, where you sip your chosen brew throughout, masala chai is served with the savoury bhajiya and vegetable pakoras. If you take a bite of the bhajiya, then a sip of chai, the tea intensifies the taste of the cumin and nigella seeds in the bhajiya, and the flavours really pop – it's just heavenly.
One of the sweet dishes I always make is badaam phirni; it's like a more elegant cousin of traditional rice pudding. It can be served either hot or cold and it has a lovely smooth texture that's complemented by some crunch from the crushed pistachios on top. As kids, we would always eat halwa, and the adults would eat phirni – it was a sign that you'd grown up when you could have some. It's a much more sophisticated taste than halwa, so you can only really eat it in small amounts.
*What did you talk about?*
The weather, of course! We all agreed how nice it was to spend so much time outside this summer.
My mum and uncle reminisced about eating halwa in the food bazaars of Pakistan, and talked about their favourite street-food vendors. Nowadays, street food is hugely popular, but for them, growing up in Pakistan during the 1940s and 1950s, it was just how everyone ate. A lot of my recipes have been handed down to me from my uncle and my father, so my uncle gave his verdict on the dishes, too!
We also discussed the menu for my next "cash 'n' curry" supper club. I cook around four or five courses. We don't provide a guide price, we just ask diners to pay what they think the meal is worth into a blind collection at the end. We then give all the money to a project that helps people living in slums in Chennai. A recent cash 'n' curry night raised enough money to fund a medical programme for an entire year, supporting a nurse, a visiting doctor, and basic medicine for more than 40 families, while another evening raised enough cash to put 12 young people through full-time education for a year. We don't take a cut for our time, or the ingredients – at the end of the evening we just count it up and know that whatever money is there will change people's lives.
*Onion bhajiya with Vicki chutney*
My take on the classic savoury snack, served with my father, Victor's, chutney – affectionately known as Vicki chutney.
Serves 6
*150g gram flour*
*½ tsp bicarbonate of soda*
*2 tsp cumin seeds*
*2 tsp nigella seeds*
*5-6 large onions, finely sliced*
*Vegetable oil, for frying*
*Salt*
For the chutney
*½ onion, peeled and roughly chopped*
*1 tomato, roughly chopped*
*2 tsp tamarind concentrate*
*1 green chilli*
*2 cm root ginger, peeled and finely chopped*
*1 garlic clove*
*1 handful of mint and coriander leaves*
*1 tbsp flaked coconut*
*50ml water*
*Juice of ½ lemon*
*Salt*
*1* In a big bowl, tip in the flour and add enough water to create a thick batter. Sprinkle in the bicarbonate of soda and both types of seeds with some salt to season. Put in the onions and mix well.
*2* Using a large wok or deep frying pan, pour in the oil to a depth of 2-3cm and heat to a medium-high temperature. Drop in a cumin seed. If it sizzles, the oil is ready. Using a ladle, gently lower spoonfuls of the mix into the oil. Fry for around 4 minutes until golden brown, then drain on kitchen paper.
*3 *To make the chutney, put all the ingredients in a blender, then blitz until smooth. The result will be a sharp, fresh-scented mix.
*Badaam phirni*This pudding is best presented in small bowls with little spoons.
Serves 4-6
*20 almonds or 4 tbsp flaked almonds*
*600ml whole milk*
*4 tbsp rice flour*
*4 tbsp unrefined sugar*
*10 saffron strands*
*1 tsp ground cardamom *
*12 pistachios, crushed*
*1* Blanch the almonds and remove their skins. Alternatively, use flaked almonds. Use a hand blender to grind the almonds in 120ml milk to produce a paste. Transfer to a bowl and mix in the rice flour.
*2 *In a saucepan, bring the rest of the milk to the boil and tip in the sugar, stirring until it dissolves. Spoon 1 tbsp hot milk into a small bowl and steep with the saffron. Strain this back into the saucepan and add the almond paste. Gently stir until the mix thickens and becomes creamy, then shake in the cardamom powder. Cool, then sprinkle pistachios over the dessert and chill for an hour.
*Masala chai*
The food served at afternoon teas will vary with our moods, but the masala chai recipe never does.
Serves 8
*1.1 litres milk*
*1.4 litres water*
*2cm root ginger, peeled and finely chopped*
*10 green cardamom pods, crushed*
*6 cloves, coarsely ground*
*1 tsp ground fennel seeds*
*1 cinnamon stick*
*3 English breakfast tea bags*
*Sugar, to taste*
*1* Heat the milk, water, ginger and spices in a pan, letting it simmer for about 15 minutes until the volume has reduced a little. The liquid will smell deliciously fragrant.
*2 *Take off the heat and drop in the teabags, allowing it to brew for a couple of minutes, or longer if you like it stronger. Strain through a sieve into tea glasses or cups and sweeten according to your taste.
Ivor Peters is the author of The Urban Rajah's Curry Memoirs (Headline); urbanrajah.com Reported by guardian.co.uk 19 hours ago.