Benares I was lucky enough to visit the swanky Mayfair Indian restaurant Benares. Recently refurbished, it is everything a traditional British Indian restaurant is not. The interior is one of sophistication and elegance, somewhere to dress up for, an occasion restaurant. The kitchen is led by celebrated Michelin starred Chef\/Patron Atul Kochhar, who is one of the most critically acclaimed chefs in Britain. Atul has been instrumental in changing the perception of Indian food in Britain. Named after the spiritual city of Benares in Northern India, the interior is reflected in its mood which is one of calm and spirituality.<\/p>\n The food served here is a mix of traditional and contempory. Each course comes beautifully presented and is a feast for the eyes as well as the taste buds. When it comes to the question of what to drink with Indian fine dining, wine somehow just doesn’t cut the mustard. Atul is a huge fan of Crabbie\u2019s Original Alcoholic Ginger Beer and has created four exclusive dishes. It really is the most refreshing drink and slips down so easily. It was also very good to sip after the spicy food in order to cool the palate. If the mood takes you to try recipes these at home, otherwise pop along for a revered dining experience, one to savour.<\/p>\n CRABBIE\u2019S BAKED SALMON MARINATED IN HERB PASTE 500g salmon fillet, cut into 4 portions<\/em><\/p>\n Paste: 150g mint, 100g coriander, 1 tbsp chopped ginger, 1 green chili, Marinate the salmon with the paste and leave for 30 minutes.<\/p>\n Bake in an oven at 200oC for 20 minutes.<\/p>\n Beetroot salad: Three cooked thinly sliced medium beetroots, olive oil to drizzle, sea salt to taste, crushed black pepper to sprinkle, red shisholeaves to garnish.<\/p>\n Presentation:<\/strong> Fan out the beetroot and drizzle the dressing on it.<\/p>\n Place the cooked salmon in the centre and garnish with fresh sprigs of shisho leaves.<\/p>\n Serving suggestion:<\/strong> This healthy recipe can be served either as a starter dish or as the main meal.<\/p>\n Top Atul tip:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThis recipe can be adapted to CRABBIE\u2019S SPICE CRUSTED LAMB RACK 2 lamb racks, excess fat removed<\/em><\/p>\n The marinade: 1 tbsp minced raw papaya, 1 tbsp minced ginger, Whisk all the ingredients of the marinade together and keep aside. Rub the marinade on the rack of lamb and leave it to marinate for 2 hours before cooking. Pre-heat the oven to 180oC. Remove the lamb from the marinade and shake off excess marinade and place in a roasting tray.<\/p>\n Cook for 15-20 minutes and baste with remaining marinade in between.<\/p>\n Cook for further 2-3 minutes, remove and baste with melted butter and keep aside warm until required.<\/p>\n Salad: Mixed seasonal salad leaves, 100g crumbled feta cheese, Carve the rack and serve with salad.<\/p>\n Serving suggestion:<\/strong> This dish would be an ideal alternative to the traditional Christmas dinner or Sunday roast<\/p>\n Top Atul tip:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThis dish works really well CRABBIE\u2019S GINGER PEAR CRUMBLE WITH INGREDIENTS (Serves 4)<\/em><\/p>\n Ginger pears: 150g sugar, 65g butter, 8 pears, 1 tbsp fi nely chopped To Serve:<\/strong> Place the crumble on a plate and place the ice cream on top. Top Atul tip:<\/strong><\/DIV><\/p>\n \u201cThis crumble is easy to make, Louise Elgin. Atul Kochhar, changing the perception of Indian food at Benares Louise Elgin visits swanky Mayfair Indian restaurant Benares Benares 12 Berkeley House Berkeley Square London W1 Tel: 020 7629 8886 I was lucky enough to visit the swanky Mayfair Indian restaurant Benares. Recently refurbished, it is everything a traditional British Indian restaurant is not. The read more …<\/span><\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dine-online.co.uk\/foodie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dine-online.co.uk\/foodie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dine-online.co.uk\/foodie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dine-online.co.uk\/foodie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dine-online.co.uk\/foodie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=692"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/dine-online.co.uk\/foodie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":699,"href":"https:\/\/dine-online.co.uk\/foodie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692\/revisions\/699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dine-online.co.uk\/foodie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dine-online.co.uk\/foodie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dine-online.co.uk\/foodie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n12 Berkeley House
\nBerkeley Square
\nLondon W1
\nTel: 020 7629 8886<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nINGREDIENTS (Serves 4)<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n1 tsp chat masala, 1 tbsp lime juice, 1 tbsp vegetable oil, salt to taste.<\/p>\n![\"salmon\"](\"http:\/\/www.midasupload.com\/users\/1\/CSalmon.jpg\")
<\/DIV><\/p>\n
\njust using one or two vegetables
\nif preferred. The sauce is a good
\naccompaniment to any poultry or
\nother meats as well as for a non
\nvegetarian alternative. A good
\nway to enhance the flavours is to
\ncook the sauce a day in advance\u201d.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nINGREDIENTS (Serves 4)<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n1 tsp minced green chillies, 1 tbsp crushed fennel seed, 1 tbsp crushed coriander seeds, 1 tbsp crushed cumin seeds, 1 tsp crushed black pepper, 1 tsp sweet paprika, 3 tbsp mustard oil, salt to taste, 150ml single cream, 50ml double cream, 2 tbsp fl our, \u00bd nutmeg.<\/p>\n
\n12-16 pitted black olives, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp lemon juice, salt to taste, 1 tsp crushed black pepper.
\nWhisk the olive oil, lemon juice, black pepper and salt together. Toss the salad leaves, feta and olives with the dressing made.<\/p>\n![\"Atul](\"http:\/\/www.midasupload.com\/users\/1\/CAtul.jpg\")
<\/DIV><\/p>\n
\ncooked on a barbecue as well.
\nIt produces a very superior
\nsmoke wrapped flavour. The
\nlamb can also be substituted
\nfor chicken or rabbit. For
\na vegetarian alternative, the
\nmarinade can be used on a mix
\nof courgettes and broccoli\u201d.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nGINGER CUSTARD AND CINNAMON ICE CREAM<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nginger, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1 vanilla scrap, pinch of salt
\nCrumble: Mix and rub the following ingredients together to get a breadcrumb
\nlike mixture. 100g fl our, 100g sugar, \u00bd tsp cinnamon powder, 60g butter.
\nPeel and core pears and cut them into 8 pieces. Put all the ingredients
\nin a pan and cook on a slow heat until the pears are cooked completely.
\nStrain off the liquid and discard. Place the pears in a ring mould and top
\nwith crumble. Bake in the oven at 180oC for 20 minutes.
\nGinger custard (Optional): 240ml milk, 240ml double cream, 4 egg yolks,
\n75g sugar, 1 vanilla pod scrap, 1 tbsp fi nely chopped ginger.
\nBoil the milk and cream with the vanilla scrap and ginger. Infuse for 3
\nhrs. Strain the mix, bring to the boil and place aside and then whisk the
\negg yolks and sugar. Cook slowly until the custard is ready.
\nCinnamon ice cream: 240ml milk, 240ml double cream, 4-5 cinnamon
\nsticks, 4 egg yolks, 100g sugar, 1 vanilla pod, pinch of salt.
\nBoil the milk and cream with vanilla scrap and cinnamon. Let it infuse
\nfor 1 hour, strain the mix. Beat the egg yolks and sugar, add a few
\ntablespoons of warm milk and then mix in the rest of the milk and cook
\non a slow heat until the mixture thickens to coat the back of the spoon.
\nRemove and cool the mixture and then churn in an ice cream maker.
\nStore the mixture in a freezer until required.<\/p>\n
\nIf you are serving custard, spoon it around the crumble.
\nServing suggestion: This is a perfect winter warmer to follow any of the
\nother main dishes.<\/p>\n![\"crumble\"](\"http:\/\/www.midasupload.com\/users\/1\/CPearCrumble.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nhowever, do not feel restricted to
\nusing pears \u2013 apples work just
\nas well with ginger. You can also
\nexperiment with peaches, apricots
\nor even bananas \u2013 cooking times<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nMarch 2010.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"