Ready, steady, sizzle

He brought his celebrated taste of India to Britain more than a decade ago, but Vivek Singh’s new book is as fresh and thrilling as ever, says Fiona Hicks

When Vivek Singh first came to London in 2001, he noticed a gap in the gastronomic market. ‘British people think Indian, and they picture lots of curries, brown sauces and cheap ingredients,’ he says. ‘I wanted to open something that was at completely the other end of the spectrum.’

The result was the lavish The Cinnamon Club, which has been a stalwart of the fine-dining scene for the past decade. With menus changed daily and seasonal ingredients, the dishes feature ‘deconstructed’ Indian food that makes people sit up and take notice of what is in front of them.

The success of The Cinnamon Club led to Singh opening two other restaurants in the capital. Cinnamon Kitchen is the edgier sister restaurant, serving suited types in the City, while Cinnamon Soho captures that area’s young and funky crowd. ‘Innovation, quality and seasonality does not have to be linked to the depth of your pockets. That sort of food should not be the preserve of the rich.’

Singh spends one day each week cooking in each of the venues. ‘My favourite to work in is Cinnamon Kitchen,’ he reveals. So much so that he has been inspired to write a cookery book of the same name.

The book, like the cool Kitchen, is low on effort but high on impact. ‘A lot of thought has gone into keeping the recipes simple,’ he explains, ‘so you don’t have a shopping list the size of your arm.’

Singh, who started his career working as a chef in the Oberoi Hotels in a number of Indian cities, knows all too well that the use of many spices in Indian dishes can be intimidating.

‘A lot of these recipes don’t use scores of spices, it’s mostly three or four,’ he says. ‘But where the recipes really come into their own is in the focus on preparation or things you’ve done beforehand. You can marinate a bit of fish, pop it in the oven while you’re having a drink with your guests, and in 20 minutes you have a wonderful dish to serve.’

Simplicity aside, Indian aficionados will also notice that Singh champions creativity over authenticity. ‘Even though curry has its roots in India, it has travelled across the world and evolved. Indians should not arrogantly assume that we own curry.’

Singh combines Indian flavours with a focus on local ingredients and a fair smattering of Western cooking techniques, such as searing and oven roasting. In fact, this innovativeness suffuses all of Singh’s food, right down to his favourite midnight snack. ‘I make a very spicy masala omelette,’ he reveals, ‘and then I eat it inside a toasted tea cake.’

A truly modern Indian dish, indeed.

Cinnamon Kitchen: The Cookbook by Vivek Singh, with photography by Lara Holmes, is published by Bloomsbury, priced £25.

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SMOKED HADDOCK KEDGEREE ‘KICHRI’ (pictured top)

Serves 4

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 25cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 green chillies, finely chopped
• 1 tomato, deseeded and chopped into 1cm dice
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 2 tbsp fish stock or water
• 500g basmati rice, boiled
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, whites chopped and yolks discarded
• 150g smoked haddock, poached in a little milk and flaked
• 1 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
• 30g butter
• 2 tbsp single cream
• 4 freshly poached eggs

Method

Heat the oil in a pan, add the onion and sauté over a medium heat for 4-6 minutes until translucent. Add the ginger, chillies and tomato and stir well. Add the turmeric and cook for a minute, then add the fish stock. Tip in the boiled rice, add the salt, fold in the chopped egg white and flaked haddock and sprinkle in the coriander. Gently stir in the butter and cream and remove from the heat. Divide the kedgeree into bowls, season with freshly ground pepper and top with a poached egg to serve.

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SAFFRON-POACHED PEAR

Serves 4

• 2 Williams pears (not too ripe)
• 600ml water
• 250g caster sugar
• Pinch of saffron strands
• 5cm piece of cinnamon stick
• 5 green cardamom pods
• 2 star anise
• 50g demerara sugar
• 10 sprigs of coriander cress, to decorate

For the raisin raita

• 200g Greek yogurt
• 2 tbsp raisins
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

Method

Peel the pears, leaving the stems on, and put into a bowl of water to prevent discolouration. Put the water, caster sugar, saffron, cinnamon, cardamom and star anise into a saucepan into which the pears will fit upright. Slowly bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve sugar.

Add the pears, reduce the heat and poach for 15-20 minutes, until tender, but still slightly firm. Remove the pears from the poaching liquid and leave to cool. Increase the heat and bring the poaching liquid to the boil and reduce by half. When the mixture is syrupy, remove from the heat and set aside.

When the pears are cool, cut them in half lengthways. Mix together all the ingredients for the raisin raita and spoon on to four plates. Place the pear halves upright on a baking sheet, sprinkle the demerara sugar over the halves and caramelise under a very hot grill. Leave until the glaze becomes crisp and then add to the plates. Spoon over the poaching liquid, decorate with coriander cress and serve.