Make chef Romy Gill’s sakoon paneer (creamy paneer), murg malai skewers (chicken skewers) and kumro (stir-fried spiced pumpkin)
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Now a broadcaster and food and travel writer based in southwest England, Gill has travelled to many parts of India and the world for various publications, including The New York Times and The Telegraph, and has appeared on many TV shows, such as Ready Steady Cook.
Gill’s parents were born in Punjab in northern India. As a teenager, her father, Santokh Singh Sandhu, moved to the industrial New Town to work at the steel plant. In Romy Gill’s India, she shares more than 70 recipes inspired by her Bengali home, Punjabi heritage and many other diverse influences, from childhood friends to long train journeys.
Travelling with her dad and best friend, Reshmi, who now lives in New York, Gill discovered that while much had changed, many things remained the same. They went to the shop where Sandhu used to buy chanachur (a popular Bengali snack mix) for parties, her favourite street food stalls, her high school and the house where she was born. “For me to go back was very, very important, but also it was very emotionally draining at the same time,” says Gill. “Going back to both Punjab and Bengal opened so many things.”
Even though two decades had passed, long-forgotten memories flooded back. “I just couldn’t sit here and write,” adds Gill from her kitchen in Thornbury, near Bristol, England, where she had just pulled a polenta cake with cherries out of the oven. “I needed to be there to be able to write this book.”
Gill moved to the U.K. in 1993. Drawing on her memories and phone calls with her late mother, Balwant Kaur, to cook the dishes she grew up with — such as momos, stuffed parathas and samosas — helped ease her homesickness. She started hosting supper clubs and opened the Michelin-recognized restaurant Romy’s Kitchen in 2013, which she ran for six years. In 2016, Gill was appointed an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) for her work in the food industry.
Gill credits her knack for cooking to her parents and grandparents. Both sides of her family are farmers. On summer holidays, she would visit their farmhouses in Punjab, where they would plant vegetables and cook over an open fire.
She would marvel at how her nani (maternal grandmother) and dadi (paternal grandmother) made different dishes in different ways. “Even if you’re Punjabi but from a different region, they would make completely different things. My nani never ate meat, but she would make the most amazing, delicious meat dishes.”
“I want to write books that are close to my heart. I don’t want to write books that, every six months or every year, you change a cumin there or coriander here and create a new recipe. That doesn’t work for me. There has to be a story,” says Gill. “Storytelling is so important for me. I had to tell a story about these two kitchens.”
With chapters devoted to dals, street food, vegetables, paneer, meat, fish and eggs, rice and bread, sweets and store cupboard staples, Gill highlights that these are the dishes she cooks now — her recipes from home. “This is the food my daughters eat. This is the food I grew up eating and that my parents and grandparents would eat,” says Gill. “I wanted recipes that are meaningful to me, that I loved. I didn’t want recipes just for the sake of it.”
“For me to write this book as a chef was very, very important to showcase where I came from. It’s my India. It’s my food.”
SAKOON PANEER
Creamy paneer
Serves: 4
400 g (14 oz) paneer, diced into small 2-cm (3/4-in) cubes
For the marinade:
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cornstarch
For the sauce:
6 tsp oil, plus extra for frying
200 g (7 oz) white onions, peeled and finely chopped
3 large garlic cloves, peeled and grated
15 g (1/2 oz) ginger root, peeled and grated
250 g (9 oz) tomatoes, finely chopped
1/2 tsp tomato paste
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi) or use around 20 g (3/4 oz) fresh cilantro
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground turmeric
50 g (2 oz/1/4 cup) plain yogurt
50 mL (1 3/4 fl oz/3 tbsp) table cream (18 per cent)
To serve:
Flatbreads
Step 1
To make the marinade, place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Add the paneer and gently toss in the marinade to ensure it is well coated. Leave to marinate at room temperature for 20-30 minutes.
Step 2
To make the sauce, heat the oil in a saucepan over a high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onions, garlic and ginger and cook for 5 minutes, stirring continuously. Add the tomatoes and tomato purée and cook for a further 4-5 minutes over a medium heat. Add the salt, chili powder and dried fenugreek leaves along with the remaining spices, yogurt, cream and 100 mL (3 1/2 fl oz/scant 1/2 cup) water, then cook for a further 3 minutes.
Step 3
While the sauce is cooking, heat a little oil in a frying pan and fry the marinated paneer until light brown on all sides. Once the paneer is cooked, add it to the sauce and cook for a further 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to rest for 5 minutes before serving with Indian flatbreads or the side dish of your choice.
MURG MALAI SKEWERS
Chicken skewers
Makes: 6 skewers
You will need 6 wooden skewers soaked in cold water for 30 minutes
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) boneless chicken, cut into bite-size pieces
200 mL (7 fl oz/scant 1 cup) whipping cream (36 per cent or higher)
50 g (2 oz/1/4 cup) plain yogurt
100 g (3 1/2 oz) paneer, grated (if using homemade paneer, then just crumble it)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
Small handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
Juice of 1/2 lemon
4 tsp oil
20 g (3/4 oz) melted butter
To serve:
Sirke wale pyaaz (pickled shallots, recipe follows)
Pudina aur dhaniya chutney (mint and cilantro chutney, recipe follows)
Kachumber (cucumber and tomato salad, recipe follows)
Step 1
Place the chicken pieces in a large bowl with all of the remaining ingredients except the butter. Mix well to combine and prick the meat gently with a fork or toothpick to allow the marinade to penetrate. Cover the bowl and marinate in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours.
Step 2
Preheat the broiler to a medium heat. Thread the marinated chicken pieces onto the skewers, brush with the melted butter, place on a baking tray and cook under the hot grill for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, turn the skewers and brush again with the melted butter to ensure the skewers are evenly cooked on each side. Return to the grill for a further 5 minutes. Enjoy with pickled shallots, spicy cilantro chutney and kachumber salad.
SIRKE WALE PYAAZ
Pickled shallots
Makes: one small jar
15 small shallots
50 mL (1 3/4 fl oz/3 tbsp) distilled malt vinegar
1 tsp salt
Step 1
Peel the shallots and soak in a bowl of water for 15 minutes. Drain the shallots, then place in a bowl with the vinegar and salt. Leave to pickle for 24 hours.
Step 2
Transfer the pickled shallot to a sterilized glass jar with an airtight lid. These pickled shallots will keep for up to one week when stored in the fridge.
PUDINA AUR DHANIYA CHUTNEY
Mint and cilantro chutney
Makes: one small jar
50 g (2 oz) fresh mint leaves
30 g (1 oz) fresh cilantro, roughly chopped with stems
1 medium white onion, peeled and roughly chopped
2 green chilies
1 small raw mango, stone removed, peeled and diced into 1-cm (1/2-in) cubes
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
Step 1
Place all the ingredients along with 75 mL (2 1/2 fl oz/5 tbsp) water in a blender or food processor and blitz to a fine paste.
Step 2
Transfer the chutney to a sterilized glass jar with an airtight lid. This chutney will keep for up to 5 days when stored in the fridge.
KACHUMBER
Cucumber and tomato salad
Serves: 4-6
1/2 medium cucumber, seeds removed and flesh finely chopped
1 medium red onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 medium tomato, finely chopped (or 8 cherry tomatoes, halved)
1/2 mooli (white radish), peeled and finely chopped
20 g (3/4 oz) fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
Juice of 1 lime
Step 1
Mix together all the vegetables with the fresh cilantro, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Drizzle over the lime juice, mix well and serve immediately.
KUMRO
Stir-fried spiced pumpkin
Serves: 4
30 mL (1 fl oz/2 tbsp) canola oil
1 tsp panch phoron (see note)
3 dried red chilies
1 dried bay leaf
15 g (1/2 oz) ginger root, peeled and grated
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) pumpkin, washed, seeds removed, skin on and diced into 2-cm (3/4-in) cubes
1 tsp salt
1 tsp granulated or superfine sugar
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp Bengali garam masala (recipe follows)
Step 1
Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan. Once the oil is hot, add the panch phoron, dried chilies and bay leaf. As soon as the spices start to sizzle, add the ginger and cook over a high heat for 1 minute. Add the pumpkin and cook for 3-4 minutes. Lower the heat and add the salt, sugar, chili powder, ground turmeric, coriander and cumin. Mix well, then cover the pan with a lid and cook for 10 minutes.
Step 2
Once cooked, sprinkle over the garam masala and serve with boiled rice or fried poori.
BENGALI GARAM MASALA
Makes: one small jar
20 green cardamom seeds
10-12 cloves
2 x 5-cm (2-in) cinnamon sticks
Step 1
Place the spices in a blender or food processor and blitz to a powder. If you don’t have the whole spices, you can use ground spices — but you should still blitz them in a blender or food processor so they’re well combined.
Step 2
Transfer the garam masala to a sterilized glass jar with an airtight lid. This garam masala will keep for up to 6 months when stored in a cool, dark place.
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