LONDON: A popular Indian restaurant in London has added an unusual dish of Rajasthani spiced squirrel curry to its menu.
The dish has been created by Indian head chef Rakesh Nair for upmarket Cinnamon Club, frequented by Britain’s parliamentarians due to its proximity to the Houses of Parliament in central London.
For the speciality dish, squirrel legs and shoulders are marinated with coriander, cloves, garlic, chilli and pineapple juice, before being cooked in a tandoor.
The belly is braised and turned into a kadhai-style stir-fry with peppers and onion.
The dish is served with pickled vegetables, coriander chutney and garlic naan and priced at 22 pounds per person at the restaurant which is housed in the historic Westminster Library building.
“We like to come up with creative and innovative dishes o surprise and excite our guests,” explained Nair.
“We love cooking with game, and squirrel has got a great flavor, similar to wild rabbit, so we thought why not experiment with it in the kitchen,” he added.
The squirrel curry will coincide with the chef’s appearance on a TV food show with celebrity chef Jamie Oliver later this week to talk about how squirrel is experiencing a renaissance with chefs in London.
The meat was a common meat on UK menus but fell out of fashion in recent decades. It is being used again in a variety of recipes now. -PTI
