Satisfy your Indian food cravings at Darjeeling Express

Monday 29th May 2017 05:06 EDT
 
 

A new self-taught chef has a variety of piping hot Indian food to offer at her first permanent restaurant at this year's London Food Month. Asma Khan, founder and owner of Indian street food kitchen Darjeeling Express, is all set to open her establishment at Kingly Court, just off Carnaby Street by the end of June.

However, she will serve a few preview dishes at the free-to-enter, one-day Carnaby Street eat festival on June 3. A trained constitutional lawyer, her menu will include masala chai, lamb samosas, and Calcutta puchkas. Khan, 47, said, “This will be a taster of some of the foods I will bring to Darjeeling Express. It will be a great way for me to introduce my food and also for me to get to know my neighbours.” She will also host the 'Come Aboard the Darjeeling Express' event on June 25, Sunday, at her new restaurant, which will be a traditional celebratory Eid feast.

After moving to Cambridge from Calcutta in 1991, Khan said she was “forced” to learn to cook as neither she or her husband, an Economics lecturer, could. Her food journey saw her make several long trips home, learning to cook authentic Indian food from her family. Khan later began selling samosas on the streets to raise money for a relief effort in then war-torn Yugoslavia. She instinctively quit her legal training after moving to London, and began supper clubs at her home in South Kensington. Khan gives credit to Simon Quayle, executive director of Shaftesbury, for encouraging her to open a restaurant. “Simon was a real influence as I never wanted to open a restaurant. I am really excited to do it now. I can't wait to get in the kitchen.”

Kitchen staff at the Darjeeling Express are Indian housewives and second-born daughters, employed through word of mouth or friends. Khan wishes to encourage women from traditional backgrounds who feel underappreciated, or had few opportunities.

One of the many festivals taking place in London Food Month, Carnaby Street Eat will see the area's restaurants, bars, and cafés serving up £5 tasters of their signature dishes and drinks, from noon to 6 pm.


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