2 Recipes To Try From BiBi’s Chet Sharma
Image: BiBi
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2 Recipes To Try From BiBi’s Chet Sharma

Arriving on the London restaurant scene late in 2021, BiBi came in hot. Within months of opening, the Mayfair Indian landed multiple awards from multiple award givers – thanks in large part to the genius of its chef patron. If you think we use ‘genius’ lightly, well, we’re talking about a man with a physics PhD from Oxford. Featuring 60 of his best recipes, his new cookbook confirms he’s a planet-sized talent in the kitchen too. Here’s how to make two of Chet’s favourite dishes – plus a few of the signature spice blends and oils that will take your own weekend curry nights to post-graduate level…
Image: BiBi

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THE SPICE BLENDS & OILS

BiBi Chaat Masala

Makes: 200g

Ingredients
22g of cumin seeds
22g of black peppercorns
22g of black salt
12g of dried mint
1g of citric acid
1g of mace blades
6g of green cardamom seeds
2g of cloves
1g of cinnamon stick
2g of ajwain seeds
4g of asafoetida
62g of amchoor
22g of kosher salt
12g of ground ginger
9g of yellow chilli powder
Method
Step 1

Blend all the ingredients to a fine powder in a spice or coffee grinder.

Step 2

Store in an airtight container for up to one month.

Garam Masala

Makes: 250g 

Ingredients
15g of green cardamom seeds
9g of black cardamom seeds
15g of cloves
23g of cinnamon stick
15g of mace blades
8g of royal cumin seeds
56g of cumin seeds
30g of black peppercorns
15g of dried ginger
3g of freshly grated nutmeg
27g of coriander seeds
12g of fennel seeds
3g of dagad phool
15g of rose petals
8g of bay leaves
Method
Step 1

Preheat the oven to 160°C.

Step 2

Spread all the spices except the dagad phool, rose petals and bay leaves on a baking tray. Roast in the oven for 4 minutes, then remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature. Blend the roasted spices along with the remaining ingredients to a fine powder in a spice or coffee grinder.

Step 3

Store in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

Jon Enoch

MSG Oil

Makes: 700g 

Ingredients
700g of rapeseed oil
0.2g of black peppercorns
0.15g of cloves
0.25g of black cardamom seeds
0.15g of green cardamom seeds
0.15g of bay leaves
150g of spring onions, roughly chopped
100g of shallots (skin on), roughly chopped
15g of fresh ginger (skin on), roughly chopped
40g of coriander (leaves & stems), roughly chopped
4g of MSG
Method
Step 1

Heat the oil in a pan to 130°C. Add the whole spices and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.

Step 2

Add the roughly chopped onions, shallots, ginger and coriander and herbs to the oil. Heat to 160°C and cook for 20-30 minutes until the onions and shallots are golden and caramelised. Remove from the heat and pour into a container on top of an ice bath to cool the oil down quickly. Leave to infuse in the refrigerator overnight.

Step 3

The following day, pass through a fine sieve and mix in the MSG with a hand blender. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

Peanut Oil

Makes: 200g 

Ingredients
1g of cumin seeds
0.5g of coriander seeds
7g of dried long Indian red chillies
10g of white sesame seeds
13g of garlic
7.5g of kosher salt
2g of deggi mirch
5g of gochugaru
10g of jaggery
20g of white miso
250g of rapeseed oil
Method
Step 1

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Place the cumin and coriander seeds on a tray and roast in the oven for 1 minute. Add the dried chillies to the tray and roast for 3 more minutes. Remove the toasted spices from the oven and set aside.

Step 2

On a separate tray, place the sesame seeds and roast in the oven for 15 minutes until golden.

Step 3

Put all the ingredients except the oil in a food processor and blend until finely minced, then add the oil and blend for another minute until emulsified. Put the mixture inside a vacuum pouch and seal. Set up a dehydrator or a steam oven to 70°C and cook the oil for 15 hours.

Step 4

Pass the oil through a fine sieve. Keep the pulp and oil in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

THE RECIPES

Achari Middlewhite Pork Belly 

People from all over the world come to Mayfair, meaning that BiBi has been discovered by every nationality under the sun. Unfortunately, what that also means is that we can rarely ever feature pork on our menu which, religion or dietary choices aside, is a big shame for me personally because I love it. It’s probably my single favourite meat, and it is just so versatile. Cured and preserved as salami, jamon and bacon, chops cooked over charcoal, slow-smoked pulled pork or a braised belly – each one is so distinct but has the single thread of piggy deliciousness. And we haven’t even mentioned bangers and mash. The wakame salad is not traditionally Indian, and you could make it with cucumber if you prefer, but it’s essential for cutting all the fatty, pungent heat from the pork sauce. 

Serves
4
Ingredients
For the sesame chutney
20g of peanuts
30g of white sesame seeds
80g of freshly grated coconut
5g of coconut vinegar
10g of tamarind paste
3 whole red Kashmiri chillies
15g of garlic
240g of water
For the confit pork belly
250g of pork belly (skin on)
25g of coarse kosher salt
125g of Achari marinade
For the achari marinade (makes 350g)
25g of red bell pepper, roasted
25g of mustard oil
25g of rice wine vinegar
50g of anchovy paste
13g of green bird’s eye chilli
13g of Kashmiri chilli powder
50g of ssamjang
6g of kosher salt
25g of gochujang
Method
Step 1

To make the sesame chutney, preheat the oven to 160°C. Roast the peanuts and sesame seeds on a tray for 10 minutes, stirring every 3 minutes until light golden. Place all the ingredients in a high-speed blender or Vitamix and blend until smooth.

Step 2

To make the achari marinade, char the bell pepper over a flame. Once fully black, wrap in a cloth and let it cool down. Peel the pepper, then discard the stem, seeds and charred skin. Blend all the ingredients along with the red pepper pulp in a high-speed blender or Vitamix to a smooth paste.

Step 3

Coat the pork belly on both sides with the salt and leave it to rest in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Brush off the salt and rub the belly with 75g of the achari marinade. Place in a vacuum pouch and seal. Set up a steamer, or a combination oven, on full steam to 72°C and cook it for 12 hours. Once cooked, strain the juices and set them aside. Chill the confit belly in the refrigerator overnight, pressed with a weight on top. Remove the skin and set it aside. Portion the pork in about 2 slabs of 8cm x 4cm (how many slabs you get will depend on the shape of the belly).

Step 4

Set up a charcoal grill. Heat the pork belly cooking juices and 25g of the achari marinade in a saucepan, and reduce until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Reserve the sauce for serving. Once the charcoal is ready, brush the pork with the remaining marinade. Grill the belly until it’s warmed all the way through and lightly charred around the edges.

Step 5

To serve, carve the pork belly, put it off-centre on a plate and gently pour the sauce on the side around the pork.

Okra Salan

Second only to aubergine, okra has to be my favourite exotic ingredient. I say exotic because, while most Indians will argue that okra (or bhindi as it is more often known) is from the subcontinent, its origins are more likely from the east coast of Africa. Technically, it was all one supercontinent around 150 million years ago, so who are we to draw such arbitrary lines? All I know is that bhindi is something that would almost always be in the fridge at home because of its versatility and how quickly it cooks. When we train new people on the grill section how to cook this dish, we often say it’s better to almost forget that you need it, so you cook it right at the last minute, to keep the shape and colour of the vegetable, but making sure any of the slimy parts inside are properly cooked out. 

Ingredients
For the peanut & sesame salan
20g of white sesame seeds
50g of peeled peanuts
3g of white poppy seeds
10g of desiccated coconut
375g of room-temperature water, plus 50g extra if needed
100g of rapeseed oil
3g of cumin seeds
10g of garlic, roughly chopped
10g of fresh peeled ginger, roughly chopped
1g of fenugreek seeds
2g of curry leaves
5g of Kashmiri chilli powder
5g of ground turmeric
2g of garam masala
10g of kosher salt
50g of fried onions
20g of tamarind paste
20g of jaggery
For the okra chilli mix
25g of onion
15g of long green chilli, ends trimmed
15g of okra fingers, ends trimmed
15g of MSG oil
For the peanut podi oil
40g of peeled peanuts
1g of kosher salt
85g of peanut oil
25g of peanut oil pulp
To serve
10-14 okra fingers
60g of okra chilli mix
120g of peanut and sesame salan
40g of peanut podi oil
Method
Step 1

To make the peanut and sesame salan, preheat the oven to 160°C. Put the sesame seeds on a roasting tray and roast in the oven for 5 minutes. Open the oven, add the peanuts and white poppy seeds to the tray, and roast for 10 more minutes or until golden, mixing them every 3-4 minutes to ensure they roast all over. Remove and set aside.

Step 2

Put the desiccated coconut on a separate tray and roast in the oven for 9 minutes, stirring it every 3 minutes to ensure all of it gets golden. Once golden, add it to the peanut and sesame mix. Add the peanut, sesame and coconut mixture to a food processor along with 100g of the water and blend until a butter texture is achieved. Reserve.

Step 3

Heat the rapeseed oil in a large saucepan over a medium-high heat. Add the cumin and fry until it starts cracking, then add the chopped garlic, ginger and fenugreek seeds, and fry for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the curry leaves and cook until they splutter. Turn off the heat. Add the Kashmiri chilli powder, turmeric, garam masala, salt, fried onions, tamarind and jaggery. Mix in the pan with the residual heat. Put the remaining 275g of water in a blender with the peanut and sesame mixture and the onion and spices mixture. Blend at full speed until smooth, adding 50g more water if needed. Pass through a fine sieve.

Step 4

For the okra chilli mix, thinly slice all the vegetables using a mandoline and mix them in a bowl with the MSG oil. Set up a charcoal grill. Once the charcoal is ready, place the sliced mixture in a metal sieve, and cook directly over the charcoal until the onions are translucent.

Step 5

For the peanut podi oil, preheat the oven to 160°C. Mix the peanuts with the salt and 10g of the peanut oil. Place the peanuts on a baking tray and roast in the oven for 10 minutes, stirring them every 3 minutes to ensure they colour all over. Remove from the oven and, once cool, place them with the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly .

Step 6

Set up a charcoal grill. Trim both ends of the okra and, when the charcoal is ready, grill them until blistered and lightly charred all over. Warm up the peanut and sesame salan in a pan. Place the okra chilli mix in the middle of a plate. Put the peanut podi on top of the okra chilli mix. Pour the warm peanut and sesame sauce around the okra chilli mix. Rest the grilled okra on top of the okra chilli mix and serve.

BiBi The Cookbook is available to buy here

All products on this page have been selected by our editorial team, however we may make commission on some products.

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