Tag Archives: The Bombay Boys

The Bombay Boys Book Club Discussion Points

We all love our neighbourhood Book Club. It is a wonderful opportunity to get together and discuss the latest book that we’ve read and okay yes, there is often wine involved and dare we say gossip?

The Bombay Boys is the perfect book for your Book Club as it covers a wide variety of controversial subjects. We never agree at our club and that is what makes it SO fun. Here are some suggestions:

  • The book starts in the British Raj in India pre-Partition in 1947, the “Jewel in the Crown” of colonialism – Do you think the British did more good than harm? Should we be making reparation for some of the mistakes that were made? How would you feel if you were a national subjugated to the British?
  • Spiritualism was highly accepted in the early twentieth century – Do you believe in ghosts? If so, why?
  • Throughout the book there is an underlying theme of racism against people of colour which was at its height in the era of Enoch Powell – Are we seeing a resurgence of racism today, if so in what way?
  • Joe Benedict turned to crime to support his family – Is this ever acceptable?
  • London in the 50s was just beginning to move on from post-war austerity but there was little television and no social media – Was it a better time before the internet?
  • Is there such a thing as an Anti-hero? Nick Benedict is handsome and charming but at the end of the day a ruthless gangster – why do we love a villain?
  • The Australian Immigration Programme of the “Ten Pound Poms” – Any thoughts or experiences? Australia now has a very restrictive immigration policy – Views? Should the UK do that?
  • Indian Food has become one of the favourite types of cuisine in the UK – Do you like it and if so, what is your favourite

Auntie Joy’s Mince Curry

I cooked this recently and thought it may be useful if you’re trying the recipe to be able to see a few photos. I did promise videos and will get round to it soon..I would have done one on this recipe but my roots need doing….

Ingredients: You are going to need the following

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

1 large brown onion chopped up finely. (My Aunt used to use 3!)

1lb or 500g minced beef or lamb

3 tablespoons of curry powder or curry paste (your choice of hot, medium or mild).

1 teaspoon of cumin powder

2 tablespoons garlic and ginger paste (you could use the real thing, but the combined paste is available in all supermarkets now)

4 whole cloves (remember to fish them out later)

2 tablespoons tomato puree

1/4 pint of lamb or beef stock

Salt to taste

How to make it:

The ingredients are very simple

I know it’s easy to chop onions, but frankly I like to throw them in the food processor, call me lazy! Remember though to pulse rather than put it on full speed otherwise you may end up with onion puree

Fry your onions in the oil over a medium heat. They will need to be really brown, so be patient.

Getting there…but not quite

Now we’re ready, you need to take care that you don’t burn the onions but you want a really good level of caramelisation for the maximum flavour. It can take from 10 to 20 minutes.

Brown the mince, this is halfway done. You need to brown it enough so that there is no raw meat showing.

Add the rest of the ingredients – curry powder, cumin powder, garlic and ginger paste, cloves and tomato puree

Simmer for 30 minutes on a low heat, stir well and add a little water as you go if it appears too dry. It will need salt, so add to taste. You can sprinkle coriander leaf or chopped hard boiled eggs before serving if you wish.

It’s lovely served with my garlic and pea fried rice, plain rice or simply with some naan bread and bulfart (that’s a tomato and onion salad to you! See the recipe, honestly, that’s what it’s called)

Beautiful served with plain rice and raita.