By Vivek Paul
Amidst recession and dwindling restaurant revenues, a prominent Indian restaurant in London has launched what is billed as the 'world's most expensive curry' priced at 2,000 pounds a portion. The upmarket Bombay Brasserie, owned by Taj Hotels,
announced the new dish called 'Samundari Khazana' to coincide with the DVD launch of Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire.
The dish is a mix of caviar, sea snails, a whole lobster and slices of edible gold. Chefs at Bombay Brasserie are confident that the new dish will find many takers, but experts are unsure. Andy Morris wrote in GQ, "No dish, no matter whether it's coated in precious metal or has so many lobsters it looks like Aquaman's breakfast, can justify such vast expense".
"The problem is it cheapens the restaurant experience: in a hotly contested field, the Brasserie is one of the best Indian restaurants in London but by including such a
preposterous item on the menu, they risk overshadowing the good work they do in the kitchen."
But chef Prahlad Hegde said, "There are still people out there with money to spend and this curry is a real experience. "The idea is from a basic Indian recipe I got from my
mum but we are using the finest ingredients in the world." Hegde said. "The fish and seafood is marinated in chilli and tamarind paste, then I'm going to slice truffle over the top to give it a nutty flavour." Hagde added.
Journalists who were invited to watch the Samundari Khazana being cooked saw Hegde preparing the dish with Devon crab and white truffle, while his assistant painstakingly pressed gold leaf to half a cherry tomato filled with Beluga caviar.
He then placed four sea snails - abalone - which cost almost 300 pounds a kilo, into a sizzling pan. Another chef coated an 80 pounds Scottish lobster in gold, while a third
deftly hollows out four shelled quails' eggs before filling them with more caviar. The five tiny shavings of truffle cost 90 pounds while the edible gold is priced at 1,000 pounds for 10 grams.
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