Latest news with #curry
The Independent
8 hours ago
- Business
- The Independent
Curry house forced to close after 20 years after neighbours complain of curry smell
A popular curry house has been forced to close its doors after two decades in business, following complaints from neighbours about the smell of curry. Cinnamons Restaurant in Wheatley, Oxfordshire, had been a local favourite for over 20 years when South Oxfordshire District Council received a complaint about "curry odours" in 2021. Environmental health officers visited the restaurant and upheld the complaint. The Bangladeshi restaurant reportedly spent around £35,000 on a new extractor fan in an attempt to resolve the issue. However, these efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, leading to the restaurant's closure. However, another complaint was made and the curry house was served an abatement notice, which deemed Cinnamons' new ventilation system to be defective. Unable to afford the installation cost of a new system, which the restaurant claimed to be in the region of £50,000, Cinnamons was taken to court and forced to pay a £25,000 fine after pleading guilty in October 2024. Despite the funds spent, the council issued a further abatement notice and in May this year, Cinnamons announced that it could not afford the demands and would close in mid-June, making 10 people unemployed. South Oxfordshire District Council said they have no option but to prosecute 'if measures are not introduced to solve the issue and abatement notices are breached' and that Cinnamons 'admitted that they could have done more to mitigate the odour'. Restaurateur Shirazul Hoque, 32, said 'The village wants the restaurant to stay, otherwise we would have closed before paying the £25,000 fine. 'It's really hard for us and feels absolutely wrong as we love our village… it is hurtful to have our cuisine, which is loved, described as producing obnoxious odours that stink. 'All our employees have families and the chefs who live above the restaurant will be made homeless – it's a big punch in the gut.' Cinnamons Restaurant has been operating in Wheatley, Oxfordshire, since 2000. Shirazul's uncles took over the business in 2012, and they have been serving Bangladeshi and Indian food there ever since. Many TripAdvisor reviews describe the restaurant as an important part of the community. 'We are so lucky to have this restaurant in our village,' one review reads. In 2021, the restaurant won the TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice award, which is given to businesses that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% in their field on TripAdvisor. That same year, an odour complaint was made to South Oxfordshire District Council against the restaurant. An officer from the Environmental Health Agency upheld the complaint. After over two decades of service, Shirazul claimed Cinnamons had never received such a complaint but as a result installed a roughly £35,000 ventilation system as demanded. 'We wanted to resolve it because we've been here for 20 years, we love our village and we wanted to do something about it,' Shirazul said. A higher specification ventilation model was suggested by a consultant, but the restaurant felt they could not afford the installation cost, estimated to be roughly £50,000, nor the maintenance cost. Despite the expensive work carried out by a reputable company with over 30 years of experience, Shirazul said, another complaint was lodged with the council. The Environmental Protection Team was sent to the restaurant and the odour was deemed to be unacceptable, and their ventilator defective. Cinnamons were then asked to rectify the ventilation system. 'We weren't able to afford it,' Shirazul said. 'To be honest, business had not rebounded post-Covid, we'd not been making any profit so we didn't have the money for this.' Since no action was taken, the restaurant was issued with an abatement notice and taken to court. Cinnamons pleaded guilty and accepted a £25,000 fine in October 2024. The issue of ventilation was still deemed unsolved however which left the restaurant facing a further expense estimated by Shirazul to be in the region of £50,000. On Monday May 19, Cinnamons realised they were unable to continue fighting the battle, telling their 10 employees they were without a job. 'It's very hard to share this story because I've spent a lot of my time in the business,' Shirazul said. Asked what other restaurants can learn from his situation, Shirazul said: 'Do due diligence in seeing how the council environmental health officers operate and learn the appeal process.' He also says that on Sunday June 15, their last day of trading, the restaurant will be giving out free meals to anyone who comes through. 'It's a gesture of thanks for all the support we've received through the difficulties of the last few years,' he said. 'It's a way of saying thank you for standing by us.' South Oxfordshire District Council said in a statement: 'The council has a legal duty to investigate nuisance complaints about smells from industrial, trade and business premises that could be a statutory nuisance. 'We always aim to advise and support businesses on how they can resolve issues. However, if measures are not introduced to solve the issue and abatement notices are breached, we have no option but to prosecute. 'In the case of Cinnamons Restaurant in Wheatley, the Council's Environmental Protection Team has assessed the odour complaint following our procedures and legislation. 'An extensive investigation at this site determined a statutory nuisance existed in relation to the kitchen's ventilation systems. 'Cinnamons Cuisine Limited, who run the restaurant, has since failed to follow our recommendations and has breached an environmental abatement notice on several occasions between October 2023 and April 2024. 'Cinnamons pleaded guilty to four charges ahead of a scheduled three-day court appearance on Wednesday 2 October 2024. 'The District Judge at Oxford Magistrates' Court reviewed the evidence and statements provided by council officers and the company, and taking into consideration the revised guilty plea, the judge ordered that the company pay a total of £25,000 – this includes an £11,000 fine, an award of full costs of £12,000 to South Oxfordshire District Council, alongside a victim surcharge of £2,000. 'As well as pleading guilty to the charges of statutory nuisance laid against them, Cinnamons admitted that they could have done more to mitigate the odour. 'The council can advise and assist where we can, but ultimately responsibility for fixing the problem sits with the business. 'The business has been provided advice and guidance on steps they can take but to date have failed to follow our recommendations. 'Cinnamons is still the subject of an ongoing legal case, and we will therefore not be in a position to comment any further on this case other than the information provided in the statement above.'
News.com.au
2 days ago
- General
- News.com.au
Substitute for curry powder
If your recipe calls for curry powder and you don't have any on hand, try one of these easy substitutions.
BreakingNews.ie
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- BreakingNews.ie
Mehak Kansal's chicken or paneer makhani recipe
'This is the recipe that put Bindas on the map. It is our best-selling and most sought-after curry: butter chicken,' says food writer and cookery book author, Mehak Kansal. 'A truly decadent, creamy, herby, slightly spicy, slightly sweet curry made with cream and tomatoes. I am sure there will be a permanent fold or bookmark kept on this page. You can use chicken or paneer for this recipe.' Ingredients: (Serves 4-6) 700g boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces, or 600g paneer, cut into cubes Handful of coriander, chopped, to serve (optional) Advertisement For the marinade: 2tbsp Greek-style yoghurt 2tbsp ghee, melted 1tbsp garlic purée 1tbsp ginger purée 1tsp tomato paste (concentrated purée) 1½tsp ground cumin 1tsp ground turmeric 1tsp garam masala 1tbsp chilli powder 1tsp salt For the makhani sauce: 3–4tbsp ghee 1 onion, finely chopped 2 green bird's-eye chillies, finely chopped 2tbsp garlic purée 2tbsp ginger purée 1½tsp ground cumin 1tsp ground coriander 1½tsp ground turmeric 1tsp chilli powder 1tsp ground green cardamom 1½tsp garam masala 1–2tsp salt, according to taste 200g canned plum tomatoes, puréed 1½tsp caster sugar 300ml double (heavy) cream, plus extra to serve 3tsp kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves) Mehak Kansal's chicken or paneer makhani (Sam Folan 2025/PA) Method: 1. Combine all the marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Add the chicken or paneer to the marinade and stir to coat. Leave to marinate in the refrigerator for at least two hours, preferably overnight. 2. Preheat the oven to 175°C (330°F/gas mark 3–5). Line a baking tray with foil. 3. Transfer the marinated chicken or paneer to the prepared tray and roast for 25–30 minutes until tender – do not overcook. 4. Meanwhile, prepare the makhani sauce. Heat the ghee in a large, heavy-based saucepan over a medium–high heat. Add the onion, chillies, and garlic and ginger purées, and cook for five to seven minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is brown and caramelised. Advertisement 5. Add the ground spices and salt, along with the puréed tomatoes, and reduce the heat to medium–low. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, then stir in the sugar and reduce the heat to low. Allow the sauce to gently bubble for two minutes, then take the pan off the heat. 6. Use a hand blender to purée the sauce until nice and smooth, then return it to a medium heat. Cover and cook for five minutes, stirring every minute or so. Once the ghee starts rising to the surface, add in the cream, then crush the kasoori methi in your hands and sprinkle those in too. 7. Once the chicken or paneer is ready, add it to the sauce, along with six to seven tablespoons of the juices from the tray. Cook over a low heat for two minutes to combine, then transfer to a serving dish. Swirl in another tablespoon of cream, sprinkle over the coriander and enjoy. (Sam Folan 2025/PA) Bindas: Comfort Food with an Indian Soul by Mehak Kansal is published in hardback by Murdoch Books. Photography by Sam Folan. Available now.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Cocktail of the week: Don't Tell Dad's clarified curry leaf daiquiri – recipe
Milk clarification can create a cocktail that will last in your fridge door for up to a year. The protein from the milk binds to the tannins in the drink, giving it a lovely, silken texture and balancing the alcohol. You'll need to make the infusion at least five days ahead. Serves 1 For the rum infusion20g fresh curry leaves 400ml white rum – we use East London Liquor Co For the premix400ml curry leaf rum infusion – see above and method50ml overproof rum – we use Ron Colón High Proof150ml standard 1:1 grapefruit sugar syrup (ie, equal parts fresh grapefruit juice and sugar)150ml fresh lime juice 125ml whole milk For the drink75ml clarified curry leaf daiquiri – see above and method1 fresh curry leaf, to garnish For the infusion, put the curry leaves in a half-litre jar, pour over the white rum, seal and leave to infuse for five to seven days, until the leaves lose their colour. Pour all the premix ingredients bar the milk into a large container, and stir. Add the milk, stir gently, then leave to curdle by letting it sit at room temperature for about two hours. Once curdled, strain through cheesecloth set inside a fine-mesh sieve – to start with, it will look cloudy, but after the milk solids settle in the sieve, it will start to strain through clear. The moment it does so, move the sieve over a second container and pour the cloudy initial pour back in to strain again. Decant into clean bottles or jars, seal and refrigerate. To serve, pour the clarified daiquiri over ice in a tumbler, stir to chill and dilute, and garnish with a curry leaf. Edward Sims, bar manager, Don't Tell Dad, London NW6
Malay Mail
7 days ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
Worth the drive: Selayang's Restoran Yun Yun raises the bar higher with the ultimate seafood noodles
KUALA LUMPUR, May 28 — The food universe is a vast, dangerous place to wander. Most times, it's duds or just simply bad food. Occasionally, it's rather decent and slightly above average spots that pull a crowd, purely because it feeds the surrounding community who doesn't believe in driving far for the ultimate food experiences. And once in a blue moon, you get a place like Restoran Yun Yun, tucked inside an unassuming and for me, never before visited area that serves up generous bowls of seafood noodles, brimming with freshness and spades of flavour. It was truly a eureka moment for me when I stepped into this restaurant below the flats. Nearly everyone around me was slurping down a bowl of seafood noodles, clear soup or curry. There were the odd one or two tucking into fried rice, fried noodles or Nian-Nian, their version of fish head noodles with that distinct milky broth. Seafood Noodles with Fish may look like the plain Jane but the broth laced with Shao Xing wine is also irresistible. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi The logical way, of course, was to try the seafood noodles with clear broth first but instead, I yearned for the curry version. It was the right choice. My bowl of Seafood Curry Mee was glorious. The crux of this bowl was that orange curry broth that I drank every drop of, a testament of how well prepared it was. It's not the type to sting your tongue but you get a gentler spiciness, underpinned by a sweetness purely from the use of a master stock or siong tong boiled with a mix of chicken meat and carcasses. The curry paste is slowly cooked for two hours, using fresh santan, infusing the broth with fragrance. This was indeed a perfect pairing with the bountiful catch crammed in my bowl, like their signature Sabak clams, sea prawns minus that artificial crunch and fish balls. This unassuming restaurant sits at the bottom of flats in Taman Wilayah. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi Each bowl is cooked individually and the cooking expertise shows as the thick, white shell cradles plump, juicy molluscs. Even the cockles or see ham are a decent size, unlike those puny specimens usually found in most stalls. Remember to add the sambal from the communal table of condiments, specifically from the plastic bottle with a yellow cover. It's not too spicy but one can definitely taste the dried prawns used, adding more fragrance to your bowl of curry noodles. My small bowl of Seafood Curry Noodles was RM15 while the big portion would have set me back by RM17. There's also a non-seafood version, using shredded chicken and cockles instead. Rice lovers can opt for the Teochew Porridge with Fish, where soft rice grains cooked in their master stock is served with fried Toman fish. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi When I returned to try the clear soup version, it was with apprehension, thinking maybe that version wouldn't be on par with the curry version. I was wrong. It was not only on that same level of greatness but just slightly better than the curry one, depending on one's preferences, as this was sweeter. This round it was the big portion, where my seafood was drowning in that vast white bowl, anchored slightly by my noodles. One spoonful of the broth just sealed the deal... sweetened with the use of top grade Shao Xing rice wine that rounds up that broth to make it super drinkable. Toman or snakehead fish is often avoided as it has many bones but this fried version is boneless with flaky flesh. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi This version of seafood noodles includes slices of toman or snakehead fish. Usually avoided due to its fine, pesky bones, here it's gloriously boneless with flaky flesh, even though this freshwater fish doesn't have much of an oily texture. The Seafood Noodles with Fish is RM18 for the small portion and RM23 for the big one. Variations also include one without the fish, starting from RM12 for the small portion. Or try the Teochew Porridge with Fish (RM13), which I decided to do as a takeaway. The cooked rice is plumped up in that master stock, for a soft texture, and interestingly they add fluffy fried egg to the whole combination. Fried fish is used here, keeping its shape well, even after it's been soaked in the porridge. Asam Laksa can also be ordered here, a tangy not overly spicy version using fresh tuna fish. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi As the lady boss is a Penangite, Asam Laksa (RM8 for small, RM9 for big) appears on the menu with a tangy profile rather than an overwhelming spiciness, using fresh tuna fish. Of course, one can also order side dishes like Fried Fish (RM12), where slices of toman fish are fried, thankfully without that thick batter most places use, allowing you to enjoy the fish on its own. Even though the owners don't make their own fish balls or fish cake, they went through many suppliers until they were satisfied with this supplier, hence the Fried Fish Cake (RM10 for 3 pieces) has a springy bite, which can be paired with sambal belacan. Fried Fish Cake can also be ordered to pair with the noodles. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi Apparently the owners operate a seafood distribution company at the nearby Pasar Borong, opening up the opportunity for them to use the best and freshest catch in their cooking here. Seafood purveyors are also sticklers for respecting produce, hence every item they serve here, must be at their peak quality and to showcase it, only the best master stock with premium Shao Xing rice wine will do. As a rule, seafood like the Sabak clams aren't kept overnight, hence any excess stock can also be purchased at the restaurant should supplies be more than anticipated. Occasionally, fresh Sabak clams can also be purchased at the restaurant. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi Restoran Yun Yun, No. 20-0-5, Jalan 13/2, Taman Wilayah, Selayang. Open: 7.30am to 2.30pm. Closed on Monday. Facebook: 圆圆茶餐室 Restoran Yun Yun * This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal. * Follow us on Instagram @eatdrinkmm for more food gems.
