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RECIPE Four-onion pakora Alun Sperring, from Chilli Pickle, on an Indian street-food staple I had wanderlust as a young man and worked my way around the world, learning my trade in eight countries over five different continents, under a variety of brilliant chefs. I particularly developed a passion for Indian cuisine, and when my wife Dawn and I had our first child – in Dubai, twelve years ago – we decided to set up our own restaurant in England. The idea was to produce amazing Indian food, inspired by all the regions of the country, espousing authenticity of style and method, tweaked a little to suit our own style of cooking. I was brought up in Brighton, and it seemed the obvious choice of venue, a city that is open-minded enough to embrace something a little different. We started in a little 40-cover space in the Lanes, and moved to our current building, in Jubilee Street, nine years ago. It’s all about teamwork: Dawn is front-of-house, I’m head chef, and we make sure everyone who works at Chilli Pickle does so with enormous passion, both in the kitchen and the restaurant. We see ourselves as being in the entertainment business: we’ve made the restaurant reflect the vibrant colours of India, and there’s always a wow factor when the food arrives on the table. But the most important thing is the taste, which involves, of course, sourcing fresh produce. So all our meat and vegetables are locally produced, while we import the best quality spices from India (you can use Taj!) Onion pakora are eaten throughout India, as a street food or starter, and are always on our menu. They are easy to make at home, especially if you have a deep-fat fryer (though a chip pan will do fine). And, of course, they are absolutely delicious. Method (makes 24 pakora). Finely slice 400g of white English onion, 100g red onion, 50g shallots and 50g spring onion, and mix well in a bowl with 20g fresh chopped coriander, 30 torn-up curry leaves, a finely sliced green chilli, 15g freshly roasted coriander seed, 15g freshly roasted cumin seed, 10g fennel seed, 5g asafoetida, 35g Masoor red dal, 5g turmeric, 8g salt, 4g baking powder, 250g chickpea flour, 150g of rice flour. Add 225ml of cold water, and mix with your hands, being careful not to squeeze too much, otherwise excess water will release. Heat 1 litre of vegetable oil to 165c (you can use a thermometer). Create small pakora shapes with the tips of your fingers and your thumb, carefully dropping into the oil pan. Add eight or nine at a time: cook until light golden colour, turning a few times so the colour is even. Drain onto a paper towel, and repeat, until all the pakora mixture is cooked. When you’re ready to serve, heat the oil to 175c, and fry the pakora patties a second time – again in batches – until they are crispy. Serve with the best mango chutney you can get your hands on: we source a wonderful Alphonso mango chutney direct from India. Enjoy! As told to Alex Leith 75