My Cornish Teetari (Indian spiced Wood pigeon) Writing about India, always brings tear to my home thoughts stuck,

heart. Although there is something for everyone in the Country that never sleeps; autumn is a rather special time of the year. As leaves begin to fall, and the wind starts to howl over the mountains, the struggle to balance between survival and frugal means becomes more and more defined. Over the ages, ingenious cooks across the country have worked behind soot laden pots and cauldrons, devising dishes and potions to warm up the cockles, of every Indian from slum to penthouse. Garam masala (Hot spice), is a particular key ingredient that adds a warm comfort to the blood stream during adversely cold weather. My recipe here draws pages from my early cheffing years in New Delhi, where friends and fellow waiting staff hailing from Punjab would often prepare a marrow warming game bird preparation, to beat the cold, often accompanied by unrationed pours of country made sugarcane rum. The dish of honour was lovingly called Teetari, and loosely referred to a tandoori broiled game bird (teetar) Serves 4 Preparation time 20 min Cooking time 10 min Ingredients: 2 Birds eye chillies 2 Wood Pigeons jointed 10 cloves garlic, roughly chopped 40ml mustard oil 90g Greek Yoghurt teaspoon caraway seeds 4 tablespoons malt vinegar 1 teaspoons chilli powder 1 teaspoon Cornish sea salt 5 gm ginger, peeled and roughly chopped 1 teaspoon garam masala powder How to make Teetari: Pat dry the wood pigeon with kitchen paper.(Check for pellets in the breast and legs) Make incisions in the breasts and legs with a sharp knife.

Mix together the vinegar, chilli powder and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Add the guinea fowl pieces and mix well, then cover and leave to marinate for about 1520 minutes at room temperature. Place the ginger, garlic, mustard oil and birds eye chillies in a blender and blend to a smooth paste. Transfer to shallow dish, add the yoghurt, caraway seeds and salt to taste and mix well. Add pigeon pieces and turn to coat in the mixture, then cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for 34 hours. Thread the wood pigeon pieces onto metal skewers and cook over a barbecue for about 10 minutes or until cooked through. Allow to rest for a couple of minutes before sprinkling with garam masala and serve hot, with red onion and cucumber salad. Sanjay Says: A subtle difference in flavor can be achieved by smoking the marinated pigeon, on Darjeeling tea leaves. Give it a go, I promise it will lead your senses to a different world of pleasure.