What you got going on here? Ham, egg and chips?
Great British food.
'As a chef food is my life.'
Lovely.
Don't try that at home.
But as far as my mate Len goes, we're on a different planet.
My rules are this.
Never eat anything you can't spell
and never eat anything you wouldn't want to step in.
LAUGHTER
- This is the chicken's feet. - Chicken's feet?
- That's right. - No.
I've travelled the world
but never had the courage to experience new cuisines...
..and always stuck with what I know.
- Look, what's your favourites there? - Chips! - Chips.
But after using a pancake once to wipe my face...
What is he like?
..my family decided enough was enough...
Yes.
'..and that my taste buds needed to be brought into the 21st century.'
Hot.
There's a lot more to this culinary world of ours than pickled walnuts.
It's time for me to show Len a whole new culinary world...
I'm going to do it.
..that will make his palette purr.
You're not talking food adventure?
Food adventure, indeed.
Oh! What's that I see? Is it a tandoori chicken?
I liked it.
And that's all I need to know.
For the last decade I've been a judge on Strictly Come Dancing.
London born and bred, 71 years ago, my taste buds have been
influenced by my nan's cooking.
I've never eaten spaghetti, had a curry, and even pizza,
well, it looks a bit exotic.
I was also born and brought up in London but, as a chef, my palette
has experienced and travelled to every part of the globe.
Over the last 20 years there's been a food explosion across Britain,
and now, no matter what you desire, every cuisine is catered for.
For me, I have ten favourites
that are never far
away from the table at home.
And my perfect dinner?
Well, prawn cocktail to start,
full English breakfast, oh,
and a jam roly-poly.
Oh, it's food heaven!
My mission during our time together is to educate his taste buds,
and see if I can replace anything on the 'Ten from Len board', and
show him that there is more to life then a prawn cocktail from 1976.
Today we are in Bradford, and coming up on the menu...
..I'll try and cure Len's fear of curry.
Chef, I'm going to go for it.
LAUGHTER
Latvia serves me up a treat with a difference.
Once you've had one, you definitely want more.
- You want more. - That bread is lovely.
I get hen pecked.
And I'll show him a new way with onions.
I must be honest, don't look appetising,
but, oh, ho, the taste is great.
I think they're as good as me mum's.
- He's done a beauty, ain't he? - Beauty, yeah.
Today we've brought the mobile kitchen to
one of the country's most beautiful counties, Yorkshire.
Yorkshire has a long and rich history with great traditional grub.
Ainsley, I'm completely Hank Marvin and I can't wait to get cracking.
Len, just hold your horses.
Your taste buds are in for a surprise today, my friend.
Let's pitch up and get going.
I've never been to Bradford.
I've been to Pudsey and I've been, you know, the outskirts
but for some reason I've never been.
And I never realised it was such a big, vibrant city.
Well, it's one of the main cities of Yorkshire, really, isn't it?
And what about the food of Bradford? What does that mean to you?
What does it conjure up in your mind, Len?
Well, I know there's quite a large Asian population.
You know, the people of this city of Bradford
absolutely adore Asian food.
Wonderful, beautiful, beautiful flavours we're talking about.
I reckon we're heading towards curry -
one of the dishes that I've never eaten in my life.
I can feel the fear already.
And I know what I have planned today is going to test Len's
palette to the max.
So, in order to score some points and put him in a good mood,
I think it's best to start with some grub that I know he's going to love.
And here in the heart of the city is the Midland Hotel,
renowned for its excellent contemporary local cuisine.
Well, obviously Yorkshire,
the first thing you think of - Yorkshire puddings.
Got to be, an absolute classic.
And of course all along that east coast.
Right, Whitby and all the way along. Kippers.
Now, is that a crumble of some sort?
Crumble, and I'm smelling
r-r-r-r-rhubarb.
- I love rhubarb. - It's got to be, isn't it? Beautiful.
- Can we have a tuck in? - I think we should, actually.
What would you start with?
- Oh, I don't know. - I'm going to have a bit of kipper.
- Yeah. - You want a bit? - Yeah, go on, then. Just pop a bit on there for us.
We don't want to go the whole hog do we?
- Did you grow up with this type of stuff? - Yeah.
Unfortunately I'm not allowed kippers any more indoors.
- Why is that? - They do smell the place out, don't they?
- Oh, I don't know. - Let me try it.
Oh, yeah.
See, a lot of people won't have this because of the little bones.
Oh, don't worry about that.
But they're so tiny.
Absolutely love it. They smoke it properly here.
It's not like that stuff you get in the vacuum-sealed pack.
It's sort of gone out of fashion now.
Well, totally. Like a lot of things have.
But I think it will come back again.
I think when you taste food like this...
When you taste it, it is, it is, truly tasty.
- So what about the old Yorkshire pudding? - Well.
Look at that.
- Bit of Yorkshire pudding there, Len? - Yeah. Oh, look at that.
I love a Yorkshire pud.
Nice. Lovely.
I don't know what my nan used to do with the old Yorkshires,
whether it was the flour or what,
sometimes they'd hit the top of the oven and she'd have to get a knife
- and... - And scrape it off.
Scrape it off. They'd be, like, massive.
Talking of Yorkshire,
you can't beat a cup of tea from Yorkshire, can you, really?
- It's the best in the world, ain't it? - Yeah. There we go.
And then we'll have a bit of crumble to finish it, shall we?
- Look at this, eh? - Rhubarb crumble. Go on, serve yourself.
No, this is for you.
No, no, I want you to do you first.
Oh, look at that. Look at that.
An ample portion of the old crumble.
Beautiful.
- You happy? - Yeah, I'm very happy. Go on, then.
LAUGHTER
- I'm not messing around! - Yeah, why don't you serve yourself(!)
Well, yeah, I want to serve myself.
See, I just whack that in there. Perfect. What about you?
- You look after yourself. - You have taken a very large portion.
Oh, yeah, I'm sure I have, mate, yeah.
Now you're eating this and I think a lot of people sit at home
and they have their crumble, especially with a bit of Yorkshire
rhubarb and they're not aware how prominent it is up here.
- I think they called it the Yorkshire Triangle? - No, no,
the Rhubarb Triangle.
- The Rhubarb Triangle was massive at one time. - Really?
Bradford, yeah, it would go right across Leeds. Yeah.
Gradually with, you know, as time's gone on, it shrunk a bit.
I heard people talk about it, actually.
People talk about that whole sort of Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield thing.
I'll tell you what, it's delicious.
I'll tell you what, your belly wouldn't be contained
if you kept steaming into this too often.
You enjoying it, are you, Len?
You got enough of it there, have you(?)
- Just enough, yeah. - Yeah. All right then.
Kippers? Lovely. Yorkshire Pudding? Beautiful.
And then... Oh-ho-ho, rhubarb crumble.
Good old Yorkshire fare. What shall we call it?
Well, you could call it the Yorkshire tapas, I suppose?
- I love that. That's a good one. - Yeah?
A good bit of Yorkshire tapas. Yeah.
Well, here's to the Yorkshire tapas and...
- Yorkshire tea. Oh-ho-ho. - Absolutely.
- Ah, that was lovely. - Well, I suppose it's time to move on.
I think so, Len.
'Blimey, what a great way to start the day!'
And I think I've invented a new food craze - Len's Yorkshire Tapas.
Oh, they won't be happy about that!
'Anyway, after luring him into a false sense of security,
'it's off and out for our first real challenge of the day.
'A cuisine I'm very excited about,
'but one I know he's always shied away from.'
The world of curry and Pakistan.
Bradford has a larger Pakistani community
then any other city in England and Wales,
over 100,000 strong.
The migration is linked to Bradford's history
with the textile history.
In the mid-1800s Bradford's main industry was wool.
Two-thirds of the country's wool was processed here
and the city soon became known as the wool capital of the world.
In the post-war boom of the 1950s, the main flow of immigration began.
With manpower shortages in the textile
and other industries, Britain turned to its old empire overseas.
Adverts were placed in Pakistani newspapers,
resulting in an influx of workers.
And with the high standards of living
and potential for steady employment, many chose to make the move permanent
and brought their families over.
Today, 20% of the boroughs are of Pakistan descent.
Len, you know what? I'm thrilled to have brought you to Bradford
because you are about to taste the best Pakistani food of the north.
- Absolutely fantastic. - Pakistani food?
- Does that appeal to you? - I don't know.
- Ever had it before? - No. Is it the same as Indian?
Yeah, well, along the same lines.
It's got a real identity, Pakistani food,
and the restaurant that I'm going to take you to,
I think you're going to be really quite impressed by that.
Well, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
- You're absolutely right. - Let's go and give it a go.
You're absolutely right. Come on then.
- Oi! - Oh-ho-ho.
The intriguingly named Sweet Centre was opened by two brothers
who travelled from Pakistan to Bradford
to work in the textile factory opposite in the 1950s.
After a few years they had saved up enough money to open a small business
here selling Pakistani snacks and sweets.
Over the years, business grew into a fully-blown restaurant,
and 50 years on it is now run by one of the founders' sons, Dr Ali.
There you go. Ah, smell that, Len.
- Oh, yeah. - Hello! - Hello, lovely to see you.
Ainsley. This is lovely Len.
- How are you, Len? - Good to see you.
- Lovely to see you as well. - Are we going to sit and have a chat?
You two are having a chat
- and I'm going to do a bit of... - Get down there. Get cooking.
I'll follow me nose, Len. See you later.
And we'll have a chat. Lovely.
It's still very much a family business.
- Waqar. - Hi, Ainsley.
'With Dr Ali's son Waqar in the kitchen.'
- What have we got cooking here? - Oh, you won't believe it.
- Yeah? - Lamb on t'bone. - Lamb on bone?
Lamb on t'bone, yeah.
Lamb on the bone?
'I can't wait to see this transformed into a curry for our Len.'
I'd like to know what the difference is
between Indian food and Pakistani food.
- Is there a difference? - Well, this place is originally India,
Kashmir, where we are from,
- India and Pakistan were one. - One. Yeah, of course.
So our food really is a mixture of Indian and Pakistani food.
And has the food sort of changed over the years?
Has it become a bit anglicised or has it stayed authentic?
We have remained authentic. That's why we are successful.
In the early days we only had a couple of curries.
- About seven on the menu. Now we have got much more variety. - Yeah.
But really, that variety is still authentic in terms of taste
and in terms of the spices we put in.
Yeah, lovely.
'Back in the kitchen,
'and Waqar is preparing the base for the lamb curry.'
We call it balti karahi lamb.
It's one of our family favourites actually.
- And where's it from? - It's from Kashmir.
What separates Pakistani food from Indian food then?
It's the spices,
it's the way they're ground, the areas that they come from.
For example, we use Kashmiri chilli powder,
so the colours are slightly more distinct.
- What goes in now? Do you want a bit of this? - Yeah.
- What's this, turmeric? - Turmeric, that's right.
- Teaspoon? - Teaspoon will be perfect.
OK, mate. This looks like curry powder.
Just a tablespoon of that. Pop that in there.
Ah, lovely. All right then, curry powder.
- And this one is the... - Kashmiri chilli powder.
- Very distinct. - Look at the colour of that. It's very different.
Even the aroma. Have a little whiff of that.
- Yeah. Wow. - It's something else.
- That is the difference. - I'm just going to give this a whisk on here.
- It's like an oil painting. - It is like an oil painting.
Beautiful palette there.
'This dish is made with layers of complex flavours.
'I'm getting excited, but also a bit nervous about Len's palate.
'Is he going to cope with it all right?'
At that time when you first came, was there a large Asian community
here in Bradford, or were you one of the first to come?
Well, we were the earliest to come, then my father came to work.
- Right. - And then eventually they found
a niche market, and that niche market was
selling Asian sweets, snacks and then leading up to curries.
- Right. - And now as a family we've got something like
seven outlets in Britain.
All...brothers, sons are managing their own businesses.
'In the kitchen again, the spices and onions have cooked down,
'so the dish is ready for our lovely tender meat.'
I chose lamb on the bone, we're using actually leg of lamb there.
- OK, why on the bone? - On the bone is more tender.
Yeah. Are you ready for the meat to go in now?
Yeah.
OK. Beautiful.
Waqar, that looks great.
'Cor, getting interesting now!
'It's time to turn up the heat.'
- Pop some chillies in. - OK.
Sprinkle some in. Depends on how much you really like.
I like a bit of a kick to it.
Len doesn't like a kick. He doesn't like a kick.
- Oh, he'll be in for a surprise. - I'll tell you what.
'Oh, dear! Sorry, Lenny boy.'
What my mother always taught me was the chillies
not only speeds up the metabolism but keeps the doctor away.
- Really? - Yeah.
So in Pakistan they say, "A chilli a day keeps the doctor away"?
Keeps the doctor away.
And in Britain they say, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away."
'I'm worried that too much chilli today will make our Len run away.'
HE CHORTLES
Dr Ali, tell me a little bit about the culture of Bradford.
Bradford has got a very rich culture.
Here, we have got a very diverse community and it is multicultural,
multi-faith. That makes Bradford not only interesting,
but a great place to live in.
- So let's add the peppers. - All right, great. Do you want to...?
Red tomatoes or green pepper?
Oh, shut your 'ead. WAQAR LAUGHS
Get the red peppers and...
green peppers and red tomatoes in there!
What are you like? Oh, lovely.
- OK, and some tomatoes. - Pop a few tomatoes in there. - Lovely.
'Now we're just going to let that cook down nice and slowly
'so the meat can become lovely and tender.'
- Mmm. - Beautiful.
I know you must be very proud of your heritage and Pakistan.
- Do you feel a bit like a Yorkshireman? - I'm a Bradford lad.
- Yeah. - I've been brought up here, educated here,
went to a university here.
Very proud, because we've contributed towards
the welfare of Bradford and also in terms of
- making this great city curry capital of England. - Yeah.
- Wow. - That looks good. - Look at that.
'Now that it's cooked down and the meat is falling off the bone,
'we're going to add the finishing touches.
'Just a little bit of yoghurt goes in along with some chopped coriander.'
- So what do we serve this with then? - Chapattis are generally good.
World you say chapattis are Pakistani or Indian?
It's debatable, Ainsley.
'Bit of bread and meat? Should be right up our Len's street.'
And now for this, Waqar?
- Yeah. - Just a little bit? - Little bit. Sprinkle on top.
Beautiful. This is our main head chef's special blend
- that he makes himself. - Wow.
So he's only taught the family.
Well, I think that looks absolutely stunning.
I just wonder what Len will think of it.
- Well, I think it'll get him dancing. - Will it really? Who cares?
Ainsley, hurry with the curry.
AINSLEY LAUGHS
If you don't mind.
'Hold on a minute, mate, you've waited 71 years for this!
'Just one more minute.'
'Ainsley, my stomach is ready and waiting to receive.
'Come on, let's do this.'
Get stuck into it. Have a bit of that.
- Just give it a try and see. - I'm going to give it a try.
- I'm going to take a generous portion. - Fantastic.
"Whether I finish it or not is another thing entirely."
'As soon as the food hits the table, I've gotta say,
'it looks and smells amazing.
'So I'm diving straight in, no looking back,
'and no worry with the curry.'
We're breaking the chapatti, and dip that in.
- Dip it in? - Yeah, and sort of eat it with the chapatti.
- I'm not a big dipper. - Hold the bread like that.
- MOUTH FULL: Put that in there. - No?
- Yeah. - What, make it like a little sandwich? - Yeah.
- So you get that... - Drop a bit in there.
Get a bit of that in there. Like a little...
- That's it. - Are you sure?
- CHUCKLING: - 'Here goes - first mouthful of curry in 71 years.'
- I'm going to go for it. - WAQAR LAUGHS
- Mmm. That's nice. - MOUTH FULL: Nice, isn't it? Not too spicy.
It's not too hot. And it's not...
- HE MIMICS FLAMES - This is a medium dish, you see.
- It's not really that hot. - This isn't fiery.
'Wow, my boy's done good. He's not even flinched at the chilli.
'He has properly knocked me over.'
What else have we got? Because we've got some onion.
Yeah. We finished it off with peppers, tomatoes,
a little bit of yoghurt stirred into it.
- This special chef's spice here. - Yeah.
This is one of our most popular dishes.
I'm going to eat some more of this, because I do like it.
- It's good. - I want you to look at me. - Mm-hmm.
And I don't want you to lie. Hold my gaze.... No.
Hold my gaze.
Is this...exactly how it would be in Pakistan?
Or have you made it a little bit special for your English visitor?
The way it's served here is exactly like back home.
- We've got to hurry up, mate. - I know.
Because our food tour is about to continue.
Yeah, but look, I've just struck something that I don't mind.
This is your fault! And your fault too!
You cooked something too good for him.
He didn't like curry a few weeks ago.
'I'm taking this one as a huge victory.
'But I know when I'm onto a good thing,
'and I want to quit whilst I'm ahead.'
- No, truthfully, guys, thank you so much. - Thank you.
- Really, really appreciate it. - It's been a pleasure.
Thank you for coming. And thank you, Len,
and at least you've tried a curry and you've loved it.
- Yeah, God bless, boys. Thank you very much. - See you later, guys.
Do you do takeaway?
LAUGHTER
Bye for now.
Ho!
LEN CHUCKLES
You got some fun in there, didn't you, Len?
Sometimes you can walk into places, Len.
- and you never know what to quite expect. - No.
- Do you know what I mean? - Yeah, and I've got to be honest,
that was totally unexpected. The hospitality was great,
the ambience of the place - fabulous - and I must say,
I never had a dish like that before, and it was extremely tasty.
It's all those wonderful flavours coming together.
And it just proves that a curry doesn't have to be wet and sloppy.
It can be dry and fragrant and tasty.
That, as a dish, I thought was delicious.
- I'm happy. - Wahey! - I'm happy.
Come on, let's get off.
What a result.
I think when you cook from the heart with such great local produce,
it makes such a difference.
And just down the road is a market that is wowing the country.
St James Wholesale Market in Bradford
began life in 1874 as a vast Victorian complex
with a railway station, four banks, a post office
and subterranean chambers for storing wool and bananas.
It's diversity here that keeps the place ticking over really nicely.
Today, it's a six-acre thriving fruit and vegetable market,
with around 35 traders selling locally grown and exotic produce
to more then 3,500 shops, restaurants and hotels across the region.
According to those in the know, it's the sheer range
of products for sale here that makes the market so successful.
We've got Asian produce, we've got European salads...
you name it, this market can handle it.
This is called a dudi. Taste very nice actually.
Did he just say "doody"? Now, someone IS having a laugh!
No, seriously, Len, dudi's a type of tropical squash which can be
used the same as courgette.
It's called bitter gourd.
We call it karela, but in English they call it bitter gourd.
Bitter gourd is - as the name suggests -
a very bitter fruit, usually de-seeded and salted
before cooking to Asian curries, pickles and stir fries.
It's a full, vibrant market and we're very proud of it.
We are actually officially the UK's number one market,
which is voted by independent adjudicators,
and that includes the big capital markets
like Covent Garden and Western International.
So we're very proud of the market.
You can find everything here,
and it's all under one roof, as they say.
The population of Bradford is very ethnically diverse.
As well as Asian and African,
there is also a large Eastern European community.
And next on today's menu is one of the smaller nations
and less-known cuisines from our Eastern neighbours -
Latvia.
Latvians started arriving in the UK as far back as 1905,
but it was after the war that the government invited 18,000 over
to help Britain get back on its feet.
Since then, the community has grown, with schools and clubs
now set up around the country to help protect their heritage.
'One of the largest Latvian social and cultural centres
'in England is situated in Bradford,
'and has been at the heart of the community since 1955.'
'Well, Ains', this seems like a nice, quiet neighbourhood.'
Hello.
- LEN: - Ohh! I've died and come to heaven.
- I think you've died and come to Latvia. - You're right!
- Hello, everybody. ALL: - Hello.
How you doing? Lovely to see you.
- How you doing, my man? - I'm fine.
- Nice to see you. - Oh, dear.
- Now, listen, I'm going in the bar. - Oh, yeah?
And you...in the kitchen.
Oh, dear. Come on, high-five.
'As Ainsley gets busy in the kitchen, I'm sitting down with
'Ray and Rita, who look after the Latvian Dance and Music Club.'
Well, I've got to tell you, when I walked in through
your front door and saw so many people in your...
- traditional costumes. - Everyday dress.
Everyday dress, yes! I thought, "Wow, this is fantastic.
'Whilst Len relaxes in the bar with a drink, I'm hard at work
'in the kitchen with Inga, who is finishing off
'a sweet treat for today's feast.'
- Ainsley. How are you? - Hi! - OK?
- Mwah. - Mwah.
- What are you busy doing here? - Oh, I'm cooking for some party dish.
- Is this very typically Latvian? - Yeah. - Yeah.
It's a Latvian dessert. From, eh, double cream.
What's this, biscuit or...?
- It's bread. - Rye bread. Yeah, rye bread.
- And we have some jam. - Mm-hmm.
You can use cranberry or some sour jams.
- So whatever jam you have? - Yeah.
- We use some fresh fruits. - For garnish? - Yeah.
- Those are from my garden. - Ooh. - Yep. - Can I put a raspberry on there too?
- Yep. - Lovely.
How come you've got this club here?
The generation that came to the UK wanted to create centres where
they could all meet up together, and it wasn't just
a question of a cultural thing, it was also a social thing.
And there was a Latvian organisation called Daugavas Vanagi,
and they basically bought this property, renovated it,
made it fit for purpose for whatever they needed it for.
And it was actually like a welfare fund as well originally,
so it was the old soldiers, because it was set up soon after the war.
About how many Latvians would you say there were in Bradford?
Between 2,000.
1,500 to 2,000 in the Bradford area.
It's coming and going, you know.
I've not really got to grips with Latvia.
Is it as big as...Wales?
Ireland. It's as big as Ireland, isn't it?
Well, it's twice the size of Belgium.
- RAY LAUGHS - Right.
But the population is less than two million.
But they get everywhere, Latvians, don't they?
Anywhere in the world you'll always find a Latvian somewhere.
'I know Len's got a bit of a sweet tooth and will love that pudding,
'but next on the menu is something a bit more unusual for him.
'A classic vegetable and fish dish.
'It's a bit like a savoury trifle.'
Everything is kind of shredded up?
- Yeah. Just like a salad. - Oh, this is a salad?
Yeah, it's like a salad. We will do in layers as well.
- So we've got a layer of potatoes? - Yeah.
- All of this, do you think? - No, half of it is enough.
- And this is cooked potato? - Yeah. - That you just layer. - Just plain potatoes.
OK, fantastic.
And is there a lot of potato in the Latvian diet?
Oh, yes. It's like bread for us.
Then we are putting...
a layer of sour cream.
'Potato salads like this are a staple of Latvian cooking,
'and whatever the ingredient most will have a cream base dressing.'
- Then we will use fish. - Can I try a little bit of that? - Yeah, of course.
Mmm.
OK, yeah. Sort of pickled and salted.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Mm-hmm. OK.
Very fresh tasting. Real zing to that, mmm.
Lovely. OK, so we got potatoes, we got the sour cream...
Now onions. Together with the fish.
Just raw onions?
'That's topped with more of the soured cream mixture...
'a layer of grated carrot...
'and more cream.
'Len likes fish and veg,
'I really hope he is going to be happy to give this a go.'
- And what about these costumes? - They're beautiful, aren't they?
- They truly are. - This is... But there are so many for each area,
little towns, each have their own different costumes.
And different things mean different things.
Like the belt, if the belt is not the same length,
then it means you're a loose lady.
- Oh, loose? - So I always have mine, like, up here.
They've got to be at equal length.
Rita's is from a place called Alsunga in western Latvia.
Mine's actually from the area my dad come from,
which is in central Latvia, Zemgale.
The only other thing that you've got to know about Latvians,
they like a lot of singing and dancing.
- Why wouldn't you? - Exactly. - Lovely.
- So I hope you're ready for it. - We like partying.
LEN LAUGHS
- And the beetroot now? - Beetroot now, yeah. - OK.
Would you say this reminds you of being at home?
Does it bring back that kind of feeling of...?
Oh, yeah. Being at home with my grandparents. Yeah.
And do you miss it, Inga? Do you miss that feeling of...
- Yes, sometimes. - ..community?
Or do you think you have that here in Bradford?
In Christmas time, when we have some, erm, birthday parties,
- yeah, I miss my family. - Look at this.
'After repeating the process, the dish is finished with egg
'and a garnish of chopped spring onions.
'This is certainly a very different type of trifle.'
Wonderful. And what do they call this in Latvia?
Silke kazoka.
- Silites...kaswaka? - Yes! Something like that.
- Siltay kaswaka. - Silke kazoka.
Mmm. Savoury herring trifle.
Wow.
'The community spirit is here for all to see.
'Everyone seems to have chipped in
'and the table is creaking with choice.'
Len, look what I've got for you.
- What is that? - Silke kazoka.
Savoury herring Latvian trifle.
- What do you do, scoop a bit off? - Yeah, right down there.
You need to go down, it's like a trifle.
- Go right down there? - Yeah, so you get a bit of everything.
- Do you want to try one of these, Len? - Yeah, I'll have a little go.
Once you have one, you'll definitely want more.
Right, ancient bread.
- MOUTH FULL: - The bread is lovely.
This is great. What do you think, Len?
- I love it. It's nice. - Oh, lovely.
Come on, everybody, come and join us.
There's lots of Latvian fare here. As if you didn't know.
'Food devoured, and now it's time for me to hit the dance floor.'
Wahey!
HE LAUGHS
Hips!
Wahey! Go on, girl.
Way, way.
Cheeks!
LAUGHTER
Yay.
- Nose! - Nose?
Oh, yeah.
Way!
MUSIC SPEEDS UP
Oi!
Wahey! Ha-ha.
Well done, my darling.
- Thank you so much. - Ohhh. - Well done.
Now, you and I?
You got to be joking, I'm not putting my nose on yours.
THEY LAUGH
LEN SIGHS
Well done, my son. Well done.
Polka!
BOTH: # Boom-ba, boom-ba Boom-baba-labala... #
I'm not touching your nose.
What did you think, Len?
I tell you what, their hospitality and the warmth
and friendliness of those Latvian people was terrific.
I loved going there and I'd go back,
- and I liked the little bread rolls. - Oh, yeah.
- They were delicious. - With that smoked bacon inside. - Yeah.
- That was lovely. - I had a good time in there.
- Onwards and upwards. - Come on. - Let's go.
With our Bradford day coming to a close, it's now time for me
to take over the kitchen and try our Len's taste buds
on a dish that is a real reflection of our food adventure today.
You know, for me, chutneys are one of those wonderful things
you pop into a jar, so easy to make too,
and it just comes alive. It brings things alive.
Hopefully it's going to bring Len's taste buds alive.
Now, to start off with, to make your chutney,
a bit of chopped onion,
which I'm going to put straight into my saucepan.
One onion that I've finely chopped up there.
Don't get too funny about it, chop it up as fine as you can.
Pop that on there. Along with a little bit of oil.
Just going to allow that to just sweat down a little bit.
You don't want colour on it. That's the key here.
You don't want to brown it up.
Once you sort of start adding that caramel-y flavour to it,
it completely changes the chutney, so just keep that nice and light.
And whilst that's cooking down, let's chop up our peach.
Just want to slice those peaches.
Sort of get some nice dice going there.
When you do go out and buy your peaches,
try and get nice, firm peaches, all right?
Don't want them too soft, cos they're going to
cook down anyway, but you want them to get a little bit of bite,
you want to retain a little bit of bite in your chutney.
Back to those onions.
Little bit of sweetness coming out of them.
Then we can throw our fenugreek, our mustard seeds
and our cumin seeds into the pan.
All right, that's beautiful.
All right?
Just peel that ginger down.
Tell you what's a really lovely little tip,
is that I actually put the...
I actually put the ginger, my ginger, in the freezer,
and I just grate it with the skin and everything.
Soon as it comes out, if you want it like that
to flavour something, grate it straight into something.
Absolutely fantastic, and it stops it from going off too.
Perfect.
'In goes the ginger.
'And for sweetness, some sugar.'
Bit of brown sugar here.
If you haven't got brown sugar, some people say a bit of muscovado,
soft brown sugar or even white sugar. Bit of sugar.
Get the sugar in there. You want that sweet and sour combination,
that's what makes the chutney.
All right, now once you put that sugar in, do be careful, be cautious.
Nice, gentle stir, all right? It's very, very hot.
We'll just bring that up to a nice little bubble.
And then we can put our peach in there, all our lovely diced peach.
Look at that. Fantastic.
Goes straight into the sugar.
OK, stir that around now.
And finally, the vinegar.
Any vinegar that you've got in the kitchen will do.
Just allow that to cook down now,
till it's lovely and syrupy and jammy.
So, let's get on with those onion bhajis, shall we?
Now, what we need is this. The gram flour.
This is going to make it gluten-free.
There is a lot of people who like to put on a bit of plain flour
and gram flour at the same time.
Personally, I think it tastes best with this.
Everyone has got their own idea on an onion bhaji.
Anyway, here we go. Flour straight into your bowl.
Right let's get our garlic.
Chilli. Here we go.
So that's OK, take that chilli and garlic
and pop that into the bowl.
Along here with our cumin and turmeric.
'Take a good size onion and slice thinly.'
What I'll do here now is I'm going to give these
a bit of a squeeze. You can see that.
Just to separate them all. Can you see that?
Now, let's make up our batter.
Going to put our water in, and what we're looking for here
is like an almost slightly thicker then double cream consistency.
Yeah, that's it.
'Add a pinch of salt.'
And let's get our onion in now.
Lovely.
I'm going to mix that thoroughly now to ensure all those onion slices
are well coated in the beautiful, vibrant batter.
It just says everything about Pakistan, doesn't it? Look at that.
Wonderful colour.
'And now, it's time to fry.'
Let's get on with those onion bhajis, shall we?
Once you get that right consistency, I like using a tablespoon.
I remember watching my schoolmate's mum cooking these
and the smell was absolutely fabulous.
We couldn't wait to eat them.
Although, do be careful when you put them into the pan,
because that hot oil can splash up and you don't want to burn yourself.
All right, and if you can see what I'm doing here,
it really doesn't matter about the shape, all right?
Because the onions are going to find their own shape.
That's what makes them so interesting.
That's it, lovely.
And they're in there now.
Getting golden straightaway as they go in there.
Let's control that heat again.
I've just turned those over.
About three or four minutes on each side.
Remember that practically all of it is submerged in oil.
Just until they are crispy and cooked through. Over a medium heat.
Not too high.
Especially if you are using a saucepan or frying pan like this.
Absolutely lovely.
You can see what I mean,
how you get all those little interesting bits hanging off it.
And all the onion, all the different shapes. Put that one there.
Look, they almost look more like a pakora than an onion bhaji.
Really, really lovely.
Oh, Lenny boy, you're in for a treat.
'Now, all that's left to do is to serve up the bhajis.'
Beautiful.
'Pop the fruity peach chutney into ramekins...
'..and finish with some coriander.'
There you have it. That's my onion bhaji with my spiced peach chutney.
Len...make your mind up time.
Back in the centre of Bradford at the mobile kitchen,
it's time for me to take a nibble at Ainsley's bhajis.
Lenny boy, here we are, your favourite.
- My favourite? - Yeah. Good old Yorkshire...
onion bhajis.
- This one? - Any one you want, Len. Any one you want.
- Just a little... - Just a touch. - Don't overpower it.
I'm not going to overpower it,
just going to give you a little touch there.
Chutney-fied it.
There's always that moment of waiting.
- It is very tasty. - Yeah, you like that?
I do like it. I'm going to have another go at it.
- Yeah, there you go. - It is...
- Now, that is a compliment. - It is. It's very, very nice.
- Beautiful. - I must be honest,
don't look appetising, but the taste...
- But the taste! - Oh-ho, the taste is great!
You're a bit like an onion bhaji. Hard exterior, soft centre.
Oh, Len!
'So potentially, maybe another hit. Ha-ha, I'm on a roll.
'What will the people of Bradford think?'
Roll up, roll up, Bradford, for an onion bhaji treat.
# The freshest ingredients Yorkshire has to offer
# All the people of Bradford it's for you
# Come and enjoy Len and Ainsley's onion bhaji
# We can have some fun as we have a little culinary taste or two! #
Hey-hey!
'As if the dancing's not enough, now he's trying for panto.
'Oh, thanks a lot, mate!'
- Thank you very much. - Try it, tell me what you think.
You have a go, sir.
Mm, very nice, very nice.
- Here you are. - Thank you. - You have to have a little bite.
I think they're as good as me mum's.
- Ains' has done a brilliant one here. - He's done a beauty, ain't he?
The chutney's really good as well.
- Lovely. - Yeah?
Lovely, nice and crispy on the outside.
Be honest. I don't want you telling me fibs.
It's lovely. As good as mine.
Ainsley, this lady has said it's as good as hers.
I was looking in your kitchen window!
- Were you? - Yes, yes.
AINSLEY LAUGHS
- It's gorgeous. Beautiful. - Can I have another, please?
Well, I don't know about that.
As soon as we were going to Bradford,
- I had it in my mind it was going to be a curry. - Yeah.
Yeah. And so it was.
It was a nice lamb shank, nicely seasoned with some onions
and things, and I must say - very, very tasty.
- Unexpected to a degree, wasn't it? - And that's right. Yeah, unexpected.
Yeah. What about the Latvian?
I love the place. I love the culture of it all
and there was so much fun.
- The food, a little bit too much mixed up together. - Yeah.
It doesn't reflect on those people, it's me. It's just my taste.
- And there's nothing wrong with that at all. - Nothing wrong with that.
'So, after 71 years, I finally tasted curry for the first time...'
Gents, I'm going to go for it.
I'm going to eat some more of this, because I do like it.
'..went and had a dance and got a taste of Latvia...'
'..but will any of this food make it into the top ten from Len?
'The curry was good, but I'm not in
'a hurry to replace anything today.
'So I'll tell you what -
'onwards and upwards.'
- Hey. - Hey. - The food tour continues.
Come on!