Mignon's vindalho becomes an English favourite

TRADITIONAL steak and kidney pudding has been beaten as a favourite English dish, by a pork vindalho from West Somerset.
The choice of an Indian recipe from Mignon Johnson was unanimous by all five judges of a cook-off broadcast on UKTV Food prime time television.
The pork vindalho was cooked by celebrity chef Antony Worrall-Thompson for the show, The People’s Cook Book, which is a nationwide hunt for favourite family recipes best reflecting British contemporary food culture.
Mignon, who runs The Saffron Kitchen from her home in Lydeard St Lawrence, was up against a steak and kidney pudding cooked by another TV chef, Paul Rankin.
Said Mignon: “Everybody thought the steak and kidney would be a natural winner, and even Antony Worrall-Thompson said we would never get the vote of the Women’s Institute judge.
"But the judges all loved it, even the WI lady, and they commented on the delicious range of flavours and how they were surprised that it was not too hot.
“It was great to meet Antony Worrall-Thompson, he is a really nice person with a great sense of humour and is so knowledgeable about food, but I think we surprised even him.”
Mignon’s pork vindalho recipe can be downloaded from the UKTV Food website and it is also planned to be included in a book of the series, which celebrates home cooking.
Publicity surrounding the show has already produced an upsurge in orders for The Saffron Kitchen’s range of traditional home-cooked Indian food, which is available to suit any budget for weddings, dinners, banquets, parties, and corporate entertainment.
Mignon, who is an Indian national, said: “We have added pork vindalho to our regular dishes to meet demand at the farmers’ markets we attend in Minehead, Cotford St Luke, Wellington, Taunton, Crewkerne, Glastonbury, and Exeter, and we have also put it on our standard dinner menu.
“We are also finding more and more retailers want to stock our products.”
The pork vindalho recipe was handed down by Mignon’s mother, who cooked it at home in India whenever a celebration was held.
Mignon said: “I chose pork vindalho for the television programme because I know people think Indian food is blisteringly hot and I wanted to show that it can be can be quite mild enough to be eaten by all the family and what really matters is how you blend the flavours.
“Every dish we prepare at The Saffron Kitchen is real authentic Indian food with each of our sauces individually prepared with a combination of spices blended to recipes handed down through generations of my family so that they taste just as they would in India.
“We cater for all tastes, from the very mild right through to blisteringly hot if that is what people want, and we use as much locally-sourced produce as we can.”
The Saffron Kitchen now supplies select retail shops and delicatessens with its range of authentic home-cooked ready meals, including the SPAR shop, in Wiveliscombe, Bicknoller Village Stores, and the village shop in Stawley.
More information about The Saffron Kitchen and the pork vindalho recipe is available from Mignon and husband Andrew Johnson by telephoning 01984 656931 or emailing to enquiries@thesaffronkitchen.co.uk or by visiting the website www.thesaffronkitchen.co.uk.
They are also attending the Exeter Festival of South West England Food and Drink on March 30 and 31 and April 1.
The Saffron Kitchen is supported by the Exmoor and Quantocks Food Links and also by the European Regional Development Fund.

• Our photograph shows Mignon Johnson with some of the range of food products she uses for The Saffron Kitchen. Photo by Anita Corbin.