Harneet Baweja on wasteless cooking, goat meat and opening an Indian near Brick Lane

Why did you choose east London to house your three-strong mini empire of restaurants?

It all happened quite organically. First we got Gunpowder and then the guy who owned the bar across the street passed away and we took it over. It didn’t happen by design. We’re in Spitalfields as we’ve lived here for a long time, almost the whole time we’ve been in London. It almost feels like home, and I get to walk to work, so it’s more fun. I know a lot of people here too, there’s a lot who have come to help us and a lot of our neighbours have become friends. We’ve also just had a son, and lots of them have come to see him. And we owe them a lot, they’ve taken us in as part of the community. Essentially if you’re willing to put back into the community, everyone is willing to join hands with you.

Were you worried about being so close to Brick Lane, renowned for its Indian restaurants?

To be honest, no. Brick Lane has its own significance and charm. The food scene in Shoreditch and Spitalfields is young, but mature. I remembering seeing a Michelin tweet that said per square kilometre it had the highest number of Michelin stars in the area, which means that all the people that really wanted to try something new and push the boundaries are here and making it their home.

open image in gallery

How stressful has it been opening three restaurants in the short space of two years, with a fourth on the way?

I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone! Especially if you’re going to be having a baby. It’s been very fulfilling, but we’ve definitely had to push ourselves to achieve what we have.

How do you think you’ve managed to maintain a sense of identity with four restaurants and differ from other mini-chains?

I don’t know how I would describe us. There is a distinction between the different restaurants though. When we did Gunpowder we were doing it like an old curry house and old school home recipes with 100 per cent local produce; we used the pots and pans to make the lights, we used chairs to make the bar – we didn’t have the resources of some of the bigger guys. We really rolled up our sleeves and did everything.

Next was Madame D, followed by Gul and Sepoy. We went to Calcutta for a holiday and there’s India’s only China Town there, so we ate lots of Chinese influenced food. Back in London, we used some of the techniques and after a second holiday there we talked about it and came up with the idea of Himalayan cuisine at Madame D.

open image in gallery

Gunpowder is known for the venison and vermicelli doughnuts, but what’s your favourite dish at there?

I love the venison. It’s actually a take on a mutton chop that I used to eat at university. I also love the lamb chops and the broccoli – they get a lot of love. One of my favourite things there though is the rasam ke bomb – it’s our only bit of modern cooking in this restaurant. We took all the roots and spices – the things you need for a masala dosa – and we just cook every element in a different way, so every time you bite into it, it should taste like masala dosa. The reason behind it is that we wanted to make dosas, but as it’s so small there, we didn’t have the space to make them, so we had to figure out how we’d incorporate them.

The UK has a severe lack of restaurants serving momos, but why did you decide to use the non-traditional ingredient of duck inside yours at Madame D?

Well we get good duck in London, so why would we not put duck in them and just use the same spices and technique as you would. Whatever is around you, you’ve got to use. We could use other meats, but then they’d need to be transported and frozen.

Do you think it’s important to cook in a wasteless way as possible?

One hundred per cent. It doesn’t have to be a buzzword, but everyone should believe in it on some level, otherwise you’re just taking from the earth and not giving anything back. It’s our responsibility to make sure things are the same in 20 years.

Is that the reason you’ve got goat on the menu?

Absolutely. But we also do stuff like pig’s head at Gul and Sepoy because more often than not, our butcher would throw away the head or give it to us for free. But then we said, ‘we’re going to start paying you for it’, as we want it in the best condition possible. We braise it for about nine hours – it is the most labour intensive dish we serve, and it comes out looking like a flower pot with wheat grass on top. Everything is edible but we essentially use all the meat and skin and everything is cooked down and we add onions and spices and serve it with some crackers.

Are there any ingredients that you can’t get locally?

We get saffron from Iran, as you can’t get it here as we’re trying to be as true to recipes as we can and honest about where things come from.

What did you eat as a child growing up in West Bengal?

My parents brought us up to try everything and to be a bit adventurous, so I’ve always tried many things and eaten everything. We ate a lot of Chinese food, we ate a lot of biriyani. My grandma used to cook on a Sunday – goat with spinach and flatbread and it was kickass.

open image in gallery

What’s the one ingredient you cannot live without?

That’s ghee. Indian butter. You can always adapt vegetables, but I think something that makes a dish brilliant is ghee. It brings a bit of love. Even my grandma still makes it at home in batches and it reminds me of home. We get ours from a local shop, but it is difficult to get good ghee really. We also have to make sure it comes from grass-fed cows that aren’t treated with chemicals, so that makes it a little more difficult too.

Who do you look to for inspiration?

My mother and grandma inspired me a lot, but the biggest inspiration is my father. He was a fantastic cook and he’s the kind of cook that takes pleasure in cooking too.

Is there a fifth opening to look forward to? If not, what’s in store next?

We’re opening up at the One Tower Bridge development. We’re opening up a Gunpowder market. People read that very plainly and read it as one opening, but it’s not. I’m not trying to be clever, I’m actually quite straight-up.

Gunpowder (gunpowderlondon.com), Madame D (madame-d.com) and Gul and Sepoy (gulandsepoy.com)