Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
1
It’s a while since we had lunch at this excellent value spot in the middle of Chorlton. It’s a leafy suburbs version of the Manchester’s Northern Quarter curry cafes. Which means everywhere is spotlessly clean – something not always guaranteed in the Quarter. And the staff are friendly.
Food is by way of a thali. Pick three dishes from the daily changing half dozen available, supplemented with the occasional special. Prices vary from around a fiver if you have three veggie curries, to six quid if you have three meat ones.
So, for one of us, that was the “chilli chicken” special which certainly packed a punch, along with an also quite poky mung dhal with spinach and a quite mellow cauliflower preparation, with green peppers , tomato and mustard seeds. The cauli also featured across the table, along with potatoes flavoured with curry leaves and quite a lot of mustard seeds, with the third dish being another dahl, quite mild and comforting this one, using yellow pigeon peas. You also get your choice of chapatti or rice, together with salad (mainly cabbage and onion) and a dab of chutney.
It’s all served up on one of those metal compartment trays that I always associate with prison movies.
Good lunch.
4 Likes
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
2
Return visit. They have different offerings on different days but we must have gone on the same day of the weeks as things were pretty much as above. Good lunch
And an opportunity for shopping in what is the metro area’s premier food shop district. So, sourdough and bagels from the Barbaken. Assorted veggie stuff from the Unicorn Co-operative opposite - including Zaytoun , the organic Palestinian olive oil. Tuna, haddock and sardines from Out of the Blue. Oh, and 3kg of pickling onions from the greengrocers in the precinct (no idea of name) - and I’ve spent the rest of the afternoon peeling them. They’ll be ready just in time for that pork pie which is traditional in this house on Boxing Day.
John - Boxing Day - isn’t that on 26 Dec? You’re doing your pork pies now already?
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
4
I’m pickling the onions to go with the pork pie. Pork pie will be bought just before - you can’t get better than a Dickinson & Morris Melton Mowbray one (supermarket purchase). I’ve read somewhere that the leftovers from making Stilton were traditionally used as food for the pigs that were then used by the Melton Mowbray pie makers. The pies hold EU designation of origin status
The onions take about three months to properly mature. Once peeled, they go in a strong brine for 24 hours. Then dried off and go in storage jars, which are topped up with a spiced vinegar. I usually put a couple of pinches of the spices that I’ve used for the vinegar into each jar which gives it an “edge” from the chilli.
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
6
Boxing day - yes, 26/12.
It’s traditional in this house that we have pork pie, cheese and salad for lunch. And the first of the new season’s pickled onions. The 3kg usually last us for the year
I’ve read that as well. I have an Italian friend from Parma who was talking about how the pigs that make Parma ham are fed on the whey from making Parmesan cheese & I explained that we have a similar tradition in England with pork pies. He seemed quite taken with this but he does love a scotch egg and a pint of bitter so maybe not so surprising.
Dickinson & Morris do make good pork pies but I think the ones from Mrs Kings edge it for me. Not sure how widely available they are but they have a stall at Borough Market in London. I may have to pop down soon.
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
8
Not very, according to the website. Bascially a few outlets round Nottingham and some posh places “dahn sarf”. However. The website also says that Booths supermarkets stock them. Booths is a small northwestern supermarket - branches mainly in North Lancashire & Cumbria, but one nearish to me in Cheshire - with a quite good deli & butchery counter. But, if you think Waitrose is pricey, then you havent shopped in Booths.
