Bhatik Newsletter
Welcome to the first edition of the Bhatik newsletter.
This newsletter has been started, abandoned and restarted several times. I found the concept of discussing an entire continent quite daunting.
Bhatik arose from the fact I have a love of Indian soft furnishings, the sumptuous velvets, diaphanous viols and luxurious silks in a rainbow of breathtaking colours. Their quality and diversity are unbeatable.
As a theme through my next few newsletters I will have look at some of the crafts in India starting with a textile technique called ikat.
I always try to include a recipe in my newsletters, and although my knowledge of Indian cuisine is very limited, a firm favourite in our house for brunch is Bombay scrambled eggs, taken from the Cinnamon Club cook book.
Bhatik is still a very young web site but I have lots of plans for the future: a few are discussed below. If you would like to see any of our items, why not visit us, as we now have a showroom, please read on.
Textiles
India produces the largest variety of textiles in the world: silks, cottons, calicos, jutes, rayons, muslins and wools that are dyed, vat dyed, block printed, ikat-woven, mirror-clad, metal-clad, weft-faced and knotted to yield a vast kaleidoscope of creative expression in fabric. I have looked at the technique of Ikat in a little more detail.
Ikat weaving is thought to have originated in India around 700AD. The word ikat is derived from the Malay word Meningkat which means tie or bind. Unlike usual tie-dying, ikat is distinguished by the fact the warp and the weft threads are tie-dyed separately before the cloth is woven. The distinctive fuzzy-edged patterns that distinguish Ikat textiles only begins to emerge when the individually dyed warp and weft threads are woven together. The skill behind this weaving and dying process lies in the ability to work out beforehand where the dyed sections will intersect and what patterns they will create. It is a complex and extremely time-consuming process, two weavers can often work together for more than a month to create a single sari.
Recipe
Bombay scrambled eggs
This recipe is a great way to start a lazy weekend, and is not as spicy as the ingredients suggest.
Ingredients
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon of finely chopped fresh ginger
2 green chillies, finely chopped
2 teaspoons of salt
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp of red chilli powder
1 tomato, deseeded and finely diced
12 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
Heat the oil in a large pan, add the cumin seeds and let them crackle. Add the onion and saute over a medium heat, stirring constantly, until golden brown.
Now add the ginger and green chillies and stir for a minute. Add the salt, turmeric and red chilli powder and stir quickly to prevent the spices burning. In less than a minute, add the tomato and stir for a minute or two.
Add the beaten eggs and cook over a low heat, stirring constantly with a whisk or wooden spatula, until the eggs are softly scrambled. Stir in the chopped coriander and serve.
Serve with hot naan breads. Serves 4
Site Update
I have just added a section looking at the influences of the elements on Indian interiors, Indian belief has 5 elements compared to the 4 we have. In addition to Earth, Air, Fire and Water, the fifth element is Space - the vast vacuum beyond ordinary perception.
We are constantly adding new items to the site, especially on the soft furnishing and I intend to add more small furniture items. The large items of beautiful Indian furniture are impractical to send by mail order, so I tend to avoid these (you also have to be very strong to lift them!)
Visit us
If you would like to see any of our items why not come and visit us. We have a combined Indian and Moroccan showroom, please click here for directions.
Thank you for your continued support. If you have any comments, recipes, ideas, other suggestions I would love to hear from you. Please email info@bhatik.co.uk
Kind regards
Julie Woodard
Bhatik