Foreign policy: Keith Vaz (standing)

How to tackle ‘the terror of Tesco’

Keith Vaz is the most senior Indian origin MP in the House of Commons. So when he speaks — on foreign direct investment (FDI) or anything else — everyone listens.

Now 55, he has been Labour MP for Leicester East for 25 years. In fact, I went to Leicester to cover the 1987 election when he scraped in with 1,924 votes.

Since then, his majority has been 11,316 in 1992; 18,422 in 1997; 13,442 in 2001; 25,867 in 2005; and 14,082 in 2010. In other words, he has turned what was a Tory stronghold into one of the safest Labour seats in the country.

But Keith is now more than an “ethnic minority” politician. As chairman of the powerful home affairs select committee, tackling counter-terrorism, immigration and policing, Keith is at the centre of British politics.

Over dinner with the Indian Journalists’ Association last week, held to mark his 25 years as an MP, he picked his words carefully. As a British politician, he could not interfere in India’s internal politics by offering advice on FDI but his experience with Tesco was that it had been bad for small Indian shopkeepers who count among his constituents in Leicester.

In allowing FDI in multi-brand retail, he genuinely believes India is making a mistake. Mindful of the welfare of the small shops and pavement sellers near my own home in Calcutta, my instincts are the same as Keith’s.

However, we could both be wrong. The Prime Minister keeps in view the bigger picture and India cannot be protected for ever from global competition, without which the country will be stuck in the past.

In London, the feeling among Indians is that the issue of FDI is a matter for mature debate, not for theatrical walkouts or “shoot yourself in the foot” bandhs. Keith himself suggests that if FDI has to come, it should be accompanied by strong safeguards.

Milky way: MacLaine as Martha Levinson

Gandhi’s goat

It seems Gandhi was not the only one to prefer goat’s milk over cow’s milk. There was an unmissable reference last week to goat’s milk in Downton Abbey, a British period drama which has proved such a hit with British television viewers that it has been brought back for a third series — and with a humorous reference to goat’s milk.

Downton Abbey is the Yorkshire stately home whose master, the Earl of Grantham, is married to an American heiress, Cora. In last week’s opening episode of the third series, we meet Cora’s mother, Martha Levinson, a stereotypical rich widow (played by Shirley MacLaine, 78) who has come over from the US for a family wedding.

The year is 1920.

Martha has brought with her a lady’s maid, Miss Reed, who goes downstairs into the kitchen and immediately upsets the staff by announcing her mistress will only have “goat’s milk” and “boiled water”.

Today, however, goat’s milk is recognised as having greater nutritional value as it “contains less fat and less cholesterol than cow’s milk and most closely resembles human breast milk”.

This is according to Claire Fisher, an Englishwoman who runs Ganapati, a popular Indian restaurant in Peckham, south London, and uses goat milk in some of her recipes. It’s not easy to get, costs more but there are supermarkets and specialist shops that do sell goat’s milk, Claire tells me.

And now that goat’s milk has been promoted in Downton Abbey, laughs Claire, “it’s going to become the rage”.

Gandhigiri: Diners relish the “Mahatma thali”

Mahatma thali

The “Mahatma thali”, introduced as a six-week experiment at Claire Fisher’s Ganapati restaurant in south London, is proving so popular that she is considering making it a permanent feature on her menu.

Claire, who studied fine art at college, was so taken with food she encountered on a life-changing trip to India that she returned to London and started Ganapati eight years ago.

So when an artist friend, Manali Jagtap, came up with the idea of doing vegetarian recipes based on Gandhi’s recommendations, Claire reacted enthusiastically.

When Gandhi came to London as a 19-year-old law student in 1888, “there was at that time hardly a vegetarian restaurant in London that I had not visited,” he wrote later in a chapter, The Superiority of Vegetarianism, in his book, Diet and Diet Reform.

Manali provided Claire with a list of ingredients that Gandhi apparently favoured — for example, goat’s milk, seasonal raw vegetables and fruits, jaggery and pure ghee. Then Claire got together with the mostly south Indian chefs in her kitchen (nicknamed “Claire’s Kitchen”) and created the dishes for the Mahatma thali.

Specially invited guests sat on the floor and enjoyed an essentially south Indian thali that included tulsi chamanthi; inji pickle; red rice; cucumber moru curry; dal (tempered with okra); raw cabbage, carrot and spinach thoran; rasam; goat’s cheese paneer salad; pickled salted chilli; methi roti; and moong dal payasam.

For Bengalis, it is suggested this wholesome meal is followed by generous helpings of rui maach, begun bhaja, mishti doi and shondesh, eaten if need be on environmentally friendly banana leaf.

Killing Kevin

To no one’s surprise, Kevin Pietersen has been dropped from the England side to tour India this winter. Kevin is being killed off — and none too softly, either. The text messages that Pietersen sent to South African players may have been a contributory factor but the more serious “betrayal” is his siding with enemy India over the IPL. In the old days he would have been taken out and shot at dawn.

Anyone who thinks axing Pietersen isn’t to do with the IPL is being naive. This is why India and England need to get together and make space for Pietersen’s jealous colleagues to play in the IPL as well. What would be best would be for the BCCI to negotiate with the ECB to hold a few IPL matches at Lord’s.

Vara curious

David Cameron, talking about the contribution to Britain by Ugandan Asians expelled in 1972 by Idi Amin, praised Tory MP Shailesh Vara, who was born in Uganda.

“I would also say to my Hon. Friend, who is from that background, what an incredible achievement it is within one generation for someone from that background to come to Parliament and make such a distinguished contribution,” Cameron told the Commons.

But clearly it was not distinguished enough for Vara to escape the chop as a govern- ment whip during Cameron’s reshuffle.

Tittle tattle

Cover story: Kate at a mosque in Malaysia

Prince William and Kate have reacted very badly to the paparazzi pictures taken of them on holiday in France. It is in the nature of royal coverage that the more the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are built up as the young face of the British monarchy, the more they will be chased by photographers with prying lenses. And there will be a next time despite the legal action against Closer magazine in France ordered by William, who remembers the nightmare of his late mother, Princess Diana, pursued by paparazzi throughout her life.

Ironically, many think the prettiest picture that has ever been taken of Kate is with her head covered just about to enter the Assyakirin Mosque in Kuala Lumpur. I am sure she will try out a sari when she comes to India.