Gul and Sepoy: team behind Gunpowder launch ‘double restaurant' serving royal and rustic Indian food

The new restaurant will showcase two very different sides of Indian cooking
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Ben Norum10 August 2017

A new restaurant from the team behind Spitalfields Indian Gunpowder will feature an Upstairs Downstairs-style ‘double restaurant’ focusing on both rustic and royal cuisine.

Husband and wife team Harneet and Devina Baweja will open Gul and Sepoy with executive Chef Nirmal Save this September on Commercial Street, a mere stone’s throw away from both Gunpowder and Madame D’s, which the same team opened just a few months ago in April.

One half of the menu, Gul, will focus on dishes inspired by the banquets of the Raj palaces in northwestern India. The other, Sepoy, will feature more rustic, provincial-style dishes based on what the soldiers of the old Indian army would cook while constantly on the move.

“Despite them being two totally different types of cuisine, they go very well together,” says Harneet. “One of them (Gul) is very rich, and the other (Sepoy) cuts through it. They balance each other out.”

Potted pig head with blood masala

The Gul section of the menu takes its name from the most famous courtesan of the King of Punjab, Gul Begum who counted cooking for the King among her duties.

Dishes will include a whole leg of roasted kid goat raan served with pickled root vegetables and designed for sharing; an Awadhi-style korma made with three different types of poultry; and jackfruit and walnut patties. Among desserts will be rum-soaked dough pillows with spiced cream cheese and berries, and walnut fudge with Baked Alaska and salted caramel.

The Sepoy part of the menu is named after the word for a soldier serving in the Indian army, and takes more influence from the seafood of southern India as well as cheaper and more accessible cuts of meat.

Among the dishes will be a masala wild rabbit terrine, spiced clams, and potted pig’s head served with blood masala. Lavender kheer will be among the puddings.

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All the dishes will be served for sharing, and designed to be ordered together to create a balanced meal.

The two styles will complement each other in the kitchen as well as on the plates, with prime cuts used in Gul dishes while leftover parts of the same meat will go into Sepoy options.

Harneet explained: “Nose-to-tail eating is well-known in London, but it tends to remain the forté of British, or perhaps French, chefs. There’s no reason for it to be limited to that and we’ll be showing how it can work in Indian cooking.”

Gul and Sepoy will be spread across two floors, providing a total of 50 covers between a large oak bar and separate tables — around double either of the team’s other two restaurants. It will also feature a far wider-ranging wine list, alongside a list of cocktails in the vein of Old Fashioneds and Negronis given Indian-inspired twists.

Those weary of queuing for tables at Gunpowder and Madame D’s will be glad to hear that the restaurant will also take reservations — a first for the group — while still retaining space for walk-ins.

Despite the fast-paced expansion this year which has seen the Gunpowder group go from one restaurant to three, Harneet confirms there are no plans to open another new restaurant after this one just yet.

“I haven’t stopped working, my wife isn’t happy,” he laughs.

“And no, we’re definitely not trying to take over the whole of Spitalfields!”

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