The Sultan’s Kitchen: Joshua Hinton creates a feast for the senses on stage

Joshua Hinton cooks his grandmother's chicken curry recipe live on stage in 'A Place in the Sultan's Kitchen'.

Joshua Hinton’s one-man show comes with a content warning: don’t watch it on an empty stomach.

The first time Joshua Hinton’s grandmother came to see him cook her legendary chicken curry recipe live on stage, she heckled him throughout the show. “She kept telling me I wasn’t doing it right,” he says. “She was hilarious.”

Mehrangiz Fassy (or MehMeh, as Hinton calls her) is an integral part of the story in A Place in the Sultan’s Kitchen (or How to Make the Perfect One-Pot Chicken Curry).

Now aged 94, she was born in Iran and hitchhiked with her brother to India after the Anglo-Soviet invasion during World War II. With her Sri Lankan husband, she settled in Brisbane and opened their first restaurant, The Sultan’s Kitchen, in 1983.

Weaving together the threads of his multicultural origins has helped Hinton make sense of where he belongs in the world. His paternal grandfather, Philip, was raised on a farm in South Africa before moving to England.

Growing up as an Aussie kid, Hinton was so desperate not to be “different” that he didn’t tell anyone his middle name was Jamil until his mid-teens.

Joshua Hinton's paternal grandfather, Philip, grew up on a farm in South Africa during apartheid. His story is one of three narratives woven into the show.

Today, he lives on the coast south of Sydney, teaching speech and drama at the Wollongong Conservatorium between acting gigs.

The smells of his childhood have remained powerfully evocative. One of his earliest sensory memories is of MehMeh in the kitchen, frying onions and spices.

“Hugging her and smelling the spices on her, then later recognising those same smells on my mum when she was cooking,” he says.

“Throughout my life, food has really been the one significant connection to my culture. Whenever I’ve felt a bit confused about where I stand, I can always come back to that place of comfort and safety.”

In March, Hinton is bringing A Place in the Sultan’s Kitchen to the Auckland Arts Festival – the first time he’s toured outside Australia.

Calling it a one-man show isn’t strictly accurate. His younger brother, Dominic, is the sound and vision designer, and their on-stage banter has become part of the performance.

Drawing on family photos and folklore, Hinton traces his own childhood memories alongside MehMeh and Philip’s life stories.

The warm-hearted show includes some poignant moments: MehMeh’s recollections of hiding in bomb shelters as a child under siege in Iran; Philip’s experiences in South Africa during apartheid.

Opened by Joshua Hinton's grandparents in 1983, Sultan's Kitchen was one of the first Indian restaurants in Queensland.

All the while, Hinton is cooking live on stage in what he likens to a “choreographed dance”, perfected through trial and error. The first time he rehearsed with a knife, he cut his finger.

For the grand finale, everyone in the audience is given a banana boat of chicken curry and rice to eat in the theatre foyer, and Hinton comes out for a chat.

“That’s where the other aspect comes in,” he says. “Food is also about community – inviting friends together to talk while they’re eating.”

Watching the show on an empty stomach, however, isn’t recommended. “I start frying onions about 20 minutes in, so if you’re hungry at that point, it might be rough.”

Mum’s Dhal

Combining Persian, Indian and Sri Lankan flavours, this recipe is another of Hinton’s favourite family dishes. Serves 4.

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

1 cup dry red lentils

1½ cups vegetable stock

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 large (or 2 small) onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, crushed or minced

1 tsp peeled and grated ginger

1 tbsp garam masala

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp cumin

½ tsp red chilli powder

A few fresh curry leaves (if available)

1 400g tin diced or crushed tomatoes

A couple of handfuls of fresh spinach leaves

½ lemon, juiced

1 cup tinned coconut milk

Salt and pepper

Method

1. Boil dry lentils in a largish pot in about 2½ cups of water, and 1½ cups vegetable stock. Once boiling, keep on a high simmer, stirring occasionally to avoid lentils sticking to the bottom.
2. While lentils are boiling, fry mustard seeds and diced onion in olive oil until onions are translucent, then add garlic and ginger, frying for another minute but ensuring nothing burns.
3. Add garam masala, turmeric powder, cumin, red chilli powder and curry leaves (if available). Fry until a thick paste, adding a little more oil or a splash of water if too thick and dry.
4. Add tinned tomatoes, and stir thoroughly. Simmer for a couple of minutes, then add to pot with boiled lentil mixture. Continue at a high simmer, stirring until the mixture is at your preferred consistency (lentils should be totally soft and fully absorbed into the mixture).
5. Stir in handfuls of spinach leaves and lemon juice, then add coconut milk. Season to taste. Serve with basmati rice.

• A Place in the Sultan’s Kitchen (or How to Make the Perfect One-Pot Chicken Curry) is on at Q Theatre, March 12-15, as part of the Auckland Arts Festival, aaf.co.nz