OUR
SATURDAY SPECIAL ANGLO-INDIAN LUNCH – COCONUT RICE, BALL CURRY AND DEVIL
CHUTNEY
I was born and brought up in Kolar Gold Fields, a small mining town in the
erstwhile Mysore State (Karnataka) in
South India. Kolar Gold Fields or K.GF as everyone knows, had a large and
predominant British and Anglo-Indian population and was known as THE LITTLE
ENGLAND in the olden days. Our lives therefore were influenced to a great
extent by British Colonial Culture.Our Food habits were typically
Anglo-Indian - Breakfast was normally a bowl of Oats porridge, toast with
either butter and jam and Eggs. (Sundays saw sausages, bacon or ham on the
Breakfast table). Lunch was a typical Anglo-Indian meal which consisted of
Steamed Rice, Beef Curry with vegetables, Pepper water or dhal curry, and a
vegetable foogath or side dish. Dinner was always Bread or Dinner rolls with a
meat Dry Dish, (It was an unwritten rule that we didn’t eat rice at night). We normally had either beef
or mutton every day, fish invariably on Wednesdays and Fridays and Pork or
Chicken or Fowl on Sundays.
My mum was en exceptional cook
and even the most ordinary dishes cooked by her tasted delicious. She was very
versatile and imaginative when it came to cooking. She would improvise and turn
out the most delicious curries and side dishes with whatever ingredients were
on hand. Every dish she prepared was delicious even if it was just the basic
Rice and Meat Curry that was cooked every day. My mum had a procedure for
everything. The onions had to be thinly sliced and the green chillies and
coriander leaves chopped finely. Even the tomatoes for the curry were first scalded
or blanched and the skin removed, then chopped into bits and strained through a
strainer / sieve so that only the pulp was used and the seeds and skin thrown
away!!!
While our everyday lunch was
considered simple, lunch on Saturdays and Sundays was special. Saturday lunch
was invariably Yellow Coconut Rice, Mince Ball Curry (or Bad Word Curry as the
word ‘Ball’ was considered a bad or slang word in those days), and Devil
Chutney. My mind still recalls and relishes the taste of the Mince Ball Curry
and Coconut Rice that my mum prepared on Saturdays for us. On Saturdays we had
only half-day school so we were back home by 12.30 pm ravenously hungry and
we’d be assailed by the delicious aroma of the Coconut Rice and the Tasty Mince
Ball Curry even before we reached our gate.
The mince for the Ball Curry, had to be just right,
so the meat, (either beef or mutton), was brought home fresh from the Butcher
Shop, cut into pieces, washed and then minced at home. (We had our own
meat-mincing machine and Coconut Scraper which was fixed to the kitchen table
like every Anglo-Indian family in those days. No making of the Mince at the
Butchers as it had to be double ground in the Mincer only at home). The ground
meat or mince, was then formed into even sized balls along with other chopped
ingredients and dropped into the boiling Curry which was meanwhile cooking on
the stove. The curry was then left to simmer till the mince balls were cooked
and the gravy reached the right consistency.
The
Yellow Coconut Rice
was always prepared with freshly squeezed coconut milk, Sometimes, two fresh
coconuts would be broken and then scraped or grated. The scraped/grated coconut
had to be soaked in hot water and the thick milk extracted. For every cup of
rice double the quantity of coconut milk was the right proportion; a little
more would make the rice ‘pish pash’ or over cooked, and a little less would
mean that the rice wouldn’t be cooked well. So very accurate measurements were
required. The raw rice and coconut milk would then be simmered with ghee or
butter, saffron or turmeric, bay leaves and a few whole spices of cinnamon,
cardamom and cloves till the rice was cooked perfectly. This delightful fragrant
Rice preparation formed the perfect mild subtle base of our Saturday Special
Anglo-Indian Meal.
The Yellow Coconut Rice and Mince
Ball Curry (also known as Bad Word Curry) was always accompanied with a typical
Anglo-Indian Sauce or Relish known as Devil Chutney. Devil Chutney is a fiery red chutney or
sauce. Its bright red colour often misleads people to think that it is a very
pungent and spicy dish, while its actually a sweet and sour sauce, and only
slightly pungent. The vinegar and sugar used in its preparation react with the
onion and red chilli to produce the bright red colour. Devil Chutney is also
known as “Hell fire or Hell’s flame
chutney or Fiery Mother-in-law’s Tongue Chutney” due to its vivid colour.
I would now like to share my
mum’s recipes for these three special dishes. They are very easy to prepare.
YELLOW
COCONUT RICE
Serves 6 Preparation Time 45 minutes
Ingredients
1 pack of coconut milk diluted
with water to get 4 cups of milk or 1 fresh coconut grated and milk extracted
to get 4 cups of diluted milk
2 cups of Raw Rice or Basmati
Rice
½
teaspoon turmeric powder or a few strands of saffron
Salt to taste
4 tablespoons butter or ghee
3 cloves, 3 cardamoms, 3 small
sticks of cinnamon and 2 bay leaves
Heat ghee in a large vessel or
Rice cooker and fry the spices for a few minutes. Add the washed rice, salt,
turmeric and 4 cups of coconut milk and cook till the rice is done.
Coconut Rice is best served with
Ball Curry or Chicken curry and Devil Chutney.
ANGLO-INDIAN
MINCE BALL CURRY (BAD WORD CURRY)
(Mince
Koftas in a coconut based gravy)
Serves 6 Preparation time 45 minutes
Ingredients
for the Curry
3 large onions chopped
6 or 7 curry leaves
3 teaspoons chilli powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
3 teaspoons ginger garlic paste
3 big tomatoes pureed or chopped
finely
½ cup ground coconut paste
1 teaspoon all spice powder or garam masala
Salt to taste
3 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon coriander leaves
chopped finely for garnishing
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
Ingredients
for the Mince Balls (Koftas)
½ kg minced meat beef or mutton
(fine mince)
½ teaspoon all spice powder or
garam masala powder
3 green chilies chopped
A small bunch of coriander leaves
chopped finely
Salt to taste
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
Heat oil in a large pan and fry
the onions till golden brown. Add the ginger garlic paste and the curry leaves
and fry for some time. Now add the chili powder, coriander powder, all spice
powder or garam masala powder, turmeric powder and coconut, and fry for a few
minutes till the oil separates from the mixture. Now add the tomato puree and
salt and simmer for some time. Add sufficient water and bring to boil.
Meanwhile get the Mince Balls
ready - Mix the all spice powder / garam masala powder, salt, chopped green
chilies, turmeric powder and coriander leaves with the mince and form into
small balls. When the curry is boiling, drop in the mince balls carefully one
by one.
Simmer on slow heat for 20
minutes till the balls are cooked and the gravy is not too thick.
Serve hot with Coconut Rice and
Devil Chutney.
DEVIL
CHUTNEY (HELL’S FLAME CHUTNEY)
Ingredients
2 medium size onions chopped
roughly
1 teaspoon red chilli powder (use
Kashmiri Chillie Powder)
1 tablespoon raisins (optional)
2 teaspoons sugar
A pinch of salt
2 tablespoons vinegar
Grind all the above ingredients
together till smooth. If chutney is too thick, add a little more vinegar.
Serve with Coconut Rice and Mince
Ball Curry
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