MEAT AND LADYFINGERS (OKRA) CURRY or BANDYCOY AND MEAT CURRY

MEAT AND LADYFINGERS (OKRA) CURRY or BANDYCOY AND MEAT CURRY

A favourite curry dish in many Anglo-Indian homes. Anglo-Indian Cuisine over time, took on many regional influences and a lot of local ingredients were added depending on the region. Many local words were incorporated in their conversations and new names were given for almost everything depending on how they were able to pronounce the vernacular words. One example would be The Tamil and other South Indian word ‘KAI’ meaning ‘vegetable’ which eventually became ‘Coy’ in English. Vegetables such as ‘BANDICOY’ for lady fingers / Okra”’ from the Tamil Word ‘Vendaikai, or the Kannada word ‘Bendaykai, etc, became part and parcel of Anglo-Indian Cuisine

Ingredients

½ kg beef or mutton / lamb cut into medium size pieces

½ kg tender Ladyfinger / Okra / Bandycoy 

2 onions chopped finely

1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste

2 teaspoons mild chillie powder

1 teaspoon coriander powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin powder 

2 medium size tomatoes chopped

1/2 cup coconut paste or coconut milk 

2 tablespoons oil

Salt to taste

Wipe the lady’s finger / okras with a dry cloth then cut them into 2 inch pieces. Discard the ends. 

Boil the meat with sufficient water and a little salt till tender. 

Heat oil in a pan and add the onions and fry till golden brown. Add the tomatoes, chillie powder, salt, coriander powder, cumin powder and ginger garlic paste and sauté for a few minutes till the tomatoes turn pulpy and the oil separates from the mixture.

Add the coconut paste or coconut milk and stir fry for 2 or 3 minutes.

Now add the lady’s fingers / okra and the boiled meat and mix well. Add the left over meat stock / soup or 1 cup of water and cook on low heat till the lady’s fingers / okras are just cooked, taking care not to overcook them. 

Serve as a main curry with rice.

SOME ANGLO-INDIAN PICKLES AND CHUTNEYS - BRINJAL PICKLE, MANGO PICKLE, LIME PICKLE, GOOSEBERRY PICKLE

SOME ANGLO-INDIAN PICKLES AND CHUTNEYS

Pickles, Relishes and Chutneys add zest to a meal and Anglo-Indian Cuisine has many of them in its repertoire. Pickles and chutneys form an important and sometimes necessary accompaniment to any meal. They add sparkle and tingle to enliven up the meal and they stimulate the appetite with their tangy and spicy flavour.

The secret of a good pickle is the combination of spices such as chillies, fenugreek and mustard either crushed or ground. Pickles are generally made in summer since they should be kept in the sun for some time. Unlike chutneys pickles have a longer shelf life and can be stored for more than a year without spoiling.

1. BRINJAL PICKLE (Aubergine / Egg plant Pickle)

Ingredients

1 kg long purple or green Brinjals or 1 large seedless one

3 tablespoons chillie powder

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger

1 cup vinegar

1 tablespoon mustard powder

1 tablespoon cumin powder

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 cup Sesame oil refined oil

1 cup of sugar

2 tablespoons salt

Wash and dry the Brinjals well and cut them into medium size pieces. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the ginger and garlic and sauté on low heat for a few minutes. Add the chillie powder, mustard powder, cumin powder, and turmeric powder and fry for a minute. Now add the Brinjals and salt and cook for 5 to 6 minutes on low heat. Add the vinegar and sugar and mix well. Cook till the sugar dissolves and till the brinjals are just cooked. Cool and store in bottles.

2. MANGO PICKLE (SWEET) 

Ingredients

6 medium sized mangoes

3 tablespoons chillie powder

1 tablespoon fenugreek seeds ground coarsely  

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

4 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon mustard powder

1 cup Sesame oil or refined oil

½ cup vinegar

½ cup sugar

Wash and dry the mangoes well. Cut them into medium size pieces. Throw away the seeds. Mix the mango pieces with the turmeric, chillie powder, salt, fenugreek powder, mustard powder, sugar and vinegar in a stone jar and leave in the sun for a week. Shake the jar everyday so that all the mango pieces soak well. After a week, heat the oil in a pan till smoky. Cool and pour over the pickle in the jar. Mix well. The pickle is now ready for use.

3 LIME PICKLE (SWEET)

Ingredients

20 medium sized limes

1 cup of sugar

3 tablespoons chillie powder

3 tablespoons salt

1 teaspoon mustard powder

½ teaspoon powdered fenugreek seeds

½ cup of vinegar

3 tablespoons oil

Cut each lime into 6 or 8 pieces, keeping 6 aside to squeeze out the juice. Steam the limes in hot water for 5 minutes till slightly soft. Dry and Cool for some time. Now mix all the ingredients, and the juice of 6 limes with the steamed lime pieces in a pickle jar. Mix well and leave in the sun for a week. The changed appearance of the limes will show that the pickle is ready for use.

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4.  GOOSE BERRY PICKLE

Ingredients

½ kg Goose Berries (Star Variety)

2 tablespoons chillie powder

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon cumin powder

2 tablespoons salt

 2 tablespoons vinegar

1 tablespoons sugar

Wash the gooseberries and dry them well. Soak them with salt and leave them in the sun for about 2 hours each day for a week. When the gooseberries shrivel up and change colour add the chillie powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, vinegar and sugar and mix well. Use when required.