ANGLO-INDIAN DINNER - THE TAJ WEST END

Mr. Vir Sanghvi, the noted Editor and Television Celebrity is in Bangalore in connection with the historic event of The Taj West End Bangalore celebrating 125 years of the West End this year.

He and Mrs. Sanghvi are presently guests of The Taj West End Bangalore. The Taj West End as part of the celebration is showing Colonial Anglo-Indian Food and Mr. and Mrs. Sanghvi were treated to a special Anglo-Indian Dinner on the 20th September 2012 at THE TAJ WEST END (MYNT RESTAURANT).

I was requested by Executive Chef Sandip Narang of the Taj West End to formulate a special Menu of popular and tasty Colonial Anglo-Indian Dishes and personally supervise the preparation of these dishes that were served to Mr. and Mrs. Sanghvi at Dinner last night.

Needless to say that both of them thoroughly enjoyed the delicious spread of Anglo-Indian Coconut Rice, Mince Ball Curry, Colonial Pepper Chicken, Railway meat curry, Bengal lancer’s Shrimp Curry, Prawn Fry, Liver and Onions, Pan fried Pepper Fish, Fish Kedgeree, Seer Fish in a Tangy Gravy, Pork devil Fry, Potato Chops, etc, together with a selection of Anglo-Indian pickles, relishes and chutneys. Dessert was a selection of old Anglo-Indian favourites such as Bread Pudding, open Pineapple tarts and miniature Apple Crumble together with Custard sauce. They were truly appreciative of the wonderful taste of Anglo-Indian Food and the rich culinary history behind each dish that I explained and talked about.

 

 

I also presented them with a few of my Anglo-Indian Recipe Books which was graciously received.

My sincere, grateful and special thanks to Executive Chef Sandip Narang and the Taj West End Bangalore for giving me this wonderful opportunity of sharing my expertise in Anglo-Indian Cuisine and being part of the team on this occasion. 

All credit for the wonderful Anglo-Indian Meal should be given to all the team at the MYNT Kitchen in particular Chefs Bharat Kapoor, Abhijit Mallick, Sukesh, Phillip, Parimal, Pranav, Susainathan, keshav Rao, Srinivas, Manoj, Niranjan, Manju, Santosh, Nanda, Melvin, Jose, Devandra, Ramachandra, Milton and all the other staff who supported me and helped to make this a success. Thank you and God bless you all.

CHICKEN STEW

A typical Anglo-Indian recipe for Chicken Stew - A hearty and wholesome dish.

CHICKEN STEW

Serves 6 Preparation Time 1 hour

Ingredients

1 kg chicken cut into medium pieces

2 tablespoons oil

2 potatoes peeled and cut into quarters

2 carrots peeled and cut into medium size pieces

4 or 5 string beans cut into medium size pieces

1 teaspoon pepper corns

1 tomato chopped

½ teaspoon chopped ginger

½ teaspoon chopped garlic

Salt to taste

3 green chillies slit

2 onions sliced

A few mint leaves          

2 tablespoons flour

Cook the Chicken along with the potatoes, carrots, beans, peppercorns, green chilies, tomato, ginger, garlic, mint, salt, and sufficient water till tender. Make a thin paste of the flour with about ¼ cup of water. In another pan heat the oil and fry the onions till golden brown. Add the flour paste and fry along with the onions for some time. Add the cooked chicken and vegetables and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve hot with bread or Hoppers.

CHICKEN AND VEGETABLE HOTCH POTCH

CHICKEN AND VEGETABLE HOTCH POTCH is a legacy from the Scots to Anglo-Indian Cuisine. It was very popular in the olden days and was invariably prepared at least once a week in Anglo-Indian Homes long ago. It was rather like a stew and was a meal in itself.

It was also known as the Harvest Broth in Scotland as all the fresh vegetables and freshly slaughtered meat at summer's end were packed into a light broth for a wonderfully fresh stew.

This dish is quite tasty and attractive, with white, bright orange, and green vegetable chunks, redolent with chicken,  fresh herbs and a few spices all cooked together to a 'hotch-potch consistency'

Ingredients

½ kg chicken with the bones

2 onions chopped finely

4 carrots, peeled and chopped

3 tablespoons chopped spring onions

1 cup chopped beans

1 cup fresh green peas

1 medium cauliflower cut into florets

2 teaspoons mint chopped

1 teaspoon sugar  

Salt and Pepper to taste

2 pieces cinnamon

4 cloves

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

2 bay leaves

Oil for frying

2 teaspoons chopped corriander or parsley (optional)

Heat oil in a suitable vessel and add the onions, cinnamon, cloves, Bay leaves and chopped garlic. Fry till the onions turn golden brown. Add the chicken together with all the other ingredients and mix well. Add sufficient water and cook till the chicken and vegetables are soft and the gravy is thick. Serve with crusty bread.

BRIDGET WHITE-KUMAR - AUTHOR AND FOOD CONSULTANT

PRAWN TEMPERADO or TEMPERED PRAWNS

                                      PRAWN  TEMPERADO OR TEMPERED PRAWNS

The word ‘Temperado’ is a Portuguese word literally means to sauté or fry. This is a semi-dry curry and the gravy clings thickly to the prawns, imbuing them with intense, sweet-sharp, hot flavours.

Serves 6  Preparation Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

½ kg good prawns cleaned and de-veined

1 teaspoon lime / lemon juice

Salt to taste

2 onions chopped finely

1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic

1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger

2 tablespoons Oil

¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon cumin powder

½ teaspoon garam masala powder / all spice powder 

2 teaspoon chillie powder

2 tablespoons tomato paste or 2 tomatoes chopped finely

2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves

Marinate the prawns with the lime juice, turmeric and salt for 15 minutes. Fry the onion, garlic and ginger gently in the oil until golden brown. Now add the chillie powder, cumin powder, garam masala / all spice powder and fry for a few minutes. Add the prawns and sauté for around 3 minutes until the prawns start to turn pink. Now add the tomato paste / chopped tomatoes and cook on low heat for about 5 more minutes. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve with bread, rice or chapattis

BEEF PEPPER MINCE AND POTATOES

BEEF PEPPER MINCE AND POTATOES

Serves 6  Preparation Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

½ kg Beef Mince

2 big Onions chopped

½ teaspoon turmeric powder                

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

2 green chilies chopped finely

2 tablespoons oil

Salt to taste                                          

2 teaspoons pepper powder

2 Potatoes boiled and chopped into small pieces

Heat oil in a pan and fry the chopped garlic and onions till golden brown. Add the green chilies, turmeric powder, pepper powder and sauté for 3 minutes.  Add the mince and salt and mix well. Cook on low heat for about ½ an hour till the mince is cooked and all the water evaporates. Add the Potatoes and mix well. Simmer on low heat for 3 more minutes.  Serve hot with bread or chapattis.

Substitute Beef Mince with lamb / Mutton / Chicken /Pork Mince if desired.

POTATO CHOPS (PEPPER MINCE AND POTATO CUTLETS)

POTATO CHOPS  (PEPPER MINCE AND POTATO CUTLETS)

Serves 6  Preparation Time 1 hour

Ingredients

½ kg fine beef or lamb / mutton mince

1 medium sized onion chopped finely    

2 teaspoons pepper powder

Salt to taste

3 tablespoons oil

1 egg beaten

2 tablespoons breadcrumbs

3 large potatoes                 

Method:

Boil the potatoes, remove the skin and mash well.  Keep aside. 

In a pan add the mince, onions, pepper powder and salt with a little oil and simmer on low heat till the mince is dry.  Remove from heat and cool for some time.

Form the mashed potatoes into even sized balls. Make a depression in the center and fill with the pepper mince. Flatten each ball to form a round cutlet. Dip in the beaten egg then roll in the breadcrumbs.

Heat oil in a flat pan and shallow fry the cutlets on low heat till golden  brown on both sides.

Serve with Grilled Tomatoes or Ketchup

FRENCH TOAST - BOMBAY TOAST

FRENCH TOAST or BOMBAY TOAST is also known as 'Eggy Bread' in Anglo-Indian parlance. It is a very popular breakfast item in most Anglo-Indian Homes, and is often served as an accompaniment to the traditional breakfast of Fried Eggs, Bacon, Sausages etc. - A perfect breakfast for a lazy saturday!

Ingredients:

8 slices sandwich bread

2 eggs

2 tablespoons sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla essence

Butter or Ghee for frying

½ cup milk

Break the eggs in a bowl and beat well with the sugar. Add the vanilla essence and milk and mix well.

Heat a flat pan and add a tablespoon of butter or ghee and smear all over. When hot dip one slice of bread at a time in the egg and milk mixture and shallow fry each slice on both sides till golden brown. 2 or 3 slices can be fried at a time. Serve hot with either Condensed Milk, Jam, honey or powdered sugar.

To make a savoury french Toast, omit the sugar and vanilla essnce and instead add a dash of pepper and salt. Chopped green chillies, chopped onions and chopped corriander leaves (Cilantro leaves) could also be added for a spicy French - Bombay Toast.

RAILWAY MUTTON / LAMB CURRY IN BBC GOOD FOOD MAGAZINE JULY 2012

My Recipe for RAILWAY MUTTON / LAMB CURRY was selected as the READER RECIPE OF THE MONTH in the July issue of the BBC GOOD FOOD MAGAZINE. As a result I won a special gift Hamper woth Rs 6000.00 from Debenhams. The Hamper contained a 5 piece Spoon Set and a Jamie Oliver Grater Gift set which has both the fine and coarse graters. Wanted to share this lovely bit of news with all the readers and followers of ALL MY BLOGS as well as my Page PRESERVING ANGLO-INDIAN CUISINE on FACE BOOK . Thanks for all your love and support. God bless you all. Bridget

RAILWAY LAMB / MUTTON CURRY

Serves 6     Preparation Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

½ kg mutton or lamb cut into medium size pieces     

6 peppercorns

2 big onions sliced                

2 pieces cinnamon

2 cloves

2 cardamoms

8 to 10 curry leaves

4 red chilies broken into bits

1teaspoon chillie powder

1teaspoon ginger garlic paste

Salt to taste         

2 tablespoons oil

2 tablespoons vinegar or ½ cup of tamarind juice

Wash the meat and mix it with the ginger garlic paste, salt and the chilly powder. Heat oil in a pan and fry the onions, curry leaves, red chillies and spices till golden brown.  Add the meat and mix well.  Fry for a few minutes. Add the vinegar / Tamarind juice and sufficient water and cook on medium heat till the meat is done. Keep frying till the gravy is thick and dark brown.

Note: Substitute beef for lamb / mutton if desired.

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OKRA / LADY FINGERS PEPPER FRY

LADY FINGERS / OKRA PEPPER FRY

 (Also known in Anglo-Indian Parlance as BANDY COY FRY - a spin off of the Hindi word 'Bhendi' )

Serves 6    Preparation Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

½ kg okra / lady fingers,

2 onions chopped finely,

a few curry leaves,           

1 teaspoon ginger and garlic paste,

2 teaspoons black pepper powder,

½ teaspoon turmeric powder,

2 tablespoons oil, salt to taste

Cut the okra / ladyfingers on a slant into medium size pieces. Deep fry in hot oil for a few minutes. The okra should be cooked but still crunchy

 Heat oil in a pan and add the curry leaves and onions and fry till golden brown. Add the black pepper powder, salt, turmeric powder, and ginger garlic paste and sauté for a few minutes. Now add the mushrooms and mix well. Cook on low heat for a few minutes till the mushrooms are cooked. Garnish with browned onions.

Feature on me in the TIME OUT BENGALURU MAGAZINE (June 2011)