ANGLO-INDIAN CUISINE - A LEGACY OF FLAVOURS FROM THE PAST

News feature on my new book ANGLO-INDIAN CUISINE - A LEGACY OF FLAVOURS FROM THE PAST in THE HINDU NEWSPAPER on 21st NOVEMBER 2012

This is the link http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/Food/colonial-cooking/article4115559.ece

CHRISTMAS PUDDING ON STIR UP SUNDAY

CHRISTMAS PUDDING ON STIR UP SUNDAY

Today the 25^th November 2012  is STIR UP SUNDAY. Stir Up Sunday is also known as Christmas Pudding Sunday. Stir Up Sunday falls on the last Sunday before Advent. Advent begins 4 Sundays before Christmas.

Christmas Puddings were traditionally always made on Stir-up Sunday which is the last Sunday before Advent begins.

The Christmas Pudding is traditionally made with 13 ingredients representing Jesus Christ and his 12 Disciples. The Christmas pudding is stirred from East to West in honour of the 3 wise men who came from the east to visit the Savoiur child

Every member of the family gives the pudding a stir and makes a wish. A coin, a ring or a thimble are sometime added to the pudding mixture. The coin and thimble  supposedledly brings luck and wealth to the person who gets it in his / her piece of the pudding on Christmas day, and the finger ring would foretell a wedding to the person who gets it.

So get your ingredients ready and everyone join in to stir up the Christmas Pudding .

An easy recipe is given below

SPECIAL CHRISTMAS PLUM PUDDING

Serves 6 Preparation time 1 hour

Ingredients

200 grams fresh bread crumbs                     

200 grams butter

2 teaspoons instant coffee (Nescafe or Bru) 

2 teaspoons golden or date syrup

½ teaspoon baking powder                            

2 eggs beaten well

¼ cup rum                                                       

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, cloves and  nutmeg                           

100 grams raisins

100 grams chopped sultanas                         

100 grams mixed peel

½ teaspoon salt                                              

100 grams sugar

Cream the butter and sugar together then add the eggs and mix well.

Gradually add all the other ingredients and mix well.

Grease a Pudding Mould or any suitable bowl with butter and pour the pudding mixture into it.

 Steam the pudding for about 1 hour on low heat till it is firm to touch

Note:  This pudding can be made in advance and refrigerated till required. Steam for 10 minute or microwave for 3 minutes before serving.

For a more exotic taste, when still warm make a few small holes all over the pudding and pour about 6 tablespoons of rum over it.

 This recipe is from my recipe Book THE ANGLO-INDIAN FESTIVE HAMPER

THE GRINDING STONE – AN INDESPENSIBLE PART OF LIFE IN THE OLDEN DAYS

THE GRINDING STONE – AN INDESPENSIBLE PART OF LIFE IN THE OLDEN DAYS

In the olden days, cooking would take up practically the whole day since everything had to be prepared from scratch. The masalas had to be ground manually on a grinding stone and the food cooked over firewood.

The grinding stone was an indispensable appendage in every home in the olden days. It was used on a regular basis to grind the masalas or curry stuff required for the daily cooking, The grinding stone consisted of a flat granite stone about two feet in length and one foot breadth. The wet or dry ingredients were placed on this stone and another stone about 10 inches in length that was shaped like a roller or cylinder was used to grind the masalas in an up and down direction. This grinding stone was known as “Ammi Kal” in Tamil.

The top of the grinding stone had to be rough and coarse so that the masalas could be ground easily to a smooth texture. However, due to continuous grinding, the grinding stone would become smooth, and it would take longer to grind the ingredients to the required consistency. This was when the ‘Grinding Stone Tapper’ was called in to tap the grinding stone to make it rough again.

The grinding stone tapper would use a small chisel and hammer to first make small pits in a star design in the centre of the grinding stone and then continue tapping the stone with his chisel and hammer around this design till the whole surface of the grinding stone was covered with small pits very close together. He repeated the same procedure with the top stone as well. The Grinding Stone Man had his own peculiar way of calling out ‘Ammi Kalu. Ammi Kalu’  to let people know that he was coming around. 

Some houses had yet another type of grinding stone which was used to grind wet masalas and  batter for Idlis and Dosas, or rice pancakes. This grinding stone was shaped like a small barrel with a hole in the centre. The dry masalas or the soaked rice and dhal with a little water, was put into this hole and was ground to a smooth batter with another cylindrical shaped stone in a rotary movement. When these grinding stones became smooth, the Ammi Kallu man would tap this stone as well to make it coarse again.

This type of grinding stone was known as ‘Rubbu Kal’ in Tamil which meant ‘to rotate’.

Using this type of grinding stone was actually a sort of exercise and it ensured a daily work out for the grinder as the hands and upper body of the person doing the grinding was fully exercised!

This old concept of the ‘Rubbu Kal’ is used in the modern day electric grinders.

Every house also had its own pestle and mortar of undressed granite which was used for pounding small quantities of dry spices. The action of pounding the spices and making them into a smooth powder was quite therapeutic and exciting at the same time.

Man has come a long way from the Stone Age. But its so amazing to think that we have come to adapt and innovate the most primitive of man’s tools for survival and use them to make our lives easier today amongst modern inventions and technology.  

Now with all the ready-made masalas and mixes available in the market and the modern and time saving gadgets, cooking has become so much easier and faster. The old grinding stones have now been replaced by Mixers / Blenders and Grinders

ANGLO-INDIAN LAMB / MUTTON BIRYANI

ANGLO-INDIAN LAMB / MUTTON BIRYANI

Serves 6    Preparation time 1 hour

Ingredients

1 kg Basmati Rice or any other long grained Rice …wash and soak for about 1 hour

1 kg Mutton / Lamb or Beef cut into fairly big pieces

3 bay leaves

2 teaspoons all spice powder or garam masala

3 large tomatoes chopped

3 small sticks of cinnamon, 3 cloves, 3 cardamoms

2 cups oil or ghee

Salt to taste

6 green chilies slit lengthwise

3 tablespoons ginger garlic paste

2 teaspoons chillie powder

3 large onions sliced finely           

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

½ cup fresh mint leaves

3 tablespoons curds / yogurt

Wash the meat and marinate with the spice powder, green chillies, curds, half the quantity of ginger garlic paste and turmeric powder for half an hour.

Heat the oil or ghee in a large vessel and add the bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, remaining ginger garlic paste and onions and sauté for some time. Add the chopped tomatoes, mint leaves and chillie powder and simmer till the oil separates from the mixture and the tomatoes are reduced to pulp. Add the marinated meat and salt and cook for 10 minutes. Remove the pieces and keep aside. Now add sufficient water to the gravy in the vessel so as to get about 7 glasses of liquid. Add the rice and cook till half done. Now add the cooked meat and mix well. Cover and cook on low heat for a few more minutes till all the liquid evaporates and the Biryani is done.
Serve with Curd Chutney or Pilaf (palau) Chutney

PALAU CHUTNEY OR CURD CHUTNEY

Ingredients

2 tablespoons roughly ground coconut paste

2 green chilies

2   medium size onions chopped finely

1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon lime juice

½ teaspoon sugar

½ cup curds or yogurt

Mix all the ingredients together and serve as an accompaniment for Biryani or Palau.

LAMB / MUTTON POT ROAST

LAMB / MUTTON POT ROAST

Serves 6   Preparation time 1 hour

Ingredients

A 2 kg chunk of lamb or mutton or 1 whole leg of lamb / mutton

3 large potatoes boiled and peeled

2 tablespoons vinegar

2 teaspoons pepper

2 tablespoons butter

2 inch pieces of cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

Salt to taste

Method:

Wash the lamb / mutton leg and make deep cuts on it. Rub it well all over with the salt, pepper, turmeric and vinegar.  Place it in a big oven proof dish or pressure cooker along with the butter and cinnamon and braise it by frying on high heat for some time till the meat turns a light brown. Add sufficient water and cook on medium heat till the meat is tender. Continue roasting turning from side to side, till the meat is nice and brown. Add the potatoes and roast well.  Serve hot or cold with bread and steamed vegetables.

The lamb / mutton / leg of lamb could also be roasted in an oven using the same recipe.

(NOTE: The turmeric helps in giving it a lovely shade of brown. Add 2 broken red chillies while roasting if more pungency is required )

BONE PEPPER WATER

Bone Pepper Water is also known as Breast Bone Pepper water since mostly the soft peices of meat and bones from the breast portion is used in its preparation. Bone pepper water is actually a spicier version of Mulligatawny Soup.

Serves 6   preparation Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

½ kg soup bones and pieces of meat preferably from the breast portion

2 teaspoons cumin powder                    

1 teaspoons chillie powder                  

1 teaspoon pepper powder                   

2 teaspoons coriander powder              

½ teaspoon turmeric powder                

2 large onions chopped                        

2 large tomatoes chopped

Salt to taste                                            

1 teaspoon crushed garlic

½ cup tamarind juice                             

 ½ cup coconut paste or coconut milk (optional)

2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves for garnishing

Cook all the above ingredients with about 4 cups of water in a pressure cooker first on high heat then on low for ½ an hour till the meat and bones are soft and the pepper water is quite thick. Season with mustard, curry leaves and chopped onion. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with plain rice and any chutney.

The 3 Most Important Ingredients used in Anglo-Indian Cooking – Vinegar, Ginger and Garlic Paste and Oil

The 3 Most Important Ingredients used in Anglo-Indian Cooking – Vinegar, Ginger and Garlic Paste and Oil

1. As far as possible use White Non-Fruit Vinegar in Vindaloo and other dishes calling for Vinegar. Fruit Vinegars such Apple cider Vinegar, coconut vinegar, etc would give our Anglo-Indian Vindaloo a completely different taste.

2. To get the authentic Anglo-Indian Curry taste while using the recipes in my books, use ginger and garlic paste that is ground at home in a blender using fresh root ginger and garlic. The ready made ginger and garlic paste available in stores around the world contain preservatives and other ingredients that detract from the original taste of the Curry giving it a completely different flavour.  

If fresh home made ginger and garlic paste is not available, then Garlic Powder can be used instead of fresh garlic. 1 teaspoon of garlic powder is equal to a whole garlic, so half a teaspoon would suffice. Ginger powder too can be substituted for fresh ginger. 1 teaspoon of dry ginger powder mixed with ¼ cup of water is equal to 2 teaspoons of fresh ginger paste, so half a teaspoon of ginger powder would be equal to 1 teaspoon of fresh ginger paste.

3. Any good cooking oil could be used in the preparation of these dishes such as Sun flower Oil, groundnut Oil or even Olive Oil depending on one’s preference.

All the Recipes in my Books are for 6 generous servings. If cooking for a smaller or larger number, the quantities should be adjusted accordingly. Likewise, the pungency of the dishes could be reduced by reducing the amount of chillie powder and other seasonings according to individual tastes.

CHICKEN LIVER PEPPER FRY

CHICKEN LIVER PEPPER FRY

Serves 6    Preparation Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

½ kg chicken liver cut into pieces      

2 large onions sliced finely

2 or 3 teaspoons ground pepper                            

2 green chillies slit

Salt to taste                                                              

3 tablespoons oil

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

Wash the chicken livers well.  Boil them with a little water and salt till done. Heat oil in a pan and fry the onions till golden brown.  Add the cooked gizzards and liver together with the slit green chillies, turmeric powder, pepper powder and salt and keep frying on low heat till dry and brown

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.