MUTTON / LAMB DUMPOKE ( MUTTON DUMPUKHT )

MUTTON / LAMB DUMPOKE (MUTTON DUMPUKHT)

‘DUMPOKE’ is the Anglicized name for “Dum Pukht” which literally means to cook over low heat in a tightly sealed utensil. Dum’ means to ‘breathe in’ and ‘Pukht’ to 'cook'. Dum Pukht cooking uses a round, heavy -bottomed pot, in which food is tightly sealed and cooked over a slow fire. The process of slow roasting gently persuades each spice / ingredient to release its maximum flavor. By cooking slowly in its juices, the food retains all its natural aromas and becomes imbued with the richness of flavors that distinguishes the dish. This dish was very famous in the olden days 

 Serves 6     Time required: approx 1 hour

Ingredients

¾ kg tender Mutton or lamb cut into medium size pieces

2 onions chopped finely

1 teaspoon chillie powder
1 teaspoon Cumin Powder

1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste

3 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves

1 tablespoon chopped mint leaves
3 green chillies
4 cloves

2 cardamoms
6 black pepper corns

2 one inch pieces cinnamon

2 bay leaves
1 cup cream or yogurt
Salt to taste

3 tablespoons oil
Marinate the meat with chillie powder, cumin powder, ginger garlic paste, coriander leaves, mint, green chillies, salt and yogurt / cream and leave in the fridge for about 6 hours or overnight.

 Heat oil in a suitable thick bottomed pan and add the onions, cloves, cardamoms, bay leaves, cinnamon, and pepper corns and sauté for a minute. Add the marinated meat. Stir fry for about 5 to 7 minutes till the pieces become firm and the oil separates from the mixture. Add 2 cups of water and close the pan with a tight fitting lid. cook on low heat without opening the pan for about 30 minutes till the meat is cooked and the gravy is a quite thick. Garnish with chopped Coriander leaves. Serve with dinner Rolls or Bread and steamed vegetables.

 Note: You could substitute the Mutton or lamb with beef, veal, chicken, duck etc

BREAD PUDDING

BREAD PUDDING – THE POOR MAN’S PUDDING

Bread Pudding is an old fashioned dessert that had its humble beginnings in the 13th century in England. It was first known as a "poor man's pudding" as it was created as a means of making use of stale left over bread for poor people to eat. It was just moistened in water, to which a little sugar, spices and other ingredients were added.  Today after it has passed through so many centuries, we think of bread Pudding as a Rich Treat. For those unfamiliar with this dish, (which I’m sure there aren’t many), bread pudding is typically made the British way, by soaking slices of bread cut into cubes in a mixture of milk, egg, and sugar; adding raisins and spices and baking or steaming the mixture. Actually its taste is not that much different from French toast, except more moist. Bread pudding can also be made into a Savoury dish as well by substituting sugar and raisins with chopped tomatoes, green chillies or capsisums / chillie peppers etc. You could experiment and make your own tasty pudding. Of course, one’s choice of bread, the addition of optional ingredients, and the details of preparation can make bread pudding into art form. Bread pudding can be made into a rich heavy dessert or just a simple light dish that even an invalid can digest. The possibilities are endless. Try out the recipes given below. 

OLD FASHIONED BREAD PUDDING

Serves 6     Time required: 1 hour

Ingredients

3 cups Milk                                                      

8 slices of bread cut into cubes
200 grams butter

200 grams sugar
2 beaten eggs

 1/4 tsp salt
200 grams raisins and chopped nuts

1 tsp vanilla essence

Heat milk to scalding, and pour over the bread cubes. Set aside to cool for some time then add all the other ingredients. Add more milk if too dry. Pour into a buttered baking pan or dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until knife comes out clean. Serve warm with Ice Cream or Vanilla Sauce 

The same pudding can be steamed in a pressure cooker as well.

ANGLO-INDIAN CUISINE - A LEGACY OF FLAVOURS FROM THE PAST BY BRIDGET WHITE

ANGLO-INDIAN CUISINE - A LEGACY OF FLAVOURS FROM THE PAST  BY BRIDGET WHITE

ANGLO-INDIAN CUISINE - A LEGACY OF FLAVOURS FROM THE PAST  is a comprehensive and unique collection of easy-to-follow Recipes of popular and well loved Anglo-Indian dishes. The repertoire is rich and vast, ranging from Roasts, Cutlets, Croquettes, Pasties, etc, to mouth watering Curries, Side Dishes, Spicy Fries, Foogaths, Biryani and Pilafs, Pickles, Chutneys etc, picking up plenty of hybrids along the way. The sumptuous Anglo-Indian dishes such as Yellow Coconut Rice and Mince Ball (Kofta) Curry / Bad Word Curry, Pepper Water, Mulligatawny Soup, Grandma’s Country Captain Chicken, Railway Mutton Curry, Dak Bungalow Curry, Crumbed Lamb Chops, Anglo-Indian Masala Chops, Pepper Steaks, Beef Country Captain, Ding Ding, Stews, Duck Buffat, Almorth, Brinjal Pickle, Salt Fish Pickle, Fish Padda, etc, which were very popular in the olden days will take one on an exotic nostalgic journey to Culinary Paradise. 

ANGLO-INDIAN CUISINE - A LEGACY OF FLAVOURS FROM THE PAST was selected as the ‘WINNER FROM INDIA’ under the Category: ‘BEST CULINARY HISTORY BOOK’  by GOURMAND INTERNATIONAL SPAIN, GOURMAND WORLD COOK BOOKS AWARDS 2012  

MACKEREL FISH CURRY

MACKEREL FISH CURRY

Serves 6     Time required: 45 minutes

Ingredients

6 medium size mackerels cleaned and cut down the stomach

2 big onions chopped finely                                   

2 teaspoons ginger garlic paste 

1 cup thick coconut milk     

3 teaspoons chillie powder

1 teaspoon cumin powder                                      

2 teaspoons coriander powder

½ teaspoon turmeric powder 

Salt to taste

3 tablespoons oil 

Keep the mackerels whole or cut them in half. Clean the mackerels well and fry each one lightly with a pinch of turmeric to make it firm. Keep aside. 

Heat the oil in a shallow vessel and fry the  onions till golden brown. Add the ginger and garlic paste, chillie powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and a little water and fry well for some time.  Add the Coconut Milk, salt, and a little more water and bring to boil. Add the mackerels and cook for about 6 to 7 minutes. 

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and slit green chilies 

Serve with Rice or chapattis.

GRANDMA’S COUNTRY CAPTAIN CHICKEN

GRANDMA’S COUNTRY CAPTAIN CHICKEN

Grandma’s Country Captain Chicken was a very popular dish during Colonial times. In those days, authentic well-fed, homegrown country fowls and chickens were used in its preparation,. The dish would take at least 2 hours to cook over a firewood oven till the meat was sufficiently tender, but the curry when done, would be rich and delicious. Legend has it, that this wonderful curry dish was first prepared by the grandmother of a British Army Captain especially for her favourite Grandson using her own home grown Country Fowls. Hence the name Grandma’s Country Captain Chicken
However, there's another version which says that this particular dish was cooked on Country River Steamers and Boats, making use of the water fowls and ducks. .It was purported to be served as a special dish at the Captain's table for his special guests which could have been the British Officers at the time. Here is my Nana’s recipe for Grandma’s Country Captain Chicken

Grandma’s Country Captain Chicken
Serves 6 Preparation Time 30 minutes
1 kg chicken cut into medium size pieces
3 large onions sliced finely
2 teaspoons chillie powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoons oil
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
2 sticks cinnamon
4 cloves
2 cardamoms
6 or 8 whole pepper corns
1 Dry Red Chillie broken into bits
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
2 tablespoons tomato puree or tomato sauce

Heat oil in a pan and fry the onions and chopped garlic lightly. Add the chicken and mix in the ginger garlic paste. Saute for about 5 minutes on medium heat. Add the chillie powder, turmeric powder, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, red chillie, pepper corns, tomato puree / sauce and salt. Mix well and cook for a few minutes till the chicken becomes firm, Add 2 cups of water and cook till the chicken is tender and the gravy is quite thick.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve with rice or bread.

ANGLO-INDIAN CRAB VINDALOO

                                     Crab Vindaloo

Serves 6   Preparation Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

6 to 8 medium sized crabs or 5 big ones cleaned and shelled

2 medium sized onions chopped

2 teaspoons chillie powder

2 teaspoons cumin powder

2 teaspoons garlic paste

2 tablespoons vinegar

Salt to taste

2 tomatoes pureed or chopped finely

2 tablespoons oil

Heat oil in a pan and add the onions and fry till light brown.  Add the garlic paste and sauté for a while. Add the chillie powder, cumin powder, tomato puree and salt and fry for some time.  Add the crabs and the vinegar and mix well.  Add a just a little more water and cook till the gravy is slightly thick.  

OLD HAND WRITTEN RECIPES FOR PALAU - MY GRANDMOTHER'S RECIPES

MY GRANDMA’S OLD HAND WRITTEN RECIPES FOR PALAU

 I have a small collection of cookery books published in India in the late 1800s and early 1900s. There were scores of this type of book written for British housewives who were new residents in India. The books are mainly concerned with cooking British food under Indian conditions but some of the books include chapters on cooking curries, kebabs, koftas and  ‘PULOW” (which we now spell as “PALAU’)

I also have a good collection of hand written recipes on bits and pieces of paper that are now falling apart, that have been passed down through generations. There are many recipes where the quantities of ingredients for a particular recipe are mentioned as ‘3 pice ginger, 6 pice cuscus (Kus Kus), 3 pi e cuddalay, ½ anna coriander leaves,41/2 tin pots of water, etc etc. This was exactly how recipes were written in those early days only because, the ingredients for each meal / dish was procured or bought FRESH each day. The corner shops would sell the ingredients in small quantities and the house wife in those days would send the domestic help with a small chit stating the item to be purchased with the price (how many pies or annas) and the cooking would then start for the day. None of the fresh ingredients were bought in bulk and stored as refrigerators etc were yet to be invented. Only the Meat Safe and Doolies were used to keep cooked food safe from Cats and mice over night

 In those days the quantities for each ingredient of a particular dish was specified by its price or in the vernacular weight. The “Tin Pot” for measuring water is the old Cigarette Tin that was used as a measure. I’m appending a photograph of a meat Palau from my grandmother’s collection where her quantities for the ingredients are a mix of all the old measurements of weight as well as in annas. I’m sure many of us have similar recipe books which our grand mom’s wrote in those early times bearing testimony to the long period of evolution that out Anglo-Indian Cuisine has passed through many hundreds of years to what it is today. Hats off to our ancestors! Just what would we have done without them if they hadn’t recorded for posterity, the pioneering dishes of our Community. 

NANA'S BO BO FRY / GRANDMA'S CHICKEN FRY

Ok its now time for an simple and tasty Chicken Fry which I fondly call as NANA'S BO BO FRY. This recipe was my Mum's recipe (which was  a hand me down from her mum)  for a simple Fowl (Chicken) Fry. As little children growing up in Kolar Gold Fields, we loved this Chicken fry  and it was always known as Nana’s Bobo Fry. (We reared our own hens and poultry in those days so the Country Fowls or hens took longer to cook but tasted heavenly). I've adapted the recipe to suit the Farm variety of Broiler chickens  we get now a days. The butter or ghee that was added at the end together with fried curry leaves and raw Onion Rings enhanced the taste of the dish. This versatile dish could be served as a starter or appetizer or as a side dish with Rice. 

Serves 6   Preparation Time and cooking 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 medium sized chicken washed and cut into fairly big pieces

2 teaspoons ginger garlic paste

2 onions ground into a paste

 1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon chillie powder

1 teaspoon cumin powder

2 tablespoons vinegar

2 tablespoons oil

1 tablespoon butter or ghee

8 or 10 curry leaves and 2 dry red chillies to garnish (Fry in a teaspoon of butter or ghee) 

Rinse the chicken and make deep cuts in the flesh with a sharp knife. In a bowl mix all the ingredients mentioned above and marinate the chicken with this mixture for 2 hours. Transfer to a suitable pan and cook on low heat till the chicken is tender and semi-dry. Mix in a teaspoon of butter or ghee and let the dish rest for about 15 minutes before serving. Garnish with fried curry leaves and broken red chillies . Serve with raw Onion Rings as a side dish or a snack

ANGLO-INDIAN PRAWN VINDALOO

ANGLO-INDIAN PRAWN VINDALOO
A simple dish of Prawns or Shrimps cooked Anglo-Indian Style. A tasty and delicious  lunch or Dinner Dish. The tangy taste of tomatoes and vinegar will surely make you take second helpings.

Serves 6   Preparation Time  45 minutes

Ingredients

½ kg fresh prawns shelled and de-veined

2 medium sized onions chopped

2 teaspoons chillie powder

2 teaspoons cumin powder

2 teaspoons ginger garlic paste

2 tablespoons vinegar

Salt to taste

2 tomatoes pureed or chopped finely

2 tablespoons oil

Wash the prawns well and keep aside.  Heat oil in a pan and add the onions and fry till light brown.  Add the giner garlic paste and sauté for a while. Add the chillie powder, cumin powder, tomato and salt and fry for some time.  Add the prawns and the vinegar and mix well.  Add a little more water and cook till the gravy is slightly thick and the prawns are cooked. Serve with rice or bread.

This Recipe is featured in my Cookery Book ANGLO-INDIAN CUISINE - A LEGACY OF FLAVOURS FROM THE PAST. 

ANGLO-INDIAN PLAIN PEPPER WATER

ANGLO-INDIAN PLAIN PEPPER WATER

Pepper water ( Rasam in local parlance)  invariably forms part of the afternoon meal in Anglo-Indian Homes. It’s usually had with plain white rice and accompanied by either a meat, poultry, or a seafood dish that is generally a dry fry. Pepper water should always be of a watery consistency. Since its good digestive as well, some people like to drink a cup of pepper water after a meal. Here is a simple step by step Recipe for preparing tasty Anglo-Indian Pepper Water. This recipe is featured in my Recipe Book ANGLO-INDIAN CUISINE - A LEGACY OF FLAVOURS FROM THE PAST. 

Serves 6 Preparation Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

2 large tomatoes chopped

1 teaspoon pepper powder  

1 teaspoon chillie powder

1 teaspoon cumin powder

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

½ teaspoon coriander powder

Salt to taste

½ cup tamarind juice extracted from a small ball of tamarind or 2 teaspoons tamarind paste   

Cook all the above with 3 or 4 cups of water in a vessel on high heat till it boils. Reduce the heat and cook on low heat for about 5 or 6 minutes. Season as follows with the under mentioned ingredients which should be used whenever a dish is to be seasoned/ tempered.

FOR THE TEMPERING / SEASONING:

I small onion sliced

2 red chilies broken into bits

1 teaspoon chopped garlic crushed roughly

½ teaspoon mustard seeds

A few curry leaves

2 teaspoons oil

Heat the oil in a suitable vessel and add the mustard seeds. When they begin to splutter, add the curry leaves, onion, crushed garlic and red chilies and sauté for a few minutes.  Pour the cooked pepper water into this and simmer for 2 minutes.  Turn off the heat.  Serve hot with rice and any dry side dish such as Meat Pepper Fry, Meat Jalfrazie, Chicken Fry, Fried Fish or Prawns or a piece of fried Salt fish 

LIVER AND ONION FRY

A simple Anglo-Indian Dish. The sliced onions enhance the flavour and taste of the diced sauteed liver. It can be served as a side dish with Steamed Rice and Pepper water or Dhal or a starter / snack as liver on toast which was the rage during the British Colonial Raj. It tastes best when served 'Sizzling Hot'. By the way, even Doctors  recommend eating liver, as its rich in Iron, Copper, Minerals, Vitamins especially Vitamins A and B 12 for those suffering from anemia and low BP

LIVER AND ONION FRY 

Serves 6   Preparation Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

½ kg lamb / mutton /beef  / Chicken liver sliced thinly

4 large onions sliced

1 teaspoon chillie powder

1 teaspoon pepper powder 

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

2 tablespoons oil

1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste

Salt to taste

1 teaspoon cumin powder

½ teaspoon coriander powder

Wash the liver well. Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the onions lightly. 

Add the sliced liver, ginger garlic paste, salt turmeric powder, chillie powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and pepper powder and mix well. 

Cover and simmer on low heat till the liver is cooked.  

Add a little water while cooking if gravy is required.  

Serve hot with Rice and Pepper Water, or as a side dish with Toast or bread.