https://www.foodlovers.in/videos/2230-2/

ANGLO-INDIAN CHICKEN PEPPER FRY

CHICKEN PEPPER FRY

Serves 6   Preparation Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 kg chicken cut into medium size pieces      

3 large onions sliced finely

2 teaspoons pepper powder                            

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

1/2 teaspoon coriander powder

2 or 3 tablespoons oil                                              

Salt to taste

Heat oil in a pan and fry the onions lightly. Add the chicken and mix in the pepper powder, tumeric powder, Coriander powder and salt. Stir fry till the pieces become firm. Add ½  cup of water and cook on low heat till the chicken is tender and semi dry. Garnish with a slit green chillie or two

(Alternately, the chicken can be par boiled with a little water and then added to the sautéed onions and pepper)

Serve as a starter or a side dish with either rice or bread

CURRIED TROTTERS OR TROTTERS IN GRAVY - AN ANGLO-INDIAN DELICACY

CURRIED TROTTERS OR TROTTERS IN GRAVY

Mutton or Lamb Trotters are the Hoofs of the Goat or Sheep. (Paya in Hindi). The trotters(preferably the front ones) are usually slow cooked on low heat for hours (usually overnight) on the stove. However, the trotters are nowadays mostly cooked in a pressure cooker. In the olden days when people used wood or coal as a cooking fuel, women would start cooking this dish the night before and slow cook it on hot coals and embers until the morning when the Trotters would be tender and delicious with the meat falling off the bone. Trotters could be made into a delicious soup to be eaten with crusty bread at breakfast food in the winter months or as a delicious curry dish at lunch time with steamed white rice

RECIPE FOR CURRIED TROTTERS OR TROTTERS IN GRAVY

Serves 6   Preparation Time 1 hour

Ingredients

8 Trotters either lamb or goat preferably the front ones 

2 large tomatoes pureed

3 teaspoons chillie powder

2 large onions chopped

1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste

1 teaspoon coriander powder

3 tablespoons oil

Salt to taste

A small bunch of coriander leaves chopped.

Wash the trotters well and cook with sufficient water and a little salt in a pressure cooker till soft.

Heat the oil in a pan and lightly sauté the onions. Add the cooked trotters, ginger garlic paste, chillie powder, coriander powder, tomato puree and mix well. Cook first on high heat then on low heat for half an hour till the trotters are well cooked.  Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with rice or bread or even dosas or hoppers.

COLONIAL SLOW COOKED CHICKEN IN A RED WINE MARINADE

COLONIAL SLOW COOKED CHICKEN IN A RED WINE MARINADE

(This delicious and simple dish is a legacy of the French to Colonial Anglo-Indian Cuisine. Originally, it was a Rooster that was cooked with a dash of Red Wine. A lip smacking simple dish with subtle flavours)

Serves 6      Preparation Time 1 hour

Ingredients

1 kg Chicken cut into medium size pieces

1 teaspoon cumin powder

3 dry red chillies broken into bits

1 teaspoon garlic and ginger paste

3 tomatoes chopped

2 onions sliced finely

1 teaspoon all spice powder  or garam masala powder  

1 teaspoon ground pepper powder

½ teaspoon whole pepper corns 

3 tablespoons oil

¾ to 1cup Dry Red Wine of your choice or homemade grape wine

Salt to taste

Marinate the chicken with all the above ingredients for about one hour.

Transfer to a suitable pan and simmer on low heat till the chicken is tender and the gravy is thick.

Just before serving add 2 teaspoons butter and mix well.

Serve with bread or any lightly flavoured  rice.

Note: Alternately the chicken could be slow roasted in an oven at 180 C till tender. 

ANGLO-INDIAN CHICKEN VINDALOO

ANGLO-INDIAN CHICKEN VINDALOO

 A simple and easy recipe for an Anglo-Indian Chicken Vindaloo usually prepared atleast once a week in Anglo-Indian homes for Dinner. Goes well with Bread or Dinner Rolls or any Indian Bread such as Chappatis, Hoppers etc. 

Serves 6   Time required: 45 minutes

Ingredients  

1 kg chicken jointed and cut into medium pieces 

3 big tomatoes pureed                                                 

2 big onions chopped

3 medium potatoes peeled and cut into quarters        

3 tablespoons oil

Salt to taste                                                                  

1 teaspoon mustard powder or paste  

2 teaspoons chillie powder                                           

1 teaspoon cumin powder

2 teaspoons garlic paste

½ cup vinegar                                                               

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

Heat oil in a suitable pan or pressure cooker and fry the onions till golden brown.  Add the garlic paste and fry well. Add the chicken, chillie powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder, mustard powder and fry well on medium heat, till the oil separates from the mixture. Add the tomato puree and salt and fry for some more time. Now, add the potatoes and vinegar and mix well.  Add more water depending on how much gravy is required and cook till done.

(If cooking in a pressure cooker, turn off the heat after 2 or 3 whistles). The dish should be a lovely red colour. Serve with hoppers, bread or chapattis.

A SIMPLE ANGLO-INDIA LUNCH – White Steamed Rice, Simple Fried Fish, Raddish and Dol Curry (Red Lentils), Plain Pepper Water, Beans Foogath and Tomato Sambal

A SIMPLE ANGLO-INDIA LUNCH – White Steamed Rice, Simple Fried Fish, Raddish and Dol Curry (Red Lentils), Plain Pepper Water, Beans Foogath and Tomato Sambal

PLAIN WHITE STEAMED RICE

 Serves 6       Time required: 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup raw rice

2 cups water

A pinch of salt

 Wash the rice and soak in 2 cups of water and a pinch of salt for 15 minutes. Place on heat and bring to boil. Reduce heat and cook on low heat till done and all the water is absorbed. Cover and allow to stand  for 15 minutes before serving. This is the standard plain steamed rice eaten every day. Serve with any curry, dhal or pepper water.

SIMPLE FRIED FISH

 Serves 6     Time required: 45 minutes

Ingredients

8 or 10 slices of any good fleshy fish

2 teaspoons chillie powder

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

Wash the fish and marinate with the chillie powder, salt, and turmeric powder for about 15 minutes.

Heat the oil in a flat pan and shallow fry the pieces about 4 at a time till nice and brown on both sides.  Serve with bread and chips.

This is also a good accompaniment to pepper water and rice.  It could also be served as a snack. (For a more crispy fish, coat the fish slices with a little semolina or rice flour)

 RADISH AND DOL (RED LENTILS / DHAL) CURRY 

Serves 6      Time Required:1 hour

Ingredients

1 cup Red Lentils or Masoor Dhal

4 long white radish peeled and cut into 2 inch piece

 2 teaspoons chillie powder

1 teaspoon coriander powder

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon cumin powder

2 tomatoes chopped

1 teaspoon crushed garlic (optional)

Salt to taste

For the seasoning: 1 teaspoon mustard, 2 red chilies broken into bits and a few curry leaves and 1 tablespoon oil.

Wash the Red Lentils / masoor dhal and cook it along with the tomato, chillie powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, garlic and radish with sufficient water in a pressure cooker.  When done open the cooker, add salt and some more water and mix well.

In another vessel, heat oil and add the mustard, broken red chilies and crushed garlic and fry for some time. When the mustard starts spluttering, pour in the cooked dhal and mix   well. Serve with rice

PLAIN PEPPER WATER

A simple and easy recipe to prepare the classic Anglo-Indian  Pepper Water. Pepper Water is an important dish on the Anglo-Indian lunch table and is invariably prepared many times a week. Pepper water can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days without spoiling due to the tamarind used in its preparation.

 Serves 6     Time required: 30 minutes

Ingredients

2 large tomatoes chopped

1 teaspoon ground black pepper / 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 1 teaspoon tamarind paste                

 Cook all the above ingredients with 3 or 4 cups of water in a suitable vessel on high heat till it boils. Reduce the heat and cook on low heat for about 10 minutes. Temper the Pepper Water, as follows

 To temper the Pepper Water: Heat 2 teaspoons oil in another vessel, add a teaspoon of mustard seeds. When they begin to splutter add a sliced onion, a few curry leaves, two broken red chilies and a teaspoon of chopped crushed garlic and sauté for a few minutes, till the onions turn light brown. Pour the pepper water into the seasoning and mix well. Turn off the heat.  Serve hot with rice and any meat side dish.

 Note: The pepper water can be prepared by using fresh red chilies cumin seeds coriander seeds, peppercorns ground in a mixer instead of the powders.

 BEANS FOOGATH (STIR FRY BEANS)

 Serves 6     Time required: 30 minutes

Ingredients

½ kg string beans chopped finely

½ cup grated coconut 

3 red chilies broken into bits

¼ teaspoon mustard seeds

A few curry leaves

Boil the chopped beans and carrots for about 5 minutes with some water.  Strain and keep aside.  Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. When they splutter add the red chilies and curry leaves and fry for a few seconds. Now toss in the boiled beans.  Add salt and coconut and mix well. Stir-fry for a few minutes and then take down.

TOMATO SAMBAL

 Ingredients

2 big tomatoes chopped

3 green chilies chopped

½ teaspoon cumin powder

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1 medium size onion chopped

Salt to taste

A pinch of sugar

Heat oil in a pan and fry the onions and garlic for a few minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes, cumin powder, salt, sugar and green chilies and fry till the tomatoes are reduced to a pulp.  Season with mustard seeds, red chilies and curry leaves.

COLONIAL ANGLO-INDIAN CUISINE AT COCHRANE PLACE KURSEONG

COCHRANE PLACE, KURSEONG

I've just got back from the most amazing Food Event at the launch of the Gourmet Week at Cochrane Place Kurseong in the Darjeeling Hills. Conceived and curated by Dr Ashish Chopra who is India's top Culinary Historian, Author, Gourmand, T V Host, Flavour Analyst and Travel Writer. The launch of the Cochrane Place Gourmet Club, was a Week long festival celebrating the love of food. (Feb 14th to 19th). Cochrane Place Kurseong is the restored stately British Colonial home of late Percy Cochrane the District Magistrate of Kurseong. Perched on a ridge surrounded by lush tea gardens the building is set in stone, log and cast iron splendour offering panoramic views of the Himalayas, it was the perfect setting for a week of scrumptious Food.

I’m just repeating the words of Dr Ashish Chopra "Its all happening at COCHRANE PLACE,KURSEONG in the midst of Tea country this month .. Bridget White Kumar weaves her magic with Anglo Indian cuisine, Sohini Basu, Cordon Bleu Pastry chef does magic with her cup cakes, Susmit Bose, the legendary Urban folk musician enthralls us with his golden voice, Ramaa Shanker cooks up some soul food of tasty Vegetarian Dishes, Kaveri Ponnapa Kambiranda, the celebrity author, Anthropologist and Gourmand teaches us how to make a Coorg special and one of my favourites Pandi curry, Avijit Dutt, the grand theatre man and actor shares his travel and culinary experience, Yours truly Ashish Chopra musters up dishes from my forthcoming book Tribal cuisines of India and introduces the black bird kadaknath. GROVER ZAMPA joins in the fun and gets us to taste their wines and pair them with respective cuisines”

“On day One, our lunch began beautifully with a group of British Heritage Railway enthusiasts dawning upon Cochrane Place to savour a specially created Anglo Indian Railway menu served during the days of the Raj... With Bridget White Kumar cooking and Dhiraj Arora in assistance taking over the kitchen and mustering up a splendid meal consisting of Railway Chicken Curry, Egg Vindaloo, Railway Vegetable Cutlets, Vegetable Jal Frezi,Country Captain Beans, Mulligatawny Soup with a twist and the most awesome Pineapple upside down cake baked by Sohini Basu along with a Beetroot Carrot Halwa”

In like manner t he Menus were specially crafted each day to revisit the days of Colonial Raj Cuisine. A 2nd World War Army Camp Menu was specially created to honour 2 Army Generals of the Area who were the special guests at dinner such as the Army Camp Soup, Col Standhursts Lamb Curry, Bengal Lancers Mince Cutlets, etc. Other Colonial Anglo-Indian Dishes such as Pork Vindaloo. Dak Bungalow Mutton Curry, Grandma’s Country Captain, Inspection Bungalow Vegetable Stew, Chillie Pork Fry, Stuffed Aubergines, Brown Sahib Soup, Okra and Potato Pepper fry, Vegetable Jal Frazie Shepherd’s Pie, Vegetarian Cottage Pie, A variety of baked dishes, etc, etc, were on the menu and thoroughly enjoyed by the guests. The Chicken and Lamb Roasts were marinated in a Grover Red Wine Marinade and the Stews and soups were given a liberal dash of Grover White Wines. To round off all the Hot Food, we stuffed ourselves with decadent Desserts prepared by Sohini Basu and her two talented assistants from Mrs, Magpies Kolkotta Apart from the Gourmet Dinners, the Chefs and Kitchen staff of Cochrane Place dished up some delicious local dishes, Bengali Food and Chinese Dishes. They excelled in feeding us sumptuous Breakfasts, Snacks and Short Eats besides the endless cups of hot tea in different flavours to offset the cold weather. We were well and truly stuffed !!!!!

Once again in the words of Dr Ashish Chopra ”They say the success of any event is how good it has gone. ..In this case it was fantastic bonding ..A connect of each one of us ..Be it food. .music... great conversations. Spiritual ..emotional .. This was one event where we learnt from each other. .Our happiness quotient was 100 percent. .. We shared.. we cared.. and we are parting only to bond. .Thank you Susmit Bose Bridget White Kumar Kaveri Ponnapa Kambiranda Ramaa Shanker Sanjeev Pahwa Pooja Kapoor Narendra Vinni Gupta Dhiraj Arora Priti Sen Arora Prescilla Zinyu Sohini Basu aunty Rita dhiren gulati Mona Maliah Bholanath Majee Ballabh Maliah Naresh Ponappa and everyone. This list is endless. . Sanjeev Kumar Sharma Shalini Sharma Suraj Arora Malay Kumaryou were surely missed. .. We shall be back at Cochrane place very very soon. .. watch out for details”

Dhiraj Arora, Priti Sen Arora, Ashish Chopra, Ramaa Shanker, Sohini Basu, Prescilla Zinyu, Pooja Kapoor, Susmit Bose, Bholanath Majee, Kaveri Ponnapa Kambiranda,

ANGLO-INDIAN VEGETARIAN DISHES - DOL AND GREENS CURRY (DHAL AND SPINACH CURRY ), PEPPER WATER AND BEANS FOOGATH

ANGLO-INDIAN VEGETARIAN DISHES  - DOL AND GREENS CURRY  (DHAL AND SPINACH CURRY ), PEPPER WATER AND BEANS FOOGATH

                  1. DOL AND GREENS CURRY  (DHAL AND SPINACH CURRY )

 Serves 6            Time Required: 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup Tur Dhal ,

1 cup of spinach chopped finely,  

2 green chilies slit lengthwise,

1  teaspoon chillie powder,

1 teaspoon coriander powder,                     

½ teaspoon turmeric powder,

2 tomatoes chopped,

1 onion chopped,

1 teaspoon crushed garlic,

Salt to taste

For the Tempering: 1 teaspoon mustard, 2 red chilies broken into bits, a few curry leaves and 1 tablespoon oil.

 Wash the dhal and cook it along with the greens, tomato, chillie powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and onion with sufficient water in a pressure cooker. 

 When done open the cooker, add salt and  a little more water and mash well. 

In another vessel, heat oil and add the mustard, broken red chilies and curry leaves and fry for some time. When the mustard starts spluttering, pour in the cooked dhal. Serve with rice.

                                2. BEANS FOOGATH

Serves 6   Time Required: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

300 grams chopped string beans,

1 onion chopped finely,

1teaspoon mustard seeds,

2 green chillies chopped finely,

1 teaspoon chopped ginger,

2 tablespoon cooking oil,

2 tablespoons grated coconut,

4 or 5 curry leaves,

Salt to taste

 Heat oil in a suitable pan and add the mustard seeds. When they begin to splutter add the curry leaves, chopped onion, chopped green chillies and ginger. Fry lightly for a few minutes. Add the chopped beans and salt and mix well. Add ½ cup of water and cook covered on low heat till the beans are tender but firm and the water evaporates. Mix in the grated coconut. Serve as a side dish.

                                          3. PEPPER WATER

Serves 6   Time Required: 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:

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 sutiable 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 meat side dish.

 Note: The pepper water can be prepared by using fresh red chilies, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and peppercorns ground in a mixer or blender instead of the powders.

CHICKEN LIVER AND GIZZARDS PEPPER FRY - AN OLD COLONIAL ANGLO-INDIAN DISH

CHICKEN LIVER AND GIZZARDS PEPPER FRY

A simple and tasty dish that is quite versatile. It could be served as a starter or snack or as a side dish with rice and curry. It tastes amazing with Bread and Fried Potatoes

Serves 6    Time required: 45 minutes

Ingredients

½ kg chicken livers and gizzards cut into pieces

2 large onions sliced finely

2 or 3 teaspoons ground black pepper / pepper powder

 2 green chillies slit

Salt to taste

3 tablespoons oil

Rinse the chicken gizzards and livers well. Boil them with a little water and salt till well cooked.

Heat oil in a pan and fry the onions till golden brown.  Add the cooked gizzards and liver together with the slit green chillies, pepper powder and salt and keep frying on low heat till dry and brown.  Serve as a snack or side dish with bread or rice and fried potatoes 

COLONIAL ANGLO-INDIAN CUISINE - TRAINING WORKSHOP AT THE TAJ VIVANTA WHITEFIELD BANGALORE

Training Workshop on Colonial Anglo-Indian cuisine at the Taj Vivanta Whitefield, Bangalore
Railway Lamb Curry, Mint and Corriander Lamb Chops, Grandma's Country Captain Chicken, Colonial Pepper Chicken, Dak Bungalow Chicken Curry, Mullagatwany Soup, Bengal Lancers Shrimp Curry, Kedegeree, etc etc

ANGLO-INDIAN GINGER WINE - ALSO KNOWN AS OT (THE OTHER THING)

GINGER WINE

 Ginger Wine is also known as OT or the ‘OTHER THING’ – the temperance drink for teetotalers. In the olden days, temperance drinks were not only seen as delicious non- alcoholic tipple, but were also thought to have health benefits. Ginger wine was advocated as a good digestive and for soothing nausea but also good for sore throats and colds.

(Ginger Wine and other temperance drinks were actually served in special Temperance Bars in the early 20^th century. These Temperance Bars advocated abstinence from alcohol, often asked their patrons to sign a no-booze pledge and renounce the demon drink!)

Ingredients

 200 grams fresh ginger

1 kg white sugar

6 limes or lemons (extract the juice)

3 pieces cinnamon

1dry red chillie (remove the seeds)

3 litres water

Peel and wash the ginger and cut into thin slices. Make lime juice and keep aside. In a large clean vessel put all the above ingredients together with the water and bring to boil. Boil for at least 2 hours first on high then on low heat till the decoction is slightly thick. Remove from heat and add the lime juice. When cold, strain through a thin cloth. Bottle the wine and use whenever required.