BRIDGET WHITE - ANGLO-INDIAN CUISINE - THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS 24TH JAN 2015


                            

                              Back With the British Bite

Food is not unlike fashion and the old often comes back into vogue. Right now, you could say Anglo-Indian cuisine is the culinary equivalent of shift dresses, winged eyes and platform heels. The food born at the confluence of the British and Indian cooking traditions was once confined to the Anglo-Indian community, now dwindling in numbers in this country, as many leave for foreign shores. Lately, though, fare from Kolkata’s Bow Barracks, British Raj clubs and railway colonies elsewhere is enjoying the sort of popularity that causes gastro pubs, standalone restaurants and even five-star outlets to put it on their menus.

They borrowed the title of the unique food festival from the well-known glossary of colloquial Anglo-Indian words and phrases which came into use during the British rule. “We kept some of the dishes authentic, while tweaking others to turn them into bar foods,” says Chef Varun. So the popular panthras—mince-stuffed crepe rolls that are crumb-fried—stay true to the original, while the Chingree Samosa is an innovation of prawn Balchao enclosed in flaky pastry and served with mango chutney. To drink, what could be more appropriate than a gimlet or a pink gin of the kind the memsaabs may have sipped a century or more ago.
With more restaurants coming forward to showcase Anglo-Indian cuisine, Bridget White, author of seven cookbooks, including Anglo-Indian Cuisine: A Legacy of Flavours from the Past and Anglo-Indian Delicacies, is much in demand for her expertise. “While it may, on the surface, seem to be merely about adding an Indian touch to a British dish, or the other way around, Anglo-Indian food is subtle and nuanced,” says Bridget. “The combination of spices for each dish is different and must always be freshly prepared if you want to stay true to the original. Masalas are used to enhance the key ingredients, not to distract from them,” she says. Authenticity is also destroyed when too many regional flavours influence the dishes, she says, adding that these are challenges for the chefs attempting to recreate Anglo-Indian fare.
One of the recent Anglo-Indian food festivals she helped with was at the Taj West End in Bangalore, which celebrated 125 years with a series of events celebrating its British Raj origins. The hotel’s executive chef, Sandip Narang, put together a menu that included such favourites as Mulligatawny, Liver and Onions, Potato Captain and Railway Mutton Cutlet. “We also created special menus to be paired with top-of-the-drawer single malts,” says Chef Narang, who revived little-known dishes and gave others a signature twist.
Chef and restaurateur Subhankar Dhar of the award-winning Esplanade in Bangalore, while working with Bengali classics, is also a specialist in the unique cuisine of Kolkata, which has strong Anglo-Indian influences.  “Anyone growing up in Kolkata as I did, knows and loves the dishes of the Anglo-Indian community there. I remember, in particular, the amusingly titled Bubble and Squeak, Steamroller Chicken – which was flattened and crumb-fried – Bengal Lancers’ Prawn Curry and Potluck Casserole, all of which we ate in the homes of our Anglo-Indian friends,” he says. As the cuisine is still considered niche, a full-scale restaurant may not be commercially viable. “However, food festivals and special menus are a great way to celebrate these dishes,” adds Subhankar.

TAMARIND MEAT CURRY OR TANGY MEAT CURRY



TAMARIND ( PULI) MEAT CURRY OR TANGY MEAT CURRY
A delicious, finger licking meat dish that is popular in many Anglo-Indian homes  - Meat cooked in tamarind sauce. Goes well with Bread, Rice, Hoppers, Rice Pancakes, etc. 
Serves 6     Preparation Time 45 minutes
 Ingredients 
½ kg mutton or beef cut into medium size pieces     
2 big onions sliced                            
½  teaspoon coriander powder         
4 red chilies broken into bits              
2 teaspoons chillie powder
1teaspoon ginger garlic paste           
Salt to taste         
2 tablespoons oil   
1 Bay Leaf                               
½ cup thick tamarind juice


Wash the meat and mix it with the ginger garlic paste, salt, coriander powder and the chillie powder. Heat oil in a pan and fry the onions, Bay leaf and Red chillies till golden brown.  Add the meat and mix well.  Fry for a few minutes. Add sufficient water and cook on medium heat till the meat is done. Add the thick tamarind juice and mix well. Keep frying till the gravy is thick and dark brown
Serve with Rice or Bread or even hoppers 
If cooking in a Pressure cooker, switich off after 5 or 6 whistles. When the pressure dies down, mix in the thick tamarind juice and simmer till the gravy is sufficiently thick.