Taste of a bygone era
Rasam may have been called ‘pepper water’ in the days of the British Raj and it is this south Indian staple that lead to what we now know as Mulligatawny soup, but that’s not the only imprint that the British left on us. Glance through menus of a couple of eateries that have been around for more than five
decades and chances are that you are likely to find dishes like Railway mutton curry, double onion chicken curry, dak bungalow curry or even desserts like vanilla pudding and peanut fudge.
Bridget White-Kumar, a well-known cookbook author and blogger who is an expert on Anglo-Indian food, says, “This kind of cooking combines the best of the British dishes along with some quintessential Indian ingredients. For example, you have a western staple like meatball curry that’s made by adding fenugreek leaves to it. It might be a simple ingredient but it gives the entire dish a unique flavour.” Experts believe that there is a growing interest in cuisines of the past these days.
“A lot of people these days are interested in what their ancestors used to eat, they want to know the origins of what they now call ‘home food’. Recently, during Madras week we ran an Anglo-Indian food special and the response was fantastic, guests wanted to know more about all-time favourites like spicy meat kababs, caramel custard, potato mince cutlets, etc. They were quite fascinated to learn about the origins of these dishes,” says chef Solomon Irudayaraj.
According to those who have closely worked with Anglo-Indian food, the ‘foreign’ influences aren’t limited to British alone.
“There are traces of Portugese, Dutch and even French cuisine in this. And all these are countries that had established rule in India ages ago, they might have left but their culinary heritage is here,” says the chef.
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