Raj legacy in Indian cuisine
By Melvyn Lobo

MUCH is made of the influences of the British Raj on the Indian education system, legal practice, art and culture, dressing habits and so on. Rarely, if ever, is a thought given to the British influence on India’s culinary tradition.

Significantly though, it was the lure of food, and specifically spices, that brought the British to the subcontinent. In 1599, the exorbitant price of pepper in London prompted a group of merchants to form the East India Company.

But initially, it was Indian cooking that the visitors appreciated. Loaded with cumin, carawa, ginger, pepper, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, the food was considered ideal for the hot climatic conditions in India.

Problems arose when these spices and condiments were integrated with preparations of red meat — particularly pork. They went well with the palate, but were tough on the tummy. The gastro-intestinal disorders early British travellers wrote about could be traced to this cause.

The so-called continental dishes Indians are served in star hotels these days can be traced back to the time when the settlers stopped the indiscriminate use of spices and toned down their cooking by adopting recipes from back home with minor changes.

Old timers in Calcutta — once the capital of British India — fondly remember Firpos Restaurant for its food that matched the best in England. The menu changed every day and always consisted of soup, accompanied by dinner rolls, followed by two options: roast chicken or mutton.

The fish course that was usually fried or steamed, was accompanied by finger chips and Russian salad. Vegetarian courses were totally unheard of. Dessert would normally be caramel custard, lemon or chocolate souffle, or fruit salad with cream or custard.

Ice creams were another introduction by the British. In the old days, these used to be normally accompanied by delicious wafer biscuits. Cheese and biscuits and coffee with milk or cream would follow towards the end.

This tradition is still followed by top-rating hotels like The Grand in Calcutta, The Oberoi in Bombay, Savoy in Ooty, Windsor Manor Sheraton in Bangalore, Claridges in Delhi, besides the many clubs and gymkhanas the British set up in their time.

Before Britishers came, meals were traditionally eaten off banana leaves by commoners, off brass platters by the affluent and off silver and gold plates by the nobility. The advent of the British brought in table and chairs, napkins, cutlery, chinaware and so on.

Yet another major British influence can be seen in the breakfast menu. Today, the English breakfast is considered most ideal in India. Omelettes and fried eggs, eaten with fried bacon and accompanied by toast, butter, marmalade and other preserves, remain the most popular.

Other popular dishes directly connected to the British include ball curry and rice, chicken liver on toast, kedgeree, vegetable foogath, ‘hurry scurry’ or French toast, as well as desserts like banana fritters, baked or caramel custard, semolina and cabinet pudding.

Researchers often point out that the origin of Indo-Anglican cooking could be traced to the curry-and-rice formulations of southern India, giving rise to curried meat dishes in mild spices. These dishes were a cross between British stews and highly spiced southern curries and came to be referred as ‘curry’, derived from the Tamil word kari, meaning sauce.

The curry wave followed the Britisher wherever he went with his South Indian khansamah or cook. To simplify the making of these curries, a masala (which was a combination of ground spices) was created and this was the ‘curry powder’.

The British also popularised the bread — originally introduced by the Portugese. A variety of rolls, muffins, biscuits and loaves were added. Bread has also been adapted to Indian cooking in various ways — as pao, double-roti, naan and roomali.

From eastern India, the only noteworthy recipe of British origin is the smoked hilsa — a delicious method of cooking Bengal’s most famous fish by which its bones seemingly disappear. It is believed that a memsahib, determined not be intimidated by the hilsa’s bones, discovered this method of cooking.

The British are also credited with inventing the kathi kabab. It is said that they found eating kababs with parathas quite a messy affair and so decided to wrap a bread around the kabab, making it rather like a pancake which could be eaten with knife and fork.

Today fast-food eateries all over India are rolling these out as a simple take-away meal, which could be eaten without dirtying the fingers! (MF)