ANGLO-INDIAN CUISINE - A LEGACY OF FLAVOURS FROM THE PAST- The Hindu News Paper 21st November 2012

Feature on my new book ANGLO-INDIAN CUISINE - A LEGACY OF FLAVOURS FROM THE PAST  in the Hindu Newspaper on the 21st  November 2012

PIGS IN BLANKETS / SAUSAGES WRAPPED IN BACON

PIGS IN BLANKETS  / SAUSAGES WRAPPED IN BACON

 "Pigs in Blankets" refers to small sausages wrapped in bacon. They are a traditional accompaniment tor trimming  to Roast Turkey or Chicken for Christmas dinner.Strips of bacon are wound around these small sausages and they are then wrapped in a sheet of pastry or a thin pancake strip and deep fried in oil or baked in an oven. They can also served as appetizers or starters at a Partry.

Here is an old recipe for PIGS IN BLANKET

Ingredients

10 pork sausages cut in half or 20 small or cocktail sausages

10 slices / rashers of Bacon cut in half

10 small pastry sheets / puff pastry or 10 small thin pancakes cut into one inch strips

Wrap each sausage first with the bacaon strips then the pastry sheets / pan cake strips in such a way that only the middle of the sausage is wrapped around it securely leaving  both ends exposed. If necessary secure each one with a toothpick

Heat sufficient oil in a pan and deep fry till golden brown. Alternately the “Pigs in Blanket” could be baked in a moderate oven for around 10 to 15 minutes.

Serve either as a starter / appetizer with tomato ketchup or mint chutney or as an accompaniment to your Turkey or chicken Roast on Christmas Day.

Colonial Pumpkin Pie

On the occasion of Thanksgiving here is an old recipe for Colonial Pumpkin Pie. Extremely easy to prepare and delicious to eat

2 cups mashed cooked pumpkin or (16 oz. can of pumpkin)
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 slightly beaten eggs
1 cup light cream
1 unbaked 9 inch pie shell

Combine pumpkin, sugar, spices and salt. Blend in the eggs and cream.

Pour intothe  pastry shell. Bake at 120 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool and Serve with Fresh cream or ice Cream 

This Recipe is from my recipe Book THE ANGLO-INDIAN FESTIVE HAMPER

LAMB MINCE POTATO CHOPS (PEPPER MINCE AND POTATO CUTLETS)

Lamb / Mutton Mince Potato Chops are not Chops in the literal sense. These wonderful "Oval Shaped" Cutlets are prepared with subtley pepper flavoured lamb / mutton mince encased in a covering of mashed potatoes and crumb fried.

Potato chops are one of the very first innovations of the Khansamas during the Colonial British Era and they have become synonomous with Anglo-Indian Cuisine.

Beef mince could be substituted for Lamb / Mutton Mince.

LAMB / MUTTON MINCE POTATO CHOPS 

(PEPPER MINCE AND POTATO CUTLETS)

Serves 6  Preparation Time 1 hour

Ingredients

½ kg finely minced mutton or lamb meat

1 medium sized onion chopped finely    

2 teaspoons pepper powder

Salt to taste

3 tablespoons oil

1 egg beaten

2 tablespoons breadcrumbs

3 large potatoes                 

Boil the potatoes, remove the skin and mash well.  Keep aside.  Wash the mince.  In a pan add the mince, onions, pepper powder and salt with a little oil and cook till the mince is dry.  Remove from heat and cool for some time. Form the mashed potatoes into even sized balls. Make a depression in the center and fill with the pepper mince. Flatten each ball to form a round cutlet. Dip in the beaten egg then roll in the breadcrumbs. Heat oil in a flat pan and shallow fry the cutlets on low heat till golden  brown on both sides.

Serve with Grilled Tomatoes and Mustard Sauce either as a starter or with Bread / Dinner Rolls

THE GRINDING STONE – AN INDESPENSIBLE PART OF LIFE IN THE OLDEN DAYS

In the olden days, cooking would take up practically the whole day since everything had to be prepared from scratch. The masalas had to be ground manually on a grinding stone and the food cooked over firewood.

The grinding stone was an indispensable appendage in every home in the olden days. It was used on a regular basis to grind the masalas or curry stuff required for the daily cooking, The grinding stone consisted of a flat granite stone about two feet in length and one foot breadth. The wet or dry ingredients were placed on this stone and another stone about 10 inches in length that was shaped like a roller or cylinder was used to grind the masalas in an up and down direction. This grinding stone was known as “Ammi Kal” in Tamil.

The top of the grinding stone had to be rough and coarse so that the masalas could be ground easily to a smooth texture. However, due to continuous grinding, the grinding stone would become smooth, and it would take longer to grind the ingredients to the required consistency. This was when the ‘Grinding Stone Tapper’ was called in to tap the grinding stone to make it rough again.

The grinding stone tapper would use a small chisel and hammer to first make small pits in a star design in the centre of the grinding stone and then continue tapping the stone with his chisel and hammer around this design till the whole surface of the grinding stone was covered with small pits very close together. He repeated the same procedure with the top stone as well. The Grinding Stone Man had his own peculiar way of calling out ‘Ammi Kalu. Ammi Kalu’  to let people know that he was coming around. 

Some houses had yet another type of grinding stone which was used to grind wet masalas and  batter for Idlis and Dosas, or rice pancakes. This grinding stone was shaped like a small barrel with a hole in the centre. The dry masalas or the soaked rice and dhal with a little water, was put into this hole and was ground to a smooth batter with another cylindrical shaped stone in a rotary movement. When these grinding stones became smooth, the Ammi Kallu man would tap this stone as well to make it coarse again.

This type of grinding stone was known as ‘Rubbu Kal’ in Tamil which meant ‘to rotate’.

Using this type of grinding stone was actually a sort of exercise and it ensured a daily work out for the grinder as the hands and upper body of the person doing the grinding was fully exercised!

This old concept of the ‘Rubbu Kal’ is used in the modern day electric grinders.

Every house also had its own pestle and mortar of undressed granite which was used for pounding small quantities of dry spices. The action of pounding the spices and making them into a smooth powder was quite therapeutic and exciting at the same time.

Man has come a long way from the Stone Age. But its so amazing to think that we have come to adapt and innovate the most primitive of man’s tools for survival and use them to make our lives easier today amongst modern inventions and technology.  

Now with all the ready-made masalas and mixes available in the market and the modern and time saving gadgets, cooking has become so much easier and faster. The old grinding stones have now been replaced by Mixers / Blenders and Grinders