ANGLO-INDIAN SAFFRON YELLOW COCONUT RICE, MINCE BALL CURRY (BAD WORD CURRY) AND DEVIL CHUTNEY (HELL'S FLAME CHUTNEY)
Anglo-Indian Lunches on Saturdays and Sundays are always special. Saturday lunch is invariably our Anglo-Indian favourite combination of Mince Ball Curry, Coconut Rice and Devil Chutney. In my mind’s eye I can still taste the Mince ball curry and Coconut Rice that my mum prepared when we were children in KGF. My mum had a procedure for everything. The onions had to be thinly sliced and the green chillies and coriander leaves chopped finely. Even the tomatoes for the curry were scalded first and the skin removed, then chopped into bits and strained through a sieve, so that only the pulp was used and the seeds and skin thrown away! Our Ayah would grind all the curry stuff (masalas) on the grinding stone that was required for the curry every day, as in those days everything was prepared fresh and from scratch. The readymade curry powders were avoided as much as possible.
The mince for the Mince Ball Curry, had to be just right.
So the meat (either beef or mutton) was brought home fresh from the Butcher
Shop, cut into pieces, washed and then minced at home using our own meat-mincing
machine, which was fixed to the kitchen table. (This was a compulsory kitchen
appendage in all Anglo-Indian Homes in the olden days together with the coconut
scraper that was fixed on the opposite side of the kitchen work table). The freshly ground meat was then mixed with
the required ingredients, formed into even sized balls, and slowly dropped into
the boiling curry and left to simmer in a rich coriander and coconut gravy till the curry reached the
right consistency. This Ball Curry was /
is also known as ‘BAD WORD CURRY’.
The word ‘Ball’ was considered a slang or bad word in the olden days and
the elders wouldn’t utter a slang word for fear of committing a sin. Hence the
name ‘Bad Word curry’
The
Saffron yellow Coconut Rice was always prepared with freshly squeezed coconut
milk and butter. Sometimes, two fresh coconuts would be broken and then scraped
or grated. The scraped/grated coconut had to be soaked in hot water and the
thick milk extracted. For every cup of rice double the quantity of coconut milk
was the right proportion; a little more would make the rice ‘pish pash’ or over
cooked, and a little less would mean that the rice wouldn’t be cooked well. Sovery
accurate measurements were required. The raw rice and coconut milk would then
be simmered with ghee or butter, saffron or turmeric and a few whole spices of
cinnamon, cardamom and cloves till the rice was cooked perfectly. This coconut rice formed the fragrant yet
light base of our Saturday Special Anglo-Indian meal.
The Yellow Coconut Rice and Mince
Ball Curry was always accompanied with a typical Anglo-Indian Sauce or Relish
known as Devil Chutney. Devil Chutney is
a fiery red chutney or sauce. Its bright red colour often misleads people to
think that is a very pungent and spicy dish. It is actually a sweet and sour
sauce, and only slightly pungent. The vinegar and sugar used in its preparation
react with the onion and red chilli to produce the bright red colour. Devil
Chutney is also known as “Hell fire or
Hell’s flame chutney or Fiery Mother-in-law’s Tongue Chutney” due to its
vivid colour.
I would now like to share my
mum’s recipes for these three special dishes. They are very easy to prepare. I
have adapted her recipe to suit present day available ingredients and masala
powders. The recipes are from my book ANGLO-INDIAN CUISINE – A LEGACY OF FLAVOURS
FROM THE PAST.
SAFFRON
YELLOW COCONUT RICE
Serves 6 Preparation Time 45 minutes
Ingredients
1 pack of coconut milk diluted
with water to get 4 cups of milk or 1 fresh coconut grated and milk extracted
to get 4 cups of diluted milk
2 cups of Raw Rice or Basmati
Rice
½
teaspoon turmeric powder or a few strands of saffron
Salt to taste
4 tablespoons butter or ghee
3 cloves, 3 cardamoms, 3 small
sticks of cinnamon
Heat ghee in a large vessel or
Rice cooker and fry the spices for a few minutes. Add the washed rice, salt,
turmeric and 4 cups of coconut milk and cook till the rice is done.
Coconut Rice is best served with
Ball Curry or Chicken curry and Devil Chutney.
ANGLO-INDIAN
MINCE BALL CURRY (BAD WORD CURRY)
(Mince Koftas in a coconut based
gravy)
Serves 6 Preparation time 45 minutes
Ingredients for the Curry
3 large onions chopped
1 sprig curry leaves
3 teaspoons chilli powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
3 teaspoons ginger garlic paste
3 big tomatoes pureed or chopped
finely
½ cup ground coconut paste
1 teaspoon spice powder or garam
masala
Salt to taste
3 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon coriander leaves
chopped finely for garnishing
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
Ingredients for the Mince Balls
(Koftas)
½ kg minced meat beef or mutton
(fine mince)
½ teaspoon spice powder or garam
masala powder
3 green chilies chopped
A small bunch of coriander leaves
chopped finely
Salt to taste
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
Heat oil in a large pan and fry
the onions till golden brown.
Add the ginger garlic paste and
the curry leaves and fry for some time.
Now add the chili powder,
coriander powder, spice powder or garam masala powder, turmeric powder and
coconut, and fry for a few minutes till the oil separates from the mixture.
Now add the tomato puree and salt
and simmer for some time. Add sufficient water and bring to boil.
Meanwhile mix the spice powder,
salt, chopped green chilies, turmeric powder and coriander leaves with the
mince and form into small balls.
When the curry is boiling slowly,
drop in the mince balls carefully one by one.
Simmer on slow heat for 20
minutes till the balls are cooked and the gravy is not too thick.
Serve hot with Coconut Rice and
Devil Chutney.
DEVIL
CHUTNEY (HELL’S FLAME CHUTNEY)
Ingredients
2 medium size onions chopped
roughly
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
1 tablespoon raisins (optional)
2 teaspoons sugar
A pinch of salt
2 tablespoons vinegar
Grind all the above ingredients
together till smooth. If chutney is too thick, add a little more vinegar.
Serve with Coconut Rice.
