APPLE PANCAKES for PANCAKE TUESDAY OR SHROVE TUESDAY

APPLE PANCAKES
Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Tuesday is the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, i.e. the day before the commencement of the season of Lent leading up to Easter Sunday. Lent is a time of fast and abstinence and of making sacrifices and giving things up. The Church liturgy laid much emphasis on eating very plain food and refraining from food that would give pleasure during the period of lent. In many cultures, this meant no meat, dairy, or eggs. 

So in earlier times, Shrove Tuesday became the last chance for people to indulge themselves in good food on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday and to make use of the items of foods that were not allowed during Lent. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, Shrove Tuesday is more commonly known as Pancake Tuesday or Pancake Day, as it is customary to eat PANCAKES on this day. Pancakes thus became associated with the day preceding Lent, because it was a way to use up all the rich foodstuffs in the house such as eggs, milk, and sugar, before the fasting season of the 40 days of Lent began.

APPLE PAN CAKES

Serves 2 

Preparation time 30 minutes

1cup flour all purpose flour (maida)                       

2 eggs beaten well

2 tablespoons sugar                   

½ teaspoon vanilla essence

1 tablespoon butter or ghee       

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon baking powder   

1 cup finely chopped apple      

1 cup milk

Mix all the ingredients together to get a thin smooth batter without lumps. Heat a non- stick frying pan. When hot wipe all over with a piece of cloth dipped in a little oil. Pour a ladle of batter in the pan with a swirling motion and then shake the pan so that the entire pan is covered. Cook on both sides and remove. Serve hot with Jam or honey and sliced apples for filling 

For other Fruit Pan cakes, add finely chopped fruit such as banana, pineapple, etc., to the batter and make the pancakes as above.

MULLIGATAWNY SOUP

Mulligatawny Soup which originated during the days of the Raj as a  ‘Curried Soup” was actually the anglicized version of the Tamil “Melligu -Thani”. (Melligu meaning pepper and Thani meaning water). As the name suggests it was originally a watery soup with the addition of Pepper.  However in course of time a lot of other ingredients such as coconut, meat and other spices were added to give it a completely different flavour. This soup is a tasty meal in itself.

Serves 6        Time required: 1 hour

Ingredients

1 teaspoon chillie powder

2 teaspoons ground black pepper /  / pepper powder

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1 teaspoon coriander powder

1 teaspoon crushed garlic

2 big onions sliced

3 tablespoons yellow lentils 

1 cup coconut paste or coconut milk

Salt to taste

Cook all the ingredients with 6 to 8 cups of water in a large vessel on high heat till it reaches boiling point. Lower the heat and simmer for at least one hour till the soup is nice and thick.  Alternately, pressure cook for about 15 minutes on medium heat. Add 2 teaspoons of butter while still hot. Garnish with mint leaves. Serve with bread or rice.

Note: Chicken, Mutton or Lamb could be added if desired. 

MEAT GLACE OR MEAT GLAZIE

MEAT GLASSY / GLAZIE / GLACIE. 
Meat Glassy or Meat Glacie / Glaze, also known as Fruity Meat Curry or Sweet Mango Beef Curry is an old Colonial Dish. It was probably one of the first experiments of the Khansamas / cooks during Colonial times where a spicy curry dish was made more palatable with the addition of Sweet Mango Chutney or chunks of fruit such mango or pineapple which reduced the spiciness of the dish giving it a slightly spicy - sweetish - tangy taste. Major Grey’s Mango Chutney, Col. Skinner’s Mango Chutney and the Bengal Mango Chutney were normally used in this Anglo-Indian dish in the olden days.The term ‘Glassy or Glazie’ was a misrepresentation of the word ‘Glace’ by the cooks in the olden days. (Glacé is a rich brown stock obtained by browning bones and vegetables in a roasting pan before combining them in a pot with water to get a thick rich stock with a more pronounced flavor and deeper color).  

Serves 6   Time required: 1 hour

Ingredients

 ½ kg boneless Beef or Mutton cut into steaks 

3 large onions sliced finely

2 tablespoons Sweet Mango Chutney (any brand) or 1 cup of mango or pineapple chunks 

2 large tomatoes chopped finely or 2 tablespoons tomato puree 

2 teaspoons ginger garlic paste

2 tablespoons vinegar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 one inch pieces of cinnamon

1 Bay leaf

1 teaspoon ground pepper

2 teaspoons chillie powder 

2 teaspoon Coriander powder

Salt to taste

1 tablespoon plain flour

3 tablespoons oil

Flatten the beef or mutton with a mallet to break the fibers. Marinate   the meat with the flour, a pinch of salt and pepper, and ½ teaspoon of ginger garlic paste for about one hour.

Heat oil in a pan and fry the marinated meat (a few pieces at a time) till brown and half cooked. Remove and keep aside.

In the same pan, (add a little more oil if desired) fry the onions, Bay leaf and cinnamon till golden brown. Add the ginger garlic paste, pepper, chillie powder, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and tomato and fry well on low heat for a few minutes till the oil separates from the mixture. Add the fried meat pieces and mix well so that all the pieces are covered with the mixture. Add 2 cups of water and cook on low heat till the meat is tender and the gravy thickens. Now add the Sweet mango Chutney or fruit and mix well. Cover the pan and simmer for 2 or 3 more minutes, then remove from heat.

Serve with steamed white rice or as a side dish with bread. 

KEDGEREE - AN OLD COLONIAL RICE DISH WITH DAK BUNGALOW EGG CURRY

KEDGEREE

Kedgeree is an Anglicised version of the Indian Kitchri or Kitchidi, prepared with rice, lentils, raisins, etc along with the addition of Fried Fish Flakes and hard boiled eggs. Fish, either steamed or fried was a regular item for breakfast during the British Raj and the cooks or khansamas of those times, tried to incorporate it with local dishes. Eventually the Fish Kedegeree became a hot cooked spicy dish, with the addition of various spices and was invariably included in the breakfast menu all over the Commonwealth.  However, it now finds a place on the Lunch Menu at many homes and restaurants serving Colonial Anglo-Indian Food.  Minced meat could also be added as a variation

 Serves 6     Preparation and cooking Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

½ kg good fleshy fish cut into thick fillets

2 cups raw rice or Basmati Rice

4 tablespoons oil

1 tablespoon ghee or butter

3 onions sliced finely

3 green chillies sliced lengthwise

4 tablespoons Yellow Lentiss / Moong dhal / green gram dhal

3 cloves

2 small sticks of cinnamon

1 teaspoon cumin powder

100 grams Sultanas or Raisins (Optional)

3 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves

2 Bay leaves

Salt to taste

1 teaspoon chillie powder

1 tablespoon lime juice / lemon juice / vinegar

6 whole peppercorns

4 hard-boiled eggs cut into quarters.

Cook the fish it in a little water along with the bay leaves and salt for about 5 minutes or till the pieces are firm. Remove the fish carefully. Remove the bones and skin from the boiled fish and break into small pieces and keep aside.  Add sufficient water to the left over fish soup to get 6 cups of liquid.  Wash the Rice and lentils / dhal and keep aside.

Heat the oil in a suitable vessel and sauté the onions, cloves and cinnamon lightly. Add the slit green chillies, whole peppercorns, cumin powder and chillie powder and sauté for a few minutes. Add the rice and lentils / dhal and mix well. Now add 6 cups of the fish soup / stock, lime juice / vinegar, sultanas, chopped coriander leaves and salt and cook on high heat till boiling. Reduce heat and simmer covered till the rice and lentils / dhal are cooked and slightly pasty. Gently mix in the cooked fish, butter / ghee and the hard-boiled eggs. Cover and let the rice draw in the fish for a few minutes. Serve hot or cold with Chutney or Lime Pickle.