CORNISH PASTIES

CORNISH PASTIES

The Cornish “Pasty” as the name suggests originated in Cornwall and was brought to Indian during the time of the Raj by the Cornish Miners and soldiers.  It was a popular baked dish in the olden days.

Cornish Pasties are baked Pastries shaped like a ‘D’ and crimped on the sides. It typically has a filling of small chunks of meat either beef or lamb potatoes and onions with a light seasoning of salt and pepper. The uncooked filling is placed on one half of a flat circle of pastry and the pastry is then folded in half to wrap the filling in a semi circle. The edges are sealed and crimped and then the Pasty is baked to a golden brown. The filling inside the Pasty, automatically cooks as well.  These Pasties could be served as a meal with a few sautéed veggies or as Party Eats or Snacks. Good for picnics too.

These pasties were very much a part and parcel of our lives as children in Kolar Gold Fields.

Serves 6      Time Required: 2 hours (including baking)

Ingredients for the Filling:

4 medium size potatoes peeled and cut into small cubes

2 onions chopped

½ kg beef from the round portion (or mutton) chopped into very small bits

2 teaspoons pepper

½ teaspoon chillie powder (optional )

 Salt to taste

1 tablespoon chopped mint

Ingredients for the Pie Crust Dough

3 cups flour

3 tablespoons oil

2 teaspoons butter

½ cup water or just enough to make a soft dough

Heat a suitable pan and lightly fry the potatoes, chopped onions, mint, meat, chillie powder, salt and pepper together with a little oil on low heat for about 5 to 6 minutes. Keep aside. This is the filling for the Pasties.

Make the dough crust, mix the flour and oil and just enough water to make a soft pie crust dough.

Roll out dough into 6 equal circles using a saucer to cut them.

In the center of each circle spoon in the filling utilizing all the filling for the 6 Pasties.

Put a tablespoon of butter over each mound of filling.

Fold the circle over and crimp the edges.

Pre heat the oven to 150° C.

Place the pasties on a cookie sheet and poke with a fork or make a slit on the top of each.

Glaze the pasties with beaten egg.

Bake for about 1hour till done or till a tooth pick comes out clean.

FEATURE ON ME IN THE HINDU

A lovely feature by Divya Chandra on my recent Culinary Workshop in Coimbatore in THE HINDU dated 20/07/2017
THE HINDU 20/07/2017FOOD 
Reminiscing and recreating heritage 
http://www.thehindu.com/…/award-winning…/article19315262.ece 
DIVYA CHANDRAN
JULY 20, 2017 14:57 IST 
Award-winning cookbook writer Bridget White Kumar took her audience on an informative and mouthwatering tour of Anglo-Indian cuisine 
Bridget White Kumar, an expert on Anglo-Indian cuisine and an award-winning author, was recently in town to curate and develop a menu for an upcoming property of VM Hospitality. A handful of us were lucky enough to dine on some of the sumptuous dishes cooked by her during the process and also get an introduction to Anglo-Indian food.

“In terms of cuisine, besides British and Indian heritage, Anglo-Indian also includes those with Portuguese, French or Dutch heritage. The Portuguese have contributed a lot to the culinary landscape of India. They are the ones who brought vinegar, coriander, tomatoes, potatoes and chillies to India. And in exchange we gave them pepper and other spices”, remarked Kumar. Vindaloo from Goa is a fine example of Portuguese involvement, with a heavy dose of vinegar in it.

Our meal started with the Dak Bungalow Dry Chicken, which is a throwback to the days of the traveller’s bungalows along postal routes in the north of India. Although some of the dishes looked fiery red, they were mildly spiced and easy on the stomach. “We use spices very judiciously. The number of ingredients in a dish is kept minimal so that the diner can taste every ingredient individually. Our dishes are simple and my recipes are easy to follow,” said Kumar. 
In the last decade or so, Anglo-Indian restaurants have been popping up in the big metros in India. “In 2004, I published my first book. Now I have six books in total. On popular demand, I have also published a book with only vegetarian recipes. Anglo-Indians living around the world are buying my books to recreate fond memories from their childhoods”, said a beaming Kumar, who is happy to be part of this revival movement. She is striving to preserve an important element in the heritage of the Anglo-Indian community, for future generations to reminisce, appreciate and recreate.

“I work with club chefs to prepare roasts and puddings during the Christmas season in Bangalore,” noted Kumar. The old clubs that were started during the British period still hold on to their tradition of sit-down dinners, served with fine cutlery and crockery and a continental menu tweaked to Indian taste buds. 
The Railway Mutton Curry is a signature dish. “Many Anglo-Indians worked as pilots and guards on trains in colonial times. The meat was cooked with extra spices and vinegar so that it would last longer as they spent long hours on the line and hence the name Railway Curry”, explained Kumar. Cutlets and croquettes are also popular. 
Many of the names of Anglo-Indian dishes have an interesting history. The name Bad Word Curry was born since some of traditionalists refused to use the word ‘Ball’ in Ball Curry! A dish with lady’s finger is called Bandecoy, derived from the Kannada and Telugu words for Lady’s Finger: Bendekai. The famed Mulligatawny Soup derives its name from the Tamil term Milagu Thanni. 
We were also served Devil’s Chutney that looked bright red and fiery but was in fact sweet, tangy and only mildly hot. Devil’s Chutney is made by puréeing raisins along with vinegar and chilli. 
The final plate that arrived was a light and buttery Bread Pudding with a generous topping of shaved almonds and roasted raisins. It was among one of the best bread puddings I have ever tasted. 
The afternoon ended with Kumar signing my copy of her international award-winning cookbook, Anglo-Indian Cuisine: A legacy of flavours from the past.

PARSLEY BUTTER RICE

Parsley Butter Rice

(A simple Rice Dish seasoned with Butter and fresh parsley. It goes well with any Curry or Side Dish) )

Ingredients

2 cups cooked rice, (Basmati)

2 tablespoons butter,

1 teaspoon ground pepper,

Salt to taste,

2 onions chopped finely

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley

Heat the butter in a pan and sauté the onions and chopped garlic till golden brown.

Add the cooked rice, chopped parsley, salt and pepper and mix well. Remove from hat and keep covered to allow the rice to draw in the flavours

Garnish with fried onions if desired.

Serve with any curry and side dish 

DAK BUNGALOW STYLE DRY CHICKEN FRY

DAK BUNGALOW STYLE DRY CHICKEN FRY

(A simple tasty and appetizing chicken fry that took its origins in the Dak Bungalows or Guest Houses on the Dak Route (Postal Route) during the days of the British Raj. For those who do not know what a ‘Dak Bungalow’ is, it was simply a ‘Traveler’s Rest House in the Indian subcontinent, during the days of the British Raj, originally on a Dak Route. Dak was a system of mail delivery or passenger movement, transported by relays of bearers or horses stationed at intervals along a particular route and these Rest Houses were established or built at various places along the route. These Traveller’s Bungalows or Dak Bungalows later became the Inspection Bungalows for British Officers.

The recipe for preparing this dish varied with each cook at the Dak Bungalows depending on the availability of ingredients in a particular place as most Dak Bungalows or Inspections were on Trunk Roads and not in the vicinity of Grocery shop. The khansamas and cooks had to make do with whatever ingredients were on hand.)

Serves 6   Time required: 45 minutes

Ingredients

 1 medium sized chicken washed and cut into fairly big pieces

2 teaspoons ginger garlic paste

2 onions sliced finely

Salt to taste

2 teaspoons chillie powder

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1 teaspoon fennel powder

2 Dry Red Chillies broken into bits

2 tablespoons vinegar

2 tablespoons oil

 To Garnish

1 tablespoon butter

8 or 10 curry leaves fried in a little butter

1 large onion cut into thin rings

Marinate the chicken with all the ingredients mentioned above for an hour (except the ingredients for garnish).

Transfer to a suitable pan and cook on low heat till the chicken is tender and semi-dry.

Mix in a tablespoon of butter and let the dish rest for about 15 minutes before serving.

Garnish with fried curry leaves and raw onion rings.

Serve as a side dish with Dhal and Rice or a snack or appetizer

Note: Instead of frying t he chicken, it could be grilled in an oven. Arrange the pieces on a flat dish and grill for about half an hour in a hot oven.