British-Indian Food or Indian-British Food?

We like to talk a lot about how the British ruled this country for 2oo years or so (give and take), and all the influences they have passed on to us. It's not just the British though, there were many that we still haven't completely processed.....all the traumas that this country has been through. I sometimes feel that our entire country needs to go for therapy together. (I don't know how that will work out)

There is a Hindi saying, "Angrez chale gaye, aulaad peeche chhod gaye" which means "The British left but they left their children behind". I don't know to which context this applies to, but I am using it here conveniently for the delicacies which they have left behind. They are a part of us now, and it is so unimaginable to imagine a time when we didn't have them. In the same way, we have left our marks in British cuisine substantially. There is an unspoken bond between our two countries...well pretty spoken if you think about it.

So, I have decided to play a little game this time, to see whether you know where these popular dishes/foods came from. Are they British-Indian (brought by the British) or are they Indian-British? (sent by the Indians)

1. Chicken Tikka Masala British-Indian Food or Indian British-Food?

It's British!

It is also the National dish of Britain as you might know. According to Sukhi's Gourmet Indian Foods, "While many people assume that this dish originated in India, the most popular origin story places its roots in Scotland when a Bengali chef had to improvise in a jiffy." The chef, Ali, once had a customer who complained that the chicken he served was too dry. So, he had improvised a sauce and served the chicken with it to compensate for that.

The customer liked the dish and came back for more and the rest was history. Although it is made by an Indian chef, there is no such thing as chicken tikka masala in India. This dish is a culmination of the Tandoori Chicken Tikka and the gravy that resembles the Butter Chicken curry.

2. Mulligatawny British-Indian Food or Indian-British Food?

It's Indian!

You probably knew this as well, judging by the name. This soup is considered by some as the National soup of India but deep inside our hearts, we all know it's Tomato soup.

According to The Not So Innocent Abroads, "During the British Raj, between 1858 and 1947, when the sun never set on the British Empire, the fussy British colonists and soldiers refused to alter their way of dining, which I’m sure they felt was much more civilized. And that included a soup course. Well, there wasn’t an Indian soup, per se, so the servants would water down one of their occupiers’ favourite dishes, Milagu Tannir, which translates to 'pepper water' in Tamil."

3. Chai British-Indian Food or Indian-British Food?

It's...British.

"But wait. How could it be? I mean it's chai, it is a part of my blood. Surely it is Indian, isn't it?" Now it is. But it was introduced to us by the British as a way of overthrowing the tea monopoly of China. They found that the soil and environment were suitable for cultivating tea in India, and soon it became a taste we acquired, loved, and eventually got habituated to...The next step is to get addicted.

But the traditional Indian tea and British tea are completely different, where the Chai is characterised by the use of its distinct spice blend and also the milk is boiled with the tea leaves....very important.

4. Worcestershire Sauce British-Indian Food or Indian-British Food?

It's Indian!....or based on it at least.

Image via Flickr by Mark Norman Francis

Although this condiment is technically not a food or a dish, it is used to flavour a lot of dishes in British cuisine. It was created by two chemists John Wheeley Lea and William Perrins. According to The Spruce Eats, "Worcestershire sauce has its roots in India but was created by accident in its namesake town of Worcester, England in 1835. The Lea & Perrins company says Lord Sandys (whose identity is disputed) had returned home to England to retire after successfully governing Bengal, India for many years. He so missed his favourite Indian sauce that he commissioned drug store owners John Lea and William Perrins to come up with a reasonable facsimile."

So there you go, 4 different foods which were invented as part of a more than 200-year-old cultural exchange between two countries, and I am not gonna go so far as to say edgy things such as, "These 4 things were worth the years of colonial oppression brought down by them." I would never say that.

Anyways... See you next week!