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?

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

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

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!