Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors

337 Pages·2006·3.49 MB·English

by  Lizzie Collingham

Curry:
A Tale of Cooks
and Conquerors
Lizzie Collingham
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
Also by Lizzie Collingham
Imperial Bodies:
The Physical Experience of the Raj, c. 1800–1947
Curry
A Tale of Cooks
and Conquerors
Lizzie Collingham
1
2006
1
Oxford University Press, Inc., publishes works that further
Oxford University’s objective of excellence
in research, scholarship, and education.
Oxford New York
Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi
Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi
New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto
With offices in
Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece
Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore
South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam
Copyright © 2006by Lizzie Collingham
Published by Oxford University Press, Inc.
198Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
www.oup.com
Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of Oxford University Press.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Collingham, E. M. (Elizabeth M.)
Curry: a tale of cooks and conquerors/Lizzie Collingham.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-19-517241-6
ISBN-10: 0-19-517241-8
1. Food habits—India—History.
2. India—Civilization.
I. Title.
GT 2853. I5C652006
394.1′2′0954—dc222005016641
135798642
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
For Rebecca Earle
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
list of illustrations viii
list of maps xi
list of recipes xii
preface xiv
acknowledgments xvi
1. Chicken Tikka Masala: The Quest for an Authentic
Indian Meal 1
2. Biryani: The Great Mughals 13
3. Vindaloo: The Portuguese and the Chilli Pepper 47
4. Korma: East India Company Merchants, Temples, and
the Nawabs of Lucknow 81
5. Madras Curry: The British Invention of Curry 107
6. Curry Powder: Bringing India to Britain 129
7. Cold Meat Cutlets: British Food in India 157
8. Chai: The Great Tea Campaign 187
9. Curry and Chips: Syhleti Sailors and Indian Takeaways 215
10. Curry Travels the World 245
glossary 259
notes 263
bibliography 284
index 306
vii
Illustrations
Page Illustrations in the text
12 Bakers(Kashmir, 1850–1860), Oriental and India Office Collections,
Add.Or.1681. Reproduced by permission of the British Library
46 View of the fortified city of Goa in 1509, showing the Portuguese war fleet in the
East Indies (early sixteenth century), Oriental and India Office
Collections, P859. Reproduced by permission of the British
Library
80 The Dutch factory at Surat, in Pieter van den Broecke, Korte Historiael
ende Journaelsche Aenteckyeninghe(Amsterdam, 1634), British Library,
10095.aaa.49. Reproduced by permission of the British Library
106 A gentleman’s khidmutgars, or table servants, bringing in dinner, in Charles
D’Oyly, The European in India(London, 1813), plate VII, Oriental and
India Office Collections, W625. Reproduced by permission of the
British Library
128 Advertisement for Empress Currie Powder, in Joseph Edmunds, Curries and
How to Prepare Them. Recipes by some of the most eminent chefs de cuisine,
including E. Francatelli . . . and C. H. Senn(London, 1903)
156 Our Cook Room, in George Franklin Atkinson, Curry and Rice on Forty
Plates; or the Ingredients of Social Life at “Our Station” in India (2nd ed.,
London, 1859), Oriental and India Office Collections, W2868.
Reproduced by permission of the British Library
186 Pathan laborers of the frontier area enjoying their afternoon teabetween work
(1920s), Bourne and Shepherd, Oriental and India Office
viii
Illustrations
Collections, Photo 703/(5). Reproduced by permission of the
British Library
214 Indian employees at Veeraswamy’s in the 1920s(1920s). Reproduced by
permission of Masala World Ltd.
244 The Taste of India restaurant in Tonga’s capital, Nuku’alofa(2001).
Reproduced courtesy of Thomas Seidel
Illustrations in the insert
1. A banquet including roast goose given to Babur by the Mirzas(1507), Oriental
and India Office Collections, Or.3714, f.260b. Reproduced by
permission of the British Library
2. Harvesting of the almond crop at Kand-i-Badam(1507), Oriental and India
Office Collections, Or.3714, f.6b. Reproduced by permission of the
British Library
3. Portuguese man reading a book held by a servant(ca. 1595), Oriental and India
Office Collections, J.16,6. Reproduced by permission of the British
Library
4. Grain merchant in Pushkar(1999). Reproduced courtesy of Olivier
Mettery
5. Sweet shop in northern India(1980s). Reproduced courtesy of Olivier
Mettery
6. Nasir al-Din Haidar (King of Oudh 1827–1837) at dinner with a British
official and wife(ca. 1831), Oriental and India Office Collections,
Add.Or.2599. Reproduced by permission of the British Library
7. Cooked food and kawab makers(Kashmir, 1850–1860), Oriental and
India Office Collections, Add.Or.1687. Reproduced by permission
of the British Library
8. Cook shop in northern India(1980s). Reproduced courtesy of Olivier
Mettery
9. Frying Puris(1996), Jeremy Horner/CORBIS
10. Our burra khana, in George Franklin Atkinson, Curry and Rice on
Forty Plates; or the Ingredients of Social Life at “Our Station” in India
(2nd ed., London, 1859), Oriental and India Office Collections,
W2868. Reproduced by permission of the British Library
ix