One of my favourite places to eat in the world is Kolkata. It’s a city that proudly wears the marks that history has left on it, and to look around certain parts of Kolkata, one can see quite clearly that it is an old city. Founded by Job Charnock in 1690, Kolkata has possessed a blend of both national and international communities from its very beginning, and its avid patronage of the Arts has always expressed the city’s enthusiasm for the sublime, for the finer things in life. And, of course, food is no exception!

Kolkata is home to as many as 13 different communities, all of whom have lived and grown with the native Bengalis for generations. And without a doubt, the cuisine of this city is a many-splendoured thing, with a history for bringing out the most enchanting tastes from any number of culinary combinations. It was Calcutta that gave birth to Anglo-Indian cuisine as we experience it today, and indeed, what an incredible cuisine it is!

Anglo-Indian cuisine evolved over generations, mostly as a result of the British Raj’s attempts to reinterpret what was quintessentially Western cuisine, by blending and incorporating native ingredients and cooking techniques. Very often it includes dishes from traditional British cuisine, such as Roast Beef, deliciously seasoned with Indian spices like cloves, cinnamon and red chillies. Fish and meat, for example, is often cooked in a curry with Indian vegetables, and indeed roasts and curries, rice dishes and breads all have a unique flavour.

Favourites like the Prawn Cocktail, Baked Vegetables, Baked Macaroni, Fish ‘n’ Chips, Dak Bunglow Chicken, Country Captain Chicken, Chicken A la Kiev, Chicken Tetra Zini, Steak and Kidney Pie, and the infamous Railway Mutton Curry are so popular, that they can be found in almost any restaurant across the country. Less famous are dishes like Salted Beef Tongue Fish Rissoles, and my personal favourites, Kedgeree and Mulligatawny, offer rarer pleasures.

From my own experience, Mulligatawny and Kedgeree make an incredible pairing! Mulligatawny literally means ‘pepper water’ in Tamil, although pepper is not a vital ingredient in the dish. It is a thick and spicy meat soup, made with either rice or noodles. Quite simply the lamb or chicken is cooked in a broth holding onions, potatoes, and carrots, seasoned delectably with fresh ground pepper and coriander, and finally, garnished with parsley. It is a simple recipe, of course, but Mulligatawny as it’s made today can be quite an elaborate chowder made with lemon juice, tomato sauce, pistachios, roasted cashews, bay leaves, thyme and nutmeg to mention but a few.

Kedgeree is the original Anglo-Indian khichdi, made simply of flaked fish crumbled in milk, and cooked with boiled rice, eggs and butter. It is that simple, but as anyone who loves khichdi will tell you, the dish is certainly far more than the sum of its ingredients! The texture of the crumbled fish, blended with the smoothness of butter, and the wholesome flavour of the rice produces a culinary experience that can rival the most intricate meals ever made!

And of course, Anglo-Indian cuisine would be incomplete without its stunning range of desserts, from Rose Cookies and Kulkuls to Rum-and-Raisin or Lemon Almond cakes, but that perhaps is a story for another time.