“I may be criticised for giving a twist to my family recipes, but the culinary world is changing.” Karen Martin and other Anglo-Indian home chefs talk to ReemKhokhar
six sisters, Phillips recalls days consumed with activities: impromptu get-togethers orchestrated by the members of the tight-knit group; bicycling with the other children to “Big Bridge”, an expanse in stone, from where they watched the swirling Banas river rise high during the monsoon; and picnicking to the nearby village of Siyava, where they gathered sticks to build a fire over which the adults cooked jungli pulao – a jumble of rice, meat and vegetables.
A deep-seated fear of opening up the community to the risk of cultural misrepresentation has been instrumental in keeping Anglo-Indian cuisine largely private – and Anglo-Indians out of the restaurant business. Conversely, the kitchen-to-customer home chef model is a more secure one, enabling them to retain control in a familiar setting while going against the grain and drawing attention to the food and food habits that define their ethnic identity.
She kick-started her cloud kitchen, House of Anglo, in March 2020, where she creates contemporary versions of her family recipes by introducing foreign flavours that do not detract from their essence, but rather complement them while keeping the food current and appealing, particularly to younger consumers.
The menu at Penz displays a Bengali influence, often incorporating mustard oil. And several of their offerings originated in Calcutta, given its prominence as the erstwhile capital of British India. Lord Clive’s Folly, a chicken paste used to make sandwiches, was concocted in military canteens in the city and is flavoured with “East Indian spices”.
While they have observed a more ambitious streak in the younger generation, they believe that the cuisine is facing a precarious future. “Our children are keen to inherit my wife’s recipes and keep the culinary tradition alive. But since many Anglo-Indians, including our daughter, are married outside the community, I think the original cuisine will eventually disappear,” says Jerry.