“Cake, kulkuls, dhol dhol, little glasses of homemade wine… This is what was served right after we reached my aunt’s house in St. Thomas’ Mount for Christmas lunch, and we could only take a few pieces of each when it was passed around,” reminisces my father. With his Anglo-Indian heritage (on his father’s side), he has plenty to share about the celebrations they used to have as children, and it’s fascinating to listen to, especially around Christmas time.
“Music would play from LPs, depending on what was popular at the time — ABBA, Boney M. and a whole lot of Jim Reeves’ seasonal favourites — and everyone would dance; especially enthusiastic would be the newly-engaged and newly-married couples. A steady stream of relatives, neighbours and friends, bearing homemade sweets, trooped in and out all day. A Christmas tree, Nativity set and decorations were a must, but presents were not,” he says. Lunch was only for close family members. Impeccable table manners were a must: no elbows on the table, polite conversation while accepting and declining food and no stuffing oneself. Specialities on the menu included meatball curry, coconut or plain rice and slow-roasted duck vindaloo. This was followed by a short siesta, after which tea was served. “The aluminium teapot would be covered with a quilted tea cosy, and even as children, we were taught to drink from a tea cup,” he adds.
This is a way of life that has slowly dwindled, as the Anglo-Indian community in the city has moved away. We still visit relatives, but there’s not even a ghost of these celebrations left in most families. However, for those who are still here, it is a season to get together and reminisce, mostly over some good food.
In a city known for its Anglo-Indian community, it was only the occasional week-long food festivals at star hotels that offered insights into a cuisine that is so popular, yet remains intriguing. In an earlier conversation, Merlyn Smith-Thomas, Chennai-based author of Merlyn’s Kitchen: A Country and Western Cookery Guide , told me, “It would be great if we could have an Anglo-Indian restaurant. That will give more scope to show the variety that we have.” As her cookbook has over 200 unique recipes, it is safe to say that there is more to the cuisine than just railway curry, country captain chicken and kedgeree. While there’s a smattering of restaurants across the world that exclusively serves Anglo-Indian food, Chennai doesn’t have even one. At least till this month, that is. Anglo Aunty’s Take Away on College Road, Nungambakkam, opened a few weeks ago, and their food has been selling like hot cakes.
Each of the dishes have fun names, like Aunty Bab’s chicken curry, Uncle John’s peas pulav, Dolly’s chicken roll, Aunty Iris’ meatball curry, Uncle Jerry’s coco rice, Aunty Judy’s mutton curry, Dottie’s mutton patty and Devilz chutney. Besides these daily offerings, the menu also has a selection of specials that include a variety of chops, roasts and curries.
Naveen Nandakumar, founder of Irezumi, the city’s first professional tattoo studio, is part of this first too: his father always wanted to start a restaurant, and for him, this is a tribute to that wish. Mikhail Rupprecht or Mike as he likes to be called, is the food operations director; his wife is Anglo-Indian. “You can’t get this food anywhere else in the city, I was introduced to the food through my wife's family and our aunts helped concoct the menu with old recipes. I think we’ve made it easier for people to grab an entire meal without having to ponder which items would go well together,” he says.
Creative food director Mallika Angela is very passionate about healthy eating. A Canadian actress who grew up with an Anglo-Indian governess, she says, “It is not only important for my job but for people whose lives have been permeated with fast food and packaged snacks. We freshly source all our meat and never reuse oil, hence eliminating trans-fats as much as possible.”
Since their launch, they’ve had various Anglo-Indians offering to share their family recipes to keep traditions alive. “And so for Christmas, we have non-alcoholic homemade wine, plum cakes and kul kuls from different families. We also take on party orders for large and small groups, so that more of the cuisine can be sampled in a festive way, the way this food was made to be enjoyed,” says Mallika.
Anglo Aunty’s Take Away is located at 18, College Road, Nungambakkam (Outside Irezumi Tattoo Studio). For details, call 98407 94605
