Venue: Aerocity
Date: 11-20 Aug 2017

Anglo Indian cuisine is going into oblivion. Along with that puddings, kedigerees and pantras are dying a slow death. Bridget White Kumar, an erstwhile banker, now an author of cook books comprising Anglo Indian cuisine, collaborated with the chef at K3 in curating a festival showcasing this cooking style.

The dinner started with starters such as chops and pantras (meat filled crepes) along with beer and cocktails. The main course had a host of vegetarian and non vegetarian dishes. Anglo Indian cooking is typified with sweet smelling spices such as cinnamon, clove, bay leaf, star aniseed and mild chili powder. We loved the fish, dak bungalow chicken and pork vindaloo, signature dishes reflective of this style of cooking.. While we found the dishes a tad spicy, the tomato pilaf supported the dishes well.

The dessert section had ginger cake and bread pudding. Pudding is a mild dessert that does not burden the meal. The bread pudding – made of a combination of bread, eggs and milk – was soothing on the tongue. One of us is from Kolkata, home to a big Anglo Indian community, it was oozing nostalgia for him.

Needless to say, western influence on Indian food is way more than foam and nitrogen on food. Anglo Indian food is perhaps the earliest instance of fusion cooking in India. Mrs. White Kumar created a lovely memory for us that evening. We had loved the earlier Thai food festival at K3. The Colonial Indulgence event created a new benchmark.

This festival is on from 11- 20 August 2017. So all non-vegetarians seeking a break from chicken butter masala (no offence, we love this dish), you must head to K3, JW Mariott.