My grandmother, who lived to 97, was born in April 1908, in the foothills of the Himalayas.
From Kathgodam, you travel 40 miles along a road once described as a ‘cart road’, to Nainital, a town that Jim Corbett, tiger-hunter, and my great-grandparents, lived in. The house my grandmother was born in, Plains View, still stands to this day, complete with English roses in the garden.
For the Hindus, Nainital is the direct result of the eye of the goddess Parvati falling to earth as her bereaved husband, Lord Shiva, performed a tandava across the skies, carrying the half-charred corpse of his wife. The modern Nainital was founded by Mr P Barron, a British sugar trader from Shajahanpur, in Uttar Pradesh, who got lost while hunting in the area. Mesmerized by the beauty of the eye-shaped lake and the seven forested hills that surround it, he resolved to turn the place into a refuge and resort for colonial officials and soldiers.
Back in the kitchen of my West Village apartment, on a particularly grey and drizzly day, here is …
Kedgeree for supper – an Anglo-Indian dish
(unconventional but it works) kippers –
I can’t find smoked haddock in NYC, which is what, traditionally, should form the basis of this dish. I bought these at Citarella on 6th Avenue.
basmati rice
an onion, finely chopped
fresh parsley or coriander (cilantro) leaves
a couple of hard boiled eggs – organic, obviously
a smidgen of turmeric
good quality curry powder (up to you how hot you want it – I suggest mild)
(optional) bashed coriander seeds and cumin seeds
(very optional) a handful of peas
This is the 20 minute version. Sweat off the onions in a drizzle of olive oil or olive oil and butter until translucent. Add the curry powder (and bashed up spices if you feel like bashing something). Leave on the heat for a few minutes to soak up the flavours. In the interim, cook the rice according to the instructions on the pack. Drain, cool under the cold tap to stop it cooking further. Also heat up or cook the kippers according to the instructions. Boil the eggs and dunk immediately in cold water to avoid that nasty grey ring effect round the yolks when you quarter them. Flake the fish, discarding all bones and skin. Peel and quarter the eggs. Now combine the whole lot in the same frying pan you used for the onions. Add peas if using, check for seasoning, heat through, and scatter over fresh parsley or coriander leaves to serve.
Kipper kedgeree: a cultural memory, from Nainital to New York.
Munchies In Manhattan 