Unearthing Vintage Anglo-Indian Recipes

On this blog, I invite you to step into the world of vintage Anglo-Indian recipes and stories passed down through generations in my family. After my beloved grandmother passed away, I found a couple of old cookbooks hidden in a drawer. The Economical Cookery Book and The Indian Cookery Book. I find cookbooks irresistible and these were fascinating, in spite of their terrible condition. They not only had recipes I wanted to try, but household hints, etiquette recommendations and exotic lists of kitchen implements. I love a kitchen gadget almost as much as I love cookbooks. I've expanded my collection since then and look forward to sharing them with you all.

Vintage 1920's Anglo-Indian cookbooks

I am guessing that my great-grandmother received these as wedding gifts, as she married her army officer husband in Lucknow in 1920. My great-grandmother was born in Nasirabad in 1898 to Allen George and Ellen Josephine, a police commissioner and his wife. She followed him from army posting to army posting the same way I did with my husband many years later, although I imagine her life was quite different. She would have had servants and a crowd of other ladies she was expected to entertain. No household help for me, and no obligatory tea parties. One of the cookbooks has an entire chapter on "dainties" to impress guests with. Although these cookbooks are mainly directed at more newly arrived ladies, my great-grandmother's family had already been in India for many generations, a part of the Anglo-indian community.

My great-grandmother a year after she was married.

For those unfamiliar with the term, Anglo-Indian refers to the community of mixed-race British and Indian ancestry that lived in India during the colonial period. From the 17th century on, there were British soldiers and traders in India that married and had children with Indian women. After the opening of the Suez Canal, the journey from Britain to India became much easier. Consequently, young British women in search of a husband

flocked to India and intermarrying with the Indian community became frowned upon. The Anglo-Indian community became increasingly isolated from both the Indian and British populations in India, and increasingly married other members of their own community. They had their own speech (English), dress, religion (Christianity) and of course, their culinary traditions. The descendants of this unique community have spread across the globe, some staying in India and some emigrating to other countries, particularly Commonwealth ones. My great-uncles ended up in the UK, US, Australia and South Africa.

Extended Blanchette family, including my grandmother as a child

My grandmother, Lorna, is the child on the right, labeled "me" and her mother and sister, Dawn are on the far left. This picture was taken in either Jhansi or Ajmer. I'm not sure what year they moved duty stations.

This blog draws from a collection of old cookbooks, each page filled with recipes that tell the stories of my family's history and traditions. The audiences for some these cookbooks were the women who followed their husbands, or traveled thousands of miles to find one, or struggled to find their place in a complicated society. They tell the immigrant story of learning to adapt to unfamiliar ingredients and methods, and the story of how cuisines fuse and become something new. Through cooking these recipes, I aim to bring these delicious stories to life. My family's military roots carried us across the Indian sub-continent, and eventually across the world. Each dish has a tale to tell, from the origins of the recipe, to the memories it evokes. I believe that food has a unique power to connect people, and I hope to build a community of passionate home cooks and food enthusiasts who share my love for history and these classic Anglo-Indian flavors. I look forward to hearing from you through comments on the blog and connecting with you on social media. Let's create new memories together, one delicious dish at a time. Come, sit with me "Under The Mango Tree" and savor the flavors of the past.