Indian Heritage Cooking

Shanmugam Sanmugan Devagi & Kasinathan

Description

The Singapore Heritage Cookbook series documents and preserves the cultural and culinary heritage of the different ethnic groups in Singapore through recipes passed down from generation to generation.Each book is made up of two parts: An introduction that provides an overview of the history and culture of the community in Singapore and a selection of 55-65 recipes. This section will include traditional dishes, dishes that boast a distinct regional variation that makes them uniquely Singaporean as well dishes that have been adapted over time with lifestyle changes. A brief but informative headnote introduces each recipe and explains the history/significance of the dish and/or other interesting facts related to the dish or ingredients used.With its focus on the cultural and culinary heritage of the Chinese, Malays, Indians, Eurasians and Peranakans in Singapore, the Singapore Heritage Cookbook series will be the definitive reference for anyone looking to learn and understand more about the different ethnic groups in Singapore.

Sujets

• Singapore
• Singapour

Informations

• Publié par: MarshallCavendishM
• Date de parution: 01 juillet 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9789814435086
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 4 Mo

Extrait

SINGAPORE HERITAGE COOKBOOKS
INDIAN HERITAGE
Cooking

SINGAPORE HERITAGE COOKBOOKS
INDIAN HERITAGE
Cooking
DEVAGI SANMUGAM SHANMUGAM KASINATHAN
The Publisher wishes to thank Jothi Store Flower Shop for sponsoring the tableware used in this book.
Editor: Lydia Leong Designer: Bernard Go Photographer: Hongde Photography
Copyright 2011 Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Private Limited
This book is supported under the National Heritage Board s
Heritage Industry Incentive Programme (Hi 2 P)
Published by Marshall Cavendish Cuisine An imprint of Marshall Cavendish International
All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Request for permission should be addressed to the Publisher, Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Private Limited, 1 New Industrial Road, Singapore 536196 Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] E-mail: [e-mail] Online bookstore: http://www.marshallcavendish.com
Limits of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The Author and Publisher of this book have used their best efforts in preparing this book. The Publisher makes no representation or warranties with respect to the contents of this book and is not responsible for the outcome of any recipe in this book. While the Publisher has reviewed each recipe carefully, the reader may not always achieve the results desired due to variations in ingredients, cooking temperatures and individual cooking abilities. The Publisher shall in no event be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damage, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
Other Marshall Cavendish Offices:
Marshall Cavendish International. PO Box 65829 London EC1P 1NY, UK Marshall Cavendish Corporation. 99 White Plains Road, Tarrytown NY 10591-9001, USA Marshall Cavendish International (Thailand) Co Ltd. 253 Asoke, 12th Flr, Sukhumvit 21 Road, Klongtoey Nua, Wattana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand Marshall Cavendish (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Times Subang, Lot 46, Subang Hi-Tech Industrial Park, Batu Tiga, 40000 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Marshall Cavendish is a trademark of Times Publishing Limited
National Library Board, Singapore Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Devagi Sanmugam.
Indian heritage cooking / Devagi Sanmugam Shanmugam Kasinathan. - Singapore : Marshall Cavendish Cuisine, c2011.
p. cm. - (Singapore heritage cookbooks) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN : 978 981 4435 08 6
1. Cooking, Singaporean. 2. Indian cooking. I. Shanmugam Kasinathan. II. Title. III. Series: Singapore heritage cookbooks.
TX724.5.S55 641.595957 -- dc22
OCN729142518
Printed in Singapore by KWF Printing Pte Ltd
DEDICATION
This collection of recipes is dedicated to my amma, Mdm Anjalai Markandan, whose culinary influence is very strong in my career as a chef. I will always be grateful for her inspiration and love.
Devagi Sanmugam

CONTENTS
8 10 20
22 26 54 72 112 144
167 174 175 176 179 180
Acknowledgements Introduction About the Recipes
Basic Recipes Singapore Indian Food Deepavali Favourites South Indian Dishes North Indian Dishes Sweets Desserts
Glossary of Ingredients Weights Measures Bibliography Index Photo Credits About the Authors
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to take this opportunity to thank:
My friend, Irene Gomez, who is very enthusiastic about this book and who worked closely with me through the initial process of putting the chapters together.
My husband and co-author, Shanmugam, who worked on the introduction for this book. I learnt so much about the history of the Indian immigrants through his work.
My sister, Bavani Gunasekaran, who helped me in the kitchen with the preparations for the photography sessions.
My partner, Arnitha Letchmanan, who did the research for the glossary and shopped for the ingredients and prepared them for the photography sessions.
My friend, Tan Shee Lah, who has always been inspiring and encouraging.
All my family members and friends for their patience, understanding and support which made me what I am today.
Last but not least, I must express my deep appreciation to my editor, Lydia Leong, for believing in the value and importance of heritage recipes.
Devagi Sanmugam
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9
INTRODUCTION
The Indians in Singapore
Indians in Singapore are mostly the descendants of migrants who came from the Indian subcontinent and the peninsular of Malaya during British rule. These early immigrants came seeking opportunities to work and trade. They yielded generations of locally-born Indians who considered Singapore home even as they kept ties with their ancestral land where some still have relatives.
In the 1990s, Singapore welcomed a new wave of Indian immigrants with government policies that made it attractive for foreign professionals to live and work here. At the same time, growing demand for labour in the construction and cleaning industries pulled in low-wage workers from India and other countries in the region.
The descendants of the early Indian immigrants and more recent immigrants from India together number just over 348,000 in Singapore. This makes up slightly more than 9 per cent of the local population, according to a population census taken in 2010 by the Singapore Department of Statistics, making the Indians the nation state s third largest ethnic group.
Early Immigrants
When Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the founder of modern Singapore, first arrived on the island in 1819, his entourage included a troop of sepoys-Indian soldiers employed to maintain law and order in Malaya and assist in conquests-and a contingent of Indian civilians looking for work, largely as dhobis (washermen), milkmen and domestic servants.
The British also shipped in convicts to ease the burden on India s prisons. These convicts played a significant role in the infrastructural development of the island, clearing jungle and constructing roads and buildings. Roads such as College Street (now Bras Basah Road), North Bridge Road, South Bridge Road, Serangoon Road and New Harbour Road (now Keppel Road) and structures such as Cavenagh Bridge, St. Andrew s Cathedral and the Horsburgh and Raffles lighthouses were the products of convict labour.
A minority of the early Indian immigrants were businessmen and entrepreneurs, the most prominent being Narayana Pillai. He came on the Indiana with Raffles at the East India Company officer s request and became Singapore s first building contractor; he was credited with erecting the Sri Mariamman Temple on South Bridge Road in 1827. Another major figure in the Indian community in colonial Singapore, although he arrived almost a century later, was Govindasamy Pillai. He bought over the provision shop where he worked and expanded his business to include a textile shop selling saris and dhotis, eventually establishing branches in Malacca and Penang.
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The Sri Mariamman Temple in South Bridge Road, 1945.
INTRODUCTION
11
There were yet other groups of Indians who migrated to Singapore from the Malay states. These included the Chitty Melaka, or Peranakan Indians, the mixed descendants of wealthy South Indian merchants who brought their trade to Melaka in the 15th century; and Tamils who were at first brought in as rubber plantation workers and who later came seeking a better life in 20th-century Singapore. These were however not the first Tamils in the region, as proven by the origin of the Chitty Melaka community.
In fact, the Tamil influence in Southeast Asia dates back to kingdoms such as Sri Vijaya in the fifth century, when trade flourished on the Spice Route between India and China. These kingdoms brought with them the ancient Sanskrit epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, which contain the fundamentals of Hindu history and teaching. The magnificent Angkor Wat in Cambodia, built in the 12th century, bears the influence of early South Indian religious architecture.
Diverse Backgrounds
The term Indian covers a smorgasbord of ethnic and religious backgrounds. While more than half (just over 54 per cent) of Indians in Singapore are of Tamil ancestry, three other dialect groups have a significant presence amongst the island s Indians: Malayalee (7.6 per cent), Hindi (3.8 per cent) and Sikh (3.7 per cent). Other dialect groups including the Punjabi, Hindustani, Urdu and Gujarati make up the rest of Singapore s Indian population.
The census also shows that English seems to be the most popular language amongst Indians in Singapore, used most often at home by almost 42 per cent of the Indian population. Tamil is a close second, used most often at home by almost 37 per cent of the Indian population, while the rest tend usually to speak Malay and other languages at home.
The large majority (just under 59 per cent) of Indians in Singapore are Hindus, just as their ancestors were, followed by Muslims (almost 22 per cent) and Christians (close to 13 per cent). The rest profess Sikhism, Buddhism and other religions, while just over 1 per cent of Indians in Singapore have no religious affiliation.
While India s diversity spans the entire subcontinent back home, the parts of it that have thrived in tiny Singapore interact at close quarters, not only within the Indian community but also with other races here. This has produced various fusions and innovations in local Indian cuisine.
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An Indian milk seller milking his cow, 1950s.
Enclaves
The cradle of Indian culture in Singapore is Little India, so-named by journalists in the late 20th century. The enclave straddles Serangoon Road, reaching Jalan Besar, Kitchener Road and Owen Road. Historically, Serangoon Road was the centre of the brick kiln business and cattle farming, which were predominantly o