The East Indians of Mumbai and their Food Culture

East Indians?

My community is disappearing. What once was a thriving community in the heart of Bombay is now vanishing; and with it, all our traditions and culture. In a city of 22 million people, there are hardly 5 lakh East Indians left. Or was that 5 lakh across the globe?

The salt on the wounds? When most people we meet abroad hear the words East Indians, they think we’re either talking about American Indians or Indians from the East of India. It’s like we didn’t even exist. Ha!

With so many inter-caste and inter-racial marriages that take our world forward, our community takes a step backward. Yes, we are becoming global citizens, but that doesn’t mean we should lose our culture. Just because we learn new ways of living, it doesn’t mean we should forget the old ones. Well, at least not all of them! Some things are best forgotten, but some must be remembered. The concept is ‘Roots and wings!’, isn’t it?

East Indian History: Who are East Indians?

Although Christianity in India has been ascribed to the proselytizing work of the Portuguese in the 16th century, it did in fact exist here much before that. The research of late Dr. Elsie W Baptista, the niece of Indian freedom fighter Kaka Baptista (who was also Lokmanya Tilak’s lawyer), shows that Christianity was brought to India by the Apostle Bartholomew. Of course, her work has been based on the work of learned men before her; the likes of Jerome (342 AD to 420 AD), Eusebius (265 AD to 340 AD), Fr. Stilitingus (1703 AD to 1763 AD), and many more.

To support her theory, here is food for thought. Although the Apostle and Saint Bartholomew is supposed to have been martyred in Armenia for converting the king of Armenia to Christianity, he wasn’t. Contemporaries now believe that Bartholomew was in fact martyred along the Konkan coast in Kalyan, India.

How did he get to India you ask? Trade! India has been trading with European countries for quite some time now. Alexander’s invasion of India in 326 BC opened up the trade routes and the gates of commerce further. But even before that, trade between India and other African and Europe existed.

Even King David and King Solomon traded with India. According to 1 Chronicles 29:4, King David had received three thousand talents of the gold of Ophir. According to 1 Kings 9:28, Solomon received gold, silver, peacocks, sandalwood, ivory, precious stones and more from Ophir.

The place Ophir mentioned here was Sopara or सोपारा in Mumbai. Ophir or Soprara was one of the largest trading port in ancient times.

So who are the East Indians of Mumbai? And why are they called East Indians?

When the Portuguese came to India in the 16^th century they forced all the Indian Christians to adopt western traditions and culture, and designated them as Portuguese Christians. Years later when Bombay was given as a dowry gift by the Portuguese to the British East India Company in 1661 on the marriage of Charles the Second of England with of Catherine of Braganza. Over the centuries, most of the local Christians in Bombay and the North Konkan found jobs working for or trading with the British East India Company and other British organizations.

However, as the railways developed and steamships started operating across India in the early 1900s, other Christians from Goa who were also known as Portuguese Christians started coming to Bombay in search of work. In order to distinguish the Christians of the North Konkan from the other Portuguese Christians, and to show that they were the earliest Roman Catholic subjects of the British Crown in this part of India, the indigenous or original Christians from Bombay adopted the designation “East Indians”.

Perhaps they didn’t think it through. They should have thought about the fact that a hundred years in the future the British East India Company would not exist, and people who haven’t heard about East Indians would jump to the conclusion that East Indians come from the strangest places. But, long story short, East Indians are the indigenous Christians of Mumbai and the North Konkan region of India.

East Indian Culture

*****[ I’d love to write about our traditional sarees, and our parasols, our music and our food. I’d also love to write about what’s lost in the pages of history and what may be lost soon.

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I’d love it if one day when I tell someone outside India that I’m an East Indian, they don’t assume that I’m living on the East coast of India.

But I need to take a break from work to complete the rest of my research and update this bit. Will try to do that soon. In the mean time if you have something to contribute about our history, traditions, culture or food, please email me at [email protected] and I’d be happy to feature it.]*****

Or you can join our Facebook Group TheWingedFork for discussions.

But if you want to see some of the artifacts from our culture, visit the Kaka Baptista East Indian Museum in Manori.

Traditional East Indian Food

Most of us have been brought up without learning the community language either, other than a spattering of words, myself included.

Ask the younger generation of East Indians nowadays, and many of them might say they don’t know how to cook the traditional vajri curry or even the trotters khudi. Some may even laugh at the fact that vajris aka cow and goat stomachs or trotters aka goats hooves are considered a traditional delicacy, until they taste them and realize that they’re actually quite amazing. Most East Indian cuisine is. 😉

I had originally planned on writing a piece about how a handful of East Indian ‘aunties’ make these dishes. But time just seems to pass with the swiftness of a horse at the races. And mom and my aunt are so busy caring for granny that they don’t have time to cater to the likes of me.

And so now, a few months later I’ve dug up some of the old pics of the East Indian dishes that my mom makes, with her special twist, especially her spicy chicken tope.

Here they are. Some of our favorite East Indian recipes. For the ones we’ve not added here yet, just find any East Indian ‘aunty’ or ‘uncle’ (as they’re lovingly called’) and they should tell you. If you can’t find any, well, it’s probably because we are disappearing, isn’t it? If you find them, and they don’t tell you the recipe, let me know and I’ll write them down the next time.

And no, I haven’t found the time to take pics of tongue moile or other recipes yet. So if any of you nice ‘aunties’ would love to talk about them please ping me.

Brain Masala

Yeah, that amazing dish of goats brains with a special spicy masala tastes amazing. It’s even more mouth-watering with my mom’s addition of coconut milk, cashewnut paste and cream. Have you ever tried it that way?

Crab Curry Masala

Everyone loves crab curry. Buy a dozen or two dozen fresh crabs from the market and salt them. Fry the crab masala and then add in the two dozen humongous crabs. Regular curry. But mom’s secret recipe includes adding in garlic and onion paste and slit green chillies. It adds so much to the flavour!

Sorpotel

Mom also makes a better tasting version of sorpotel. Her secret ingredient, my homemade wine instead of vinegar? I absolutely love sweet sorpotel, as do most of my friends that gorge on her food. So different!

But since I haven’t had the chance to put up mom’s recipe, click here to see the step by step sorpotel recipe with pictures from Uncle Jude in Australia.

Vajri Khudi

Goat tripe curry or vajri khudi is a food that my relatives have a love-hate relationship with. Me, some days I love it, some days I don’t. It’s hard to decide. To judge for yourself, read the vajri khudi recipe here.

Chicken Tope

Chicken tope, much like mutton tope is an easy all in one recipe. Be it for lunch or dinner, it’s the East Indian quick fix or all in one dish. Chicken, poha, and bottle masala. What else do you need?

Beef Tongue Roast Recipe

Beef tongue roast could make or break your party! How? It’s a dish that disappears quickly because it’s awesome! Everyone loves it. So if you don’t have enough tongue roast at your East Indian family gathering or party, there will be complaints! Click here if you want a recipe for an easy to make East Indian Tongue Roast.

Foogias

Little golden fried balls of dough that are soft as heaven and disappear as quickly as they’re placed on the table, that’s foogias. Foogias are just one of the many traditional East Indian varieties of bread; the others being handbreads or apas, chitaps, orias, and more.   

The foogias batter is a mixture of maida (refined wheat flour), a little bit of rice flour, coconut juice or milk, sugar and yeast that is mixed and left to rise overnight. In the morning the dough is formed into small balls by squeezing it through the thumb and forefinger and fried till golden brown. The foogias are eaten with dinner or lunch and go especially well with moile or sorpotel.   

Corned Tongue or Salted Ox Tongue Recipe

Yummy as ever, corned tongue is something we eat for special dinners, be it weddings, funerals or celebrations. Making corned tongue takes time and effort, and you have to do it just right to satisfy the tastes of many. There’s always a traditional salted tongue recipe to the rescue, and this is ours!

Gluten Free Chitaps or Rice Crepes

These light and fluffy crepe like savories are yummy, tasty and a whole lot more. I’ve always loved chitaps and find them delicious. So this time I made them myself using a gluten free recipe.

East Indian Pork Vindaloo

A must-have dish at weddings, birthdays, parties and even funeral celebrations, the traditional East Indian vindaloo recipe has its own variation in every East Indian home. A derivative of the Portuguese carne de vinha d’alhos, you won’t an East Indian or Goan who doesn’t love eating this lush spicy dish. If you’re looking for our recipe, here it is!

BBB Curry

Okay, this one isn’t original East Indian food, is it? But it’s made using the East Indian jungle khudi masala, so it’s sort of a derivative of our lovely cuisine. I love the BBB curry. Goat brains, balls, and udders in that spicy gravy. It’s so much better than eating them on a shig.

Mutton Paya Curry or Goat Trotters Curry

One of the most loved East Indian dishes has to do with feet, goat’s feet to be exact. Okay, well sheep feet sometimes too. But feet! I have some friends in European countries who can’t even understand how we eat fish heads, goats feet is too far for them. But like I always say, offal is good! And mutton trotters curry is as yummy as ever. And seriously, how can you go against tradition? Just try to make your own paya curry and see!

Bhokache Varias

Orias, also know as Varias, Varies, Worias, Waras or Bhokache Varias or Bhokyachi Wadai are an East Indian doughnut-shaped bread made for east Indian weddings and special occasions. This lentil flour bread is quite tasty and no traditional East Indian wedding would be complete without it.

Roast Chicken

I have no idea where the pic of the whole stuffed roast chicken went. So here’s the pic of just the roast chicken thighs. Always tastes amazing with the kashmiri chillies, doesn’t it? Especially with the caramelized onions. And me, I just love those roast chicken skins, almost as much as roast pigling skin. Don’t you?

On that note, I need to go look for the missing chicken. Hopefully it’s not roaming headless somewhere, spilling stuffed liver pudding from its insides. 😉 Maybe we’ll catch up again sometime soon for other East Indian food? Maybe sorpotel pav or chitaps?

Prawn Chilly Fry

Now prawns are one of the favorite foods of some people, my sister included. No wonder mom makes the traditional prawn chilly fry quite often. This recipe for the traditional prawn chilly fry or shrimp chilly fry is easy to make in less than 20 minutes.

Chicken Liver Stuffing or Giblet Stuffing

The traditional East Indian stuffing for Christmas meals consist of a chicken liver and bread pudding that’s stuffed into the chickens’ cavity before roasting. Sometimes also called a giblet stuffing, here’s how to make this delicious homemade liver stuffing.

List of East Indian Recipes For Meals

• Sorpotel aka Sarpatel
• Goat Tripe or Vajri Khudi
• Special East Indian Chicken Tope
• Beef Tongue Roast Recipe
• Foogias or Balloon Bread
• Corned Tongue or Salted Ox Tongue
• Gluten Free Chitaps or Rice Crepes
• Pork Vindaloo Recipe
• Orias or Lentil Flour Bread
• Prawn Chilly Fry
• Mutton Paya Curry
• Chicken Liver Pudding Recipe

Traditional East Indian Pickles & Salads

Kadmat or Cuchumber

Remember the heat of summer that’s only cooled by that refreshing mango salad? Here’s my dad’s version of the traditional East Indian kadmat recipe.

Dry Bombay Duck Pickle

The East Indian Bombay duck pickle or Dry Bombay Duck Pickle or Sukha Bomblache Lonche is a yummy pickle made of dried Bombay ducks and also works well in chilly fries and other dishes. Click here to get the recipe.

 East Indian Mango Chutney

Another favorite pickle is the East Indian Mango Chutney. It’s so like the murabba or varenye isn’t it? We make kilos of it in May and expect it to last through winter. But most times it’s gone by the end of the monsoon. Have to probably make a few more kilograms next year. Recipe link here.

East Indian Tomato Kusondi

A perfectly sweet and tangy pickle made from tomato, the kusondi has been carried to far reaches of the planet. Yes, every time relatives come down to India, they carry back bottles of the tomato kusondi with them. Find out more about the yummy East Indian tomato kusondi pickle here!

Join our Facebook Group TheWingedFork for discussions.

List of the East Indian Salads and Pickles

• East Indian Kadmat or East Indian Cuchumber Salad
• Dry Bombil Pickle
• Murabba East Indian Mango Chutney
• East Indian Tomato Kusondi

Traditional East Indian Drinks

Kimad

Quite similar to mulled wine or brandy, the East Indiankimad is a mix that will warm your bones on the cold winter nights. This warm drink is made with a mix of spices and country liquor. And is almost always served at the East Indian umracha paani before the weddings.

East Indian Currant Wine

Is there any East Indian who can say they’ve not tasted the traditional wine? Served at christenings, communions, weddings and more, the traditional East Indian wine makes its entrance at celebrations before any other drink does. No celebration and no party can start without the ceremonial toast with this sweet port-like wine. And every family has their own recipe for this wine, some are even well-guarded. Ask an East Indian aunty for a recipe, and they might leave out a key secret ingredient of the wine; or so they say. But if you need our recipe, follow the link in the list below. Sukhala!

East Indian Fresh Grape Wine (Red, Black, or Green)

This East Indian grape wine recipe is a mix of my aunt’s and my granny’s recipe. It’s easy to make at home in 3 weeks whenever you have fresh grapes available. Not as popular as the black currant wine, but it’s good for an economical wine to accompany regular meals.

List of the Traditional East Indian Drinks

• East Indian Kimad Recipe
• East Indian Black Currant Wine
• Ginger Wine
• East Indian Fresh Grape Wine
• Pineapple Wine

Traditional East Indian Desserts

Where do I start? Mass pav, tartlets, cordial, vanilla cream, sojee halwa, cashew rock, thalie sweet, coconut cake, walnut fudge, date rolls, too many delicious East Indian sweet desserts to name. I’m trying to make a good long list of everything. If you have a bit to contribute just email me at [email protected] If you want to read what I’ve assimilated so far, the list of East Indian sweets is here.

Marzipan Easter Eggs

Easter to the East Indian Catholic Christians is very different from Easter in Western countries. Food wise, I mean food wise. I know we’re all celebrating the resurrection of the Messiah. I was talking about food, or rather sweets. Our Easter Eggs are not normal eggs that are painted or any of those sweet chocolate eggs. Our eggs are made or marzipan, a yummy cashew or almond based sweet that is homemade and shaped into Easter Eggs, bonnets, bunnies and chicken.

Pancakes

There’s a lot to be said about the traditional East Indian pancake that’s filled with a lush sweet coconut filling. But why say anything, when I can just go and share the recipe with you. Click here for the East Indian Pancake recipe.

Coconut Cake

My cousins love coconut cakes any given day. It’s a bit different from the traditional East Indian Thali Sweet. And it’s a bit easier to make the batter, since you don’t have to leave it overnight. My sis makes this soft and dense recipe that we love to have for tea. And a plus point is that it doesn’t have any maida in it!

Sand Cake or Rice Cake (Modified Gluten-Free Version)

Sand cake has been named for a reason. Its texture feels much like grains of sand. And it tastes absolutely perfect when it’s fresh out of the oven. Drizzle some jam on it and it gets even better. Sand cake is traditionally made using a mix of fine wheat flour and rice flour, but here’s my modified gluten free sand cake recipe!

Honey Balls

Snow balls or honey balls or aitolas or popoges. Whatever you call them, they taste awesome. So here’s a post of my sis making my grandma’s version of honey balls. The ones my aunt from the other side loves as much as we do. That’s why we make them ever so often and take them over. Here are granny’s honey balls.

Soft and Crispy Date Rolls

Date rolls are little bits of heaven! They taste like buttery shortbread cookies that have been stuffed with sweet black dates and pieces of walnuts. Although they’re traditional East Indian Christmas sweets, they’re also perfect for a sweet tea-time snack. Find the recipe here!

Vanilla Cream or Milk Cream

Vanilla cream or milk cream is one of the purest milk desserts ever. Made from milk that has been condensed and reduced with sugar until it forms a thick paste. This paste is formed into small bite-sized shapes that taste like heaven! It’s lighter and tastier than a toffee or a fudge. Just try some!

Nankhatai

Simple and easy to make these East Indian Nankhatais are a perfect treat for Christmas. But you can make them as a tea time snack throughout the year. Ready in a short while, this melt in the mouth eggless nankhatai leaves you wanting more! And they’re the perfect addition to your Christmas platter.

Bol De Coc

Quick and easy to make this coconut cake, Bol de Coc is a favorite tea-time snack. This cake has a delicious coconutty taste and a moist crumb and is make any time of the year.

Cocoa Fudge or Walnut Fudge

Quite similar to the vanilla cream recipe, the walnut fudge goes a step further and adds cocoa and ground cashew nuts, walnuts or almonds. Our recipe uses walnuts, so we call it a walnut fudge!

Mass Pav or Marzipan

Mass pav is made for Christmas every year. It can be either made of cashew nuts or almond paste that it cooks till it forms a waxy dough. This dough is then moulded into the shapes of fruits and flowers. Sometimes the shapes made by our friends look normal, and sometimes they look perfectly artistic!

Coconut Cordial

An easy to make a sweet dish, the coconut cordial is another traditional delicious East Indian dish made of coconut and sugar. It’s easy to make in under an hour and perfect for a last-minute Christmas dessert!

Bolings

Bolings are a sweet coconut semolina cookie that is made at Christmas time in most East Indian Catholic households! They are simple and easy to make and this yummy coconut treat can also be enjoyed as a tea-time snack any time of the year!

Guava Cheese or Goiabada

What better reminder of our Portuguese heritage than a bite of guava cheese or as the Portuguese called it goiabada! Guava Cheese is a tasty East Indian sweet dish prepared around Christmas time without any gelling agents! Want to know the secret why? Read the post! Both chewy and fudgy, there’s a mouthful of Guava in every bite. You can use white or pink guavas because both turn out delicious no matter what! Psst! We’ve heard that the Goans call it Perad and make it nearly the same!

Kulkuls

Who doesn’t love these sugary treats? Come Christmas time, people get busy making sweets or buying sweets and these Kulkuls or Carambolas are quite sought after. Not to sweet, they’re perfect for snacking on too. To find out more about the history of the kulkuls and our recipe for them click on the link above. 🙂

Date and Walnut Cake

A delightful cake made of sweet pitted dates and crunchy walnut pieces, the Date and Walnut Cake is often made for Christmas, special events, and birthdays. Easy to make at home, this traditional East Indian version from Mumbai is a much sought after Christmas delicacy!

Thalie Sweet

A delicious cake made of egg whites and coconut, Thalie sweet is usually around Christmas time and for special occasions. This yummy cake has a mouthful of coconut in every bite! Simple and easy to make, it is definitely worth a try!

Links to the East Indian Desserts

• Marzipan Easter Eggs
• East Indian Pancakes
• East Indian Mass Pav
• Honey Balls or Snow Balls
• Coconut Cordial
• Bol De Coc
• Sand Cake or Rice Cake (My version is gluten free)
• Vanilla Cream
• Coconut Cake
• Walnut Fudge
• Simple Date rolls
• Guava Cheese or Goiabada
• Kulkuls, those shell shaped sweets
• Date and Walnut Cake
• Nankhatai or Nankaties
• Bolings
• Thalie Sweet

For a list of East Indian sweetmakers and home chefs go to our directory page here.

Questions about East Indian food? Come to our Facebook Group TheWingedFork for answers.