World Famous Entally Sausages
One of my relative who once went to London for some work came back to inform me that he had seen a meat shop in London with a caption “Entally Sausages Available Here”. When it comes to food we often only consider Rosogolla or other sweet desserts as our true heritage food from Kolkata but if you look deep this city has much more than Rosogollas. With the confluence of cultures way back from the British to the late internal immigrants this city has slowly become a natural mixed bag when it comes to food. The city’s unique ability to adapt with the changes make Kolkata a truly remarkable place to live and eat.
Story of Kolkata Sausages
Today I am going to tell you a story of a good old English Sausage which the city has adopted and made some special changes giving it a much personalized taste. I am talking about Entally Sausages, as the name suggest these started being made particularly in the Entally Market region, however at present its much widely available and there are several shops across the city but all of them owe their due diligence to Entally Market for teaching them the tips and tricks.
What is a Sausage
Sausages are mostly a meat product and come with various combinations. These can be Chicken, Mutton, Beef, mixed meat or sometimes even with Soya Bean and Tofu. There is also the Blood Sausage but will talk about them later. The English love their sausages and obviously they brought the knowledge to this city when they ruled much of the country.
Somehow the pure English Sausages were bland in taste for the native Indians as they were mostly seasoned with black pepper and other milder spices. It is then that some came up with the brilliant idea of modifying the basic formula and add some Indian Spice twist. Without delaying any further let me tell you how the world famous Entally Sausages are made.
Kolkata Sausage Making Process
Once you reach the market you have the option to buy either readymade sausages or make them as per your customization. I would always recommend them to be made as per customization then we can be absolutely sure of the taste and that of the freshness.
First you need to but the meat, in this case its pork. Choose the best suitable piece and buy it according to its weight, make sure to have a right balance between the meat and the fat. I prefer a 70 – 30 ratio, with 70% meat and 30% fat. Fats are an integral part of the sausage sine its cooks itself in its own oil mostly.
The meat is then minced using an electric mincer and the fats are diced into small bits which are then added to the minced meat.
Next the master sausage maker adds some finely chopped Onion are added to the mixed minced meat and one needs to keep pestering him to add more of chopped onion as this really enhance the taste.
Then the real tricks takes place, he then ads Salt & Garam Masala to the minced meat and mixes them thoroughly. He then adds Red Chilli Powder to the mix and the quantity depends on our choice. Personally I prefer less of red chilli powder and add more of diced Green Chilli as the flavour with green chillies taste much better.
Next come another important part when the sausage maker adds a combination of Coriander, Mint & Celery Leaf. Usually he will add a little in quantity but insist him to add some more as this creates the real flavouring.
The final mix is thoroughly mixed so that the entire concoction is equally distributed across. Once this is done the master now needs to insert this mix into an intestine with the help of a funnel. This portion looks easy but trust me it’s real tricky, you need to insert the paste into the thin intestine to the maximum without breaking or leaking them.
Once the whole length is filled up the master then separates them into different section by trying knots in regular interval giving them the distinct shape of a sausage.
The sausages are now ready to be cooked. You need to pay the shop for the weight of the meat and making charges for the sausages. If you are real happy with his service then do not forget to tip the master sausage maker.
Cooking The Sausages
Once back home you just need to give the sausages a quick wash and then simply add the sausages in a Karahi (deep cooking pot) with a little water and a little Mustard Oil. Ensure to prick some holes in the sausages with a needle or a safety pin else when heated the sausages skin might burst open as the hot air needs to escape out.
After sometime the sausages will start releasing its own oil due to the fat content and the entire kitchen will fill up with an unforgettable aroma, it’s now that the sausages are done and ready to be eaten.
TIme to eat
Some prefer to have them with bread while some prefer just plain white rice, whichever way it tastes awesome and you will surely have a second helping. Once if you have these sausages then you will not like any other variety as these are spicy and much different for the ready to eat frozen sausages.
Enjoy the unique Entally Sausages and soon I will be back with another blog.
Looks very tempting.
reminds me of chello kabab of peter cat, need to give this a try 🙂
Rajat
Wow….mouth watering. I grew up in North India and a very few people know that the British influence in Mussoorie had a great shop selling Masala sausages like above called Georgy Porgy on the mall road. Its still there but they sell more Tandoori chicken n all now. Another thing I miss is the Indian spicy blood sausage. Do get more info about that!! Great blog 🙂
Thanks for the recipe and the step-by-step preparatory process, Subhadeep! You are spot on! I’ve spent quite a bit of my life in Taltala (near Entally) and I quite agree with you when you write, “Once if you have these sausages then you will not like any other variety…” The aroma and taste are simply unforgettable! Will try this at home (in Mumbai) sans the intestine.
And now my mouth is watering 🙂
After boiling the sausages don’t required to be fried in oil separately?
No
Hi Subhadip! thank you ever so much for the Entally Market sausage recipe. when my late parents were kids they lived in the heart of Entally market area of Komidaan Begaan Lane. My mother eventually learned how to make them, we as her kids, also learned from seeing all the ingredients that went into the mince, In this post of yours i saw a mention of celery and even coriander,these two herbs are not used, but one can put parsley and pudina,minus the chilli powder,as just the diced green chillies is needed but I guess some like chilli powder too,so that becomes a matter of choice which fully understand. I have a batch in the freezer to use as and when needed. My English neighbour loves my sausages,as of the lovely aroma they give off, when boiling and then even better when basting and browning in the raw mustard oil put them. thank you once again!
Awesome. Kalman at Free school street and few Piggeries at the North facade of New Market are also good to mention. But these are well known for Ham Sausage.
Yupp tried all of them but Entally is really different… you must try them
Any particular shop to buy from? Please recommend. Also, any variant of sausages that you would like to suggest
At Entally there is Royal Piggery. At New Market you have UP Cold Storage and another one just opposite to it. At Free School Street you have Kalmans.
Varieties include cocktail sausages, breakfast sausages etc.
Ahoy! Thank you!
Used to travel all the way from Kidderpore with Dad to buy these mouth watering tasty sausages. Once a month Sunday treat with Dhal and Rice. Was worth the travel and time. Tried to copycat the recipe at home in Australia but unable to get that authentic taste; I presume coz of the sanitized conditions.
A little bit of pollution does help the sausage 😉 . You are right the taste can never be replicated, for many years my father was transferred to Bangalore and we used to bring cooked sausages from Calcutta to Bangalore just for its taste…
Being from Paddapukur, I am a big fan of both Entally and Park Circus market sausages. However, spicy sausages, also prevalent in Kerala, Goa, are not of Anglo but of Luso heritage. Interestingly we get similar sausages in our neighbouring island of Rodrigues which had Portuguese settlers. Sausages came to Kolkata well before the English came and they were not bland.
hi Pragho, came across your comments just now. Since I live in Cochin, Kerala I would like you to please tell where the spicy sausages are made in Kerala (with reference to your comments). The only sausages that we get is made by Government of Kerala enterprise M/s Meat Products of India, Koothattukulam near Cochin. That too is not easily available now a days because of manufacturing problems. So, please tell me where else is sausages available in Kerala. Thank yu. with best wishes, M.M.Mohan ([email protected]).
I have got no clue now 🙁 I left India over 30 years ago. And I just had it prepared somewhere. Though I am surprised that it isn’t widely available as I always feel Keralites are just as liberal/adventurous as us Bengalis on food.
Excellent information…Will try
Hi,
Would you know how long these sausages can be stored in the fridge?
Thanks
Once cooked then a couple of days day 3-4
Uncooked Sausages can be stored for longer?
I would not as the are prepared with hand and includes raw onion and other condiments.
V r from park circus ,often father in law got them made in Park circus( Beck Bagan ) market
V try and make them few times a year
Awesome
We get them from Entally, Beck Bagan, New Market but of late we get them from Anandapalit
Thanks for sharing this awesome info. I want to try these sausages. Can you please tell me exactly where is this shop in the entally market ? Entally market is quite big. Is there any shop number or floor no or like something.
Again thank you.
There is only one piggery left so it won’t be a problem to locate.
Hi Subhadip,
Hailing from the same place, some time last year we got connected over Entally Sausages. I now realise that you also write interesting travelogues. Maybe you can use this innovative platform that I have created to tell stories of any kind. Among many genres, Travel and Young Person, perhaps Knowledge as well be very suitable ones for your contribution. There probably will be other genres of your interest or you may be knowing others who are great storytellers themselves.
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Cheers Pratik
On Sat, Jul 8, 2017 at 9:13 AM Subhadip Mukherjee ~ The Indian Vagabond wrote:
> Subhadip Mukherjee commented: “There is only one piggery left so it won’t > be a problem to locate. ” >
Very good and informative. I got my recipe from a relative in the UK, who migrated in !956. She got it from Entally Market so it is quite authentic.
I am also very familiar with Bondel Road where you live. Would like to meet up on my next visit to Kolkata.
Hey sure we stay in a locality called Christian Para (locality).
Hi William, i just came across your comments on Entally Sausages. Is it possible to share the Entally sausage recipe with me, please. I shall be most grateful if you can do so. Thank you. with best wishes.Mohan & Penny
Yes Iam from Calcutta and I would always buy from either Entally market or Toltalla market..I Presently make them in Melbourne and have acquired a clientele of a lot of Calcutta people.I make both the large and the cocktail sausages.The main product is the gutting , and we get this cleaned and ready to use.The sheep skin gutting is very expensive which is used for the cocktail sausages never the less for some reason or the other people seem to say they are tastier than the big ones although the mix is the same.
The other product that sells well here is Beef &Chicken kati kawab rolls.
Where in Melbourne do you live
Pamela Hall
I have to say I love a sausage but when I read what go s ito these IT LITEREALY MADE MY MOUTH WATER . Lets hope someone gets cracking and make them over here
SubhDip Ji . Can u tell us where we get sausage casing I. Kolkata?
Alex, CIT road, Anandspalit
Hello Subhadip,
happy new year and hope all is well with you and your family. I guess you may be enjoying the cooler weather as we are sweltering in the heat of the Australian summer.
Do you write about other topics such as crime in the city of joy. The reason I ask is because I have a real life experience to share. On my last trip to my beloved Kolkata only a year ago, my wife and I were lied to, cheated and had a large sum of money stolen from us by a person we befriended and trusted. Needless to say the money may never be returned to us. the person involved is a woman and works for a company located on Ballygunge Circular Road, which is quite close to Your place of residence.
Is there any way that I can expose this person as a liar and a thief so that she does not do the same to someone else. Even the people in Kolkata need to know who she is and what her capabilities are.
Regards.
William
________________________________
Nice reading. I have left CCU some 50 years back, when New Market was still the Old New Market, and India was poor and “comfortable” in a way I could not ever recognize today! Keventers was still a place where people would sit drinking milk out of glass bottles as a welcome repast and refreshment and the Paris bespoke tailors down the same footpath was sort of the height of chic among the middle middle class. Oh my!!!! And the decrepit Globe Nursery survived despite all odds for decades, despite never having any purpose in its existence, or so it seemed. So many memories, and of a Calcutta, Free School Street, and Christmases past. People was poetic over Nahoum’s today but does no one remember Wyse’s inside New Market itself? The prawn patties on Thursdays and the wonderful plain cakes and plum cakes?
Speaking of the UP Piggery, what a house of horrors, with people wielding axes butchering carcasses right on the roadbed. This in a supposedly Govt. Approved meat vendor? Someone spoke of a sausage vendor opposite the UP Govt. Piggery: there was NOTHING directly opposite that store save the open parking spaces! Now, if you were to move some distance up the lane, where the Chinese Piggery marked the T-junction of the lane to the right leading to the poultry market, as well as to the Fish section, right opposite to the Chinese Piggery you would find an incongruous assortment of jharus and similar weird cleaning stuff in the early 60s. Indeed, a solitary pseudo-Burmese food stall popped up there for a short time, as well, for those who will remember! So, go back along the jharu stalls, and tucked away was this Goan gentleman selling his MASALA sausages, frontin right on to the street. Super excellent. Not quite opposite UP Govt. Piggery, but a long diagonal across, maybe. UP Govt. products were horrible.
Haringhata Piggery products were far better, made at Haringhata Farm, Mohanpur, the Ag. University dairy and animal science station at the time, created with Danish input, I believe. People could go and stay in their resthouses, at the time, and quite nice they were too. Nice duck vindaloo, and such, and fresh fowl curries too, up until 1968, when socialism struck Bengal with a vengeance!!! Lots of pork products, processed on site, and also sold in CCU.
I am surprised that few here have mentioned soem unique Calcutta flavors:
1. The cold ham which is quite distinct from the many hams one might come across in the UK, including gammons, and very different from the range of smoked and unsmoked cooked hams in the USA. I wonder what the particular provenance of these particular Calcutta hams could have been. They all were of a type, widely popular as ham sandwiches, sold in ALL the “COLD STORAGES”.
This was the name given to purveyors of charcuterie and European provisions in Calcutta, e.g. Scott’s on Russel Street/Stephen’s Court [next to Sutton’s], and several more on Chowringhee Rd., O.N. Mukherjee, and later, Lalu & Son’s, scions of O.N. Mukherjee family.
2. Something called Luncheon Meat.
3. Calcutta style Rind-on Bacon
4. Calcutta style Masala and cocktail sausages: the common spicing in all of these sausages surely include cracked black pepper corns, coarsely cracked coriander seed, chopped onions and green chilies, cilantro leaf, stem, root, and maybe mint and/or Calcutta Parsley which is a unique herb with a flavor not found anywhere else. I have tried to find it, without success.
I am a plant scientist, with a particular interest in this field, and yet after 40 years of search and research I have admitted defeat over a couple of plant species, that apparently are sold in large bunches in New Market and a few other markets in Calcutta.
I should love to talk more about the flavors of the old Calcutta with any who are so inclined along with the cookin and recipes of the OLD Waldorf and Peiping restaurants. I cannot abide by the sheer perversity of what is now called Indian Chinese or by the clownish ignorance of the parvenu who upload ” Kolkata or Tangra Chinese recipes ” on Youtube. Their boorishness is beyond words. Better to keep silent. In the USA, one discovered a few of the older Chinese who used to run or be part of the families connected with some of these restaurants, but have not been able to make much headway in recovering any of the old recipes.
Here, the art of making various types of First Class Soup Stocks is a high art. I can remember the exceptional clarity and intensity, as well as the pure taste of the Waldorf soup stocks. As well, here similar Wan Tan soup stocks are made with immense care and trouble with dried flounder, dried shrimp, dried clams/scallops worth a small fortune, plus other types of bones, etc.
While I may have mastered a few of the Cantonese and Fujianese forms current in this land, none of them correspond precisely to the versions used in the Calcutta soups of Waldorf. So, much research is needed if our own unique heritage is not to be lost forever.
I’m so interested in your notes. Any recipes that you think are authentic and you are satisfied with from the 60’s? I’d love to know and learn. I’m in NYC
Greetings Ms. Adeline,
Re: recipes from the “old” Calcutta, there are 5 categories that I miss most:
1. The “cuisine” (!!) invented by the Maung/Hmong cooks of the Viceroy’s and the Governor’s Mansions. These cooks generally shared the surname “Baruah” and were nominally Buddhists from the Chattogram/Chittagong Hill Tracts [CHT].
They were not averse to cooking with beefs, and along with the Goanese (sic!, not Goans) comprised the most important group of the Calcutta kitchen brigade of the Governor’s Mansion. This is the group that I had known in person, the last surviving ones, who had cooked for the Queen Elizabeth II, and spoke about the particular Lates calcarifer concoction they had created. Apparently, breaking with strict protocol, she had asked for seconds, which was a memory they treasured to the end of their days.
This particular niche cuisine and its niche practitioners needs to be researched but the current crop of Bengali foodies in Calcutta and the diaspora are savage cultural Philistines. I use “Philistines” very deliberately, VERY; alive to all its socio-political nuances in the current Bengali world, that I despise.
2. The old Jewish recipes, that have been bowdlerized by Copeland Marks, who seems to have become a consultant to some naive, ignorant and immensely greedy NY restaurant owners eager to profit from the Jewish trade they think they can lure to their doors. I have no respect for dishonest cupidity. Enterprising cupidity, YES. Ignorant greed, NO. Craven idiocy, even less.
There are many excellent practitioners of old Calcutta Jewish cookery. I have eaten at some of the best homes. Some of the better cooks migrated to London.
3. Calcutta Parsi. Differs from Mumbai Parsi in the use of Calcutta Parsley in the broth for Dhansak, and some important trucs in Fish dishes. Fewer and fewer families make their own Sambhar and fried masala. The daughter of the Sutaria family may or may not be making their own, but have been marrying outside the Parsi fold. Their mother was an extraordinary cook, but like some Indians, extraordinarily unwilling to share her secrets. Why? Hope her daughters will have chosen to carry on the full and perfect tradition.
4. Calcutta Chinese.
Comes in at 2 or 3 distinct streams. The Park Street restaurant versions of Peiping and Waldorf, where each share a distinct cultural provenance, Toisan for the latter, I believe, and I am not sure about Peiping. Fujian??
Here is what I can deduce about the Waldorf prawn roll:
1. Fresh prawn or large shrimp processed to create crunchy shrimp; peeled, deveined, soaked in ice water, with baking soda, and sugar. Proportions in Rasa Malaysia. I would also salt-whip shrimp before soaking, salt-whip with chopsticks and coarse sea salt. Google salt-whip. Some mucus is removed from shrimp. Use fresh, not defrosted shrimp for this.
2. Use pork caul fat, soak in water with lemon juice or vinegar, drain, trim off all the opaque fat, reserve. Save the lacy fat for wrapping.
3. Need to process some good quality bamboo shoot, fresh or canned, by blanching or parboiling. Then brunoise, make fine, tiny cubes.
4. Chill both types of caul fat, the opaque thick bits and the lacy nets. Cube the opaque bits, up to 1/3 the weight of the shrimp, keep chilled.
5. Cube coarsely the processed shrimp, keep chilled, but not too cold.
6. Add tiny amount of excellent rice wine, or high proof vodka to shrimp, tiny bit of white pepper, bamboo shoots, fat cubes, and carefully mix with chopsticks stirring only in the same directions. Sea salt to taste. Hint of excellent light soy sauce only if you must. The shrimp and fat, with the bamboo shoot will provide all the flavors you need. Do not overmix as in won ton mixtures. You need to crunch into pieces of tasty shrimp. The caul fat within will have melted away, with tiny bits remaining for texture.
7. You will need kudzu starch, or sweet potato starch, good quality veg. oil or good quality lard or duck fat for deep frying, a good frying thermometer, skimmers, good heat source, and focused attention, a good wok or similar, like a 5 qt. heavy cast iron dutch oven.
8. Lay out the caul fat lace and place small amounts of shrimp mix. Roll up 2x thick, roll in kudzu or sweet potato starch, dust off excess. Fry as tempura chefs do, with a gentle hand, and great attention. Your end product is not golden, but beige, crisp. A tempura color. It is not dipped in batter, but later you may experiment dipping it in tempura batter after rolling it in starch. Long thick rolls, cut after frying.
Minimal seasoning” Roast salt, crushed black pepper, and/or nuoc mam made with a very light hand.
Will attempt a first class Toisan soup broth if there is interest.
There is an Old Calcuttan Chinese Chef in NYC, whose brother in law is a Washington restaurant owner, Mr. Sly Liao. The latter himself is not familiar with CCU foodways, but is interested in the history. Sadly, could not contact his BIL, no information so far.
Thanks so very much Gautam for the detailed and informative reply. Particularly appreciate the shrimp roll recipe. I do hope we can uncover and help spread some if these beautiful recipes and foods that are nearing extinction.
Sincere regards, Adeline
Thank you, Ms. Adeline.
I forgot to add a fifth community of old Calcutta: the Anglo-Indian, often lumped together with the Goans and the East Indians, by the non-Christian Bengalis and others. Anyone who wears skirts is a “Memsaheb”. Bengali Christians are very careful to NEVER ever wear skirts, the height of impropriety!! I am not a Bengali Christian, but have [ had in the past] several good friends in that community.
This Calcutta Parsley issue greatly vexes me, because without it, the flavor characteristic of the dishes that evolved out of the contact with the English cannot be reproduced.
Several distinct culinary streams evolved out of the English contact.
One was the birth of the Anglo-Indian community itself, that took place in several distinct steps, and also took several distinct steps in separating itself from its Indian ancestry and trying its best to cling to the English half, despite rude reception from the latter who were far more inclined to treat with respect the wealthy Armenian and Baghdadi Jewish merchants. Not include them as their peers, certainly, but treat them with respect for their wealth and business acumen.
There was yet another group, the Bengali toadies of the British, who were immensely useful for the business of running the Empire. Among these were groups of Bengalis who already were well-practiced in the art of being courtiers of the various Muslim courts, skilled in balancing the various factions, that had flowed over the rich province of Bengal in the centuries immediately preceding the incursion of the Europeans. The Portuguese had blasted their path up the rivers, followed by the Dutch, the French, the English and even the Danish! Not a very encouraging bunch of people, who loudly proclaimed the virtues of Christianity [ as opposed to the Sanatana Dharma] and the compassion of Christ, whilst indulging in quite the opposite conduct without the least shame.
The Bengalis, Kayasthas in the main, mentioned above were accustomed, gingerly, to experiment with Islamic ways of cookery, quite like the Mathur Kayastha courtiers around the Delhi region. Not quite going the whole hog, but sufficiently curious and excited about Muslim ways of cooking to play around with new ways of doing things without quite losing their iffy situation in the indigenous social hierarchy, which was complex beyond belief. More about these iffy Bengalis and their cooking later, which has to do with parsley, my eternal obsession, and the chop-cutlet culture that was born.
We shall deal later with some other strands of British-Bengali restaurant cooking, e.g. Firpo’s, a nominally Italian-Continental standard bearer, and the various clubs like Bengal and Calcutta Clubs, plus the Governor’sMansion/Hmong cooking, but for now, just to move towards 2 specific items that lean towards the Anglo-Indian side of cookery, the “Mutton Roast” and Roast Chicken, not to be confused with the Jewish Roast Chicken with Jumping Potatoes, or aloo m’kallah, another old Calcutta dish.
The Mutton Roast was braised leg/thigh of castrated graim and chickpea fed goat, of excellent meat breeds like Jamnapari or Barbary, and never the other excellent Black Bengal, suited purely for the Bengali styles of cooking, in the non-castrate form.
In the ALL the major mercantile firms, like Balmers Lawrie [spelling?] every officer, British or Indian, HAD to lunch together, and the office lunch was a soup, this roast mutton, potato braised along with it, boiled vegetables, and a custard pudding.
This roast mutton was not dissimilar to that had in Anglo-Indian homes, although beef was far cheaper, and probably the favored meat. But not so in the Indo-British mercantile firms and social gatherings.
Roast Mutton
Whole Leg of Chevon, up to 3-4 kg, including shank and some trotters
Hard cooking onions, thinly sliced, root end to stem end, 2-3 cups for 4 -5 kg meat with bones. Onions increase richness.
Garlic cloves, use judgment, since strength and tastes vary
Fresh ginger, scrape and crush, or grate in Japanese ceramic grater, about 1 tablespoon
Tomato puree, about 4 tb, or fresh concasse, 4-5 tb
Whole spices : cassia bark 1 inch, whole cloves 3, whole green cardamom 3-4 lightly crushed, black peppercorn 4, cassia leaf 2
Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce, 3 tb or more, other brands not authentic
Sugar, for caramelization, 1 tb or more
Sea salt
Yukon Gold type of potatoes
Veg. Oil, peanut oil
Kettle of simmering water
Large brazier or pressure cooker
Pat dry leg, break shank bones to fit brazier.
Heat oil and gently brown the entire leg. Do not burn the fond.
Remove leg, gently brown the potatoes, with or without skin. Do not destroy fond!!!!!!
Add onions, cover to let juices exude, use sugar very sparingly to hasten caramelization, but brown onions fairly slowly in plenty of oil. When onions are JUST beginning to turn color, add the whole spices to release aroma. DO NOT let onions turn more than a barely light gold after this, add chopped garlic, stir, add ginger, stir, add concasse to stop onions from becoming too dark. You need the onions to have become a perfect gold while all this is going on. You will not see this happen, but it will. This is where control of heat, your perfect attention, the cookware, all come into play. Onions must become mahogany brown and bitter, overcook.
Add the important L&P sauce, which will darken the base and let the characteristic aroma float up. If you do have CCU parsley, now is the time to add a few stems, not overdoing it! nestle the leg and the bones into the base, and carefully add the simmering water to become a braising liquid, i.e. not more than a third up the meat. Depending on the meat quality, you can cook it on the stove top, or in an oven, using classical braising technique. The Indian fetish with pressure cookers does not need comment. Somewhere along the line, the potatoes can be introduced. Classical braising techniques imply careful control of liquid and how much and when the meat surface is exposed to dry heat.
An interesting variation used here is a demi-glace technique, where the gravy is reduced to a near-glaze and the excess fat is released, and scooped out. Simmering water is added to the glaze. Care must be taken that the glaze is not burned, but the correct degree of reduction and reconstitution is done. This is the art!!
There are some more little touches, side dishes. The Anglo-Indian Jhal Frazie is not the monstrosity conjured up by absurd Indian restaurants. It is simply the leftover meat from this meal, plus the potatoes, sauteed in the same fat, or some oil, with the addition of fresh sliced onions, and not-so-hot green chilli peppers. A dash of crushed black peppercorns, salt, and that is it.
Wow! Your descriptions and language are so rich and rewarding to read. I do hope you write a book or article someday putting all these observations and notes together so these pieces of information are preserved.
I spent a very small amount of time in Calcutta in my early childhood. My first and strongest memories are of the fabulous home cooked and street corner foods. Also the mutton rolls and Chinese food that was commonly available in the early 80s. We were as adventurous as one would expect a family of limited resources and exposure of the time. My father in his bachelor days also was a paying guest at an Anglo Indian lady’s home and has wonderful memories of great meals that she put out for the ‘boys’. I have not been to Calcutta since we left in the 80s and I believe much has changed. Once again thanks for the efforts and detailed notes
Hi Subhadip
It is always great to read your lively discussion on Entally sausages. Wish we could hear talking about it with all your enthusiasm. I will again encourage you to join our oral community. You can regularly podcast your topics of interest in any language you prefer – straight from your smartphone.
Download Justori from AppStore – it is unique, fun and easy
Cheers Pratik
On Thu 14 Mar 2019 at 13:05, Subhadip Mukherjee ~ The Indian Vagabond wrote:
> Adeline commented: “Wow! Your descriptions and language are so rich and > rewarding to read. I do hope you write a book or article someday putting > all these observations and notes together so these pieces of information > are preserved. I spent a very small amount of time in C” >
Hi Subhadip. It has been a long time. In fact I missed you on my last visit to Kolkata. Do you know the recipe for BAKAKANIS? This is a small type of puri with a unique taste. Famous among the Anglo Indian community but no one seems to have the recipe. I am aware that there is one small shop in the Bow Barrack area that makes and sells them to the public. This may be the only place that makes them in the whole of India and that is why this Puri is so famous and unique. Help if you can.
I remember when we lived in India, every winter, the “pork man” would come to our town from Allahabad to serve us through the winter and Christmas. I absolutely enjoyed his “collar” as we knew it. It was belly pork rolled with wonderful spices, like ginger, pepper and much more and then cured or smoked. It was deeeeelicious. Do you have any idea if collar is still around Subhadeep
Yes they are but very rare managed to find some last year…
Subhadip,
You appreciate that “collar” is Kolakata’s version of expensive pancetta, right?
Another unique flavor in Anglo-Bengali cooking spanning both the Christian and the Hindu spectrum the Calcutta PARSLEY.
This is NOT the Petroselinum crispum, the European parsley, that comes in curly and in flat-leaf Italian types; also in forms with roots. I live in the USA and have tried all the variants.
Also have tried every possible variant of celery, from the leafy cutting celeries of Europe and China, to the celeriacs of diverse persuasions along with the wonderfully aromatic leaf, to the many lovely types of stemmy celeries available to us, English, American, French types. Lovage as well.
Heritage English blanching celeries figure prominently in New Market, or at least did in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, long beautifully blanched stems; so, Calcuttans are no strangers to celery or to lovage leaves or seed.
Celery stems are used in ADDITION to Calcutta Parsley in a range of dishes, including those versions of Indianized European items that used to be served in famous clubs and hotels like Firpo’s.
And the Calcutta Parsley, alone, sans any European celery or European Parsley, is used with Indian flavors, in the Chop-Cutlet traditions of Bengali Cooking. It contributes the major and unique note to this type Anglo- Bengali flavor palette, and has even been known to enter the bouquet garni of some few Calcutta Parsi families I personally know, while simmering meat for Dhansak.
True European Parsley and celeries noted above do not have the unique flavor of the Calcutta Parsley sold at New Market and at Jadu Babu’s Bazaar. There may be other places, but I am am ignorant of such.
I am a reasonably competent plant scientist but have been ABSOLUTELY defeated in my quest to discover the exact identity of this Calcutta Parsley, or a source for their seeds. Have been searching since age 8 and just turned 60!!
Dear Subhadip, since you are a food sleuth, could you please hunt out some sources please?
One flavoring agent in the sausage seems to be this “Calcutta parsley”. I could be very wrong.
Please enlighten and educate me.
Many, many thanks!!
Wonderful
Thank you 🙂
Gautam
Try Kew Gardens International Seed Bank for the Calcutta Parley Seeds and or more info. I too would be very interested in your continuing search!