Besides revealing closely-guarded secrets of the unexplored East Indian cuisine (and the hush-hush ingredients of the Bottle Masala), the pages of a new cookbook also offer a history lesson on the dwindling community in the hope that even as high rises eat up quaint cottages in East Indian wadis, we won't forget Bombay's original inhabitants

When Michael Swamy returned to Mumbai in 1998 after having finished his studies in Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School, a premier hospitality institution in London, he was certain he didn't want to be a chef.
Instead, he set aside six months to do something he felt was badly needed -- he began writing a cookbook on Mumbai's East Indian community.


Michael Swamy, author of The East Indian Kitchen lives with his mother
Jane in a quaint East Indian cottage in a wadi in Prabhadevi.
Pic/SANTOSH NAGWEKAR

Swamy, whose grandmother was East Indian, was intrigued about how the changes the community had undergone over the years were reflected in their food preparations. With barely a handful of traditional East Indian homes left in the city, and youngsters migrating to the West, Swamy had tou00a0 finance and self-publish 1,500 copies of his book titled, Enduring Flavours.

The lot was sold out within six months.

Now, 13 years later, he is ready with the book's second edition, The East Indian Kitchen. While the first included personal stories of families, the second focuses on cooking and the history of the community. In the intervening period between the two editions, Swamy worked for cookery-based television shows, worked as a food stylist and food photographer.

Swamy grew up in an East Indian wadi in Prabhadevi, where he continues to live and where most East Indian bungalows have given way to fancy housing complexes.

He fondly remembers Christmas days when neighbours gifted traditional sweets to one another. His cookbook offers an exhaustive list of these goodies and other delicacies that are not as widely prepared as they were once.

An interview:
Why did you want to work on a cookbook on the East Indians?
I wanted to explore the community and its cuisine, and was surprised to learn that there was only one book in the market that dealt with the subject. That particular title is available with the East Indian Bandra Society and is only meant for members of the community.

When I wrote Enduring Flavours in 1998, I simply wanted to learn more about the community. Over the years, I realised there was more to tell.

Who are the East Indians?
They were the original inhabitants of the seven islands that made up Mumbai. There is much confusion over whether the East Indians were converted in the sixth or the 16th century. St Bartholomew, one of Christ's 12 apostles, converted the East Indians to Christianity sometime in the sixth century. But the religion seems to have died out because there were no missionaries. Later, when the Portuguese arrived in the 16th century, the East Indians were baptised again.

When the East India Company was in charge, many Goan and Mangalorean Catholics migrated to Bombay, because Christians were given preference. The local Christian population then adopted the name 'East Indians' to differentiate themselves from those coming to Bombay from other regions. They also wanted to impress upon the Company that they were the earliest converts and were thus were entitled to more privileges.